How confident is your company in winning compensation claims and not handing over hard-earned cash to a careless worker?

Where you aware that thousands and thousands of calls and Google searches are made every month?…

“I have had an accident at work, what do I do next?”

 

This article is for the Managing Directors and Financial Directors who need to challenge compensation claims without needing to employ multiple
H&S managers and experienced legal teams

How does your ‘Employers Liability insurance’ protect you?

The HSE states:

Employers are required by the law to insure against liability for injury or disease to their employees arising out of their employment.

Employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees while they are at work. Your employees may be injured at work or they, or your former employees, may become ill as a result of their work while in your employment.
They might try to claim compensation from you if they believe you are responsible. The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 ensures that you have at least a minimum level of insurance cover against any such claims.
Employers’ liability insurance will enable you to meet the cost of compensation for your employees’ injuries or illness whether they are caused on or off-site. However, any injuries and illness relating to motor accidents that occur while your employees are working for you may be covered separately by your motor insurance.

Did you know! Employe Liability Insurance does not protect you or your business from an HSE prosecution?

Why read on?

Read on to find out how by using our Cloud-based Software Safety PAL, this helped the company revoke a 31K compensation claim.

Below is the information and claims letter following a ‘Working At Height’ compensation claim.
You will read how this compensation claim was CLOSED due to the Employer providing sufficient and convincing evidence of compliance to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 via their H.S.E.Q management system… Safety PAL

The Injury

The Injured person (IP) suffered a laceration to his right armpit when he fell while working at height

What is the company’s statutory duty under this working at height fall?

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 state: Avoidance of risks from work at height
6 (1) In identifying the measures required by this regulation, every employer shall take account of a risk assessment under regulation 3 of the Management Regulations.
6 (2) Every employer shall ensure that work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely otherwise than at height.
6 (3) Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.

Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states: General duties of employers to their employees.
2(1) It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.
2(2) Without prejudice to the generality of an employer’s duty under the preceding subsection, the matters to which that duty extends include in particular—
2(2(a)) the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;
2(2(b)) arrangements for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
2(2(c)) the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees;
2(2(d)) so far as is reasonably practicable as regards any place of work under the employer’s control, the maintenance of it in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks;

The company was alleged to be in breach of their statutory duties as itemised here in table 1

Based on the IP suffering a laceration to right arm after falling from a height, the payout was set at £31,220 

How was the £31k arm injury compensation claim revoked?

1. The management first needed to establish the employee fully read and understood the company standards and operating procedures, this cemented a case for a careless or negligent worker:
   1. Section 2 evidence of compliance:
      1. When the employee joined the company, he was issued the company standards including the H&S policy including the company provision for H&S in the workplace and working at height procedures.
      2. We have a secured electronic copy of the downloaded, read and signed documents which we can prove have not been altered or changed.
      3. We also have a refresher copy of our policy xx/Revx downloaded and signed by the IP on xx/xx/xx.
      4. Our training matrix shows the IP completed a successful pass rate of 88% of our working at heights safety video only 42 days prior to the incident. Our H.S.E.Q management system can prove the IP was the individual who passed the test.
      5. The next schedule refresher training for the IP is in 138 days, meeting our compliance with the Working at Height Regulations 2005 Regulation 5. 5.
2. The management then needed to assess that a risk assessment was completed, in place and understood by the IP before the commencement of the task:
   1. Section 2 (d) evidence of compliance:
      1. Our H.S.E.Q Management system shows the 3 monthly ‘Working in the warehouse’ job was online and the IP signed in the morning of the incident at 08:30, the job pack included the risk assessment, method statement, zone hazards and the working at height permit.
      2. Our supervisor John Smith received confirmation of the IP signing into the job, then 12 minutes later at 08:42 completed a toolbox talk. The toolbox talk used, enabled John Smith to aks the IP 7 specific questions about the task, equipment and competence, the record shows all answers were ‘YES’ and the notes section was left blank confirming no other information was needed to be recorded or actioned.
      3. Under our H.S.E.Q document management section, we can see the ladders and cages were inspected on xx/xx/xx and had no obvious signs of damage.
3. The management then needed to provide evidence the work zone was safe for the activity:
   1. Section 6 (3) evidence of compliance:
      1. Each work zone is set up in our H.S.E.Q management system Safety PAL, hazards and photos are included in each zone, the information details the correct access, work requirements and local signage.
      2. All zone hazards are automatically entered into the permit to work with the risk assessment and method statement, which completes our Safe System of Work pack. The IP signed in the morning of the incident at 08:30 and the toolbox talk could not be completed until this was approved.
      3. We can also confirm on xx/xx/xx @ xx:xx (32 hours prior to the incident) our warehouse manager completed his monthly walkaround ‘spot check’ in the area where the incident happened and recorded ‘Good Working Practices” a photo was also added and no actions were recorded as being required.

The Insurance compensation claim response letter by the company using
Safety PAL

(simplified and changed for legal purposes)

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Dear No Win No Fee Solicitor

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/xx ref x.

We would like to point out that your client signed our H&S policy rev x which clearly detailed under section 7.7 our standards and procedures for Working at Height. Section 7.7 also clearly sets out the requirements for our safe system of work including access and egress required while working in any of our warehouses.
We would like to confirm your client signed the H&S policy rev x on xx/xx/xx and furthermore was offered additional information/training, which he decided was not required.

Our H.S.E.Q management systems training records show your client received 2 individual Working at Height training videos and successfully passed both on xx/xx/xx and xx/xx/xx/ approx. 2 months before the date of the incident.
The Working at Height training video questions which the IP successfully answered, were taken from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Working at Height Regulation document INDG401. We also have a record of 2 Safety Notifications from the HSE explaining the risk of working at height in unsafe conditions; your client signed both of these respectively on xx/xx/xx and xx/xx/xx/.
We also feel the need to confirm that when the IP electronically signed both alerts/notifications, he was offered additional information/training, which he decided he did not need.

Our company Safe System of work clearly details signage in place identifying the hazards in the warehouse.
On the morning of the incident, our management system also shows at exactly 08:30, your client signed in (2 step authentication) to our H&S management system Safety PAL and our supervisor completed a toolbox talk where the activity risk assessment was fully understood along with other questions to confirm your client had all the tools and information required to complete the task safely.

As you would expect, all of the information, training records Q&A, zone information, risk assessment and toolbox talk are attached as part of this letter under appendix A.

This letter and the documents included in Appendix A provides suitable evidence, we as a company have done everything practicably possible to prevent harm which as you are fully aware is the requirement of the Health and Safety at Work etc.. Act 1974 and our opinion is that the injury was actually caused by your client not adhering to our standards and procedures.

No compensation will be paid out, as the evidence is clear in proving the IP was a careless worker and if he had complied with our company standards and procedures the incident would have been prevented.

Signatures etc

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Due Diligence!

To reiterate the point; no matter what you have in place today, if you cant prove your process, systems and provide suitable evidence that the worker/s READ and UNDERSTOOD, then even the most negligent and dangerous workers can get away with incompetence…

We truly look forward to you scheduling a demonstration of Safety PAL (PLAN ACT LEARN) in order to understand how our unique H.S.E.Q management tool can help you and your business in more ways than just compliance to Health and Safety.

If you need any further information on the details included in this article, then please get in touch, we do enjoy knowing the articles we write help businesses.