A company and it’s director were both recently sentenced and fined for an accident at work that caused tetraplegia. The sentencing took place at Chelmsford Magistrates Court. The judge found the company guilty of offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for the incident.

The managing director of Dickies Pet Centre was unloading a pallet of pet bedding from a delivery lorry on a forklift truck. The forklift truck lifted the load with its lifting forks too closely spaced together, so that they went into the wrong apertures in the pallet and could not support it properly when lifting it. Mr Ellwood then manoeuvred the truck away from the lorry and back around with the forks still raised. The load of bedding, which weighed more than 800Kg, and was more than 2.5 metres tall, fell from the pallet onto the delivery lorry driver.

The lorry driver, a previously very active man, sustained life-changing injuries as a result. He had fractures to his neck vertebrae, which have rendered him tetraplegic. He cannot move from the neck down and has a permanent need for 24-hour care to assist him with everyday tasks, even breathing.

Dickies Pet Centre did not complete a risk assessment or did not have a safe system of work for the unloading of delivery vehicles. Mr Ellwood had not been trained in the operation of forklift trucks since 2005. They had also been operating the forklift truck without access to any copy of the manufacturer’s manual.

The Company Were Originally Dishonest About the Accident at Work that Caused Tetraplegia

In court, defence counsel accepted that the defendants had acted dishonestly during the investigation. They said that, whilst Mr Ellwood did not set out to cause an accident or injury, his actions, or lack of actions, led to the injury to the lorry driver.

After the incident Mr Ellwood told the independent safety investigator that the load had fallen because the pallet had broken. He did not admit the real reason was the wrong spaced forks going into the wrong apertures in the pallet. Later he told a different story, also blaming the pallet, and also concealing the misplacing of the forks. He told this incorrect story to the local authority when making a statement under caution.

The company had to pay a fine of £115,000 and costs of £70,000. The director must complete a 12 month Community Order with a 200 hour unpaid work requirement.

What is Tetraplegia?

Tetraplegia is a paralysis in the arms and legs. The cause is damage higher up on the spinal cord. It causes the signals from the brain to the body to restrict. It can also affect the chest muscles, which can cause breathing difficulties.

Tetraplegia is a very serious condition. It is life changing and can affect both you and those around you. You may also have some worries about the future in terms of your finances. Whilst claiming compensation may not be the first thing on your mind, it may help to ease your mind.

If you have had an accident at work that causes tetraplegia, then you may be able to claim compensation. This is especially true if the accident was someone else’s fault.

How We Can Help with Accidents at Work that Cause Tetraplegia

Here at The Compensation Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with personal injury claims. This includes accidents at work that cause tetraplegia. Contact us by filling in our contact form. Or call us on 01614138765 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

The director of a company in Sheffield has been fined for safety breaches after a young worker suffered a fall from height in an accident at work. The worker, who was 17-years-old, fell from a mezzanine floor to the ground below. The worker and two others were building the mezzanine floor at a site in Sheffield, and they stepped on a loose board and fell 2.8 metres.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that safety nets had not been put in place before boarding commenced. No other fall from height protection was present to prevent or mitigate falls through the mezzanine floor.

Wayne McKnight (trading as RJE Construction) paid a fine of £500 and costs of £1,300.

HSE inspector Sarah Robinson commented: “Falls from height often result in life-changing or fatal injuries, which thankfully did not eventuate here. In most cases, these incidents are needless and could be prevented by properly planning the work to ensure that effective preventative and protective measures are in place. This incident could have easily been prevented if the company had installed safety nets prior to work starting on the mezzanine.”

Claiming Against Your Employer for A Fall from Height in an Accident at Work

It is your employer’s responsibility to keep you safe from falling from a height at work. This means that they must make sure you have the correct training and equipment to be able to do your job correctly. Risk assessments must also be carried out, to ensure the job is done safely. This is especially important when working from height.

If your employer has not followed the guidelines to keep you safe at work, or has done so incorrectly, you may be able to claim fall compensation. We understand that you may feel uneasy about claiming against your employer, however all employers must have employer’s liability insurance. This covers the costs of accidents at work, including falling from height. It is the insurance company who would pay the fall compensation. This means your employer would not be directly out of pocket.

Claiming on Behalf of a Minor

There may be some cases where the person who has the accident at work is under 18. This was the case with the 17-year-old who had a fall from height at work. If this is the case, then a parent or guardian may be able to make a claim on their behalf.

The time limits are also different in cases which involve a minor. Usually, when someone has an accident, they have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim. In cases where a minor has an accident, the time limit extends until they turn 21.

If this happens, then a parent or guardian may make the claim on their behalf until they turn 18. Then, after they turn 18, they have until they turn 21 to make the claim themselves.

How We Can Help

Here at The Compensation Experts, we work with solicitors who have years of experience in personal injury claims. This includes falls from height and accidents at work. Contact us today by filling in our contact form. Or call us on 01614138765 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

According to a recent report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), two construction companies have been fined as a worker was crushed and has suffered serious injuries after an excavation collapse. The employees were carrying out drainage works within an excavation on a construction site in 2018 when a section of the unsupported wall collapsed and crushed one of the workers. This caused the worker serious injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that W & E Lammie failed to plan the precautions or practicable steps necessary to prevent danger to any person entering the excavation, failed to provide supports or battering to ensure the excavation did not collapse and failed to provide appropriate training and supervision to the employees carrying out the drainage works. The investigation also identified that in their role as principal contractor,
Auberne Homes Limited, failed to plan, manage, and monitor the drainage works being carried out on their construction project.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Duncan Officer said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided had the excavation work been properly planned and carried out by suitably trained individuals to ensure that the appropriate safety measures were implemented to prevent excavation collapse. Had the principal contractor
carried out suitable checks they could have been identified that those carrying out the work were untrained and that safe working practices were not being followed on site.”

Crush Injuries

Crush injuries can occur when a heavy load collapses, trapping someone beneath. For example, materials falling from a warehouse shelf or collapsed structures on a building site. The object does not have to fall very far to cause serious crush injury.

Employers are responsible for keeping the work environment as safe as possible. They must also supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect workers from crush injuries. Therefore an employer may be liable for a worker’s injuries if they fail to supply PPE such as hard hats and steel toe-capped boots.

Employers must also follow health and safety rules, such as The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. If they do not follow these then they may be liable for the accident. This was the case in the situation with the worker in the HSE investigation.

Serious injuries

Serious injuries are life-changing injuries that have a catastrophic effect on the injured person’s quality of life. Examples include brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, severe burns and blindness.

Anyone who sustains a serious injury will be facing a less-independent future. On a practical level, they may have to change jobs or give up work altogether. This can place a strain on their finances. Specialist equipment such as wheelchairs, prosthetics or visual aids may be needed, and modifications may need to be made to the family home. Some injured persons will also require 24-hour ongoing support.

No amount of compensation can reverse the impact of a serious injury but it can cover the cost of rehabilitation. Our panel of serious injury claims solicitors are on hand to ensure that you get all the care and support you need.

How We Can Help With A Serious Injuries Claim

Here at The Compensation Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience in all personal injury claims. This includes accidents at work and serious injuries. So contact us today by filling in our contact form. Or call us on 01614138765 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

Sick pay has become a contentious topic in recent times, with countless Europeans required to take time off work to recover from illness as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, there’s very little consistency across Europe, in terms of sick pay, with some nations offering benefits far better than their continental neighbours.

Undertaking research to reveal the sick pay packages of every European nation, The Compensation Experts has been able to rank each on how well they compensate their nationals in times of ill health. Read on to discover which country tops the charts and uncover the final standings.

Icelandic sick pay package considered the best in Europe

According to our research, Iceland leads the way in Europe for their workers’ sick pay package. Employees across the Nordic island are entitled to an impressive 100% of their wage for a minimum of two days for every month they’ve been in employment. However, Icelandic workers’ unions usually step in if a citizen exceeds their entitlement.

Trailing closely, fellow Northern European nations Norway and Denmark also offer acclaimed sick pay entitlement; each provides nationals with 100% of their salary, with the Norwegian government covering a worker for up to a year, and Danes covered for up to 22 weeks within a nine-month period. Similarly, citizens of Luxembourg are also treated to their full salary when sick, for up to 89 weeks, while Austrians are allowed 100% pay for their first 12 weeks off work.

Despite sitting top of the European GDP tree, powerhouse Germany sits just outside the top five in terms of offering an effective sick pay package for workers, allowing between 70-100% entitlement for up to 84 weeks. Rounding off the top ten European nations, according to their sick pay mandate, we have Finland, Switzerland, Monaco, and Montenegro, who all offer employees off-work compensation in the region of 70-100% of their salary for varying time frames. Particularly impressively, Swiss citizens are able to claim sick pay for up to two years.

British sick pay entitlement among the worst in Europe

As far as poor sick pay packages go, the UK offers one of the worst entitlements across the continent, with employees eligible for only £96.35 per week, for up to 28 weeks. The UK government’s involvement also ceases after just the fourth day of absence, after which the employer is required to step in and continue payments. Astonishingly, though, the Maltese and Irish are treated to even worse, with the latter nation not even having any legal sick pay obligation in place.

Neighbouring Central-Eastern nations Slovakia and Ukraine are also among the worst for workers needing time off work. Ukrainians, in particular, can be put in a difficult position in instances of severe illness; while there’s no formal timeline, and the country’s Social Security Fund will cover a citizen for as long as a doctor prescribes, employees can be legally fired from their job if off work ill for longer than four months.

Big money nations across the continent in France, Italy, Russia, and Spain also sit lowly, all positioned well outside the top 20 for sick pay for their respective nation’s workers. The best of a bad bunch, though, Spain are positioned 28^th continentally, with Spanish employees entitled to up to 75% of their salary for up to 78 weeks.

We’ve outlined the complete overall sick pay standings below:

European rank	Country	Minimum sick pay	Maximum sick pay	Maximum period
1	Iceland	100%	100%	2 days for each week worked
2	Norway	100%	100%	52 weeks
3	Luxembourg	100%	100%	89 weeks
4	Denmark	100%	100%	30 days + 22 weeks
5	Austria	50%	100%	78 weeks
6	Germany	70%	100%	84 weeks
7	Finland	70%	100%	44 weeks
8	Switzerland	80%	100%	103 weeks
9	Monaco	€146.67 per day / 90% salary	€146.67 per day / 90% salary	Determined by employee contract
10	Montenegro	70%	100%	65 days*
11	Lichtenstein	80%	80%	104 weeks
12	Belgium	25.88	100%	52 weeks
13	Bosnia and Herzegovina	80%	80%	52 weeks
14	Belarus	80%	100%	150 days
15	Albania	70%	80%	28 weeks
16	Slovenia	80%	80%	30 days*
17	Sweden	77.60%	80%	52 weeks
18	Croatia	70%	100%	Unlimited
19	Netherlands	70%	70%	104 weeks
20	North Macedonia	70%	90%	30 days*
21	Bulgaria	70%	80%	78 weeks
22	Latvia	75%	80%	52 weeks
23	Romania	75%	75%	40 weeks
24	Serbia	65%	100%	30 days*
25	Hungary	60%	70%	54 weeks
26	Estonia	70%	70%	26 weeks
27	Poland	70%	100%	31 weeks
28	Spain	60%	75%	78 weeks
29	Lithuania	62.06%	100%	13 weeks
30	Czech Republic	60%	72%	56 weeks
31	Cyprus	60%	Varies upon social insurance	46 weeks
32	Portugal	55%	75%	156 weeks
33	Russia	50%	100%	Determined by a doctor
34	Andorra	53%	66%	156 weeks
35	Greece	50%	100%	Length of employment dependent
36	Italy	50%	66%	26 weeks
37	France	50%	50%	26 weeks
38	Slovakia	25%	55%	53 weeks
39	Ukraine	50%	100%	5 days*
40	United Kingdom	£96.35 per week	£96.35 per week	28 weeks
41	Ireland	No legal minimum sick pay	100%	Determined by employee contract
42	Malta	€420.30 per month.	€420.30 per month.	22 weeks

Methodology

Analysing the sick pay packages across every European nation, our experts ranked each according to their respective minimum and maximum pay and the timeframe an employee is entitled to claim. Minimum and maximum pay is a percentage of an employee’s salary, unless specified.

*This is the period an employer pays for a citizen’s sick pay. Beyond this, the state continues to pay until a full recovery, or an employee is deceased.

A 31-year-old army veteran from Lancashire has had a serious injury following a fall from height at work, being unable to walk or talk, and only able to move his eyebrows.

The man, who is a roofer by trade, was attending his day job as usual in March when he fell from the top of a ladder in Burnley. Paramedics had to place him into an induced coma at the side of the road before he was airlifted to Royal Preston Hospital, where he had to undergo emergency brain surgery within hours of arrival, and further surgery 48 hours later.

He is now bed-bound after suffering a broken back, severe head trauma and a popped lung following the accident. His injuries have left him unable to move or speak, with the 31-year-old only able to move his eyebrows by means of communication.

Falls from Height at Work

There are many industries where you may need to work at height, which comes with the risk of falls from height at work. One of the industries is construction, including roofing, which the Lancashire man worked in. The further you are working from the ground, the more dangerous your working conditions are. Your employers have a duty to make sure you are less at risk. If you work in one of these industries, then it is the responsibility of your employer to make sure that you are kept safe. They must follow the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Falls from height account for most accidents at work, with these accidents being around 47% of the total number of accidents in 2019-20.

Responsibility of Employers

To ensure everyone is safe at work, there are certain regulations that employers must follow. These include The Health and Safety Act and the Work at Height Regulations. These regulations are designed to keep employees safe at work, and to minimise the risk of accidents happening. There are processes that employers must follow to keep employees safe at work. In the case of the roofer who had a fall from height at work, the rules for working at height must be strictly followed. These rules include:

• Making sure equipment is safe to use
• Maintaining equipment
• Following health and safety rules
• Performing risk assessments

If your employer has not followed the guidelines to keep you safe at work, or has done so incorrectly, you may be able to claim compensation. We understand that you may feel uneasy about claiming against your employer, however all employers must have employer’s liability insurance. This covers the costs of accidents at work, including accidents falling from height. It is the insurance which would pay the compensation, so your employer would not be directly out of pocket.

How We Can Help

Here at The Compensation Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with all manner of personal injury claims. This includes falls from height at work. Contact us today by filling in our contact form. Or call us on 01614138765 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

According to a recent report by the BBC, the UK is at risk of falling behind the EU when it comes to worker’s rights. The investigation was conducted by the Trade Union Congress (TUC). The union body said the EU had “various initiatives” in the pipeline which would improve standards once they became law. But it said the UK had no similar legislation on the way. This investigation by the TUC, if correct, could have an impact on accidents at work. If you have an accident at work and it is the fault of your employer because they fail to follow procedures, then you may be able to make a claim.

How this can affect accidents at work

If the report by the TUC is correct, then it may not be only worker’s rights that are impacted by companies falling behind. If a company is not adhering to its basic worker’s rights, then they may also not be taking all the steps they can to avoid employees having accidents at work.

The nature of an employee’s work environment may mean they are more likely to have an accident at work, such as jobs in warehouses, building sites and factories. However, this does not mean you can’t suffer an injury in an office environment. But, compared to employees in the construction industry for instance, injuries at work are more prevalent due to its elevated risk whilst working.

Your employer must ensure that you’re working in a safe environment in order to avoid workplace injuries, even if you work in an office. Here are some common workplace injuries that would be a genuine reason   to make an accident at work claim:

• Electric Shock
• Eye Injury
• Head/brain Injuries
• Fractured/broken bones or dislocated joints
• Muscle Strains 
• Slips & Trips – loose carpet, wet floors etc.
• Falls
• Exposure to Dangerous Substances
• Chemical Burns
• Hearing Damage
• Falling Object
• Collisions

Your Employer’s Responsibility

When you are at work, it is your employer’s responsibility to keep you safe. They must adhere to many regulations to ensure they are doing everything they can to avoid accidents and injuries to their employees. These regulations include the Health and Safety Act. it is important that your employer follows these regulations as, not only does it keep you safe, it also ensures that they do not get reprimanded by the Health and Safety Executive.

If employers in the UK are falling behind in their treatment of worker’s rights as the TUC claim, then they are putting their employees at risk of having accidents at work, either through overworking them or not ensuring they are in a safe workspace.

How we can help

Here at The Compensation Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with all manner of personal injury claims. This includes accident at work claims. If you have had an accident at work that was due to your employer neglecting their responsibilities, contact us by filling in our contact form. Or call us on 01614138765 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

A specialist plant hire company has been fined after a worker was fatally injured, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The worker was undertaking maintenance on a piling rig when the accident happened.

In 2014, Ben Wylie was assisting the Ruislip Plant Ltd Director Mr Noel Kearney with the maintenance of a high-pressure grease track adjusting mechanism at a construction site in Maidenhead. During the process, someone forcibly ejected the grease nipple assembly and a stream of high-pressure grease from the mechanism. This struck Ben Wylie in the shoulder and chest causing fatal injuries.

The Health and Safety Executive investigated the incident. The investigation found that the components were forcibly ejected the day before and were damaged. Once they ejected the fitting, it should not have been refitted. Despite this, Mr Kearney attempted to modify and refit the grease nipple and adaptor to the high-pressure system. He then began to re-pressurise the tracks by pumping in grease using a hand operated grease gun. The pressure built in the system and at a critical point they then ejected the components. The plant should have done a pressure test with all suitable safeguards in these circumstances. However there was no safe system of work during this. It resulted in the modifications to the grease gun bringing Ben Wylie into the danger zone.

Ruislip Plant Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The plant hire company was fined £99,000 and had to pay costs of £116, 973.36.

Your Employer’s Responsibility in Accidents at Work

Your employer is responsible for keeping you safe at work. They must make sure that they meet the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999). The way they do this is by conducting risk assessments to ensure that everyone is kept safe. Employers must make sure that they do everything possible to avoid staff having accidents whilst at work.

If you are self-employed, you may still be able to claim. A lot of on-site workers often work on a contractor basis. This means that there is still a company that they are working for. If the business fails in their duty to keep you safe, then they may be responsible for your accident.

The Health and Safety Executive said the following about the accident. “This incident could have been avoided if Ruislip Plant Ltd had undertaken a risk assessment and devised a safe system of work.

“That failure to adhere to the correct procedure for pressure testing was directly causative of this incident. Ruislip Plant Limited put no control measures in place by Ruislip Plant Limited and that sadly led to the death of Ben Wylie.”

Plant Hire Company Fined: How We Can Help with Accidents at Work

Here at The Compensation Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with all manner of personal injury claims. This includes accidents at work. Contact us by filling in our contact form, or by calling us on 01614138765 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable advisors.

We studied top UK industries to determine the best and the worst for employee safety, and the results look positive, with many industries reporting high scores for employee safety. The rate of accident and injury in the workplace is gradually slowing down year on year – but could it be that the COVID pandemic has accelerated this, increasing awareness and attention to detail in employee safety?

On the whole, results show that employees feel safe in the workplace, with the average respondent rating their workplace at 8.1 out of 10. Interestingly, it is not just that they feel safe from the threat of COVID-19. The report also includes workplace machinery, the condition of floors and buildings, and PPE equipment. In almost every area and in every industry, UK employees have scored their workplace highly.

Agriculture  

With a safety score of 7.8 out of 10, Britain’s most dangerous industry seems to have been doing something right. Workplace machinery, the largest concern for farmers, was given a safety score of 7.6, while stability of flooring and building conditions scored 7.4 and 7.7 respectively.

Healthcare 

Healthcare professionals have ranked the distributed PPE in their industry at 8.2, showing most employees feel safe when it comes to personal protection equipment, which is excellent news.

In terms of practical danger, intricate medical machinery ranks among the safest of UK workplace equipment at 7.9. Condition of floors is also up at 8, but interestingly, the general condition of buildings is lower at 7.7. It may be that it’s been all hands on deck in containing the pandemic in hospitals, and general building maintenance has taken a backseat.

Hospitality  

Hospitality again is feeling safe. When asked on a scale of 1-10 (10 being very safe) how safe employees feel in the workplace, the average UK worker in this sector answered 8.3.

However, when asked how safe employees felt when thinking about PPE at their job, the average answer was lower at 7.7 Whilst still high, this shows perhaps a slight slacking of PPE rules in the hospitality industry the longer venues have remained open.

Office work

Dubbed the safest place to work, employees working in offices give their workplaces an average score of 8.4.

Like healthcare, employees feel slightly less safe in regards to the conditions of buildings, dropping to 8 out of 10. Whilst still being high, this may reflect the periods of time offices were vacant during the pandemic; perhaps issues have arisen due to buildings being unused, which are now surfacing as people have returned.

Public service 

Matching office employees with its safety rating of 8.4, the public service too seems to be taking care of its employees. Respondents of the survey ranked workplace machinery 8.2, and condition of floors 8.1.

Unlike general office workers and hospital workers, public service employees feel safer in regards to the general condition of buildings, with the average score 8.2.

Retail 

Respondents in the retail industry have given the industry 7.9 out of 10. Whilst trailing most of the other industries in the study, this still shows retail is overall going in the right direction in terms of employee safety.

Attitudes towards equipment and conditions is also positive, with machinery at 7.8, the state of flooring at 7.7,  and infrastructure at 7.7.

Education  

Designed as an area of wellbeing for children of all ages, you’d expect nothing less than exceptional safety in the classroom, so it’s no surprise that it tops our index as the most highly thought of workplace for safety (8.4), matching offices and the public service. Classroom flooring also scores highly with 8.3, and workplace machinery was 8.4.

When it comes to COVID, the classroom has been hit as hard as any other workplace, but PPE distribution in schools (7.2) is among the worst of any sector. Similarly, 62% of teachers feel social distancing hasn’t been enforced sufficiently, although the practical application could be tricky given the energetic and lively nature of children.

Transport and logistics 

Due to the vehicular nature of the job, it was unsurprising that transport workers consider their day-to-day machinery among the least safe of all industries, and with a score of 7.5, this remains the case.

When it comes to the builds involved in their work, employees are feeling less than safe, with the score coming in at 7.6. Feelings towards safety in regards to PPE was also at 7.7. With Brexit causing a stir amongst the transport industry, it seems worker safety may have taken a hit along the way.  

Warehousing 

Warehousing is regarded as one of the more dangerous industries at 7.9, trailing behind many industries investigated, but still holding a respectable score in the grand scheme of things. When it comes to how safe people feel in regards to machinery it gained a score of 7.8 out of 10.

Conditions of floors were scored 7.7, showing that a sizable amount of people feel safe, although there are still improvements to be made. Like healthcare and office work, general conditions of buildings was lower at 7.5, perhaps for similar reasons to healthcare – with high demand during lockdown, building repairs might not have been a priority.

Compiling workplace data from real employees, we’ve managed to reveal which UK industries are the safest, and which are, indeed, the most dangerous for workplace accidents. For even more expert debate and advice around the subject of workplace safety, enjoy exploring the latest on our blog.