In the scientific study of the animal kingdom, the ability to fashion and manipulate tools in order to achieve a given goal, is often sited as evidence of a sophisticated level of cognitive thought.
Apes, Birds, Elephants and Otters have all been observed utilising tools to break open shells, impale prey or even guage the depth of water.
Humans of course, excel in the ability to adapt and innovate tools to overcome ever-more complex obstacles - indeed it could be said that the ability to do so has directly lead to our evolution as the dominant species.
However, there are some of us in whom this ability is sadly lacking, leading to situations where it has to be wondered how we ever evolved at all!
For example; Between 2000-2002, there were over 700 eye injuries at work annually in the UK, caused by pens. Incidentally in the same period no eye injuries were reported from swords (or even toy swords!).
Perhaps the pen really is the mightier...
Then there's this example from when I was at school, (yes, a long, long time ago).
One afternoon, I watched 3 groundsmen erect a new signpost which needed driving into the ground. In the absence of a suitable sledgehammer, the men were instructed by their supervisor to make use of a conveniently located, wrought-iron park bench.
Through the window of the geography class, I watched as the supervisor knelt to hold the post in position, whilst the other three struggled to lift the bench over the pole, and then bring it down upon the post. On the first two attempts, the post hardly moved, but on the third attempt, one of the men holding the bench aloft strained his back and let go of the bench, which came crashing down on top of the kneeling supervisor, breaking his leg.
Injuries at Work Caused by Wrong or Faulty Tools or Equipment.
Okay, so it could be argued that the Supervisor in that story "got what was coming to him", but if one of his subordinates had suffered a serious injury at work due to his... "lack of foresight", shall we say, it could have been grounds for a compensation claim against his employers.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 there are a number of regulations in place to help ensure worker safety, protecting them from risk when using work equipment. Although these rules and regulations vary depending on sector and profession, the main duty of care for the employer remains the same. All employers, whatever the size of the business, must:
- Ensure that work equipment is safe to use, check the right work equipment is provided, is properly used and regularly maintained
- Avoid potentially dangerous work involving manual handling (and if it can't be avoided, take precautions to reduce the risk of injury)
- Provide suitable protective equipment for employees such as safety footwear, safety googles, ear protectors, helmets, protective gloves etc.
- Ensure that the right warning signs are provided and looked after
- Provide proper training and information to any employee using equipment at work
So, employers have a duty of care to provide and maintain proper equipment so that employees can undertake duties without risk of being injured at work. Equipment can be anything from electrical items, power & hand tools, kitchen & office equipment, ladders & scaffolding, cars, vans, tractors, fork lift trucks, right down to a humble pen. Employers also have a duty to ensure employees are trained to use the equipment provided safely.
We Can Help
If you have been injured at work as a result of unsafe or incorrect equipment then you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim for compensation. Our friendly specialist advisors can talk to you about your situation and tell you if you have a genuine compensation claim. There is no charge for this service and you are under no obligation to claim with us.
If You Have a Genuine Claim, Contact a Genuine Company
May I Claim, is a trading name of R Costings Limited and our CRM number is 25770
If you’ve had an accident that wasn’t your fault and suffered an injury at work - you can trust us to handle your claim professionally.
Call us now on 0800 756 7774 and talk to us to find out if you have a claim - or fill in our Quick Claim form (on the right of this page).
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