How to Claim Compensation for Burn from Hot Equipment in Factory
This article explains some of the reasons why you may – or may not – qualify for compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory and the procedures you should follow after being burned in a factory accident at work to support a factory hot equipment burn compensation claim.
A brief explanation of how to claim for hot factory equipment burn is also included; however, as no two claims for burn injuries from hot equipment are identical, it is always in your best interests to discuss the specific circumstances of your factory equipment burn injury with a solicitor at the earliest practical opportunity.
Your first priority should always be your health and, if you have not already done so, you should seek professional medical treatment for your burn injury. No amount of factory equipment burn compensation will ever make up for a long term health issue which could have been avoided by prompt medical care and, to support your claim for being burned by hot equipment in factory, you will need a doctor to complete the Injuries Board Medical Assessment Form B.
Claims for Burn Injuries from Hot Equipment and the Duty of Care of Employers
In order to be eligible to claim compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory, you must have sustained a burn injury from hot equipment which could have been prevented had your employer – or other person with responsibility for your health and safety – fulfilled his or her duty of care to provide you with a safe environment in which to work.
An employer´s “duty of care” covers all his or her responsibilities to prevent burn injuries from hot factory equipment wherever possible, and would include performing risk assessments to identify foreseeable hazards, providing training and supervision, and supplying personal protective equipment where necessary to eliminate the risk of an employee being burned at work.
Should an employer fail in their duty of care to eliminate the risk of an injury, and you are subsequently burned as a result, you should be entitled to make a factory hot equipment burn compensation claim. It should be noted, however, that an employer´s duty of care is not “absolute” and, if you have sustained a burn injury in a factory accident at work which could not have been foreseen, claims for burn injuries from hot equipment are unlikely to be successful.
Reporting Work Accidents
It is important that your burned by hot equipment work accident is recorded in your employer´s “Accident Report Book”. Although a copy of this report is not sent to the Injuries Board when applying for an assessment of compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory, reporting an hot equipment burn work accident may initiate a Health and Safety Authority (HSA) investigation which could establish your employer´s liability in your claim for being burned by hot equipment in factory.
If liability can be established before making claims for burn injuries from hot equipment, it should speed up the Injuries Board process or may enable a solicitor acting on your behalf to negotiate a settlement of factory equipment burn compensation without the need for witness statements or photographic evidence of your employer´s negligence.
If your factory burn injury is so severe that you are unable to report your hot equipment work accident – or your employer fails to give you access to the Accident Report Book – you should speak with a solicitor. Factory equipment accidents can be reported online at the HSA web site, but you will need an approval code to use the service and it may be a lot simpler for a solicitor to generate a report on your behalf and then use it in support of a factory hot equipment burn compensation claim.
Procedures for Claiming Factory Equipment Burn Compensation
The most regularly used procedure for claiming factory equipment burn compensation is to submit an application for assessment to the Injuries Board. Your application can be completed on a paper form or online, but must be submitted with a medical practitioner´s report detailing your hot equipment burn injury. Receipts for any expenses you have incurred which are directly attributable to your accident in the factory should also be attached to your application.
The Injuries Board´s role is only to assess how much compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory you are entitled to, and not to ascertain liability for the injury you sustained. Therefore, the Injuries Board will write to your employer asking for consent to proceed with an assessment of your factory hot equipment burn compensation claim, and only continue once that consent has been received – effectively when your employer has admitted his liability for your burn injury.
Thereafter you may have to undergo an independent medical examination to establish the severity of your burn injury and the Injuries Board will then send you and your employer a “Notice of Assessment” which – if both you and your employer agree to – is followed by an “Order to Pay” factory equipment burn compensation. If either your employer denies his consent for the Injuries Board to assess your claim for being burned by hot equipment in factory, or neither party agrees on how much compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory you are entitled to, the Injuries Board will issue you with an authorisation to pursue your claim for hot factory equipment burn through the courts.
Contributory Negligence and Burn from Factory Equipment Accidents
One of the reasons why consent to assess your claim for hot factory equipment burn may be withheld from the Injuries Board is if you are considered to have been partly to blame for the cause of the hot factory equipment burn accident at work or the extent of your injury. The Injuries Board will only assess claims for burn injuries from hot equipment in which total liability is admitted and, if you have contributed to your burn injury, the Injuries Board will have no option but to issue you with an authorisation to pursue your factory hot equipment burn compensation claim in court.
Court action may be a last resort when making a claim for being burned by hot equipment in factory, as it may also be possible to negotiate a settlement with your employer´s liability insurers where you accept a percentage responsibility for your injury from hot factory equipment and that percentage is then deducted from how much compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory your claim is settled for. Negotiating the value of factory equipment burn compensation directly with an insurance company is not recommended without legal representation.
One element of contributory negligence which is sometimes overlooked is if you contributed to the extent of your burn injury by failing to seek timely professional medical treatment. Some people who are injured in work accidents foolishly attempt to work through the pain – exacerbating their injury and jeopardising their entitlement to compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory. If this has happened to you, you should speak with an experienced solicitor about whether you still have a claim for hot factory equipment burn which is worth your while to pursue.
How the Statute of Limitations affects a Factory Hot Equipment Burn Compensation Claim
The Courts and Civil Liability Act 2004 set a limitation period of two years for making claims for burn injuries from hot equipment from the “Date of Knowledge” on which the burn injury is diagnosed. There are very few situations in which a plaintiff would be unaware that they have been burned in an accident at work with hot equipment and therefore the two year limitation period for making a factory hot equipment burn compensation claim would usually start on the day of your accident.
Two years may seem ample time in which to submit a claim for hot factory equipment burn to the Injuries Board for assessment but, if liability for your factory equipment injury is denied, or you are waiting for the results of an HSA investigation to confirm your employer´s liability in a claim for being burned by hot equipment in factory, the time can slip quickly by.
If the full extent of your burn injury is not known, or due to complications it is taking a long time to recuperate from your burned in hot equipment factory accident and impossible to calculate how much factory equipment burn compensation you are entitled to, it is possible to “stop the clock” on your claim for compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory. You will need the agreement of your employer´s insurance company to do this – assuming your employer has admitted liability for your burn injury – and this is something which is once again best done with the assistance of a personal injury* solicitor.
Always Get Legal Advice
You do not need a solicitor in order to make claims for burn injuries from hot equipment, but you would be well advised to do so. In addition to acting as a go-between between yourself and your employer, and dealing with any difficulties that may arise while making a claim for hot factory equipment burn, a solicitor has the experience to ensure you receive your full entitlement to factory equipment burn compensation – whether your claim for being burned by hot equipment in factory is resolved via the Injuries Board, by negotiation with your employer´s insurers or through court action.
Most solicitors will offer a free assessment of your factory hot equipment burn compensation claim if you have suffered a burn injury in factory accident for which you were not entirely to blame, and provide you with answers to any questions you may have as regards your eligibility to claim compensation for burn from hot equipment in factory. As it is often in your best interest to have evidence gathered to support your claim for hot factory equipment burn while it is still fresh, it is recommended that you speak with a solicitor about the circumstances of your hot equipment burn in a factory accident without delay.