How to Claim Compensation for Crush Injury in Factory
This article explains some of the reasons why you might – or might not – qualify for compensation for crush injury in factory and the procedures you should follow after being crushed in an accident at work to support a factory crush accident claim for compensation.
A brief explanation of how to claim for being crushed in factory accident is also included; however, as no two claims for crush injuries in factory are identical, it is always in your best interests to discuss the specific circumstances of your work crush injury with a solicitor at the first practical opportunity.
Your first priority should always be your health and, if you have not already done so, you should seek professional medical attention for your factory crush injury. No amount of crush injury at work compensation will ever make up for a long term health issue which could have been avoided by prompt medical treatment and, to support your claim for being crushed in factory, you will need a doctor to complete the Injuries Board Medical Assessment Form B.
Claims for Crush Injuries in Factory and the Duty of Care of Employers
In order to qualify to claim compensation for crush injury in factory, you must have sustained a crush injury which could have been prevented had your employer – or other person with responsibility for your health and safety – adhered to 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 a crush injury in all potential scenarios, 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 crushed in a factory.
Should an employer fail in their duty of care to eliminate the risk of an injury, and you are subsequently crushed in a factory as a result, you should be entitled to make a factory crush accident claim for compensation. It should be noted, however, that an employer´s duty of care is not “absolute” and, if you sustain a crush injury in an accident at work which could not have been foreseen, claims for crush injuries in factory are unlikely to be successful.
How Your Employment Status May Affect a Claim for Being Crushed in Factory Accident
It is not often that your employment status will affect your entitlement to claim for being crushed in factory accident, but there may be occasions when agency workers, employees on short-term contracts or self-employed workers may have to make a claim for being crushed in factory against somebody other than their direct employer – for example the owner of the factory in which the crush injury was sustained.
Possibly of more concern if you have suffered a crush injury in an accident at work is the fact that you do not want to fall out with your employer but, because of financial necessity, you need to make a claim for being crushed in factory against their employer´s liability insurance policy. Most employers will be honestly regretful that you have been crushed in a work accident due to their negligence and will admit their liability; but there are some circumstances in which an employer will want to protect their insurance policy excess and dispute your crush injury at work compensation claim.
Procedures for Injury at Work Compensation
The procedure most frequently used for claiming crush injury at work compensation is to submit an application for assessment to the Injuries Board. Your application can be completed on hard copy or online, but must be submitted with a medical practitioner´s report detailing your crush injury. Receipts for any expenses you have incurred which are directly attributable to your factory accident at work should also be attached to your application.
The Injuries Board´s role is only to assess how much compensation for crush injury in factory you are entitled to, and not establish 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 crush accident claim for compensation, and only continue once that consent has been received – effectively when your employer has admitted his liability for your injury.
Thereafter you may have to undergo an independent medical examination to ascertain the severity of your crush 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” crush injury at work compensation. If either your employer denies his consent for the Injuries Board to assess your claim for being crushed in factory, or neither party agrees on how much compensation for crush injury in factory you are entitled to, the Injuries Board will issue you with an authorisation to pursue your claim for being crushed in factory accident through the courts.
How Much is a Claim for Being Crushed in Factory Worth?
How much compensation for crush injury in factory you will be eligible to receive will depend on the location, nature and severity of your crush injury in relation to your age, sex and general state of health prior to the accident in the factory. Financial values for a wide range of injuries can be found in the Book of Quantum, but these values only account for the physical pain and suffering you experience at the time of your crush injury and not for the “inconvenience of incapacity” that might result from being injured in a factory.
Claims for crush injuries in factory should include compensation for the impact that your injury has on your ability to perform day to day domestic duties and your incapacity to participate in leisure pursuits or enjoy an active social life. There is very little opportunity to account for this “loss of amenity” when making a claim for being crushed in factory through the Injuries Board process, and this is a further reason why you should speak with solicitor with experience of making a claim for being crushed in factory accident – to ensure you receive your full entitlement to crush injury at work compensation.
The amounts you are claiming for expenses, lost income and any other costs you have incurred due to your crush injury are then added to the compensation values above to finalise how much your factory crush accident claim for compensation is worth. You may also be able to recover any legal expenses you have incurred in pursuit of your claim for being crushed in factory, fares paid to use alternative forms of transport if you can no longer drive and future medical costs if, for example, physiotherapy is required in order that you make a full recovery from your crushed in factory injury.
Do I Need a Legal Advice to Claim?
You do not need a solicitor in order to make claims for crush injuries in factory, but it is often in your best interests to do so. In addition to acting as a go-between between yourself and your employer, and dealing with any difficulties that arise while making a claim for being crushed in factory accident, a solicitor has the experience to ensure you receive your full entitlement to crush injury at work compensation – whether your claim for being crushed 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 crush accident claim for compensation if you have sustained an injury in a factory accident for which you were not entirely to blame, and provide you with answers to any questions you may have regarding your eligibility to claim compensation for crush injury in factory. As it is often in your best interest to have evidence collated in support of your claim for being crushed in factory accident while it is still fresh, it is recommended that you speak with a solicitor about the circumstances of your crush injury in a work accident without delay.