Am I able to claim nerve injury compensation? I received a severe electric shock from a malfunctioning printer at work and I suffered nerve damage as a result.
Your eligibility to claim nerve injury compensation for your electric shock injury will depend upon who is liable for your injury. It is possible that your employer could be liable if they have been negligent towards your health and safety. As they have a duty to provide a safe environment in which to work, a malfunctioning printer could be seen as a failure in this duty. If their negligence is then determined, they may be liable for any compensation claim that may arise as a result.
Your employer would be held liable for nerve injury compensation if the equipment provided was of an unsafe standard which led to an injury occurring. This equipment should have been maintained and regularly inspected by your employer in order to ensure that it continued to function correctly and safely. If it is determined that these inspections had not taken place or that the printer was used despite knowledge of the danger it posed, your employer could be liable for any claim to compensation which could be made.
It is possible that you may share some liability for your own injuries. If you received a warning that the printer was unsafe to use — but you continued regardless — there is a possibility that contributory negligence will affect your claim. This may again be the case if you noticed that the printer was faulty but declined to report it. Your negligence to take action could result in a deduction in compensation.
Following your accident, your immediate priority should be to seek medical attention for your injuries. A record of the accident should then be made in the Accident Report Book of your employer in order to note how the incident occurred. It is then necessary to gather evidence to support your claim. This may be complicated in the likely event that the printer has been taken away. It is possible that the printer has been repaired, in which case evidence that it was once faulty could be gathered. If it has been disposed of entirely it will be difficult to gather evidence of its malfunction. However evidence can still be gathered from your co-workers who may have witnessed your accident and injury.
In order to ease the process of gathering evidence, you are advised to consult a personal injury* solicitor. It should be remembered that collecting this evidence to support a claim can take some time, and as a time limit of three years exists in order to make a claim for compensation — as per the Statute of Limitations — you are advised to contact a solicitor at the earliest opportunity if you believe you have a valid claim for nerve injury compensation.