Accident at work

[happy2bhomely]

My sister works in a small office. Last week her employer held a bottle of cleaning fluid under her nose and squeezed it, for her to smell. She was taken by surprise and he squeezed too hard. The cleaning fluid covered her face and went into her eyes and mouth. It is similar to nail varnish remover. Her eyes were burning and she rinsed them with water. She asked to be taken to the hospital, but her boss insisted that she waited 5 minutes to 'see how it goes'. After 5 minutes he drove her to her gp surgery. Her gp told her that she should have gone straight to A and E but her eyes seemed fine and there was no damage done. Her employer gave her £50 in cash when he dropped her off 'incase she needed a taxi'.

She has gone back to work and her employer has apologised for the accident.

My sister has now been advised by friends to contact a solicitor regarding the incident. She has been told she may be likely to a pay-out of some sort.

Aibu to think that although her boss was a prat, he did not do this maliciously. She did not suffer loss of earnings due to the accident, and I think it is horrible that she is even considering this.

I think that it's the sort of accident any of us could have - haven't we all done something, that in retrospect, was utterly stupid?

The other comments etc do highlight the fact that he's a bit of a twat - but that's not a crime.

I think you need to make her see sense - it would be very very stupid to persue this.

www.theaccidentsatworksite.com/your-accident-type/Pages/chemical-accidents-at-work-claims.aspx

looks like she may have a chance.

I agree being a twat isn't a crime - she needs to make sure there is an accident/ incident report and also that the COOSH tests are up to date for substances.

Other than that it was an unfortunate incident and she was actually a willing partcipant at smelling the product by the sounds of it which will make it a hard case to prove.

Tell her to tell him to stop the idiotic jokes or she will take it further and see what happens.

Just to be clear, he is someone my husband occasionally does work for. He is not his friend, but they are friendly. He is Turkish and there is a bit of a language barrier, which is why some of his comments have been taken with a pinch of salt.

I would be sooooooo tempted to accidentally trip in the vacinity of his crotch while carrying a hot melted candle.And then say 'Ooops,oh well,bet that's not the first time your dick has stung'.

Although I'm not actually advising that as a course of action.

She should speak to a solicitor- if she has a claim (she does have an injury, how does her situation differ from compensation for whiplash injury which includes £300 for therapy but £1k for injury? No monetary loss there either?) then she should use the law as its designed to be used should she chose to. He should be insured. It's up to her really, although I think your post is asking more about whether it's reasonable for her to persue a claim.

For me it depends whether she has a case; I'm happy to let the law decide.

Well the absolute first, essental thing to do, is to get it written in the Accident Book.

Are you going to tell us if that's been done yet?

But she doesn't have an injury - she suffered a moment of discomfort but the legal system doesn't encourage people to sue over something so minor.

Whiplash is a recognised injury which can cause lasting discomfort and cause financial loss as it can prevent people from working. Different kettle of fish.

Sadly, a greedy over-enthusiastic no-win-no-fee PI solicitor may think it's worth a shot and her boss's insurance company may pay a very modest amount to settle it. It's is the pursuit of these meritless claims that drives up everyone's insurance premiums.

Sorry, I called her to check and she said if there is an accident book, she hasn't seen it!

That said, her boss's actions would be a breach of her employment contract - there is an implied duty of trust and confidence.

If she felt sufficiently upset by his actions to the extent that she feels she can't work there any more, she may have a claim for constructive dismissal.

But not PI.

There should at least be an entry of the incident in the accident book. I would insist on it. No need for a legal claim but you need it in the book just incase anything happens with her eye at a later date even though it seems fine now.

If he refuses (which he can't) say she'll take it further.

But whiplash which hasn't caused any financial loss? No time off work? The treatment is paid for, the rest is for injury caused. It's set out in solicitors letters. Couldn't she argue she has lasting injury from this? Itchy skin anxiety whatever?

"happy2bhomely Wed 02-Nov-11 19:57:09
Sorry, I called her to check and she said if there is an accident book, she hasn't seen it!"

FFS they are legally obliged to have an accident book, and they can't prevent her writing in it.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_10026579

"Recording accidents
Any injury at work - including minor injuries - should be recorded in your employer's 'accident book'. All employers (except for very small companies) must keep an accident book. It's mainly for the benefit of employees, as it provides a useful record of what happened in case you need time off work or need to claim compensation later on. But recording accidents also helps your employer to see what's going wrong and take action to stop accidents in future."

does your sister have children, then being down a&e may have meant her paying extra childcare cost.

Yes, she has children. She is a single mum and she had to arrange for their dad to leave work early and collect them from after school club.

I agree that not having an accident book is unacceptable. The day after it happened I told her to ask if he had a health and safety sheet for the cleaner and he said no. That same day he asked her to draw up an order and when she did it, he told her it looked like a little girl had done it. I think she's feeling generally shit at work and is using this to vent some frustration.

Ultimately, she needs a new job.

The Courts award damages by reference to a sliding scale of injuries, from recognised minor injuries to quadraplegia/total brain damage/death.

Having a prickly eye for a few minutes isn't in there. Whiplash is.

She could certainly make up an injury. Lots of people do. But it is fraudulent.

Even more

I hope she realises making claim not easy I broke my foot after accident at hotel there fault and amount of evidence, statements I had to provide was unreal and took over a year to get any compensation for loss of earnings. Was not easy like it seems in adverts. Would never have claimed if it was a minor injury and hadn't lost husband wage due to having to have time off to look after me and children.

Whiplash has been proven to cause spinal problems in the future so it has the potential for a lot of problems.

There's no loss here, I can't see how she can sue. It will look bad on her and will damage her bosses relationship with her, which could be grounds for dismissal.

"couldn't she argue she has a lasting injury from this, itchy skin anxiety whatever"

She could but if she doesn't she would be a a liar and a fraud. What on earth would be the point?

I don´t think that she should claim.

But I do think that you should try to be more sympythetic/understanding tbh.

Her workplace sounds awful, her boss a complete tosser, but you seem more bothered about keeping the peace because your husband works with/for him sometimes.

I can´t imagine such a scenario-and if her boss wanted her to smell the stuff-why bang it down on the counter??!!

She has three years from the date of the injury to the day she files the paperwork at court. A day after she would be too late. However, three years is a long time. No rush to make a decision.

Would your sister be okay next time her boss says something stupid muttering 'injury lawyers 4U'? Additionally, if he is already re-writing what has happened, what witnesses were there or will it be her word against his?

Could she ask about the injury book because she was googling and saw something about it? Or would that make things worse?

Your sister may find it easier finding a good employment law solicitor and going for constructive dismissal. Is there another part of mumsnet that can advise on that?

Surely the fact that the sister was a willing participant says something ...... this is not a child who does not know better than to smell cleaning fluids. Unfortunately she got some on her but all this talk of claiming for constructive dismissal and injury money seems very wrong to me.

cookcleanerchaufferetc She didn't ask her boss to squeeze it up into her face!!!

As I understand it, she hasn't suffered an injury or loss of earnings, so isn't really entitled to a pay out. But insurers may offer a modest amount to settle if it is less than the cost of defending the case.

She won't be entitled to constructive dismissal. This is actually very very hard to prove and one incident like this won't cut it.

If she sues and gets a settlement she has to consider that as it is such as small workplace, things could become very akward. Her boss already says idiotic things. If she gets a settlement he could for example simply speak to her tersely with no chat - nothings he could do, but it would make it horrible to work there.

So she needs to think about whether for the sake of a small payout that she may get and that she is not really entitled to, she wants to make her job potentially very difficult and awkward. She aslo needs to consider the affect on future references. Although legally you have protection from false references, a boss can still write a half hearted reference that isn't a lie, but won't help you get a job.