Injured at work

[coastergirl]

Hi, I was injured doing my job about 6 months ago (fracture). At the time, a few people suggested I pursue compensation for this, but I wasn't keen for various reasons. I've ended up leaving the job, mainly unrelated to the injury, although it certainly didn't help! I'm in quite a lot of pain from the injury, and it just seems to be getting worse lately. I know that there was damage at the time to the tendons surrounding the fracture, this was picked up by an MRI scan. I'm seeing my GP about it this week. I'm considering pursuing some sort of legal action now about this. Just wondered if anybody could recommend a firm I could speak to about this? If anyone has had a good experience? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Are you in a union?

Is the employer responsible for some ommission or negligence that resulted in the fracture. Just because the injury happened at work doesn't mean that you are entitled to compensation. You have to show they were at fault.

Have you got legal cover on your house insurance? If so, start with that abd see a solicitor.

She won't necessarily know whether there has been negligence until the claim starts and the employer provides their disclosure (assuming they deny liability via their insurer, rather than admit).

@coastergirl , you can Google personal injury solicitors and look at Trust Pilot ratings before deciding which one to pick. However, even good ones probably have some shit file handlers and it's the handler who's key!

Yes, I'm in a union.

If you're in a union I'd start with them in terms of lawyers etc. Most unions have some sort of either in house set up or an agreement with a firm like Slater and Gordon.

@EmmaMaria @NoWordForFluffy

Yeah, I'm not really sure. I don't want to put too much detail here really. I suppose it's nothing ventured, nothing gained. If I can find one that's no win, no fee, then there's no harm in trying. I'm certainly not going into it with any expectations. I was reluctant, out of misguided loyalty I guess, but this has changed.

@JoyousPinkPeer I'm not sure, I'll check.

@Bromptotoo will do, thank you. Don't know why I didn't think of the union!

The union solicitor is a good idea, as if you do win, you're unlikely to have a deduction from your damages which you might have from one you choose yourself (sometimes a firm will match terms if you have union / legal cover for a solicitor which is why I say 'might'). Standard deduction is 25ish% of past losses and PI damages.

Was it a Riddor reportable fracture and did you receive the findings of any investigation?

Have you still got access to the H & S policy (assuming 5 or more employees)?

Did you follow all safety procedures and/or was the accident caused by you or someone else doing something unsafe?

Do be aware as I know someone who was caught out by this, that same no win, no fee solicitors get you to take out a kind of insurance. If you change your mind part way through the process (the person I know hadn’t been entirely honest about his part in the accident) , you are liable for hefty fees.

on the other hand the company I work for told another employee who was badly injured whilst working on another client’s site, to claim as what happened should not have.

If you have a case yuour union will do it for free! Why look elsewhere?

@NoWordForFluffy Most people have a clue whether or not the employer has some responsibility before they make a claim.

Well, not necessarily. Many people will try to claim, just in case. And some are vexatious claimants (not saying OP is).

It all depends on the circs how obvious liability is / isn't.

I've ditched many an EL claim post-disclosure.

As I said above, I just didn't think of the union. I have the membership, just haven't needed to call on them before so it didn't occur to me. Now it's been pointed out to me, I will do.

I don't know what a Riddor reportable fracture is. As far as I'm aware there was no investigation. I wasn't asked to provide any further information after I completed my incident form and accident form. Initially I didn't suspect a serious injury. Once it became clear that there was one, I kept management updated and they added the info to my form.

I'm not sure about people being at fault tbh. I'm pretty sure I followed procedures. Unfortunately something happened that meant I had to run, and I tripped on uneven ground and fell.

Thank you for this. I will be very careful and take advice.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/

That brought back a memory. A very early task for me after a promotion in the Civil Service was to work out what Riddor meant for my bosses.

This is definitely one I'd want to see the disclosure (all the documents relating to H&S, your training and the accident itself) before making my mind up.

It's definitely worth investigating, to
my mind.

If you broke your leg it should have been reported to the HSE under riddor. You can follow this guide to see if they reported it.
https://hsqeconsultancy.co.uk/checking-your-employer-has-made-a-riddor-report/
There should have been an investigation in your company to see what happened and if it could have been prevented and if new measures need to be put in place to ensure no one else is hurt.
I would definitely start with your union. This is an area they will have a lot of expertise in. Health and safety is one of their core functions.
I would write down a time line of events of the incident and your care and the after effects to prepare for any conversations.

This is so helpful. Thank you all.

If you are still in pain 6 months later should you not be questioning and focusing your medical care as a priority. Are you/ have you got proper care at the fracture clinic and recovery support - its unusual for a fracture to be painful 6 months in- and I say this as someone who had a very nasty ankle break.

You do know that people are able to both get medical treatment and bring a claim for personal injury at the same time?! They aren't mutually exclusive.

Failing to recover as anticipated is often a driver for people bringing a claim.

I've read thousands of orthopaedic reports in my time. Quite a large minority of people suffer beyond 6 months.

Basically any fracture except to fingers, thumbs & toes are RIDDOR reportable.

So there are two things I can see.

The incident that caused you to run, was there anything that caused that incident that could have been foreseen, was it caused by someone not doing something safely etc. if so you may have a claim.

Then the uneven ground. Why was it uneven, whose responsibility was that.

@Bluelagoondrmr it's really not as straightforward as that, and as @NoWordForFluffy pointed out, I can do both things.

It's also not as straightforward as a fracture taking longer to heal/being more severe than another type of injury. Separately from this, I've had 3 bad ankle injuries and hospital staff actually commented that a fracture would probably have healed more quickly. Anyway, I digress. There are several complicating factors here. The MRI of my injury showed small tears in my tendons around the fracture (tendinosis), which my research (admittedly Dr Google) indicated can only be healed by rest. Unfortunately, my ability to rest it was hindered by the fact I'm a single mum and have young kids with additional needs. My GP referred me to a physio for advice, who didn't seem to know the difference between tendinosis and tendonitis, and gave me exercises to do. Another issue is that I should have been given amended duties on my return to work, but this wasn't possible due to severe staffing issues.

I will write down a timeline of events and contact the union and see what they think. Already seeing the gp about the pain this week and trying to take it easy when possible.

Then the uneven ground. Why was it uneven, whose responsibility was that This is key, uneven because not maintained by employer vs uneven because you or your colleague had just put something there vs uneven because it was outdoors near large trees, etc.