Accident at work - advice needed

[MetalLaLa]

Posting on behalf of my DH for some general advice about what to do. He was hurt in an accident at work today involving a large moving item being driven into him, hurting his back and pushing him into something, effectively nearly crushing him. It's been established it wasn't his fault and his manager was notified as the people who caused the accident denied it, despite witnesses. However, my DH has now developed quite severe back pain and is starting to develop a large bruise where he was hurt. No log of the accident has been made at his workplace, but what should he do now in terms of getting the accident logged and the fact he has been left in pain? He isn't back at work until Monday so any advice would be appreciated

Has he see a doctor, he may well have internal injuries

That should be your priority right now

He sould see a doctor. Both to check out his injuries and get the right treatment, and to document the nature of the injuries to help documentation at work on Monday.

On Monday, he should meet with his manager and explain the injuries, and ask what the next steps are regarding logging the incident in the accident book, notifying the HSE if applicable etc.

If he is not well enough to attend work on Monday, he should have the same conversation by telephone.

What happens from there will depend in the severity of his injuries and the response he gets from his manager. Even if his injuries are minor, the incident still needs to be recorded and investigated properly so that steps can be taken to minimise the chance of it happening again.

I hope he isn't in too much pain and that he recovers quickly.

I agree. He needs medical review. Are you SURE his manager hasn't logged the incident in some way. That seems very unusual to me given the severity of what you describe.

He should see a doctor.

Doctor/ooh first off!

The accident should have been logged on the accident book. This is law. He needs to speak to his manager, or higher. If they continue to deny it, the report to HSE.

Has he had any time off work because of it? More than 3 (I think) days makes it notifiable to HSE. Has he had any medical treatment - again notifiable.

Sounds like his employer is trying to shirk his responsibilities.

Above all your DH needs a medical exam.

Thanks for the replies. He's on the phone as we speak to 111 for medical advice as our GP is closed already and there isn't a walk in centre in our area. He's had some ibuprofen gel on it and it's helped the ache a little but at least he's getting some proper advice. Definitely making him query it with his manager on Monday and we've taken some photos of the bruising.

The accident may be RIDDOR reportable.

Follow this link and scroll down to "Crush Injuries" - if your DH has internal bruising the accident must be reported.

Regardless of RIDDOR reporting the accident must be logged in the works accident book. Did DH seek first aid?

www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/reportable-incidents.htm

He didnt seek first aid but we are currently sat in the a&e dept waiting to be seen by a dr next. Everything should be ok but he's definitely getting on to his work about this next week.

How is he?

Just got home, he's just bruised and nothing broken or internally damaged thankfully. Thanks for all your advice

Wow, poor guy. This sounds horrible.

So mangers definitely know the incident occurred? Perhaps they assume the first aider had written it in?

His line manager definitely knows but to our knowledge no proper record has been made, but DH is making sure it us noted on Monday. He's feeling very happy he has MN sympathy

Very glad your husband isn't worse, and I'm sure his employer will be very relieved. Hopefully he'll be back to normal soon, but he must make a careful report of the accident anyway. RIDDOR rules are a bit of a red herring at this stage... Accident reports should be done ASAP after the accident. Anyone who thinks they can tell a RIDDOR reportable injury at the time of an accident must have a medical team, an MRI scanner and a bloody crystal ball. Best practice is to record ALL accidents and incidents so you're prepared if any of them turn out to be serious.

Even if the manager reports the accident, it is essential that your husband puts his side. With the best will in the world, his manager didn't see it from your husbands angle. With a bit of luck, other witnesses will report it in their own words too. That way you end up with a detailed picture of how the situation arose. Good employers use these to review their risk assessments and risk management strategies... Make no mistake, accident reports save lives... Maybe your husband's next time! Bad employers get shafted in legal proceedings by accident reports, because where they're not used to improve and maintain good H&S protocols, they just show up an employer's disregard for their legal responsibility to their employees.

Is your husband in a union? If so, he should get in touch with them as soon as possible. Hopefully they have a H&S rep on site to investigate the scene of the accident, inspect the risk assessments and risk management plan, and talk to witnesses. They will also be able to help him get all pertinent details into his accident report: who was there? what was each person doing? Was there a risk management plan? Was it followed? Who was responsible, overall, for the operation? How was first aid managed? None of this necessarily points to blame, but if there were any mistakes made, they need to be identified, or they're going to be repeated.

Sandthorn, thanks for the really helpful post. Unfortunately he isn't in a union, but he is aware of what to do tomorrow and to discreetly speak to his manager about the next steps as he is still in some noticeable pain two days on. The people who directly caused the accident actually had the audacity to have a go at my DH and were extremely defensive so at this point I don't know what will happen when he reports it properly that he had to go to hospital to be checked out.