Checklist For an Accident at Work

We are regularly instructed by clients who have been injured due to an accident in a workplace setting.  The accidents often occur across a wide range of locations across both Northern Ireland.  The circumstances and the severity of the injuries can be wide-ranging.

Sometimes the circumstances can be straightforward and limited steps can be taken to establish the position on liability.  In other cases more extensive enquiries are required to properly establish the position on liability.  Often the initial steps we require to take are the same regardless of the severity or the degree of the injury.

At the initial consultation with our client we will generally require information on a number of matters.  We will often work through a list of matters and we find that it helps to provide some clients with a general checklist to assist with their understanding of the process and to provide practical and understandable information on what we require from them.

Report it

You should report the incident to your employer as soon as possible.  Your employer will record details of the accident in an accident book.  This is part of standard health and safety procedure required in a workplace.  If there is no procedure in place you short report the accident to your health and safety officer.

If it’s an accident at work, record it in the Accident Book with as much detail as possible. This is standard health and safety procedure in most workplaces, and someone should follow it up. But don’t expect the procedure to be automatically activated, or expect someone else to do it. Do your best to make sure it is recorded, with times, dates, location and other details of your injury. If there’s no Accident Book, report it to the health and safety officer verbally or in writing. You never know, this could be a recurring health and safety issue, so do some research to see if there is any history of previous accidents in similar circumstances.

Record it

You should make a contemporaneous note of times, dates and any other details of your accident and your injury.

Photos

Photographs of the locus which include the area where the accident occurred and any defects in the area.

Statement

A full statement from the client to include the time and date of the accident, location, the circumstances and any witnesses.  The circumstances of the accident requires to include specific detail on a number of matters and we will assist the client with drafting the statement.  We will often draft the initial statement or assist with updated an initial statement to ensure that all of the required information is included.

Witnesses

we will require to identify any witnesses to the accident and in some cases we may require a statement from them, particularly if liability is contested.

Obtain medical records

We will ask you to sign an authority which we will send to your GP and any hospital you attended in respect of your injury.  Your medical notes will be sent to us in return.

At PA Duffy Solicitors we have the expertise to assist with all accident matters. Please contact Seanin Somerville who will be happy to assist.