Electrical Accidents At Work

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Accidents at Work/Electrical Accidents

Electrical Accidents At Work

Electricity can cause very serious and even lethal accidents in the workplace. Every year, there are roughly 30 fatal accidents at work involving electricity as well as roughly 1000 less serious incidents. The risk is higher for people working outside or in wet conditions, but it is important to be aware of the risks of working with electrical equipment and to act carefully no matter your environment.

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  • I've never been in an accident before. I was hesitant about making a claim but First Personal Injury sorted it all out and explained everything.

    Mr Harris from Cornwall

Employer’s Duty of Care

Employers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees in the workplace by following health and safety regulations and precautions. Precautions include training employees about how to safely use and interact with electrical equipment. This includes never using equipment that has frayed cords, damaged insulation or broken plugs. Similarly, the tools that are used to work should always be insulated. Safety measures also include the provision of personal protective equipment where necessary, like electricity resistant gloves when interacting with electrical equipment.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) highlight which electricity-related incidents in the workplace have to be reported, which are:

  • Any work accident involving electricity that causes a serious accident
  • Any accident that results in a fatality or an injury serious enough that it prevents normal work for three days

What’s more, employees should report any electrical overload or short circuit that causes a fire or an explosion to happen, no matter if this incident results in injury to someone or not.

Amount of Compensation

All personal injury cases are unique and so the amount of compensation that is awarded in each case is also unique. Compensation is understood by looking at two specific factors: general damages and special damages.

GENERAL DAMAGES

The pain and suffering that your injuries have caused are main factors that are used to determine how much general damage compensation you are owed. This will usually be determined by undergoing a medical examination, from which a report is created that highlights the length of time the injuries will take to heal as well as their severity. Our compensation calculator will give you an indication of how much general damage compensation you might be entitled to based upon your injuries.

SPECIAL DAMAGES

In addition to receiving compensation for your injuries, you may be able to reclaim any financial losses that you might have suffered as a result of your injuries. Compensation for financial losses is known as special damages compensation. This can include losses such as loss of earnings due to not being able to return to work, the cost of treatment as well as travel to treatment. It is important that you keep any receipts or evidence of additional losses in order for these to be reclaimed.

With the exception of children, there is a three-year time limit on making a personal injury claim. This time limit begins from the date that the accident initially occurred. Therefore, you should contact a personal injury solicitor as soon as possible to assess your case.