Many More Industries and Accident Claims

We hope all your blog readers have enjoyed the posts about working on construction sites and hopefully we’ve highlighted some potential dangers and hazards that might have led to a personal injury claim or compensation claim.

There are many other industries where accidents can happen and we will be writing about these in the next few weeks. Is there a particular industry that you would like us to write about? Maybe you work in an industry and want to highlight the issues about health and safety and any potential or actual accident claim?

We would love to hear from you, so post your comments below.

School Fire Alarms and Students

The personal safety of students and staff is important to everyone who enters a school building. There is a need to make sure that every person knows the escape routes and the quickest way out. One concern can always be students at the top floor of a school building have to exit quickly as there would be no other options. This is why fire doors are used within large buildings to contain a fire as much as possible and prevent it spreading across an entire floor.

Students, especially younger children are prone to panicking more and therefore the need for a calm and efficient exit of a building is essential to avoid accidents or falls. Teachers will be well practiced in keeping students calm and getting them to move along quickly to avoid an accident or compensation claim.

Office Fires and Preventing Accident Claim

Office working environments differ from construction sites and in the majority of cases employees should exit the building as soon as possible, rather than trying to fight the fire or extinguish it. As part of inductions, employees are shown where to go in the event of a fire and the nearest fire escape route.

Often office floors can have lots of different office partitions making it even more boxed off and people all trying to get through the main doors. If done correctly, staff can still exit the building without causing an accident that might result in an accident claim.

Often offices are connected through to the local fire station. As soon as the alarm is activated, the fire service is also alerted. In training exercises they are pre-warned to prevent an unnecessary call out

Transfer Dumper Trucks and Accident Claims

Transfer Dump Trucks
The transfer dump truck is a standard dump truck which then pulls a separate trailer which can be loaded with construction materials like aggregate. These include gravel, sand, wood chips etc). The separate container is powered by either an electric, pneumatic motor or hydraulic line. Transfer trucks are typically seen in the US though as the weight restrictions on Western highways.

Truck and Pup
This is similar to the transfer dump but unlike the transfer has its own hydraulic ram and is capable of self-unloading.

These are just some of the dumper trucks that can be seen on the roads and within construction sites. Any operator using either the transfer dump or the truck and pup needs to know what they are doing and the correct way to load and unload the trucks. This is important as overloading may cause the truck to tip over or cause another accident which might result in an accident claim or personal injury.

Reduce Accident Claim With Dumper Trucks

Due to level of accidents and personal injury that can occur with dumper truck accidents there is a huge emphasis on controlling the risk and making sure hazards are reduced as much as possible to avoid an accident claim.

Gradients: Check and plan out the work so that dumpers are used only on gradients that are within their safe working capacity. It is important to check this with the manufacturer of the dumper to clarify the safe gradient levels.

Competence: Arrange for the dumpers to only be driven by competent and trained operators.

Safety: It is important that the dumpers are provided with the rollover protection and that drivers must wear seatbelts when operating the machinery.

Loading: Loads must be evenly distributed

Vision and views: The driver operating the dumper must have clear vision and that the load does not obstruct the drivers view

Edges and existing holes: Make sure that the dumper can stop at a safe distance from excavation pits and any spoil heaps to prevent the dumper falling when tipping into the pits. This can be done with wheel stops to make sure the dumper can stop and reduce any potential accident claim.

Controlling The Risks of Excavation

As we have seen in the previous post there is potential for an accident to happen on a construction site when excavations are happening.  Thankfully to avoid a personal injury claim on site there are ways in which the risks can be minimised and controlled.

Exclusion – Sounds an obvious one but people should be kept away from areas where excavations are in operation. This can be done by using barriers. A pedestrian exclusion zone should be created with barriers and tape to make sure pedestrians are kept away.

Visibility – When carrying out any excavation work the excavator needs the best view around them and the driver needs to have as much clear vision as possible when operating the excavator.

Clearance area – When slewing in a confined area a minimum tail swing should be used and is preferred. Clearance needs to be over 0.5m between any part of the machine.

Signaller – This is an important job which can minimise risk. The signaller should be in a safe place to direct the excavator operations and be aware and notify pedestrians in time for them to vacate the area.

Attachments and Bucket attachments – these need to be secured as a number of deaths have occurred when the bucket has fallen from the machine.

All of these are potential risks and can be easily implemented to ensure safety on a construction site or anywhere when excavations are taking place and avoid a personal injury claim.

Excavation Safety and Personal Injury Claims

There are several hazards associated with excavations and there are three main areas which can cause fatal and serious injuries. These tend to be when the excavator is either;

Moving – this could involve striking a pedestrian when reversing. An employee might be aware to look out for machinery, but a member of the public might not be aware to look out for the truck

Slewing – which involves someone (an employee or member of the public) becoming trapped between the excavator and a fixed structure or the vehicle

Working – this can occur when the moving bucket or other attachment strikes a pedestrian or if any attachments fall from the excavator machinery.

All the above are examples of excavator hazards that can happen on a construction site. There are ways in which the risks can be controlled to avoid an accident claim and these are looked at in the next few posts.

Answers To Excavation Quiz

Did you guess correctly?

The point that contractors do not need to consider when planning excavation work is....

Weather conditions

All of the other points are critical and although weather is an important factor for any building work it is not a main essential point. If any of the other points were overlooked this might result in a personal injury claim or accident claim.

Excavations and Accident Claim Quiz

Health and safety processes are vital to protect the general public and workers during excavation work. If the processes are followed this can ensure everyone is safe and although there may still be an accident claim, these will be reduced.

Which one of these is not a consideration for contractors before they start work on excavations?

Ground conditions

Underground structures

Water courses

Existing foundations for other buildings

Weather conditions for excavating

Personal Injury Claims - Working At Height

Working at height does not always have to involve outdoors construction and building works. There are many professions or roles within a certain job that require employees to work off ground level . It might not be the heights of a building site, but standing on a platform can result in the potential of falling off and the possibility for a personal injury claim Nottingham.

If you think about those jobs from lighting through to hanging signs and banners indoors. All of these will require some kind of platform to stand on. The temptation is there to grab a chair to change a bulb when it will take longer to get a ladder.

Heating and cooling engineers also have to work at heights to inspect pipes and heating and cooling systems. This may involve a scaffold tower and safety gear if the pipes are high off the floor. In some instances ceiling suspension is also an option with the right equipment that will enable a person to be suspended from a ceiling rather than walking on something although can only work if the correct safety precautions are adopted to avoid an accident claim.

Slips and Trips On A Construction Site

A construction site that is based in a city centre like Birmingham, Coventry or Nottingham has other considerations to make sure that slips, trips or falls are monitored. Any accidents may well result in a personal injury claim Nottingham.

If this has not been planned effectively, deliveries to a city centre construction site can also cause problems. Supplies like hazardous chemicals, bricks and glass will need to be delivered straight onto the site and not left outside the construction site under any circumstances from a practical, logistical and cost effective angle aswell as health and safety of the public as any items that are loose may run the risk of falling onto the general public. There should be a designated area for deliveries to keep the volume of delivery traffic onsite to a minimum.

Workers that are working on a construction site need to be aware of cabling when using power tools. The preferred option is cordless tools to avoid the risk of tripping over electrical cables that are powering the tools. If you are drilling and generating dust there is a good chance that the dust will cover the floor and then cover the cabling, which is not visible will become a trip hazard and this might result in an accident claim.

Construction Site Slips and Trip Accident Claim

The system of processes and health and safety policies on a construction site are important and vital. There is a need to make sure every worker knows the regulations and how to deal with potential hazards and a slip or trip in any environment can lead to injury and may result in compensation claims.

Uneven and slippery surfaces can cause problems on a site. As a project develops and grows the site layout changes. Therefore, designated walkways are essential to make sure employees can work around the site without injury. If carrying water or a substance that is likely to make an area slippy make sure that any slips are either mopped up, highlighted with warning signs, or highlighted to an appropriate person to make the necessary arrangements.

Level changes are also another hazard that can cause a trip or fall if not monitored. As the construction develops there will be a need to add fixtures and fittings such as doorways, window frames and steps if building a house or office block. If a floor has been raised, or a doorway fitted that might cause a trip as the height difference is not obvious consider highlighting the area with warning tape, boards or even cones if needed.

If these are not highlighted and someone falls over a doorframe or slips on some water this might result in an accident claim.

Different Construction Site Locations

A construction site is a very busy place and can involve a lot of traffic - both people and machinery. The location of the site is also important as both construction workers and pedestrians will need to protected and made aware of the potential dangers.

A site can be based within a busy city centre and therefore extra care is needed. For example, a busy area like Birmingham or Nottingham will have lots of people and transport passing through an area. It might only take one gate to be left open for an unauthorised person to enter or a pole to fall from a height and this might cause injury that might lead to a personal injury claim Nottingham.

Construction sites can also be in close vacinity to a school and a construction site looks like a very tempting place to play to a child. This is why the sites are locked up securely in the evenings and also access to the site via ladders or scaffolding is removed so that no-one can enter the site without permission and the relevant safety training.

Business parks and retail parks are also places where building sites are common place. This is often due to the retail park expanding and more business space needed. If you imagine that although this is not as populated as a city centre there is still need for caution. If you consider that the existing businesses will still be in close proximity to the construction site. Anyone who doesn't know the dangers might run the risk of causing injury if the site was not secure and this may lead to an accident claim.

Working On A Construction Site: Slips and Trips

We are all aware that slips and trips can happen anywhere from the home, office or during recreation. In some cases these accidents can be avoided with the right notifications. If there is a potential for a slip and nothing has been highlighted then the trip may well result in an accident claim. Some accidents can put people off work for weeks and they are not able to do their job effectively and therefore will need some form of compensation.

Working on a construction site is no different, but there is a higher risk of a slip, trip or fall. This is because different grounds can be uneasy or become slippy. Workers will be concentrating on the job and may not be focusing on the potential hazards. Also workers are dealing with heavy machinery, cabling and lots of equipment on a construction site. That coupled with the noise of working on a site can cause problems as if something slides off a vehicle or becomes loose workers might not see it until they step over, or fall over it.

The key to a safe working environment on a construction site is the ability to move around safely. There is also emphasis on workers being responsible for safety aswell. If someone sees a potential hazard they should be able to fix it or report to the appropriate person.

The next few blog posts will be looking and the potential of slips and trips on a construction site. Some of these may lead to potential compensation claims if there is an accident resulting in injury.

Fraudulent Whiplash Accident Claims

There are a huge amount of insurance claims made every year for road accidents and 70% of these are for whiplash. In 2010 there were 554,000 of these claims. It would be unfair to say that many of these claims were fraudulent because whiplash can be a very serious problem and many people are deserving of the compensation from an accident claim. However, in 2010 over 100,000 fraudulent claims were detected costing almost £1 billion.

Whiplash is a very popular choice of claim for those looking to take advantage of the system. As a medical condition it is very difficult to diagnose or disprove so in many cases it forces the system to give you the benefit of the doubt. It can be caused by almost any kind of car accident from a proper crash to a little bump.

This type of fraud has become very popular with the upsurge in personal injury claims companies offering no win no fee services. This makes it difficult for would be fraudsters to turn down the opportunity since they really have nothing to lose and stand to make some easy money. It has been known that people intentionally get into small road accidents so that they can claim or in some cases just make the accident up completely.

The Daily Mail recently reported that a company had been actively encouraging this sort of claim to customers with no intention of making a claim by “reminding them and suggesting to them that they may have whiplash”.

The government and relative authorities are in discussions about what to do about this serious fraud problem and are looking at raising the bar on what is good enough evidence for a whiplash accident claim.

Safety Guidelines: Working On A Construction Site

Working in the office has a few hazards that might result in an accident claim. However, alot of the accidents might be avoided if employees take responsibility for actions and follow the Health and Safety Guidelines. Simple processes like closing drawers, wiping up spills and general awareness of your own welfare can have a big impact. We all know not to run down the stairs or carry boxes that are too heavy or bulky when a lift is available.

Working on a building site or construction site requires additional care and attention for the employee and ensuring those also working on the site are protected. There are several aspects of organising the site to ensure safety of those working on, visiting, or nearby to the site. Some of these include the following examples:

Site Organisation - this looks at traffic management, materials storage, protecting the public by making sure that no unauthorised persons can enter the site and also includes the areas of staff welfare.

Working at Height - Assessing the work, looking at the different types of work like roof work and potential hazards, the use of using ladders or scaffolding.

Structural stability - Looking at structures and the potential of structural collaspe that might happen during alterations, demolition and dismantling.

Fire and Electricity - The use of electrical machines and working with power supplies is part of the job on a construction site aswell as overhead and underground cables. This risk, coupled with the potential fire risk and working with combustible materials is important to plan for on a construction site to avoid any potential personal injury claim that might be placed.

Compensation Claims Case Study: Back Injury at Work

The Claimant worked as a heavy goods vehicle driver with one of his responsibilities being to remove goods transported in metal cages. The cages contained an assortment of parcels and boxes and he was moving one of the cages using a pump truck when he felt a sudden pain in his back, suffering an injury. The case argued that there was no system in place to determine how heavy the cage was and because of this unknown weight, the injury was sustained.

Compensation Claims Case Study: Whiplash from Car Bump

Suffering whiplash from a rear bump from a car can cause varying degrees of injuries depending on things such as how hard and fast your car is hit but many can result in an accident claim being made. This case study takes a look at a Leamington businessman’s compensation claim after suffering a personal injury when his vehicle was hit from behind by a car. This hit led to him suffering neck injuries and so began a no win, no fee compensation claim.