To make a successful claim against your employer for an injury sustained due to defective equipment, you must establish several things:
- Your employer failed in their duty of care. This could be by supplying you with equipment which was in a poor state of repair, or which was not suited to the job.
- Their failure caused your injury. You suffered your injuries as a direct consequence of the defective equipment.
- The injuries and losses that you are claiming for are reasonable. In that they followed on from the accident and they are not excessive or speculative.
Employers have legal duties which require them to keep their workers as safe as possible in their place of work. In relation to the equipment they supply to their workers, they must:
- Make sure equipment is suited to the task at hand.
- Keep equipment properly maintained and in good condition.
- Monitor how equipment is used and maintained.
- Train workers in the correct use of the equipment.
- Conduct regular risk assessments.
If your employer has failed to do any of these, and you’ve suffered an injury as a result, you will have strong grounds to make a compensation claim.
