How to Claim Compensation for Hand Injury in Factory Accident
This article explains some of the reasons why you might – or might not – be entitled to compensation for hand injury in factory accident and the procedures you should follow after sustaining a hand injury in an accident at work to support a factory accident hand injury claim for compensation.
A brief explanation of how to claim for injured hand in work accident is also included; however, as no two claims for hand injuries in factory are identical, it is always in your best interests to discuss the specific circumstances of your work injury with a solicitor at the earliest practical opportunity.
Your first priority should always be your health and, if you have not already done so, you should seek professional medical treatment for your injured hand. No amount of factory accident injured hand compensation will ever make up for a long term health issue which could have been avoided by prompt medical attention and, to support your claim for suffering a hand injury in accident in factory, you will need a doctor to complete the Injuries Board Medical Assessment Form B.
Claims for Hand Injuries in Factory and the Duty of Care of Employers
In order to be eligible to claim compensation for hand injury in factory accident, you must have sustained an injury to your hand which could have been prevented had your employer – or other person with responsibility for your health and safety – fulfilled his or her duty of care to provide you with a safe environment in which to work.
An employer´s “duty of care” covers all his or her responsibilities to prevent a hand injury wherever possible, and would include performing risk assessments to identify predictable hazards, providing training and supervision, and supplying personal protective equipment where necessary to eliminate the risk of an employee sustaining a hand injury at work.
Should an employer fail in their duty of care to eliminate the risk of an injury, and you subsequently suffer an injury to your hand as a result, you should be entitled to make a factory accident hand injury claim for compensation. It should be noted, however, that an employer´s duty of care is not “absolute” and, if your hand is injured in an accident at work which could not have been foreseen, claims for hand injuries in factory are unlikely to be successful.
Reporting Injured hand Factory Accidents
It is important that your injured hand factory accident is recorded in your employer´s “Accident Report Book”. Although a copy of this report is not sent to the Injuries Board when applying for an assessment of compensation for hand injury in factory accident, reporting an injured hand work accident may initiate a Health and Safety Authority (HSA) investigation which could establish your employer´s liability in your claim for suffering a hand injury in accident in factory.
If liability can be established before making claims for hand injuries in factory, it should speed up the Injuries Board process or may enable a solicitor acting on your behalf to negotiate a settlement of factory accident injured hand compensation without the need for witness statements or photographic evidence of your employer´s negligence.
If your hand injury is so severe that you are unable to report your accident – or your employer fails to give you access to the Accident Report Book – you should speak with a solicitor at the first possible opportunity. Injured hand accidents in factories can be reported online at the HSA web site, but you will need an approval code to use the service and it may be a lot simpler for a solicitor to generate a report on your behalf and then use it in support of a factory accident hand injury claim for compensation.
Procedures for Claiming Factory Accident Injured Hand Compensation
The most commonly used procedure for claiming factory accident injured hand compensation is to submit an application for assessment to the Injuries Board. Your application can be completed on a paper form or online, but must be submitted with a medical practitioner´s report containing details of your hand injury. Receipts for any expenses you have incurred which are directly attributable to the work accident should also be attached to your application.
The Injuries Board´s role is only to assess how much compensation for hand injury in factory accident you are entitled to, and not establish liability for the injury you sustained. Therefore, the Injuries Board will write to your employer asking for consent to proceed with an assessment of your factory accident hand injury claim for compensation, and only continue once that consent has been received – effectively when your employer has admitted his liability for the injury to your hand.
Thereafter you may have to undergo an independent medical examination to ascertain the severity of your injured hand and the Injuries Board will then send you and your employer a “Notice of Assessment” which – if both you and your employer agree to – is followed by an “Order to Pay” factory compensation for your hand. If either your employer denies his consent for the Injuries Board to assess your claim for suffering a hand injury in accident in factory, or neither party agrees on how much compensation for hand injury in factory accident you are entitled to, the Injuries Board will issue you with an authorisation to pursue your claim for injured hand in work accident through the courts.
Contributory Negligence and Factory Accidents
One of the reasons why consent to assess your claim for injured hand in work accident may be withheld from the Injuries Board is if you are considered to have been partly responsible for the cause of the accident in the factory or the extent of your hand injury. The Injuries Board will only assess claims for hand injuries in factory in which total liability is admitted and, if you have contributed to your injury, the Injuries Board will have no option but to issue you with an authorisation to pursue your factory accident hand injury claim for compensation in court.
Court action may be a last resort when making a claim for suffering a hand injury in accident in factory, as it may also be possible to negotiate a settlement with your employer´s liability insurers where you accept a percentage responsibility for your injury and that percentage is then deducted from how much compensation for hand injury in factory accident your claim is settled for. Without legal representation, negotiating the value of factory accident injured hand compensation directly with an insurance company is not a good idea.
One element of contributory negligence which is sometimes overlooked is if you contributed to the extent of the injury to your hand by failing to seek timely professional medical attention. Some people who injure their hand at work foolishly attempt to work through the pain – exacerbating their injury and jeopardising their entitlement to compensation for hand injury in factory accident. If this has happened to you, you should speak with a solicitor about whether you still have a claim for injured hand in work accident which would be worth pursuing.
Get Legal Advice About Your Accident
You do not need a solicitor in order to make claims for hand injuries in factory, but you would be strongly recommended to do so. In addition to acting as a go-between between yourself and your employer, and dealing with any complications that could arise while making a claim for injured hand in work accident, a solicitor has the experience to ensure you receive your full entitlement to factory accident injured hand compensation- whether your claim for suffering a hand injury in accident in factory is resolved via the Injuries Board, by negotiation with your employer´s insurers or through court action.
Most solicitors will offer a free assessment of your factory accident hand injury claim for compensation if you have sustained an injury in factory accident for which you were not entirely to blame, and provide you with answers to any questions you may have in regard to your eligibility to claim compensation for hand injury in factory accident. As it is often in your best interest to have evidence collected in support of your claim for injured hand in work accident while it is still fresh, it is recommended that you speak with a solicitor about the circumstances of your factory hand injury in a work accident without hesitation.