I want to make an electrocuted at work claim, although the accident at work happened 8 months ago. Will I still be entitled to make a claim? I still cannot return to work and my sick pay has just run out.
You still have time to make an electrocuted at work claim, as the Statute of Limitations in Ireland allows two years for a personal injury claim to be made from the date on which an injury occurred, although it is important for you to seek legal advice from a personal injury solicitor as soon as possible.
When you first speak with a solicitor you will need to explain the nature of the injuries you sustained, the circumstances under which the accident occurred and the actions you took after sustaining your injury. A solicitor will ask a number of questions to try to establish whether your employer was negligent and if the accident involved a breach in the duty of care.
A solicitor should be in a position to tell you if you are entitled to claim compensation for being electrocuted at work against your employer’s liability insurance policy on the first call, although the right to take legal action cannot be confirmed until the case has been fully investigated. In order for you to successfully claim compensation for being electrocuted at work, your case must be supported by evidence of employer negligence and your chosen solicitor would collect this on your behalf if you are unable to.
When an employee is injured in an accident at work and is required to take more than three days consecutive leave, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) must be notified about the accident. The HSA does not investigate all accidents, although in your case an inspection of your work premises may have been conducted due to the severity of the injuries you sustained and the nature of the accident.
The HSA will look for any breach in health and safety legislation, and the report issued by HSA inspectors can be used as proof of employer negligence to support your case, along with an accident book report (if completed after the accident) and statements taken from work colleagues and eye-witnesses to the accident.
If a good body of evidence can be collected to establish your employer´s negligence, it should be possible to make a work injury claim for electrocution against your employer’s insurance policy and for you to receive financial recompense for your injury, in addition to recovering any costs and expenses you have incurred due to the accident, including lost earnings until you are able to return to work.
It may take several months before compensation is recovered, so it is important that your electrocuted at work claim is prepared and sent to the Injuries Board as soon as possible to ensure you recover damages in the shortest possible time frame.
If you are under financial pressure due to the accident, your solicitor may be able to make an application to the courts to release a proportion of compensation before your work injury claim for electrocution has been resolved. You should discuss the possibility of receiving interim payments of work injury compensation with your solicitor once the right to claim has been confirmed.