Apprentices are at greater risk of an accident at work injury than the average worker.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a public body with responsibility for the regulation and enforcement of workplace health, young workers aged 16 to 24 continue to have the highest injury rate of any age group.
For apprentices, those on work experience, or people new to work, the risk of being seriously hurt is real. The most common non-fatal injury kind are slips, trips and falls.
Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure you are protected from any risks that are associated with your role and the environment you work in. Part of this responsibility is to ensure that you receive the full and correct training and supervision in order to prevent avoidable injuries at work.
Every apprentice should feel safe and happy in their working environment and should never be asked to carry out an activity without proper training. Apprentices should be told about potential dangers in the workplace, instructed how to complete potentially hazardous tasks and supervised appropriately.
Arrange a call back
Health & Safety
Responsible employers will go the extra mile to protect apprentices from workplace accidents and avoid accident at work compensation claims.
Employers have a duty to protect apprentices and take special precautions to ensure their safety. Under the law employers are required to:
- Provide apprentices with health and safety training.
- Carry out a risk assessment before apprentices start work.
- Ensure apprentices are protected from risks that are a consequence of their lack of experience.
- Ensure apprentices feel safe in their working environment.
- Ensure apprentices are not put in dangerous situations or asked to do something risky without proper training.
- Ensure appropriate health and safety management systems remain in place.
Apprentice Accidents at Work – How to Claim Compensation
If an apprentice is injured in an accident at work, they may be eligible to make a personal injury claim. They’ll need to show that their employer breached their duty of care and that this led to the accident.
Compensation may include general damages for pain and special damages for unexpected costs, such as medical bills, loss of income, and travel costs.
Liability for an accident, or figuring out who is to blame, can vary depending on the circumstances.
If the accident was caused by something beyond your control, such as:
- faulty equipment
- inadequate training
- a lack of on-site safety procedures
- obstructions
- articles or substances which may cause you to slip, trip or fall,
- working platforms not being of suitable size, strength and construction for the purposes for which it is intended
- lack of appropriate PPE, then your employer could be liable.
If you were negligent or partly responsible for the accident or injury, you may still be able to make a claim for compensation, if, for example:
- you were asked to carry out a task and were not provided with sufficient training
- you injured yourself using machinery which you were either not instructed to use or had been inadequately trained
- you failed to use the PPE provided or failed to use it correctly because you were not reminded to do so or how to do so
Apprentice who broke ankle awarded compensation after employer failed to provide safe environment
Our client, a trainee apprentice, was awarded compensation after breaking his ankle while working on a construction site.
The apprentice joiner was 17 at the time of the workplace injury and had only been with the firm for three months when he was left with another 17-year-old to complete “work they should not have been doing” without supervision.
He slipped and fell when lifting and passing wooden joists up scaffolding to his fellow worker when he caught his footing.
During the six weeks he spent recovering he did not receive sick pay from the firm and was unable to complete his college studies in the school year.
The teenager was eventually awarded almost £10,000 in compensation after his employer admitted liability in an out-of-court settlement.
The case succeeded as the employer had a duty of care to ensure the apprentice was provided with a safe system and place of work and on this occasion had breached their duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
Read More: Apprentice awarded £10,000 for workplace accident
What type of accidents at work can I claim for?
Your employer has a legal obligation to make sure your workplace is safe, which means that everything from the equipment you use to the training you receive must be up-to-date and in line with health and safety standards.
If these standards are not met and it results in an accident or injury at work, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Examples are:
Slips, trips, or falls: Due to absent or loose handrails, loose floor coverings, wet floors, a lack of warning signs, inadequate lighting or obstructions left in walkways.
Inadequate training: Your employer has a legal responsibility to ensure you are protected in your role which means you must receive full and correct training to prevent avoidable accidents and injuries, for example when using machinery or working at heights.
Manual handling: A lack of training or a failure to carry out risk assessments can lead to back, leg, arm and muscular injuries.
Building site injuries: Falls from scaffolding or platforms, serious cuts and/or bruises, being hit by vehicles on site, faulty tools or equipment causing injury, fractured bones, and chemical burns.
Farm accidents: Involving animals or machinery, exposure to hazardous substances or accidents involving slurry pits, stores, or silos.
Protective equipment claims: You must be given the right protective equipment (PPE) to protect you from injury when working in both hazardous and conventional working conditions. For example, a hard hat if there is a danger of falling objects, goggles to prevent eye damage and correct gloves to prevent injuries such as burns and lacerations.
Burns claims: Burns and scalds can happen in the workplace and can lead to significant injuries to your skin.
Do I qualify for an injury at work claim?
Generally speaking, you qualify for a claim if you are confident the accident at work was your employer’s fault.
If you think your employer failed in their responsibilities and this led to your injury at work, this can constitute grounds for a claim.
Even if the workplace accident was partially your fault, you may still be able to claim.
Although your actions may have contributed to the situation, if the primary fault lies with another party whose actions were the root cause of the accident, then you will likely still qualify for an accident at work claim.
There is a time limit for making a claim for compensation, so talk to us as soon as possible.
Find out more: Experts in Accidents & Injury at Work Claims
