Employers and employees have obligations within a workplace with respect to safety.
Accidents in a factory setting with heavy machinery and deadlines can occur quite commonly.
Employers have a common law duty of care to employees in the workplace.
Section 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act states :
8.—(1) Every employer shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of his or her employees.
An employee has a duty to take take reasonable care to protect his or her own safety.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2016 updates the occupational health and safety framework in Ireland.
Reporting of Accidents
The legislation sets timeframes for reporting accidents to the health and safety authority which change if the matter is fatal or non-fatal.
Keeping Records
There is a requirement for an employer to keep a record of a dangerous occurrence.
The Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act 2005 provides for a regulatory framework for the safety, health, and welfare of workers.
It set outs the general duties of employers, duties of an employee, requirements for training / instruction, risk assessments, duties with respect to protective and preventative measures etc.
Legal Process
If a person considers they were injured in a factory accident due to employer negligence, they can obviously attend with their solicitor for a case assessment review.
The law will then be applied to the facts and person obtains a legal opinion on the matter.
Many employment contracts have no provision for illness pay, and a person can be left with earnings losses and medical bills which need to be dealt with. In cases where a person only has the option of legal recourse, an employer will have denied liability and/or the bills payments accrued due to the injury sustained.
Employees should also know that under Section 6 (2) (c) of the Unfair Dismissal Act 1977, as amended, the dismissal of an employee shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be an unfair dismissal if it results wholly or mainly from one or more of the following:
(c) civil proceedings whether actual, threatened or proposed against the employer to which the employee is or will be a party or in which the employee was or is likely to be a witness.
Here is a post about the personal injuries board process.
Kieran Cleary and Roger Cleary, Personal Injury Solicitors can help with questions you may have regarding negligence, liability, case viability etc. and our numbers are (01) 546 1121 or (052) 612 1999 or our email address is info@clearysolicitors.com
Disclaimer
Please be advised that the above-mentioned material is intended as an overview and as a broad outline of the topic discussed. It should not be considered as complete and comprehensive legal advice, nor act as an appropriate substitute.
Due care has been taken in the publication of this article and we do not accept legal liability as a result of reliance on any material covered in the above article.
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