If you have an accident on your way to work, can you make a claim? Generally, no, but if you are on a path classed as a way into your workplace, and perhaps you suffer a nasty slip, then yes, you might be eligible to make a claim for personal injury compensation if your employers have been negligent in some way.
The Regulations
In terms of the Regulations a 'workplace' is classed as any place within a premises to which you have access while at work; including any room, lobby, corridor and staircase.
The Regulations also cover any road or other place used as a means of access to or egress from that place of work or where facilities are provided for use in connection with the place of work other than a public road.
While the Regulations cover you in the areas within your work's premises including any room, lobby, corridor and stairs, there are also other areas where the Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 apply.
For example if you were attending another work's premises in the course of your employment the Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations would apply to any accident which occurred in those premises. The Regulations only apply if you are attending such premises for the purposes of your employment and would not for example apply to a member of the public who had an accident while shopping in a supermarket.
Domiciliary care – who looks after the carers?
The Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 do not apply within domestic premises and therefore could not be used for anyone who was injured while in the course of their employment working within domestic premises.
However, carers who work for the NHS, Local Authorities, or specialist agencies in order to provide home care services are unlikely to be employed solely as 'domestic workers' and therefore the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) may well be applied in the event of a personal injury accident.
Further, if the carer has received specialist training, or the delivery of care involves complex procedures, such as use of life-support or palliative care equipment, then HSWA may well apply.
Separate workplace rules for certain industries
The Regulations also do not apply to a workplace which is in or on a ship and the Regulations cannot be used where the only activities being undertaken are building operations or works of engineering constructions.
The rule of thumb is that each claim will be treated on a case by case basis and the individual circumstances of an incident will be examined by your personal injury solicitor before compensation is pursued.
Thompsons Solicitors in Scotland have many years' experience in this field and believe each accident victim deserves to be heard if their injuries could and should have been prevented.
If you feel you have been injured at work and would like to talk to Thompsons about making a workplace accident claim, then contact us today. You can call us directly, or fill in an online claim form so that we can call you back – just use the buttons at the bottom right-hand side of this page.
