What are the risks of vehicles in the workplace?
Any injury that is caused by coming into contact with a moving vehicle is likely to be serious.
According to the 2014/15 Health and Safety Executive provisional report of fatal workplace injuries, 16 employees died after suffering a workplace vehicle accident (with a further six who were self-employed) – which, in that year, comprised roughly 15% of all workplace fatalities and made it the second highest cause of work-related death after falls from height.
Different workplaces rely on different types of vehicles, but there are some sites and industries that are more dangerous than others. The Health and Safety Executive identifies the agriculture, construction, and transportation and storage sectors as the industries that had the most deaths caused by vehicles in 2013/2014, while industries in the water and waste sector were the riskiest overall, with the highest rate of reported injuries per number of employees in the industry.
What are the most common vehicle-related accidents?
Heavy goods vehicles, forklifts, and tractors are the types of vehicles cited most often in fatal transport accidents, with the latter two being prone to overturning – something that causes nearly a fifth of all deaths in vehicle accidents at work. Situations in which fatal incidents can typically occur are:
- When the vehicle is reversing
- During loading and unloading
- If a heavy vehicle is travelling up a steep slope that it's not suited to
Although the number of vehicle-related fatalities in the workplace does tend to vary from year to year, the good news is that the trend is a gradual reduction over the long-term. However, these disastrous incidents do still happen, and sometimes it can be down to the lack of precautions taken by another person, such as an employer or work colleague.
Amy Gannon
Amy Gannon
"It's not about where the accident occurred, or the accident type. It's about the severity of the injury itself and that's where we specialise in the more severe injuries."
How can Thompsons help following a fatal injury accident?
The death of a loved one can be a very difficult time, especially if the cause was avoidable. If one of your family members has been the victim of a fatal workplace transport accident and you feel that it was caused, at least in part, by the negligence of others, you might be able to claim compensation not only for the injury to your loved one but also for the loss of financial support you have suffered as a result.
At Thompsons, we have a number of expert solicitors in our team who are very experienced in handling serious and fatal injury claims. They understand what a distressing time this is for you and your family, approaching each fatal accident claim with the best interests of the deceased's family in mind, and they will make it their every priority to ensure that justice is done.
As Scotland's leading personal injury law firm, recovering more than £1 million every week for our clients, you can rest assured that your case is in capable hands. So, if you have lost someone in a fatal accident, even if you are unsure whether you would be able to claim, contact our No Win No Fee lawyers today on 0800 0891 331.
