Inadequate Training At Work – Am I Eligible To Claim?
I Had An Injury At Work Because Of Inadequate Training, Could I Make A Claim?
‘I was injured as a result of inadequate training at work – am I able to claim compensation?’ – if you’re asking this question, then this guide could help you.
While you would expect to be given training to help you do your job safely, if it isn’t delivered or delivered properly, and you are still not sure of how to work safely, this could lead to you suffering injuries at work.
This guide offers a wealth of information about making an inadequate training at work injury claim.
In the sections below, we look at the sort of training your employer should offer you, and what responsibilities they have towards your safety and health at work.
We also look at the accidents a lack of training or inadequate training in the workplace could lead to, and how much compensation could be paid for specific injuries you could suffer.
In addition to this, we show you how Legal Expert could help you get the compensation you deserve if you’ve been injured at work due to a lack of training.
If you are ready to begin a claim right away or if you’d like to ask us anything about claiming, please don’t hesitate to speak to our expert advisors on 0800 073 8804.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Claims For Inadequate Training At Work Causing Injury
- What Is An Inadequate Training At Work Accident?
- Health And Safety In The Workplace
- How Employers Could Provide Proper Workplace Training?
- Types Of Accidents And Injuries Caused By Inadequate Training
- Job Roles Which Have A Higher Risk Of Injury If Adequately Trained
- How To Prove That You Were Not Provided With The Correct Workplace Training
- Inadequate Training At Work Injury Claim Calculator
- Special Workplace Injury Damages
- How To Claim For A Work Injury Due To Lack Of Training
- No Win No Fee Inadequate Training At Work Injury Claims
- Start Your Claim
- Essential Work Injury Claim References
A Guide To Claims For Inadequate Training At Work Causing Injury
This guide has been created to answer the question ‘I was hurt due to inadequate training at work – am I eligible to claim?’
In the sections below, we offer a wealth of information about making a claim if you’ve been injured at work due to a lack of training. We provide some insight into an employer’s responsibilities towards you, what kind of training could be useful, and how much compensation your claim could achieve. We also discuss the benefits of using a solicitor to help you make a claim.
Can You Sue For Improper Training?
To claim compensation for a workplace accident, you would have to prove that:
- Your employer had a duty of care to look after your health and safety
- They were in breach of their duty of care towards you
- You suffered illness or injury because of their breach of duty
There are many different ways your employer could breach a duty of care towards you. One of these could be if there was an identified need for you to receive training. Therefore, if you were injured at work due to a lack of training, you could make a claim for compensation.
What Is An Inadequate Training At Work Accident?
If you are injured at work due to a lack of training, you could make a claim for compensation against your employer if they have failed to give you the training you need to perform workplace tasks safely.
You could also claim against them if they have not given you basic induction training on how to move around the workplace safely, or what to do in the case of an emergency at work. This is because they have a legal duty to look after your health and safety while you are at work.
Inadequate training in the workplace could lead to a variety of accidents and injuries, including:
- Falls from height
- Manual handling injuries
- Musculoskeletal injuries
- Burns
- Exposure to chemicals
In the sections below, we discuss why your employer should train you, what their legal responsibilities are and how you could take action against them if you’ve been injured at work due to a lack of training.
Health And Safety In The Workplace
Employers are required by law to take all reasonable actions to protect their employees’ safety and health at work. This is a requirement of the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974.
Most employers are required under the Act to:
- Appoint someone competent to manage health and safety
- Prepare a health and safety policy
- Risk assess the workplace, workers and job roles
- Consult workers on health and safety
- Provide information and training
- Have the correct workplace facilities
- Have employers’ liability insurance
- Report accidents and injuries in the workplace where it is their responsibility to do so
If your employer fails in their legal responsibilities towards you, and you are injured at work due to lack of training, lack of risk assessing or a lack of PPE where it was required, for example, you could make a claim against them for compensation.
How Employers Could Provide Proper Workplace Training?
It is a legal requirement for employers to conduct workplace risk assessments and to act on their findings. Sometimes the findings of a risk assessment lead to an identified need for training. If this is the case, employers have a legal responsibility to provide employees with the necessary training to safely perform their work without risking harm to themselves or other people.
Training might involve:
- How to operate workplace equipment and machinery properly
- How to lift, carry, or move loads safely
- How to use electrical equipment properly
- How to use protective equipment
- What to do if there is a workplace fire
- What to do in a workplace emergency
It is also vital for risk assessments to be conducted regularly and for any new or updated needs to be addressed. Refresher training may also be required to remind workers of safe working practices.
Types Of Accidents And Injuries Caused By Inadequate Training
Below, we provide information on specific risks to certain types of worker, but there are some common ways that people could be injured at work due to a lack of training. For example:
- Lack of induction training – lack of training in a new job as to health and safety in a new workplace could lead to a new starter being injured. Whether they suffer injuries due to not being able to operate fire doors in an emergency, or are injured because they are not told to use a specific walkway in a warehouse, they may be able to claim compensation if it could be proven that they had not received adequate induction training.
- Lack of manual handling training – many people move loads as part of their job. While you may not realise it, manual handling could form part of your role if you have to lift photocopier paper, take in parcels and other menial tasks. If you are not given adequate manual handling training, this could lead to a raft of musculoskeletal injuries.
- Lack of work at height training – working at height is common in a few industries. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires employers to give employees some kind of training for all work at height jobs. This can range from showing them how to use ladders to more formal training for more complex or longer-term tasks.
- Lack of PPE training – In cases where personal protective equipment is required to do a job safely, it is important that there is adequate training in how to use the equipment properly in order to be protected from risks it has been designed for. A lack of training as to how to use PPE could render it useless, leading to injuries ranging from burns to electric shocks and more.
Job Roles Which Have A Higher Risk Of Injury If Adequately Trained
A lack of training in the workplace could lead to an injury in a variety of roles, but there are some that come with a higher risk of injury than others. These could include:
- Electricians – could be at risk of shocks/burns if they are not trained properly to handle electrical equipment
- Warehouse/factory workers – could be at risk of lifting/manual handling injuries due to inadequate training in the workplace, or injuries relating to equipment/machinery
- Construction workers – could be at risk of being injured at work due to a lack of training in working safely at height/handling
- Kitchen workers – could be at risk of burns, electric shocks and lacerations if they receive inadequate training in the workplace
- Mechanics – could be at risk of musculoskeletal injuries from working in uncomfortable positions without breaks, or using certain tools incorrectly
- Shipping workers – could be at risk of manual handling injuries or injuries from improper use of lifting equipment
- Refuse workers – could be injured at work due to a lack of training in manual handling/hoisting procedures
- Lab workers – inadequate training in the workplace could lead to unsafe exposure to chemicals
These are just a few examples.
How To Prove That You Were Not Provided With The Correct Workplace Training
In order to prove you were injured at work due to a lack of training or inadequate training, you would need to demonstrate that there was a risk of injury to you without the relevant training you received, and your employer breached their duty of care towards you by either not risk assessing your job, or by not acting on the finding of a risk assessment by providing you with relevant training.
This could be difficult to do, and this is why many claimants turn to a personal injury solicitor to help them with such claims. A lawyer could help build a case against your employer if you:
- Did not receive basic induction training
- Did not receive basic safety training vital to your role
- Were not trained in how to use PPE properly
- Were not shown how to operate safety features of machinery you used as part of your job
While in some cases, your lawyer may be able to ask for evidence of training records to show what workplace training you’d received, they could also look at industry health and safety requirements, and basic health and safety responsibilities your employer had towards you. If they had breached any regulations, due to a lack of training at work, and you were injured as a result your lawyer could fight for compensation on your behalf.
Inadequate Training At Work Injury Claim Calculator
We have opted to provide a table detailing the Judicial College Guidelines for injuries we believe could relate to a workplace accident, instead of providing a personal injury claims calculator within this guide. This is because such calculators could be a little misleading, as they’re not able to assess the severity of your injuries and the specific facts surrounding your claim.
Injury Sustained | Level Of Compensation (Approx bracket) | Notes |
---|---|---|
Blindness | Around £252,180 | |
Minor eye injuries | £3,710-£8,200 | Exposure to fumes, strikes to the eye, or liquid splashes causing pain and temporary vision interference. |
Tinnitus and NIHL (Noise induced hearing loss) | £27,890 – £42,730 | Severe |
Asthma | £9,990 – £18,020 | Mild symptoms caused by harmful vapour inhalation. |
Shoulder injuries | £11,980 – £18,020 | Serious – where there has been a dislocation of the shoulder and some damage to the brachial plexus. This would cause shoulder and neck pain, sensory symptoms and aching in the elbow. Cases could also include those where there is an injury to the rotator cuff with symptoms persisting after surgery. |
Back injuries | £26,050 – £36,390 | Moderate – where residual disabilities are considered less severe than those in the severe category. A wide range of injuries could be compensated for in this category, including crush fractures with a high risk of osteoarthritis and pain and discomfort that is comfort and prolapsed discs that require surgery, for example. |
A simple fracture of the forearm | £6,190 – £18,020 | – |
Wrist injuries | Up to £9,620 | With complete recovery. Usually a soft tissue or fracture. |
If you’ve been injured at work due to a lack of training and suffered an injury that isn’t in this table, please call us. We’d be happy to talk to you about the guidelines for other injuries over the phone.
Special Workplace Injury Damages
Personal injury claims may not only compensate you for the suffering and pain of your injuries. They could also compensate you for expenses you’ve suffered as a direct result of those injuries. The expenses you could claim could include:
- Care costs – some serious injuries could lead you to require care at home. This could include help with washing, dressing or feeding, for example.
- Medical costs – you may require prescription medicines, counselling or physiotherapy, for example.
- Travel expenses – you may have to pay to travel to medical appointments or to visit your lawyer’s offices.
- Income losses – you may have sustained a drop in income if you cannot work due to your injuries.
You would, naturally, be required to submit evidence of expenses you’d incurred, in order to claim for them. It would, therefore, be wise to keep all documents pertaining to such expenses in a safe place. This way, you would have them to hand when it was time to submit them as evidence, and you would not miss out on the compensation you could have been eligible to claim.
How To Claim For A Work Injury Due To Lack Of Training
Whether you are intending to make an inadequate training at work injury claim or not, it would be wise to take the following steps to ensure that your accident is reported properly, and you receive all the support you need.
- Report the accident via the proper channels. While in some cases, the first aider on the scene would fill in the accident book at work, in other cases you should report your workplace accident to your employer yourself. This may mean reporting it to your manager or the person responsible for health and safety in your workplace. If there is no accident book, then you could write a letter or send an e-mail to your employer with details of the accident.
- Get medical attention – if your injuries seem minor at first, it may still be a good idea to seek medical advice. Not only could this ensure you do all the right things to aid your recovery, but it could also serve as a record that you’ve been injured.
- Gather evidence – whether you take photos of the scene or your injuries, or you obtain contact details of witnesses so they could be approached to provide a statement later on, any evidence you could gather could help you if you intend on making a claim.
- Get legal advice – we could provide advice and guidance for free; including advising you on any action you could take if you’ve been injured at work due to a lack of training.
No Win No Fee Inadequate Training At Work Injury Claims
If you’re looking to make a claim for being injured at work due to a lack of training, you may wish to benefit from having a personal injury solicitor to help you. Here at Legal Expert, we’d be delighted to help you get the legal assistance you’re looking for, without asking you to pay any upfront fees.
All Legal Expert lawyers work under No Win No Fee terms, which means you’d only pay them a pre-agreed success fee if they achieved a compensation payout for you. You’d only pay this once the compensation payout had been made, as the success fee will be taken from your payout.
To begin a No Win No Fee claim, your lawyer would send you a Conditional Fee Agreement, which you’d need to sign and send back to them. This agreement would detail the level of success fee you’d pay once your compensation settlement had been agreed. This fee is legally capped, and only represents a small proportion of your payout, so you would not have to fear that there’d be no compensation left once the fee had been taken.
One of the biggest benefits of making a claim under No Win No Fee terms is that your lawyer would not take any money from you in legal fees or costs that they’d incurred if your case doesn’t result in compensation.
If you’d like to make a claim under No Win No Fee terms, why not call our team. We’d be happy to provide you with a solicitor that could help you.
Start Your Claim
If the answer to your question ‘I was injured due to inadequate training at work – am I eligible to claim?’ is yes, then you may be wondering what to do next. Or, you may still be in a position where you’re unsure of your eligibility. Whatever you need help with, we’d be delighted to assist. We could check whether you could be eligible to claim compensation if you’re injured at work due to a lack of training, and we could provide you with a personal injury lawyer if we believe you could have a claim.
You can reach us in one of the ways below:
- By Telephone: 0800 073 8804
- By E-mail: info@legalexpert.co.uk
- Via our contact form
- Or, by using Live Chat to instantly message our team.
Essential Work Injury Claim References
Step-By-Step Guide To Injuries At Work – This guide offers a wealth of information for those who have been injured at work. It could help you with an injury claim if you’ve been injured at work due to a lack of training.
What Is The Personal Injury Claims Time Limit – Here, you can find out how long you could have to make a claim for injuries sustained due to inadequate training in the workplace.
What Happens If I Was At Fault? – You may be wondering whether you could claim for an accident at work that was your fault. You can find out more about this by reading our guide.
Health And Safety Training – This guide, for employers, gives advice on health and safety training.
Employers Responsibilities – The HSE provides information about an employer’s responsibilities towards employee health and safety.
Health And Safety Statistics – Here, you can read about the number of people injured in workplaces in 2019/20.
Guide by Jeffries
Edited by Billing