The first thing to do after an accident in the workplace is to investigate the causes. How did it happen? Was a particular person or company at fault? Was anyone aware of the potential danger? Was there negligence?

This is important as this helps you prevent similar accidents from taking place, and may prove crucial should an injury case be brought to trial. It’s important that both employers and employees prepare for the worst case scenarios as losing income can seriously impact one’s business or standard of living in the event of an accident. The following points are just a few of the things you should consider when an accident has taken place at work.

Safety Standards – It would be impossible to create a comprehensive list of all of the safety regulations in the world because there are far too many and not all would apply to the business. While a cleaning company might need to find hazmat suits for sale to protect their staff, a catering company would not. A catering company however would need to make sure cooking equipment is not faulty, and that safety signs are in the right places in the kitchen. Following the regulations that matter to your business is crucial as they are very important in preventing accidents. To ensure enhanced workplace safety, it is essential for businesses to buy fire exit signs and other appropriate signage that clearly communicates hazards and safety instructions.

Training – A great many accidents happen because someone has used dangerous equipment without being properly instructed in the safe usage of said equipment. In the event of such an incident, the employer would be fully at fault. However, if the employee was trained in the safe usage of that equipment then more questions have to be asked. Did the training take place years ago and the employee never used the machine until now? This is one of the reasons that a lot of businesses put a great deal of focus on adequate training and refresher training. It’s not just dangerous equipment either; manual handling of heavy objects is something that must be taught. Lifting a box in the wrong way can seriously injure your back.

Negligence – One of the main considerations when it comes to working out whose fault something is, is if one of the parties involved has been in some way negligent, and has caused that accident by not doing something that they should have done. Did the employer know a fixture was damaged and at risk of falling down on an employee? Was the employee put under time pressure to complete a task that they had to ignore safe operational rules? If such is the case, then the injured party must get in touch with a personal injury lawyer like Boland Romaine so they can claim adequate compensation.

In most cases it is quite clear from the outset whether the employer, employee or neither has caused the accident. Employers have a responsibility to keep their staff safe while they’re at work, and for the most part, they are very diligent. It is also very important that employees keep themselves and others safe. It is not right to blame the employer in every case, as they can only do so much to encourage safety; some things are in the hands of the employees. There is of course the fourth outcome; that one employee has caused an accident for another. Following safety rules can help to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

If you have been involved in an accident, which you don’t believe was your fault, then contact a personal injury claims specialist such as www.mayiclaim.co.uk. They’ll be able to help you find out if you’re due any compensation, and take you through the process if you do have a claim.