5 Of The Most Common Accidents At Work

1.Wet floors.

Wet floors in the working environment can be treacherous. They are particularly dangerous in restaurants and hotels when waiting staff are normally walking quickly from tables to the kitchen and returning. Often spillages can be left on the floor unattended and waiting staff, not knowing about them, return to the kitchen with their sight blocked by the items they are carrying and slip on the floor.

Whilst most slipping injuries thankfully do not lead to serious injuries, if the waiter or waitress is carrying items, this often prevents them from softening their fall with their hands meaning that they can fall on elbows or on their hips. This can lead to serious fractures.Often the leak on the floor in the first place could have been cleared more quickly or if it was caused by faulty machinery this should have been repaired. It is the failure to repair or clean up the leak that often leads to a successful accident at work claim.

2. Factory Accidents.

Factories can be particularly dangerous places to work. This section does not deal with the common machinery accidents that feature later as one of the top five, but more to do with the people involved and the materials used in factories. The most common type of factory accident normally involve workers tripping over discarded packaging. Every employer must ensure that the packaging used is placed in safe containers and not thrown on to the floor. However, if an employer does not ensure the staff are trained correctly or provide facilities for disposal of packaging, this can lead to it being discarded and workers tripping over it.

Once again, as with tripping accidents, quite frequently no serious injury is sustained. However, sometimes fractures to legs and arms lead to serious pain, time away from work and an accident at work claim being made.

3. Warehouse Accidents.

There are many different types of warehouse accidents, but one of the most common forms involves storage facilities. If warehousemen are constantly stacking and unstacking shelves any weakness in the shelf can lead to them collapsing. In the worst cases this can actually lead to a trapping injury when shelving comes away from the wall and falls on to the warehouse person. These can lead to serious injuries and long term complications.

If the shelving was not correctly positioned in the first place or was not maintained, this can lead to a successful accident at work compensation claim.

4. Forklift Truck Accidents.

These are frequently the cause of accidents. Every forklift truck driver must receive training and the employer must ensure that only trained people use the forklift truck. If they do not supervise sufficiently and untrained handlers use the forklift truck, or even trained handlers use the forklift truck but drop pallets or cause items to fall on to other co-workers, this can lead to a successful claim for compensation.

5. Machinery Accidents.

Although left until last, the injuries sustained during the use of machinery can be extremely severe. If staff are not properly trained, or the machinery is not maintained, or guards are not fitted, workers can suffer severe injuries leading to amputations and even in some cases death. Machinery is by its nature, dangerous and the utmost care must be exercised by workers and by employers.

Thanks to Attorney Nick Jervis for this information. Read more about being Injured At Work? Find out more about Work Accidents generally and read our Free Work Accident Claims Guide. Nick Jervis is a solicitor (non-practising) and a consultant to Work Accident Solicitors who specialise in Work Accident Claims.