Can you sue previous employer for health and safety?

[L.U.C.A.S]

Hello,

 

I had been with a Solar Energy company for approx 1 year 3 months, which they repeatedly had us doing dangerous jobs without care for their employees! We were forced to do unsafe jobs in fear of losing our jobs.

 

I have injured myself on a couple of occasions ie. Falling through a roof (no harness) and slipping off a icy roof clinging onto to scaffold below scraping my leg. Now I didn't seek medical attention due to the fact we were in fear of our jobs and couldnt have time off. What I have in proof of this is witness statement of falling through the roof without correct PPE and photographic evidence of injury and icy roofs.

 

I left the company back in January 2013 due to being unfairly dismissed.

 

I have other photographic evidence of the company not meeting health and safety including a tie wrap around the gear stick in a van to keep it in gear to travel long distances down a motorway, also a statement with leaking/broken exhaust causing CO2 to fill the cabin which made me very ill and faint on a few occasions.

 

Due to the fact we were repeatedly exposed to this type of situation, I became in my opinion physiologically damaged which became a big problem with my family life and nearly split us apart

 

Now like I said before all I have is a case load of witness statements/photographic evidence of the day to day running of the company, would this be enough to make a claim because I didn't receive medical help?

 

Thanks for your time.

 

------------------

 

Its not fair the firm is doing this to people so I need to act before they kill someone. Do I have a case?

[tzijlstra]

You were dismissed almost a year ago, most judges would consider you cynical for seeking a case now.

 

Perhaps you should try and find (ex) colleagues who are willing to join you in a case. Although I hate the claims culture, you are probably in a decent position to ask a solicitor to take it on if you are with more people. Doubt you will find a no-win/no-fee offer though as the evidence seems very low, hence you might need to do it as a collective to spread the risk.

[dosxuk]

Even if you don't make a claim against them, you should forward copies of all your materials to the HSE.

[yellowperil]

Youve posted previously saying youd taken them to a tribunal and won, what happened about your claim?

[Super Hans]

What were your injuries? A scraped leg probably isn't worth pursing because the judge will probably laugh at you.

 

Usually people sue for serious injuries like broken bones etc, stuff that caused them not to be able to work.

[megalithic]

I have to question the morality of this. You didn't report this at the time as they were giving you money, now they no longer are you want them hung ! And to give you some more money.

 

Be nice if you were doing this as a responsible person wanting better work conditions for your former work mates and future employees of the company, and whilst i agree short cut bosses should be hunted down and shot, i can't see beyond bitter hindsight here. Probably just me though.

 

Hope your slight leg cut healed 100% btw.

[ECCOnoob]

Hello,

 

I had been with a Solar Energy company for approx 1 year 3 months, which they repeatedly had us doing dangerous jobs without care for their employees! We were forced to do unsafe jobs in fear of losing our jobs.

 

I have injured myself on a couple of occasions ie. Falling through a roof (no harness) and slipping off a icy roof clinging onto to scaffold below scraping my leg. Now I didn't seek medical attention due to the fact we were in fear of our jobs and couldnt have time off. What I have in proof of this is witness statement of falling through the roof without correct PPE and photographic evidence of injury and icy roofs.

 

I left the company back in January 2013 due to being unfairly dismissed.

 

I have other photographic evidence of the company not meeting health and safety including a tie wrap around the gear stick in a van to keep it in gear to travel long distances down a motorway, also a statement with leaking/broken exhaust causing CO2 to fill the cabin which made me very ill and faint on a few occasions.

 

Due to the fact we were repeatedly exposed to this type of situation, I became in my opinion physiologically damaged which became a big problem with my family life and nearly split us apart

 

Now like I said before all I have is a case load of witness statements/photographic evidence of the day to day running of the company, would this be enough to make a claim because I didn't receive medical help?

 

Thanks for your time.

 

------------------

 

Its not fair the firm is doing this to people so I need to act before they kill someone. Do I have a case?

 

Very doubtful. You did not report anything to your employers. You failed to obtain medical diagnosis for your alleged injuries and "psychological trauma". You failed to obtain medical treatment for your alleged injuries. You failed to report matters to the HSE. You continued to undertake tasks knowing that the operations were allegedly dangerous. You continued to work for your employer despite alleged concerns for your welfare and the welfare of others. You continued to work for your employer despite knowing that you were allegedly not provided with adequate PPE.

 

Quite simply - if you did not open your mouth, how were your employers supposed to rectify the alleged problems.

 

You seem to have gathered much evidence of their alleged failure including witness statements for supposed fellow employers but did nothing with it. How do you explain this? What were you intending to do with all this evidence? Saving it up for a rainy day?

 

You state that you were "unfairly dismissed" 12 months ago. Why unfairly? What allegations for doing so did your employer claim. Have you appealed? Did this go to tribunal? Was it successful?

 

If it was, the first thing a Judge is likley to ask is why was your injury and "psychological trauma" not referenced as part of the said Employment Claim. If it wasn't and you were deemed fairly dismissed there is a very likely chance a Court and Defendant would conclude that your seeking an injury claim is nothing more than a reaction to your failed unfair dismissal claim.

 

Alleged fear of losing a job is not sufficent mitigation to continue to work doing a job you know has either caused you an injury or is likely to cause an injury. YOU are responsible for your own actions.

 

Any claim you did make, if it got past the above significant hurdles would be very likely to be subject to contributory negligence. You have proved absolutely nothing to show that you actually mitigated your own actions. You failed to report anything to attempt to inform and rectify the situation. You did not seek medical attention for your injuries and taken over 12 months (even likely to be longer) to raise a claim for the same.

 

Given the Court's current position with regards Claimants and general attitude from Defendants with regards evidence (or in your case lack of) it would be an extremely risky case for anyone to consider taking on.

 

Also with limitation for accidents being 3 years from the date of incident and your poor evidence with regards proving any ongoing "psych" injury I suspect you would be likely to be extremely close, if not passed the expiry of time for bringing a claim under the Limitation Act 1980.

 

If you were a new enquiry on my desk Im afraid the answer would be a firm NO.

[L.U.C.A.S]

Youve posted previously saying youd taken them to a tribunal and won, what happened about your claim?

 

Won unfair/wrongful dismissal

[Cyclone]

You're not likely to get compensation when basically you came to no harm. But if you forward the evidence to the HSE then they are likely to investigate and you might save someone else from being seriously injured in the future.

[angos]

Very doubtful. You did not report anything to your employers. You failed to obtain medical diagnosis for your alleged injuries and "psychological trauma". You failed to obtain medical treatment for your alleged injuries. You failed to report matters to the HSE. You continued to undertake tasks knowing that the operations were allegedly dangerous. You continued to work for your employer despite alleged concerns for your welfare and the welfare of others. You continued to work for your employer despite knowing that you were allegedly not provided with adequate PPE.

 

Quite simply - if you did not open your mouth, how were your employers supposed to rectify the alleged problems.

 

You seem to have gathered much evidence of their alleged failure including witness statements for supposed fellow employers but did nothing with it. How do you explain this? What were you intending to do with all this evidence? Saving it up for a rainy day?

 

You state that you were "unfairly dismissed" 12 months ago. Why unfairly? What allegations for doing so did your employer claim. Have you appealed? Did this go to tribunal? Was it successful?

 

If it was, the first thing a Judge is likley to ask is why was your injury and "psychological trauma" not referenced as part of the said Employment Claim. If it wasn't and you were deemed fairly dismissed there is a very likely chance a Court and Defendant would conclude that your seeking an injury claim is nothing more than a reaction to your failed unfair dismissal claim.

 

Alleged fear of losing a job is not sufficent mitigation to continue to work doing a job you know has either caused you an injury or is likely to cause an injury. YOU are responsible for your own actions.

 

Any claim you did make, if it got past the above significant hurdles would be very likely to be subject to contributory negligence. You have proved absolutely nothing to show that you actually mitigated your own actions. You failed to report anything to attempt to inform and rectify the situation. You did not seek medical attention for your injuries and taken over 12 months (even likely to be longer) to raise a claim for the same.

 

Given the Court's current position with regards Claimants and general attitude from Defendants with regards evidence (or in your case lack of) it would be an extremely risky case for anyone to consider taking on.

 

Also with limitation for accidents being 3 years from the date of incident and your poor evidence with regards proving any ongoing "psych" injury I suspect you would be likely to be extremely close, if not passed the expiry of time for bringing a claim under the Limitation Act 1980.

 

If you were a new enquiry on my desk Im afraid the answer would be a firm NO.

 

Thats word for word what I was going to say.