What the law requires
Work equipment must be suitable, maintained, and guarded so far as is reasonably practicable, and only used by people who have been properly trained. Those duties sit on the employer and cannot be delegated to the injured worker's own care.
Where a guard was removed, bypassed or never fitted, the question is usually not whether there was a breach but how it came to be tolerated — and that answer is normally in the maintenance and inspection records.
What decides a claim like this
Liability is established on records far more often than on recollection. In this kind of claim the documents that matter most are:
- The maintenance log for that specific machine, not the site generally.
- Whether the guard or interlock was present, working, and had been checked.
- The safe isolation procedure and whether it was realistically followable in the time allowed.
- Your training record for that machine, and who signed it off.
What to do now
The evidence that decides these claims has a short life. If the accident was recent:
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1
Report it in the accident book Every workplace with ten or more staff must keep one. Ask for a copy of the entry you signed.
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2
Tell your GP An early medical record is what links the injury to the work, which is often the point in dispute.
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3
Note who saw it Colleagues move on. A name and a mobile number now is worth more than a perfect memory later.
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4
Keep what you were given Training records, the equipment involved, the rota and any risk assessment you were shown.
How long you have to claim
The general limitation period for a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the accident, or from the date you first knew the injury was significant and attributable to someone else. If you were under 18 at the time, the three years runs from your eighteenth birthday. Where the injured person lacks mental capacity, time may not run at all.\n\nThe practical deadline is shorter than the legal one. CCTV is overwritten, defects are repaired and records are archived, so a claim started early is almost always a stronger claim.
How we work
We assess the claim, obtain the records that decide it, instruct an independent medical expert and deal with the insurer throughout. Personal injury claims of this kind are run on a No Win, No Fee agreement: there is nothing to pay upfront, and nothing to pay us for our work if the claim does not succeed. A success fee is deducted from the compensation if it does, and we set that out in writing before you commit to anything.