I work for a haulage firm out of Hull doing local drops round the York area, today I wasnt on my usual wagon due to a break down, i loaded the other wagon that I had to take and then got the pump truck put on by forklift, as it was put on near the edge i went to push it in a bit and it turned and the wheels slipped off the edge making the arm of the pallet truck fall down and smack me right on the head!! after a minute or so my head came up in a big lump, i reported it to the office and they asked me if i wanted to carry on!! i explained i didnt feel to good and they sent me to sit down in the tea hut. After 5 mins my boss came in and asked me if i wanted to get a taxi to A and E or make my own way down, not feeling safe to drive i said i would arrange a lift from the wife. When i arrived at A and E i explained what had happened and got sent for an x ray, it turns out i have mild concussion.
I was told not to got back to work until monday, so i rang my boss and explained and he seemed ok, because im off o friday do u think i will get sick pay and how long can i legally take off without a sicknote??
Sorry to put such a long thread but any advice on what i should do about accident books, sick pay etc would be gratefully recieved!!
I don’t know a great deal on these matters - so I will limit my response to what I do know
Make sure you fill in the accident book - or check it if someone filled it in for you.
You can self-certificate for up to 7 days (ie, you don’t need a note from doctor), although by the sounds of things, getting a note wouldn’t be a problem anyway as the hospital will have given you a form to hand in at your doctors to explain why you were there.
Our company will not pay sick pay for the first 3 days - I think this is standard practice, but I’ll stand corrected if anyone knows different.
I’ll stop there as it can get complicated if you’re off longer.
cheers Grumpybum, dont feel 100% and I have a huge lump on my head! as for the accident book does it have to go in straight away? the only reason i ask is i wasnt feeling great and i doubt they put it in this morning!
As far as I can see, you will be unable to claim statutory sick pay as in order to claim this you must have a period on incapacity for work (PIW) for at least four consecutive days (not necessarily normal working days).
Your accident msut be recorded in the accident book and your employer has a duty to report the incident under RIDDOR.
You can use ‘self certification’ for up to seven days. After this you will require a medical certificate from your GP.
Potter:
Will i be able to claim compo tho? they will just say its my fault!
The big question here is “Was it loaded properly, and in accordance with company and HSE guidelines?”
If the answer is yes, then no you probably don’t have a good case to claim. If no then I have no doubt any injury lawyer will take you on. Probably on no-win-no-fee too.
My only question is: Do you think it was your companies fault?
Did you HAVE to push it in the way you did? was there a safer way of doing so, but you just couldn’t be bothered?
Could you have asked the forklift driver to shunt it in a bit more? Could you have asked someone else to help you?
In this day and age you can get compensation for almost anything, but do you really need to? was it just a moment of stupidity?
If it was just an accident, and partly your fault then my recommendation would be to take it on the chin like a man - the rest of the UK workforce is already a bunch of pansies, crying off to mummy if they cut their finger, we don’t want truckers to be the same.
However, your injury sounds to have been bloody painful, so please don’t think I’m making light of that at all, I hope it doesn’t do you any long term damage and that it doesn’t hurt too much!
Potter:
Will i be able to claim compo tho? they will just say its my fault!
Claiming compensation for an accident is what causes all these risk assessments and H&S crap, you are probably right that they will say it is your own fault so no winners.
Dont mean to sound harsh but from experience the only people to make money are the H&S men and insurance companies.
It sounds like your boss is a caring soul so you may find out that you get paid for Friday anyway.
If not, is it worth a load of animosity to claim for a lump on the head?
I was advised to claim when I broke my leg, once I realised that it was not a straightforward break and would take 9 months to mend. I did claim, it cost me my job, and an awful lot of aggravation with medicals and solicitors.
If you wake up tomorrow and feel better I would forget it
I agree with Wheelnut and Scarab.
The trouble with living with this compensation culture is that soon we are all going to be afraid to do anything, employ anyone, help anyone or go anywhere near anyone.
If you feel that your employer was negligent and that you have a good chance of proving it, then go for it and good luck. If not get well soon, get back to work and be careful, we work in a dangerous sector.
Thanks for all the replies, looking back at it, im lucky to get away with just a bump on the head! I thought being hit with a buckle strap hurt as well! Im not going to bother with the compensation line of things, Ive been there nearly 4 years now and they are a fantastic company to work for, so theres no point in rocking the boat as it where!
Potter:
Thanks for all the replies, looking back at it, im lucky to get away with just a bump on the head! I thought being hit with a buckle strap hurt as well! Im not going to bother with the compensation line of things, Ive been there nearly 4 years now and they are a fantastic company to work for, so theres no point in rocking the boat as it where!
Thanks again for all the advice
A sensible decision IMO - no football headers for a while
Potter:
Thanks for all the replies, looking back at it, im lucky to get away with just a bump on the head! I thought being hit with a buckle strap hurt as well! Im not going to bother with the compensation line of things, Ive been there nearly 4 years now and they are a fantastic company to work for, so theres no point in rocking the boat as it where!
Thanks again for all the advice
A sensible decision IMO - no football headers for a while
I agree. It really narks me when people injure themselves through their own fault and then go put in a claim for some easy money. I was going to reply to you along those lines when I saw your post enquiring about it, but I’m glad to see you’ve seen sense and have accepted it for what it was - an accident. Whether we like it or not, they happen. The good thing about them is that we learn from them and make damned sure our heads are well out of the way next time!
