Healthcare Worker & Social Care Worker Accident Claim*

We can help with your healthcare worker accident claim*

If you or a family member have been involved in an accident as a healthcare or social care worker, it is imperative that you talk to a solicitor if you wish to pursue a claim.

Tell Us About Your Case

We’re here to help. Call us today on +353 1 649 9900

Involved in an accident as a healthcare worker?

Being involved in an accident, regardless of how serious the workplace accident was, can be a traumatic experience. In cases where you are injured in an accident as a healthcare worker or social care worker that was not your fault, you may be entitled to seek compensation.

 


Common healthcare worker claims*

Working as a healthcare worker or as a social worker, you may be exposed to hazards that could potentially impact your health and safety. Appropriate tools, training and safety measures are important for keeping you safe at work.

Employers have a duty of care to provide their employees with a safe working environment and to minimise dangerous practices and procedures at work. If the employer breaches this duty and an employee is injured as a result of their negligence, they could be liable to a personal injury claim.

Employers must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that their employees have the required systems of work necessary for a safe working environment.

Legislation set out in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 states that managers are responsible for ensuring:

  • a safe place of work
  • safe systems of work
  • competent employees
  • safe equipment.

For example, if your healthcare employer does not provide you with the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) or training, you could be at risk of being exposed to injury through exposure to diseases, radiation or dangerous materials such as contaminated sharps.

Here are some other common risks for those working in healthcare roles:

Workplace violence

Healthcare professionals such as emergency department staff, ambulance crews, psychiatric nurses and those working with people with mental disabilities, have an increased risk of violence at work. This is where someone experiences aggressive verbal abuse, threats or physical assault while performing their job.

In recent years, nurses in particular have bore the brunt of a high percentage of healthcare related assaults.

Sharps injuries

Sharps are medical devices which can include needles, scalpels or cannulas. Healthcare workers are at risk of sharps injuries. The HSE states that control measures must be put in place by the employer to prevent or minimise the risk of injury to employees.

Examples of these control measures include:

  • eliminating the unnecessary use of sharps by using needless intravenous systems
  • substituting unprotected medical sharps with safer sharps devices
  • keeping handling of sharps to a minimum
  • prohibit the recapping of needles
  • ensuring sharps get placed in a sharps bin immediately after use
  • ensuring that needles are not passed from hand to hand, bent or broken
  • ensuring that appropriate PPE is made available
  • training based on a training needs assessment to include safe working practices with sharps
  • reporting any incident involving sharps
  • following local first aid and follow-up procedures.

Employers must also provide an adequate number of sharps bins and ensure that they are correctly maintained.

Manual handling injuries

Healthcare workers may also be vulnerable to manual handling injuries. This could be through repetitive strain, moving or repositioning patients, or carrying heavy loads without the correct equipment or training.

While the risk of injury can never be completely eliminated, safe patient handling techniques can help to prevent manual handling injuries. Healthcare and social care workers should be trained on how to safely move a patient or heavy loads.

According to HSE guidelines, manual handling training that demonstrates how to correctly lift items must be provided by employers:

  •  at induction
  • at no greater than three yearly intervals, or
  • where there is a major change in the work involved or equipment used, or
  • when an employee is transferred to another activity requiring different loads to be handled.

No employee should be expected to carry loads that are beyond their capability as this could result in serious injury which the employer could be liable for.

Employee responsibilities

To help prevent accidents, healthcare and social care employees have a responsibility to:

  • comply with the manual handling and people handling policy and risk assessments
  • attend mandatory manual handling and people handling training sessions
  • report accidents, incidents and any difficulties relating to manual handling and people handling tasks
  • take reasonable care of personal safety, health and welfare and that of others
  • co-operate with managers to regularly review the risk assessment and control measures.

If you are a healthcare worker and have been injured in the workplace through no fault of your own, contact us for a confidential discussion. Our specialist accident at work solicitors will be able to advise you on whether it is possible to make a personal injury claim.

Below are some additional injuries frequently experienced by healthcare and social care workers:


What do I do if I'm involved in an accident as a healthcare or social care worker?

Following a healthcare or social care worker accident, there are a number of steps you should follow:

  1. Seek medical attention

    Your health is your wealth and should be your first priority. Immediately after an accident, take a second to assess yourself to determine if you have any injuries. Then check if anybody else involved in the accident need medical attention. If you or anyone else involved has sustained a serious injury ensure that you contact an ambulance to attend the scene.

    For minor injuries, you must remember that minor injuries where you ‘feel fine’ could progress to more serious injuries in the future. In this case it is always better to be safe than sorry and advisable that you go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) or local GP to be checked out.

  2. Report the accident

    It is critical to report the accident to your superior, i.e. a supervisor or manager on site. It doesn’t matter how small you think the accident may be. By law, accidents at work are required to be reported if the person is injured and can’t perform their daily work tasks for more than three days. Make sure to fill out an Accident Report Form. This can be used for reference in any medical examination and will also prevent any similar accidents from happening in the future.

  3. Identify any witnesses

    If possible, try to collect the contact details of anybody that witnessed your accident. This may be of use if you do decide to pursue a personal injury claim. It is also useful to find out if there is any CCTV in the area where your accident happened.

  4. Document the incident

    It is important that you collect all the relevant information in connection with your accident:

    • How the accident happened
    • Details of any witnesses
    • If there are any CCTV recordings of your accident
    • Take pictures of where the accident happened and what caused your accident
  5. Speak to an accident at work solicitor

    If you are considering moving forward with a healthcare or social care accident claim for any personal injuries sustained it is advisable that you speak with an accident at work solicitor as soon as possible. If you are proceeding with a claim, the first step will be submitting your claim to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board for assessment. A specialist accident at work solicitor can help you in preparing your application to the Injuries Board and ensure that you follow the process in the correct format, meaning that you can move forward with your claim quickly without unnecessary delays.

    It is important to remember to keep copies of any expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident. It is also imperative to retain copies of medical reports or incident report forms where possible as you will need them when making a claim.

Tell Us About Your Case

Fill in your details below and we'll contact you to discuss your case in complete confidentiality.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Our helpful team

Need Help? Just Ask.

We use our expert knowledge and over 35 years of experience to give you the voice you need. We use non-legal language and provide practical and impartial advice through every stage of the process!

Call us today on +353 1 649 9900 or contact us online.

How do I make a claim?

Once you have gathered all the relevant information in relation to your injury it is then time to move forward with your claim. It is important to use a specialist accident at work solicitor to help you with this.

  1. Prepare information for a solicitor

    When you decide you want to move forward with your accident claim it is important to have all the relevant information to hand when contacting a solicitor. Important information to have on hand at this point is:

    • Date of the accident
    • Location of the accident
    • Details of who/what caused the accident
    • Specifics of what happened
    • Who did you report the accident to?
    • Is there CCTV that may have captured the accident?
    • Details of your injuries
    • Details of hospital or GP attended
    • Any pictures you may have taken of the scene of the accident and/or your injuries
  2. Solicitor becomes your trusted advisor

    Solicitors are aware of the accident claim process and can avoid any legal bumps in the road you might encounter if you did this process yourself. It is their job to be your trusted advisor on all legal matters throughout your case.

  3. Solicitor obtains a medical report

    One of the most important documents in your case is a medical report. Your solicitor will ask for your doctor’s or Hospital details so they can obtain a report on your injuries.

  4. Solicitor prepares the Injuries Board application

    As soon as your solicitor has gathered all the information, your accident claim will be submitted to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board for assessment. Your solicitor will do this for you. Once the Injuries Board assess your claim your solicitor will revert with a suggested settlement amount. At this stage you have a choice to accept the Injuries Board assessment or reject it and move the next steps.

    At this point one of two scenarios will unfold:

    a. If both you and your employer accept the Injuries Board assessment, your case is settled and your employer will be ordered to pay settlement to you.

    b. If either you or your employer reject the Injuries Board assessment, then you move to the next stage and your solicitor will issue legal proceedings.

  5. Possible case outcomes

    Before you start to concern yourself with court and everything that comes with it, it’s important to understand that only a very small percentage of cases actually make it to a courtroom.

    Settlement meetings will be arranged where a settlement can be negotiated. Most cases are settled at this point without ever having to step foot into a courtroom and remember it’s your solicitor’s job to be with you every step of the way, right beside you to ensure that your best interests are met at all stages. Your solicitor is to be your trusted advisor throughout the process and to let you focus on your recovery, as they focus on settling your case.

At Tracey Solicitors LLP, we make law accessible to all – regardless of your knowledge or experience with the claims process. For more information and a confidential discussion on your accident, phone 01 649 9900 or email ask@traceysolicitors.ie to tell us about your case, where you can speak with a member of our team straight away.

What Our Clients Say

We aim to provide clear and independent legal advice and achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients.

Excellent. Maria kept me informed of progress all the time. Very efficient.
I was regularly informed about progress on my case. Excellent contact with the Polish team throughout.
You sent me very legible and easy to understand correspondence. I am happy with the assistance of the Polish team.
View More Testimonials

Case Settlement

If you are to proceed with a personal injury claim you may be entitled to claim compensation for the accident and the expenses you may have incurred. These claims are called damages.

General Damages

General damages are non-financial damages such as pain and suffering and/or physical and emotional injuries following a cleaner accident claim.

Special Damages

Special damages are out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the accident, for example, loss of earnings (if you are out of work), medical bills, and added travel costs as a result of the accident (for example, travel to and from the hospital). Learn more about Special Damages. 

What are the Legal Time Limits?

The statute of limitations are the legal time limits on how long you have to make a claim — these vary depending on the situation. The general rule for most personal injury cases is that the person has two years from the date of the accident or date of knowledge of the accident to make a claim for compensation. Contacting a solicitor to discuss your case will help you in determining how long you have left to make a claim.

Learn more about Time Limits

Employer’s Duty of Care

Employers have a duty to ensure safety standards are met in the workplace. These in theory should help to prevent accidents from happening.

The duties of an employer include:

  • Managing activities in a way which prioritises health and safety.
  • Providing the correct training and protective equipment to employees.
  • Ensuring that the working environment is suitable for the work that is to be carried out.
  • Ensuring that any equipment needed is in a good working condition.

A breach of these duties by the employer can lead to accidents. If an employee has sustained an injury and it is found that it was caused by employer negligence then the employer is likely to be found liable.

Common healthcare or social care worker injuries

Being involved in an accident, as an employee can be a traumatic experience, especially if you have suffered any personal injuries. The most common injury claims experienced by healthcare or social care workers are:

Learn more about Injury Claims

About Tracey Solicitors LLP

We draw on more than 35 years of experience in personal injury law to provide you with expert advice and legal services.

We’re here to help you with your claim, and will work with you to ensure you understand every step of your legal journey.

Contact Us

Our friendly and experienced team are waiting to answer your call. Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.

+353 1 649 9900

Or you can fill out our contact form and we'll call you back.