If you’re injured in an accident at work that was caused by another employee, then you can usually make a claim for compensation against your employer.
By using the law of vicarious liability, it is possible to shift the blame for your accident from your colleague to your employer.
Vicarious Liability Claims
The law of vicarious liability enables the responsibility for your accident to be shifted from the employee who caused it onto your employer – if at the time of the work accident you had both been carrying out your jobs or acting on behalf of the employer.
As a result of the law of vicarious liability, employers are forced to accept responsibility for injuries caused by an employee whilst they were at work and carrying out work-related tasks.
Sometimes, an employer can be found liable for injuries that happen as a result of an accident caused by a sub-contractor or even an employer at another business can be sued if the injuries were inflicted by one of their employees.
The benefit of making a vicarious liability claim against your employer or another employer is that employers usually have insurance in place and are able to cover the compensation costs more easily as a result, unlike employees – which means your compensation claim is far more likely to be successful.
Types Of Vicarious Liability Claims
Vicarious liability claims can be made for a number of reasons, including the following:
- An employee runs over your foot with a piece of work-related equipment or machinery
- A colleague drives a work vehicle recklessly, causing you injuries
- Health and safety measures are not carried out by an employee, leading to your injuries
- A colleague fails to properly secure part of the site scaffolding, causing you injuries
- A customer service assistant punches you outside a supermarket following an exchange in the shop
How Can You Make A Vicarious Liability Claim?
To make a claim on the grounds of vicarious liability, you need to prove a connection between your injuries and the acts of your fellow employee.
As a guide, you need to be able to show that the following were true when you sustained your injuries:
- The employee who injured you had a work-based relationship with the employer
- The employee’s actions that caused the accident were part of their daily work duties and part of what they were asked to do by the employer
How We Can Help You With Your Vicarious Liability Claim
If you have been injured in an accident at work that was caused by a colleague or happened on business premises and was the fault of an employee, you may be eligible to make a claim for compensation against your employer or another employer on the grounds of vicarious liability.
Our specialist solicitors have a proven track-record of assisting clients with their vicarious liability claims and work hard to make the process as effective and stress-free as possible.
We will provide advice and support at every step of the claims process, should you decide to go ahead with your claim, to ensure you secure the compensation you deserve.
To discuss making a vicarious liability claim against your employer with one of our solicitors, contact us on 01244 405 399 or call FREE on 0800 988 3674 or via a Mobile 0333 200 4465 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will soon be in touch.
