What is defective work equipment?

Whether you're working in the construction or serving in the military, engineering or manufacturing, you have a right to expect the equipment you use at work is safe.

Unfortunately, poor maintenance and inadequate safety procedures mean that some equipment is defective, and therefore likely to cause injuries. Other causes include:

• Inadequate maintenance
• Irregular inspections
• Missing safety guards
• A lack of personal protective equipment
• A lack of health and safety assessments

What type of injuries are caused by defective work equipment?

Due to the wide variety of equipment used in industry and the military, there are many types of serious injury that can occur due to defective equipment. Some of the most common include:

• Broken bones
• Blindness
• Amputations
• Loss of digits
• Electric shocks / electrocution
• Paralysis

Whatever the injury that you or a loved one sustained due to defective equipment, if someone else's negligence was to blame - or even partly to blame – contact us to discuss the possibility of making a No Win No Fee compensation claim with an expert lawyer.

Who is responsible for maintaining equipment at work?

If your employer owns and provides the equipment that you use, then they're responsible for making sure that it's properly maintained and safe to use. Even if they contract maintenance out to a third party, every employer has a duty of care to their employees, meaning that in most cases, any claim for injury compensation will be made against the employers' liability insurance that every employer is legally obliged to hold.

What is employers' liability insurance?

This is an insurance policy that every employer is required to have, by law. It ensures that should their employees suffer an injury or illness at work, money is available to compensate those workers.

Read more on insurers liability insurance

How much is my defective work equipment claim worth?

Every injury claim is different, and the amount of compensation you're likely to receive will be dependent upon the seriousness of the injury, as well as how much it might affect your ability to work in the future, and how much any rehabilitation might cost.

However, we take most defective equipment injury cases on a No Win No Fee basis, and seek interim payments to help you avoid hardship if you are prevented from working by your injuries.

How long have I got to make a defective work equipment claim?

With personal injury cases involving defective equipment, the time limit in which to make a compensation claim is three years. However, there are exceptions to this rule such as if the injured party passes away as a result of their injuries or has diminished mental capacity.

Also, if working abroad, the time limits differ in different countries, so it's always important that you speak to a specialist solicitor with expertise in accidents at work as soon as possible.

Speak to a specialist solicitor

Slater and Gordon will provide a sympathetic, professional and honest approach to people who come to us with defective work equipment injuries.

If you've been injured by defective equipment in the workplace and believe that negligence may have been the cause, contact us today to speak to an injury claims solicitor.