Kicked at work - where do I stand legally?

[katina]

I prep TB yearlings and 3 weeks ago I was kicked by a colt resulting in fractured arm and dislocated wrist. I was in a full arm cast for 2 weeks and last week I had surgery to put a plate and pins to fix break and put wrist back in correct position. My job is temporary as it is seasonal and have worked there since June but the contract ends 20th October 2012, I was then due to go to Australia end of October to start another seasonal job also prepping yearlings. So of course I haven't been able to finish the current job, and have had to rebook my flights to Aus twice (resulting in charges) due to firstly me breaking my arm and then the surgery. I am unable to fly out to Australia till around 20th November and will have to take it very easy as the surgeon did not really want me working for another 3 months which is unrealistic. My boss in Aus has been very understanding and has allowed me to change my start dates. My current boss here in the UK agreed to pay me my wages until 19th October, but I was wondering where I stand regarding the fees I have had to pay changing flights and as I will be without any wages for 3 weeks when I originally would of been working had I not broken my arm. I do not want to unnecessarily annoy my current boss but I don't know where I stand legally. Any help would be great.

 

[foxy1]

I would have thought the risk was obvious when you do this kind of job. You should really have your own personal accident insurance.

 

[HBM1]

Agreed..especially as you are not employed as such

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

You're not due compensation unless your boss was negligent. If all precautions were taken (or you had the option to take precautions and didn't) and you had an unfortunate accident then there's nothing to be done. You could maybe claim Job Seekers Allowance for the period of your contract ending and flying out. You've been lucky with your current employer paying your wages rather than having to claim Statutory Sick Pay. I would get personal accident insurance like the other poster suggested.

 

[katina]

ok thank you

 

[suzi]

Are you employed or self employed?

 

[zaminda]

In spite of the fact the job is dangerous, your boss is still liable. I would speak to one of the many legal firms who cover accidents at work, as you could have problems with your arm for years down the line. Don't feel too sorry for them, as they have liability cover for this sort of thing. I would however also look at accident insurance, although having recently tried to claim on my income policy, use someone other than CICA, as they are a complete pain, could for breaks and lump sum pay outs, but not so good for this sort of thing. You will also be entitled to SSP until you are able to go back to work.

 

[Armas]

You're not due compensation unless your boss was negligent. If all precautions were taken (or you had the option to take precautions and didn't) and you had an unfortunate accident then there's nothing to be done. You could maybe claim Job Seekers Allowance for the period of your contract ending and flying out. You've been lucky with your current employer paying your wages rather than having to claim Statutory Sick Pay. I would get personal accident insurance like the other poster suggested.

Not sure if that is true !

We had a woman brake her finger whilst using a step machine. She dropped a towel between the steppers did not stop did not get of did not stop the machine instead she decided to reach down whist the machine was moving to grab the towel. A year later we are being taken to court by her in Ireland (she is Irish).
She broke her fingers her fault on second day of her stay but still managed to complete the weeks boot camp.
Apparently the maximum compensation for two broken fingers is a €10000 in Ireland.
In this culture of no win no fee you can claim for anything.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Surely you will have signed a health and saftey do-da that will have stated that you should be aware of horses at all times and that they are unpredictable and not machines.

 

[Armas]

Surely you will have signed a health and saftey do-da that will have stated that you should be aware of horses at all times and that they are unpredictable and not machines.

Does not matter ! Even a liability release is worthless !

 

[SNORKEY]

Hi, I got kicked in the face by a horse and lost my front teeth. I was on my own in the field half a mile from the yard, when I finally come round, as I was knocked out I wondered back in the yard with blood all down me.
I'd only been in the job a couple of weeks and was too young to know about claiming on the horse owners insurance or my bosses insurance, I didn't want to upset anyone so I left it. I didn't even get a sorry from the horses owner and my boss only paid half the nhs dentist fee.
Looking back now I should of made a claim. I would definitely call one of these no win no fee claim company's. or you could claim against the horse owners insurance, if its not your boss's horse. your boss is being good but you could be left with pain in your wrist etc for a long time.

 

[PeterNatt]

Start from basics:
How long have you worked for your present employer.
Has your employee issued you with a contract of employment? This should include an employee handbook and then the contract of employment?
Does your employer have a Health and Safety document and have you been issued with a copy?
Have you seen a copy of your employers insurance certificate? This should be displayed in a prominent place?

 

[PandorasJar]

If you are self employed you should have your own insurance

If they are employing you they should have insurance

 

[ladyt25]

The employer should have employer's liability insurance and it does not matter if you are temporary or not you are still entitled to claim under their insurance although they have already stated they will pay you until 'x' date so it's not like you are out of pocket as such. However, if this injury could affect your work in the future (ie the mobility of your arm) then you would be entitled to claim for that anyway. That is why employers have the insurance - it doesn't matter if the job is inherently risky (the premium they pay will be based on the risk anyway), you are still covered.

As for uninsured loss (ie fights) as a result of the injury, I am not entirely sure. I think you need to find out if your employer has adequate cover (if not they shouldn't be employing anyone!) and pursue a claim through their insurer if you so choose.

 

[Tinypony]

Do you have any insurance that you could use to ring and get advice? House insurance might cover it, or if you have something like BHS gold membership. I think people are right in that you might be able to make some sort of claim. You could call CAB if you don't have any useful insurance company to contact for advice.

 

[AmyMay]

Hazard of the job, surely?

 

[indie999]

Hazard of the job, surely?

This is just my simplistic own view but I agree. I think if someone injured themselves which seems a hazard of your job and the employer paid you to the end of your contract that was good of them. I am suprised that you dont have your own insurance when freelancing or working with horses. But I realise that no win no fee is so wonderful excuse to try to make a fast buck these days. I do feel sorry for you losing flights etc but hey perhaps thats what insurance is for(your current employer wasnt responsible for your next career move). You sound pretty reasonable to me and I am not having a go but you know what I mean.

Got to say I wouldnt employ anyone who knowingly tried to sue in a similar job role when working in this environment(and that is probably illegal too) but I am just being fair.

Good luck and hope it heals up fast for you.

 

[Kat]

Seek proper legal advice, it is possible you have a claim.

You should also look at any personal accident insurance, travel insurance, business insurance, rider insurance, trade union membership, professional or sports memberships you have. You may have insurance or legal cover.

You can't get proper advice on here.

 

[chokablok]

I would get proper legal advice instead of the opinions of random people off the internet.

No win no fee lawyers are great if you win, however if you lose you have to pay the costs for your lawyer and the other side's legal fees. Try ringing the national accident helpline or similar - they usually do free quotes to see if you have a case. If you are a BHS member the BHS legal helpline may also be able to help.

 

[ladyt25]

This is just my simplistic own view but I agree. I think if someone injured themselves which seems a hazard of your job and the employer paid you to the end of your contract that was good of them. I am suprised that you dont have your own insurance when freelancing or working with horses. But I realise that no win no fee is so wonderful excuse to try to make a fast buck these days. I do feel sorry for you losing flights etc but hey perhaps thats what insurance is for(your current employer wasnt responsible for your next career move). You sound pretty reasonable to me and I am not having a go but you know what I mean.

Got to say I wouldnt employ anyone who knowingly tried to sue in a similar job role when working in this environment(and that is probably illegal too) but I am just being fair.

Good luck and hope it heals up fast for you.

That is how it does seem when you look at it BUT if you were in a situation where you were injured at work at it maybe affected your ability to be employed or work in the future then you are entitled to claim. It isn't about no win no fee stuff, the fact is employers have employer's liability insurance for that very reason. I work in farm insurance and we also insure tree surgeons and the odd equestrian employees. All of these are potentially dangerous job roles and you can imagine the types of incidents/accidents that happen whether involving farm animals, horses, farm machinery or chain saws!! That's the point of the cover under the employer's insurance. The cover is rated based on the increased risk of the role the employee is undertaking - if they are just doing clerical work for example the insurance premiums are pretty low but any type of manual work then rates increase.

I am not advocating that people SHOULD always claim for any little injury they get at work but it sounds like the OP's fracture(s) where quite severe if they require additional surgery and potentially could affect the movement in that arm in the future. The insurance is in place for this reason.

Oh an yes it is always sensible to take out your own PA insurance if you are working in certain types of jobs.

 

[PonyIAmNotFood]

You work with yearlings, accidents happen and I don't think it's something you should claim for. They've been very good paying you full pay.

 

[smellsofhorse]

if you are freelance you should have you own insurance.

If it were a holiday you sound have insurance but at it was business it would totally depend on the booking conditions of the ticket.

You can't expect either employer to pay the extra fees.

 

[Natch]

Can I just clear up a common myth here. If anybody can point me in the direction of a personal accident insurance which would pay out if your arm gets broken in employment with horses, please do share the details.

Personal accident insurance policies aren't interested unless you lose a limb or are left permanently severely disabled. It just isn't possible IME to insure against that. Wheb I broke my leg and couldn't work I looked into finding some sort of policy to cover a similar situation in the future and I couldn't find one.

You were injured in an accident at work. If you are a member of BHS ring their legal advice helpline, they will help you and you will know it is advice to be trusted, rather than trusting us motley crew

 

[horseandshoes77]

I would have thought the risk was obvious when you do this kind of job. You should really have your own personal accident insurance.

totally agree you know the risks involved in job so these things happen

 

[SpruceRI]

No win no fee lawyers are great if you win, however if you lose you have to pay the costs for your lawyer and the other side's legal fees.

That's not correct

No-win, no-fee lawyers work the claim under a conditional fee agreement usually. If you win the case you keep all of the monies awarded to you. The lawyer gets their payment from the other side. if you lose, you pay nothing.

The NW-NF company takes out an 'after the event' insurance policy to cover themselves should they lose the case.

I'm sure that several of the companies would be pleased to take on your case.

Usually you're suing for injury. Loss of future earnings will also be discussed.

It's definately not a case of 'you knew the risks, so you don't have a claim' - you most certainly do.

 

[jeeve]

we have workers compensation insurance in Australia which cover wages and medical costs, re your other costs, well, income protection insurance/travel insurance. Basically as i understand it you should not be out of pocket for lost wages or medical but after that the risk is with you.

I know the UK laws are a bit different, I think ours are more generous over here.

 

[jeeve]

Can I just clear up a common myth here. If anybody can point me in the direction of a personal accident insurance which would pay out if your arm gets broken in employment with horses, please do share the details.

Personal accident insurance policies aren't interested unless you lose a limb or are left permanently severely disabled. It just isn't possible IME to insure against that. Wheb I broke my leg and couldn't work I looked into finding some sort of policy to cover a similar situation in the future and I couldn't find one.

You were injured in an accident at work. If you are a member of BHS ring their legal advice helpline, they will help you and you will know it is advice to be trusted, rather than trusting us motley crew

Income protection insurance would do the job

 

[Mince Pie]

That is how it does seem when you look at it BUT if you were in a situation where you were injured at work at it maybe affected your ability to be employed or work in the future then you are entitled to claim. It isn't about no win no fee stuff, the fact is employers have employer's liability insurance for that very reason. I work in farm insurance and we also insure tree surgeons and the odd equestrian employees. All of these are potentially dangerous job roles and you can imagine the types of incidents/accidents that happen whether involving farm animals, horses, farm machinery or chain saws!! That's the point of the cover under the employer's insurance. The cover is rated based on the increased risk of the role the employee is undertaking - if they are just doing clerical work for example the insurance premiums are pretty low but any type of manual work then rates increase.

I am not advocating that people SHOULD always claim for any little injury they get at work but it sounds like the OP's fracture(s) where quite severe if they require additional surgery and potentially could affect the movement in that arm in the future. The insurance is in place for this reason.

Oh an yes it is always sensible to take out your own PA insurance if you are working in certain types of jobs.

I'm sorry I don't agree. I damn nearly broke my back last year being launched off someone else's horse. I will never be able to work with horses again and even I can't ride anything with a big movement so my life has definitely changed career/riding wise. I will also need surgery on my back. I knew there was a high chance I was going to come off as the horse was a highly strung youngster and accepted that risk when I sat in the saddle so wouldn't even dream about claiming against the owner.
OP knew about the risks of working with TB youngstock so should have had her own cover in place (sorry OP ).

 

[floradora]

Have you discussed further compensation with them and given them a chance to respond? who if anybody was handling the colt at the time? Did. they or you do anything negligent which could have contributed to you being kicked? Could they have done anything to prevent it? If you think somebody else was to blame, go back and have a chat about it. Is it a reputable yard/stud? If so, they probably have adequate insurance to cover these situations. Sounds like they have been reasonable in paying you until the end of your contract.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

As can be seen there have been many replies to the OP with a variety of answers. People mention insurance, it doesn't matter wether there is insurance in place or not, we are talking about liability. How any settlement, assuming one is to be made, should be paid is a different matter.

The OP needs to speak to a solicitor about this incident & then she will get correct legal advice as to who is responsible & how to proceed depending on liability. Any liability may need to be ascertained by court action so it could take some time.

Seek proper legal advice, the replies although well intentioned, may not be right. There are so many different answers that a proportion of them have to be wrong........ but which ones?