ok a wall mounted electronic fan fell on my head in work today and got a 2 inch gash in my head and a really sore neck.

if i claim for an injury can they sack me?

No

Ha straight to the point. i like it.

might aswell whack in a claim then

no they cant, but they most prob try to get rid of you some other way, so you'll have to be spot on with everything you do!

if its anything like our place, no matter what the cause, they will say its your fault and try to disuade you from claiming! how did it fall? was it not hung correctly or something?
Baz

Wench is the legal brains. whoever you are employed by should have you covered and themselves by an insurance policy of some description or they shouldn't be employing people. If you are not in a union and have no legal cover you may as well go to a no win no fee solicitor. Ask Wench's advice first.

Did you see a first-aider, did you put it in the accident book?

i seen a first aider who cleaned the cut and everything was logged on the accident book yes.

the fans are normally secured by a bracket but over the weekend someone must have tried to move it to face them or something so it must have came loose. my team leader also told me that somebody reported it to there team leader on sunday. it wasnt just a normal fan there controled by remote so the electrics in them make them quite heavy.

i dont know weather to bother with the claim or not though as its just hassle and i dont want to even remotly risk losing my job

they can't sack you for claiming, but as chris_gilly said, they may try and do it another way - remember its not them paying, its their insurance so theyre not really losing anything financially

baz

Deadmou

At the earliest opportunity LIKE TONIGHT you should go to a hospital walk-in centre and get them to check the wound// dressing etc. That visit will "log" your injury into an official system and the medical record can be retrieved (with your authority) should you make a personal injury claim.

You really should do that. It will help a LOT

Mill Lane, Wallasey, is open until 10pm and will likely be less busy that Arrow Park.

Snod

Id just take it on the chin bud, these things always end in tears. Im always getting cut in work etc etc, as are thousands of other builders and handyman related jobs. Man up and stop being a wimp

yes put a claim in and if they did try and sack you for that you would have one hell of a court case against them!!!!!

there are injury's that make you lose time from work and there are minor injury's that fall with in the make a claim, make a claim group. These are the same as the whip lash crowd who claim when you roll into the back of there car because you where looking at a text on your mobile.

You should be able to go to work without a heater landing on your bonce !!!

a lad at my place broke 3 fingers in work and he put a claim in a week after he came back to work they laid him off so he went to court over it and got 2 grand comp for unfare dismissal hes still waiting for a grand of it 3 years later

Well don't look at text on your phone when you are driving, it could be a kid you hit not the back of another vehicle. I'd claim more than whiplash.

If it's likely to affect you for any period of time, then do it, without question.

But to be honest, im getting sick and tired of people who the minute they have an accident, they play the claim game, and its about time the government cracked down on the legalities of it. Let's be honest, we all hurt ourselves from time to time, have things fall on us etc, and think nothing of it. Outside of the workplace, it's almost seen as macho to just get on with it. But as soon as someone see's the possibility of ££££££'s, the whole philosophy seems to change!

It's always the same story, no matter how small or minor the injury is, people advise "get down to A&E or similar so it is made official" - and in 99% of cases, waste the NHS's time for nothing, other than to screw an employer out of money. And then when it comes to claiming, it's always "play-act the extent to which the injuries affected your life" etc...

I worked in the industry part-time when I was 18 for about 6 months as favour to a mate, as a side-job, during which time I became an assistant manager and was responsible for a small team of door-door and shopping centre reps.

Let's just say, the amount of fraud in the industry is absolutely shocking, and id hazard a guess that 9/10 of the claims we were processing, were guaranteed to be fraudualent, however it was not our job to distinguish, it was ClaimsUK and a couple of independent solicitors. At least 60% of all claims were accepted, and when we went to visit the locations of accidents and the people, and cross-check their stories etc, you could just tell they were chatting bubbles and highly exaggerating things.

Anyway, as Andy says, just get on with it, when I was an IT engineer, I cut my fingers quite a few times on sharp components and surfaces inside computers, even tripped over a wire on one occasion which had been left across the floor when it should'nt have been, by one of the bosses, you just learn to get on with it, id never have dreamed of claiming.

If it really does adversely affect your life, get the claim in there, but don't make the company annoyed or try to cost them money for the sake of a cut head etc.

Liability insurance etc may protect the company, but the true likelyhood is, the premiums will rise. And beware of any claims companies and/or solicitors, their job is to "sell" you their product, and their product is to fight your corner in court and get you compensation so they will earn their money.

A company may not sack you for claiming against them, this is illegal, but they may hold a grudge against you and not be half as lenient on you as they may have been had you not claimed against them. They may also restrict your future opportunities within the company, and whilst you may want to take them to a tribunal over any prejudiced action you feel they have taken against you, it's up to you to prove they did do it, and not them to prove they didnt.

I still don't understand where the clams come into this...

You've come out of your shell snooze.

Yes bert, I had to, to go to work.

I dropped a cup on my foot whilst reading a post on the wiki forum.

Can I sue Mark?

Your post Paul made me spit boiling hot tea over my hands and the keyboard in laughter.

Great post...but Im suing you for the 3rd dgree burns I received as a result

Pmsl. I'll put a claim in too, nearly choked on me drink!

Probably got more chance of marking Sue

NO!! As Mr Loophole, Ive found a floor in your fraudulent claim! If the tea was so hot, why didnt it burn your mouth

...saying that though I may get work to sue Mark for my lack of productivity

I hate it, I'd never try to claim money off anyone unless I was crippled and seriously couldn't work another day. It's an automatic reaction to try and claim - this was totally unheard of 10 - 20 years ago, until the claimers started having a go at the council for dodgy paving stones, and now you can claim against anyone for literally anything.
Making a claim for something as trivial as banging your head as a fair portrayal of how greedy society has got - it's going to get to a point where the only thing on TV is that reject Grrr from the Bill on compensation adverts, while everyone is hating each other because the colour of the curtains from the house over the road is giving you a complex.
It's only 300 quid, get a grip.

It's a long time since you've been 18/19. A lot has changed in the past few years so this is an untrue statement IME. A lot of insurance companies investigate claims. I know that the Firm I work in go through each claim with a fine tooth comb. At the end of the day, it's our reputation that is on the line if we do have any fraudulent claims. We pride ourselves on the fact that we don't have any.

That said, I'm not saying it doesn't go on, but there are much stricter regulations in place now and more in the pipeline.

They don't always get it right though. Remember I put a claim in, genuine, and got turned down but they gave me a "discretionary grant" of 20 quid. They squealed like a piggy when I stopped all my business with them, I used to have building and contents, car insurance, life insurance, endowments all with the same company, and I had been with them for years without claiming a penny. Sod 'em all.

sorry but i think some people have missed the point here.we are all entitled to go to work without risk of injury or death. if during the course of your duties you are injured by an appliance FALLING off a wall STRIKING you on the head and causing INJURY requiring any sort of hospitalisation then you should definitely claim for compensation. not only will the company be more vigilent in future in regards of further injury but you could prevent the death of a collegue.
not only accidents should be reported but also near misses , where although injury hasn't occured it could have. it has been proven that for every x amount of near misses reported a death is avoided.

well an update on the situation. i have had a really painful neck now for 4 weeks. with no signs of letting up. so i think i did the right thing in claiming. ive also been getting sharp pains in the bottom of my back which the doctor thinks could be nerve damage i have to go and see a specialist on friday to confirm this.

I think your right...but only if the injury is serious.

well possible spinal nerve damage is pretty serious

You seriously think you got that from a fan dropping on your head. Well I aint no doctor so I cant really pass comment but it just seems abit extream from that! I have had some really big things welly me on the bonce and never had any probs.

Well hope it gets better soon and good luck with your case!

Well i didnt think much at the time. but i get sharp spasms at the bottom of my back if i move in a certain way. which i have never had before. it wasnt just an ordinary fan like they are electronic wall mounted fans it hit directly on my head and back of neck so its a good possibility it could be nerve damage. like i said i didnt think i was going to be badly injured. and i am still not sure i want to claim but i have an appointment with a specialist on friday who will confirm if it is nerve damage. if it is then i will claim as its not something thats easy to live with as any kind of movement in a certain way creases me with sharp pains in the bottom of my back

Fair does mate, hope you can get it sorted with ya neck/spine, I would not wish spinal or back problems on my worst enemy after seeing the pain my auntie went through for years, and still does, with he bad back.

Well i went the docs to see a specialist yesterday. had to have an MRI and they are saying basicallly i have sciatica. its quite possible it could of came fromt he accident but it can also just happen from posture. etc i probably wont bother claiming to be honest cant be botherd with all the agro.

thanks for everyones advice though

you need a good physio to give you the right exercises - nerve stretches etc. they'll probably refer you, not too long a wait at the mo.

I've suffered with my back for years now and have learnt to live with it.
Be very careful of how you are holding your neck - the slightest change in posture can have a huge effect on your back. Watch how you sit at work, home and in the car - your weight needs to be spread pretty evenly on your butt AND the tops of your legs not have all your weight on your butt. Do learn to live around it and don't let it take over your life
Good luck