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Inadequate And Poor Quality PPE Claims (Personal Protective Equipment)

In this guide, we’ll look at the process of making inadequate PPE claims. Your employer has a duty of care towards you while you’re at work. As part of this duty of care, they’re expected to provide you with the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that you need to do your job safely.

If this duty of care is breached, you could be injured as a result. If this is the case, you may be able to claim against your employer.

Our advisors are here to provide you with free legal advice, and they’re available to do so 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Furthermore, there’s no obligation for you to proceed with us just from getting in touch.

However, they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel to represent you if your claim has a good chance of success. To find out more about how to claim for injuries caused by substandard PPE, read on. You can also get in touch now by:

Clicking on the banner at the top of this page
Using our contact form
Chatting to someone using the live pop-up box in the corner of this screen

Choose A Section

Why Health And Safety Regulations Are Important
What Is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?
What Can I Do If My Employer Gives Me Poor Quality PPE?
Compensation Payouts For Inadequate PPE Claims
Connect With No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Solicitors
Learn More About Inadequate PPE Claims

Why Health And Safety Regulations Are Important

Health and safety regulations that apply to workplaces are very important. Some workplaces can pose a real risk of injury or contracting work-related illnesses. For example, the construction or manufacturing industries involve large, heavy pieces of moving machinery. These have the potential to cause injury to workers.

However, it’s not just certain high-risk roles where health and safety in the workplace are important. It’s also important that employers adhere to their duty of care in workplaces such as offices where you might expect fewer risks to safety.

For example, there’s a risk of slipping and falling in an office. This might happen because the flooring is unsuitable or proper housekeeping was not maintained, meaning that an obstruction caused you to fall. However, for the purposes of this guide, we will focus on health and safety in workplaces where PPE may be required.

In workplaces, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) is an important piece of legislation; it outlines the duty of care that employers owe their employees. This duty of care will be discussed in more detail in the section What Can I Do If My Employer Gives Me Poor Quality PPE?.

Furthermore, the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 goes into the responsibilities of an employer in a bit more detail. For example, it states the guidelines around the assessment, maintenance and use of PPE in workplaces.

Official Accident At Work Statistics

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report on non-fatal injuries at work in Great Britain. In total, 51,211 non-fatal injuries were reported through The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

The most common of these incidents reported were slips, trips and falls on the same level. These kinds of accidents could potentially be prevented by supplying employees with non-slip shoes where this is applicable.

If your employer’s negligence has led to you being injured and you’d like to learn more about inadequate PPE claims, contact our team today. One of our advisors will be happy to answer any questions you have.

What Is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

Personal protective equipment is important to keep people safe at work. The kind of PPE you require will depend on the role you work in.

For example, you may use:

Gloves
Steel toe boots
Goggles
Ear protection
Hard hats
High-visibility clothing, for example, jackets

PPE is designed to offer protection while working in places where hazards could be present. For example, construction sites are generally noisy places. Ear defenders are useful to avoid the onset of conditions such as tinnitus. Similarly, hard hats and steel toe boots could be used in a construction environment to minimise the impact of heavy loads falling from a height.

Gloves can be used in a variety of settings. For example, if you work with abrasive substances, then gloves could protect your skin from damage.

As you can see, PPE is important. The absence of it could stand to cause severe problems where the personal health of employees is at stake. As such, employers cannot afford to be negligent when it comes to personal protective equipment.

Get in touch with an advisor today if you have been injured as a result of substandard PPE. They can provide you with further in-depth information on inadequate PPE claims.

What Can I Do If My Employer Gives Me Poor Quality PPE?

Previously, we’ve mentioned the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act. This outlines the duty of care that employers owe to their employees.

Part of this duty of care includes providing appropriate PPE, but it can also mean ensuring that good housekeeping is practised. In addition, working machinery should be kept safe and well-maintained.

There are a number of ways an employer can breach this duty of care with respect to PPE. For example, they may provide you with the wrong type of PPE. Furthermore, they might fail to replace or repair PPE even after becoming aware that it’s no longer fit for purpose.

If your employer breaches the duty of care that they owe you, resulting in injury, then you may be able to claim. Injury is essential in making your claim. You cannot be compensated for a lack of appropriate PPE if this did not directly lead to you being injured.

If you want to learn more about inadequate PPE claims, get in touch with an advisor today to learn more. If your claim is valid, an advisor could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

What Evidence Do I Need For Inadequate PPE Claims?

To be able to prove that your employer was negligent, you will need to collect evidence to support your claim.

The faulty PPE itself can function as evidence. For example, if you were given goggles to protect you from harmful fumes and the seal around the goggles had deteriorated, then this could support your claim.

Some other forms of evidence that could be used to support your claim include:

CCTV footage that shows the accident taking place
Details of any witnesses who saw the incident occur so that a statement can be taken at a later date
A report from the workplace accident book
Photographs of the scene of the accident, your injuries or the faulty PPE that led to you being injured.

For more information on useful evidence in inadequate PPE claims, speak to an advisor today. You can get in touch by clicking on the banner below.

Compensation Payouts For Inadequate PPE Claims

You may be wondering how inadequate PPE claims are valued. To give you a rough idea of how much your claim could be worth, we have provided this table with example compensation payouts from the Judicial College Guidelines.

These figures are based on real-life compensation settlement amounts. However, they may not give you a fully accurate picture of what you could be owed. Your case is different with its own details to consider.

As such, we recommend that you speak with an advisor today to get the most relevant figure possible in relation to your claim.

Injury	Nature of incident	Possible compensation
Brain Damage (b) Moderately Severe Brain Damage	Where the injured person has become disabled to a very serious degree. Professional care may be needed, and there could also be a deficit to intellect and personality. Life expectancy may also be reduced.	£205,580 - £264,650
Injuries Affecting Sight (b) Total Blindness	Where vision has been completely impaired, leaving the injured party unable to see.	In the region of £252,180
Deafness/Tinnitus (c) Total Loss of Hearing in One Ear	Here, the injured person may experience headaches and tinnitus, as well as dizziness.	£29,380 - £42,730
Asbestos-Related Disease (a)	Here, mesothelioma will have been sustained which will impede quality of life. This will happen through irritation to the lung lining or the abdominal cavity. Extent of pain, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy will affect award.	£65,710 - £118,150
Neck Injuries (b) Moderate (I)	You would be likely to see dislocations or fractures which might need spinal fusion surgery to repair. There may also be serious soft tissue injuries involved.	£23,460 - £36,120
Back Injuries (b) Moderate (ii)	Where there has been injuries such as ligament disturbance as well as injuries to muscle. There may be issues such as backache, soft tissue injuries and exacerbation of pre-existing injuries.	£11,730 - £26,050
Ankle Injuries	Here, there has been an injury necessitating a long period in a plaster cast. Pins and plates will have also been employed to repair the injury. However, the injured person may find it difficult to walk following this.	£29,380 - £46,980
Toe Injuries (c) Severe Toe Injuries	Where there has been crush injuries to multiple toes, necessitating amputation of at least one. Also includes bursting wounds.	£12,900 - £29,770
Facial Disfigurement (c) Fractures of Nose or Nasal Complex (I)	Where a number of operations have been required to repair multiple fractures; however, the injured party is still left with breathing difficulties as well as damage to tear ducts and nerves.	£9,990 - £21,700
Dermatitis (b)	Where dermatitis has affected one or both hands and continues for a significant period. However, it will settle with treatment and where gloves are used for specific tasks.	£56,180 - £94,470

The above table refers to general damages. This is compensation for the pain and suffering your injuries have caused you.

As part of your claim, you’ll be invited to a medical assessment. At this appointment, an independent expert will assess your injuries, confirm that they’re consistent with the accident you were involved in and compile a report with their findings. The report will then be used to value the general damages head of your claim.

Special damages provide compensation for financial losses that your accident has caused you to sustain. For instance, this could be for lost wages or renovations you have had to make to your home to accommodate your injuries. It’s important that you provide evidence of any special damages you’d like to claim back; for example, you could use payslips to support a claim for lost wages.

To find out how much you could receive in general and special damages, speak to an advisor. They can offer free legal advice about inadequate PPE claims and may be able to connect you with a solicitor from our panel.

Connect With No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Solicitors

You may be interested in inadequate PPE claims and may want to start your own claim. However, the thought of extensive legal costs can be a significant barrier for many people. However, there is an option that may help called a No Win No Fee agreement. A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is the kind of No Win No Fee agreement usually used in personal injury claims.

When you fund legal representation with a CFA, it means that:

You won’t be asked to make any upfront or ongoing fees to your solicitor
In the event of an unsuccessful claim, there’ll be nothing to pay them.
If your claim is successful, a small, legally-capped percentage of your compensation will be deducted.

To find out more about how a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you, speak to an advisor today. They can provide you with free legal advice and can do so 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can also connect you with a solicitor from our panel if your claim has a good chance of success.

To find out more, get in touch today. You can do so by:

Clicking on the banner below
Using our contact form
Chatting to someone using the live pop-up box in the corner of this screen

Learn More About Inadequate PPE Claims

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents — Anti-accident charity providing guidance and information.

Head injury and concussion — This NHS guide detailing head injuries and associated issues.

Tinnitus — An NHS guide discussing tinnitus and its symptoms.

You can read more of our guides below too:

Thank you for reading our guide to inadequate PPE claims.

Construction Health and Safety – Accident At Work Claims

Welcome to our article on construction health and safety claims. In this article, we will be looking at how your employer should take reasonable steps to keep you safe at work if you’re in the construction industry.

To make an accident at work personal injury claim, it is necessary to prove that the negligence of your employer caused your injury. Your employer owes you a duty of care in the workplace. In this guide, we will look at what duty of care could mean to you and how you could go about making a valid claim.

When working in construction, you could potentially be at risk of personal injury due to the physical labour required. Therefore, employers should always abide by health and safety laws.

If you’re thinking about making a claim, our team of advisors can offer free legal advice to help you. They could also connect you with a solicitor from our panel who can help you start an accident at work claim today. Contact us today by calling us at the number at the top of the page or using our contact form.

Choose A Section

The Importance Of Construction Health And Safety
How Can Employers Comply With Construction Health And Safety Law?
What Can I Do If Injured On A Construction Site?
Accident At Work Compensation Examples
Get Help From No Win No Fee Personal Injury Solicitors
Learn More About Construction Health And Safety

The Importance Of Construction Health And Safety

The laws, rules and principles around health and safety in the workplace are important because they are designed to keep employees safe from injury or illness. When regulations aren’t followed, accidents and harm could potentially occur.

Construction may be considered one of the more hazardous industries due to the physical nature of the work. Employers may often require employees to work at height or operate heavy machinery.

The employer has a duty of care towards all employees to take all reasonably practicable steps to keep them from harm in the workplace. This could include regularly checking equipment and performing routine risk assessments in the workplace. You could potentially claim compensation from your employer if this duty of care has been breached, leading to harm.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s regulator for health and safety in the workplace. They provide plenty of information on health and safety in construction that employers can follow. There is a particular focus on working from height, as falls are seen to be the largest cause of accidental death in the construction industry, accounting for 50% of all fatalities.

Accident And Injury Statistics From The Construction Industry

The HSE also provides helpful statistics on ill-health and injury in the workplace. From these statistics, gathered from self-reports in the Labour Force Survey in 2020/21, we can see that 3,360 (per 100,000) workers in the construction industry reported work-related ill-health.

To prevent work-related ill health, employers can take measures. For example, they might provide the correct ventilation where needed or personal protective equipment (PPE) if risks can’t be reduced or removed any further.

Another finding from these statistics was that the construction industry was second highest for self-reported non-fatal workplace injuries. 2,870 (per 100,000) construction workers reported sustaining some form of work-related injury in 2020/21.

According to the HSE, this is significantly higher than the average rate across all industries. We can infer from these statistics that construction workers could be considered more at risk when compared with some other industries such as education.

How Can Employers Comply With Construction Health And Safety Law?

All employers are obliged to keep their employees safe under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This legislation is central to governing health and safety in the workplace and outlines the employer’s duty of care in detail. It is because of this document that you could potentially claim if you can prove that your employer has breached their duty of care towards you.

An employer could breach their duty of care in a multitude of ways. Let’s look at a few examples.

As an employee at a construction site, you should have the appropriate training and awareness of hazards. If the site conditions are poor or hazards aren’t reduced or removed, and you’re injured as a result, your employer may have breached their duty of care.

For something more specific, say you are working at height and fall. You could sustain a traumatic brain injury if your employer did not provide you with an appropriate hardhat or other necessary PPE. Your employer is obligated to provide you with any obligatory protective gear that could keep you safe in the event of an accident.

However, these examples are not exhaustive. If you have been harmed in another way as a construction worker, you could still potentially claim compensation. Get in touch with our team of advisors today if poor construction health and safety has led to your injuries.

What Can I Do If Injured On A Construction Site?

If you’ve been injured on a construction site, we first recommend that you seek medical attention. If you think your injuries could be less serious, you could seek the advice of your GP or ring 111. However, you may need to ring 999 or seek your nearest emergency service if you think it may be necessary.

Before starting a claim, you could gather evidence. You can do this without the help of a solicitor, but we always recommend that you hire one. Their expertise and experience can make the entire claims process smoother for you because they will know what forms of evidence will give your case the best chance for success.

Desirable evidence types could include:

The contact details of any witnesses (so they can provide statements)
Accident report book records
CCTV footage
Photographs of injuries and the accident site
Medical reports

As part of the claims process, it is required that you attend an independent medical appointment. A medical professional will assess the severity and effects of your injuries and create a report. Your solicitor, if you have one, will likely use this as key evidence for your claim. They can also use it to help value your injuries.

If you have any queries about construction health and safety claims, why not get in touch?

Accident At Work Compensation Examples

This section will have a table of possible compensation amounts relating to construction injuries. These figures are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. Legal professionals use this document to help value injuries for claims. The law refers to this element of your compensation as general damages.

Injury	Severity	Amount	Notes
Brain	Moderately Severe	£205,580 to £264,650	You could claim for a brain injury that has left a serious disability with a substantial depedence on others and a need for constant care. There may also be related physical disabilities, such as limb paralysis and a risk of future issues.
Back	Severe (i)	£85,470 to £151,070	You could claim for severe damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots, leading to serious consequences. There could be serious pain with a disability such as paralysis.
Back	Moderate (ii)	£11,730 to £26,050	You could claim for prolapsed discs, or soft tissue injuries that exacerbate the symptoms of a pre-existing condition.
Arm	(d)	£6,190 to £18,020	You could claim for a simple fracture of the forearm.
Neck	Severe (i)	Around £139,210	You could claim for injuries that have resulted in part paraplegia or little to no movement in the neck despite extensive treatment. There may also be severe headaches that are difficult to treat.
Shoulder	Serious	£11,980 to £18,020	You could claim for injuries such as a dislocation that causes pain in the shoulder, neck and elbow with a related weakness of grip.
Knee	Moderate (i)	£13,920 to £24,580	You could claim for injuries such as torn cartilage or dislocation which results in some instability or weakness. Or, the injury may have exacerbated symptoms of a pre-existing condition.
Toe	(a)	£34,270 to £52,620	You could claim for the amputation of all toes, whether it was traumatic or surgical.
Pelvis & Hip	Moderate (i)	£24,950 to £36,770	You could claim for injuries that have caused permanent but not major disabilities and future risk is not great.

You may also be able to claim special damages as part of your compensation. This aims to cover any financial losses you incurred as a result of your injury. You could also potentially claim for financial losses that you may incur in the future. Some examples of what you could claim for are:

Lost wages
The price of necessary mobility supports
Adjustments to the home if needed
Travel costs (to and from hospital, for example)
Medical expenses not covered by the NHS

To claim special damages, you would need to provide evidence that your financial loss was a direct result of your injury. You could provide payslips to show a loss of earnings or receipts to display travel costs.

Get Help From No Win No Fee Personal Injury Solicitors

Making a workplace accident personal injury claim against your employer may seem daunting. What’s more, if you are already struggling financially, you might be put off seeking the services of a solicitor. In this case, a No Win No Fee agreement could be for you.

If a solicitor offers their services on a No Win No Fee basis, it means you will not have to worry about any upfront or ongoing solicitor fees. You won’t even have to worry about any solicitor fees if your claim does not succeed.

However, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation amount if your claim is successful. This success fee is legally capped so you can keep the majority of the compensation you are owed.

Your solicitor will inform you of their fees before they take on your case, so there are no nasty surprises. Once the defendant fully pays your compensation, only then will your solicitor deduct this fee.

So why not start your claim today? If health and safety at your construction site was not taken seriously, leading to harm, you could potentially claim compensation from your employer.

Contact Us

Our team of advisors can offer you expert legal advice about how you could make a valid claim. They may even connect you with a solicitor from our panel who can help you start your case today. Our advisors are available 24/7 and you can reach them by:

Contacting us via our website
Calling us on the number at the top of the page
Using our live chat to talk to an advisor

Learn More About Construction Health And Safety

Thank you for reading our guide on construction health and safety claims. We hope you found it helpful. To learn more, please see below.

NHS: Falls – The NHS page on falls and how they may be prevented.

Health and Safety in the Construction Industry – Another HSE page looking at health and safety guidance for the construction industry.

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – A charity aiming to reduce the number of accidents using advice and guidance.

You can read more of our guides below too: