We can help you claim
compensation following an accident
illness or injury - nationwide
Call: 0800 10 757 95
The risk of suffering an accident at work can be quite high when employed to care for wild and often unpredictable animals.
This is exactly what employees at zoos all over the UK have to do every working day, and occasionally into the night if an animal is very ill or about to give birth and the keeper needs to be present in case of complications.
Some animals are more docile than others, and some may even be former pets and therefore are domesticated and more likely to strike out at the other animals around them than their handlers, nevertheless, many animals seen in British zoos are capable of harming someone if they become frightened or angry.
If a keeper or other member of staff at a zoo suffers personal injury from an animal, they may be entitled to make a compensation claim from their employer.
However, their case may not be clear-cut. The organisation or individual who owns the zoo cannot be seen as directly responsible for an animal's behaviour unless they are mistreating it. This may mean that the accident could be viewed as an unforeseeable event.
In order to have a successful case a solicitor and claimant will need to be able to prove that it was due to the negligence of the zoo authority towards the health and safety of their staff that led to the incident.
For example, if a person needed to check an animal for a possible injury but was not given the correct personal safety equipment for the task and was attacked by the animal as a result, the employer would probably be seen as liable if the attack was not the staff-member's fault.
Similarly, if they were not given enough training before being asked to look after a certain animal, such as being told how to conduct a task in such a way as to not to frighten it, then any personal injury sustained could be viewed as the zoo authority's responsibility even if all protective equipment was provided.
Accident at work in UK zoo
If you have sustained a non-fault injury from an animal while working in a zoo, you could be eligible to claim compensation for your pain, suffering and any loss of earnings.
Contact us on 0800 10 757 95, or take a moment to fill in a short online claim form with some basic details about your accident at work, and we will get in touch with you regarding your case as soon as possible.
