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Since 2002 the Provision of Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) has acted to safeguard all UK workers from the potential hazards of a forklift accidents. Although PUWER came into force in 1998 for most kinds of working equipment, a four-year delay in implementation was allowed for all mobile working equipment, including forklifts.
The general aim of the regulations is to prevent and control the personal injury risks presented by working equipment. PUWER is undoubtedly a powerful and significant set of regulations. However, in regard to the risk of forklift accidents, the safeguards it provides to UK workers do not exist in isolation, as a number of other regulations and pieces of legislation also exist to protect the health and safety of employees.
Most notable among these are the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOTER), the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations. These legislative and regulatory frameworks often overlap in their content but forge together to form a strong set of guidelines and requirements.
What is covered by PUWER?
In short, the answer is, just about everything you could think of. Whether a person works in a factory, an office, a warehouse, a hospital or on a construction site, all the equipment they come into the contact throughout the course of their job will be covered by PUWER. Although the regulations will usually apply to someone who is working from a home office, they do not impose any obligations on a person who is employing domestic help in a private household.
In cases where employees bring their own equipment into the workplace, an employer will still have a responsibility to ensure it complies with PUWER. This, obviously, is unlikely to be an issue with forklift trucks.
The general rule is that PUWER will apply to any workplace where the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is enforceable.
One interesting aspect of PUWER is the way it divides the management and control of risk into two separate "measures", categorised respectively as "hardware" and "software". These are defined as such:
Hardware measures: e.g., providing suitable guards, protection devices, markings and warning devices, system control devices(such as emergency stop buttons) and personal protective equipment; and
Software measures: following safe systems of work (e.g., ensuring maintenance is only performed when equipment is shut down etc), and providing adequate information, instruction and training. A combination of these measures may be necessary depending on the requirements of the work, your assessment of the risks involved and the practicability of such measures.
UK-leading no win, no fee solicitors
There are around 8,000 forklift accidents in the UK each year, with an alarming number of these resulting in serious personal injury.
The obligations owed by employers to all employees who work in environments involving forklifts are very clear. They are laid out in both LOTER and PUWER as well as the various pieces of legislation that cement these regulatory frameworks.
Just as it is your employer's job to ensure that you are protected from the risk of accident and personal injury, it is our job to ensure that if they don't they are both held accountable and made to pay compensation for any pain, suffering or lost earnings you experience as a result.
The no win, no fee solicitors we select to deal with this kind of claim are always chosen on the basis of their expertise and demonstrable success. It may also reassure you to know that since all our solicitors are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, you are assured of the very best in industry standards.
We are so much more than "no win, no fee"; win or lose, our service never costs you a penny, and in the event that you do win your claim, our policy of never taking a cut ensures that you will always receive 100% compensation.
To get in touch with us now, fill out an online claim form, have an echat, request a callback, or phone us now on 0800 10 757 97 and we will get your forklift accident claim underway today.
