Experiencing an accident or assault at work is a traumatic experience and can be especially shocking for a carer whose work is to daily look after and support vulnerable people in care or nursing homes.
It may seem surprising, but here at Scott Rees & Co we have seen and worked on many cases where employees of care homes or other similar institutions have had an accident at work or were seriously injured or attacked due to the employer’s negligence.
In the UK, a health and social care worker is attacked every 30 minutes. According to a 12-month survey by Community Care, 85% of social workers experience assault, harassment, or verbal abuse.
In most of these cases, the employer is negligent of attacks by service users on employees for one or more of the following reasons (non-exhaustive list):
- The employer inadequately evaluates the service user’s propensity to attack staff
- The employer fails to pass on the triggers for violent behaviour to the employee charged with their care
- The employer fails to assess or provide the correct staff ratios required to look after service users
- The employer fails to train the employee to deal with service users who might attack – or inadequate restraint or self-defence training
- The employer may fail to properly address the medication needs of the service user, resulting in the services user becoming violent due to over or underdosing medication
- The employer may employ other staff who fail to meet their obligations/duties, such that the other employees trigger behaviours in vulnerable service users that leads to an attack
- The service user may be known to display behaviours so challenging and beyond the scope of the remit of the institution in which the employee works, such that it was inappropriate for that service user to be in the facility s/he is placed in
- There may be a failure by the employer to have adequate systems for assistance (no alarms provided, alarms not working, or inadequately placed or other employers failed to assist when one employee is under threat of attack etc)
Care home employers must assess the potential risks to their employees and as stated by the law, employers must use processes that ensure the care home is free from dangers likely to harm employees.
If an attack or accident has happened to you, a co-worker, or a care worker you know, make sure to report the accident to your manager as soon as it happens. Ensure your employer records the accident and if possible, get witness statements from those present at the time.
We have a lot of experience in carer and workplace assault and accident compensation claims and it’s very important to us to make sure – in our own little way – that all workplaces have safe environments.
If you have fallen victim to workplace injuries or assault, please get in touch with our expert solicitors that can discuss your circumstances with an initial free consultation.
In cases like these, our priority is to make you feel as comfortable as possible but also confident in your claim. We understand how sensitive and painful this topic can be which is why we will try our best to get the best compensation for you.
Our team of solicitors are here to help you claim compensation in a professional manner, advise you throughout the legal process, and assist you to seek justice. Get in touch with us to discuss a claim.