Injury At Work

[suspiw]

as I type this my son is in A@E, this is the second time in a year. He works in a rescue kennels/cattery. Last year he was savage by a dog, we received a phone call from his work place to pick him up and take him to A@E as the wound was serious enough to warrant stitches. He has now been attacked by a cat and (not fully sure to the extent of injuries) but from message left on answerphone , very bad lacerations to the knee and leg. Unfortunately he could not get hold of us , but managed to get hold of a friend to collect and take him to A@E. Although not life threatening , and not warranting an ambulance, he was unable to drive himself on both occassions.

Shouldn't it be the Employers responsibility to get him to A@E ?

I have searched the Web ( Goverment and Union sites) and cannot find an UK site thats says they should.

Any knowledge or thoughts on this ?

[sara3]

I doubt it.. if he were that bad, an ambulance could have been called.

[furrypusscat]

First and foremost have both accidents been recorded in his employers Accident Book/Record. This must be done by law which will cover him for any unforseen injuries/illnesses relating to his accident should there be any future problems. Re employers liability, first aid must be given at the place of work and again recorded, time, date, who administered treatment and what was done and what advice given. As for getting him to hospital, I would have thought, dependant on severity, they would have to supply necessary transport whether it be taxi, ambulance or staff car. However not sure whether this is laid down in H&S law or just something that a reasonable, responsible employer would do.

[boxtops]

Agree that it's vital to make sure it's recorded in the accident book, this is HASAW law, not optional.

[mrs_overall]

As far as I am aware (99.9% certain) there is no legal responsibility for the employer to arrange transport to A&E if the injury is not severe enough to warrant an ambulance being called.

I do think that the employer has a moral duty to arrange transport in these circumstances

[boxtops]

PS - the circumstances about taking him to hospital might be dependent on individual circumstances at the time - i.e. perhaps they are not alowwed to leave the kennels unattended. Could he not have rung a taxi?

It's a difficult one liability-wise, IMO - has the employer been negligent in allowing these attacks to happen? I think perhaps not - you can't predict the actions of an unhappy penned animal.

[tonyav]

I don't know if it's law or not, but where ever I have worked if an injury has needed or thought to have needed some sort of A&E treatment then they have provided transport to hospital and back again.

[boxtops]

It's the law that they should have a first aid box - I think you only need a trained first aider if you have a minimum number of people working at the locaton - say 10?

[suspiw]

Thanks all, the first incident was definitly recorded and I am sure this will , if not already in accident book.
I agree with tony, most companies would supply a vehicle and driver to get the injured person to hospital. or even arrange a Taxi.
In this case, I would have thought it was in the interest of employers to get and employee to hospital , ASAP to get the antibiotic treatment required with an injury caused by an animal, such injuries need to be dealt with sooner than later due to the risk of infection. The employer is a well known large Charity, although short off staff, through leavers and long term Sickness and work related injuries ( 3 at the moment), they are relying on volunteers and unexperienced casual workers. The trained staff are overworked and exhausted. They do not look after the staff ! Its little wonder these accidents are increasing.

[lcg]

no.