How To Make Faulty Gardening Equipment Claims
In this guide, we will discuss faulty gardening equipment claims. If you are employed as a gardener or groundskeeper, you may have to use gardening equipment to carry out certain work tasks. Gardening equipment could present an accident risk if your employer fails to maintain and repair any equipment in a state of disrepair or brokenness. For example, lawnmowers and chain saws should be maintained in accordance with manufacturing guidelines When working equipment is poorly maintained or not maintained at all; it can become defective and lead to accidents.
Faulty gardening equipment claims guide
Your employer owes you a duty of care whilst you are at work. Therefore, they are responsible for carrying out risk assessments and maintaining the correct health and safety standards in the workplace. If your employer breached their duty of care, and as a result, you are injured in a faulty gardening equipment accident, you could be eligible to claim compensation.
Please contact us at Legal Expert to learn whether you could have the grounds to make a personal injury claim. Our team of advisors is available 24/7 to give you free and confidential legal advice at a convenient time.
To get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us in writing to claim online
- Or talk to an advisor using the live chat feature in the corner of your browser.
Select A Section
- Faulty Gardening Equipment Claims For Accidents At Work?
- How Could Faulty Gardening Equipment Accidents Happen?
- What Injuries Could Faulty Gardening Equipment Cause?
- Employers’ Duty Of Care
- Faulty Gardening Equipment Claims Calculator
- How To Make Accident At Work Faulty Gardening Equipment Claims
Faulty Gardening Equipment Claims For Accidents At Work?
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe their workers a duty of care while they are carrying out work tasks. The law states that employers must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety of their employees.
For accidents at work faulty gardening equipment claims to be valid they must share a common basis of employer negligence. This is outlined in the following criteria of eligibility:
- Firstly, your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and place of the accident.
- Secondly, your employer breached their duty of care.
- Finally, as a result, you sustained injuries.
As we move through this guide, we will explain how an employer could breach their duty of care and what injuries you could sustain in a gardening accident at work. Additionally, we will explore compensation brackets for various injuries as a guide to settlement figures.
If you are left with any questions regarding faulty gardening equipment claims, please get in touch with us today. Our advisors are both experienced and knowledgeable.
How Could Faulty Gardening Equipment Accidents Happen?
Lots of pieces of gardening equipment have sharp-bladed, sharp edges or motorised cutting mechanisms. Hence, it is vital that the employer trains employees on how to use such equipment safely, provide any personal protective equipment when risks cannot be reduced, and supervise tasks where necessary. Therefore, should an employer fail in their duty of care, a gardener could suffer an injury, such as a traumatic finger amputation.
Under The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), employers have a duty to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure equipment provided at work is safe to use. The equipment must be suitable for the intended purposes and maintained in a safe condition.
Below we provided examples of what could cause a work equipment accident:
- A lack of maintenance leads to gardening equipment deteriorating and becoming faulty.
- A gardener or grounds worker is not provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) deemed necessary to reduce the risks of the task they are carrying out.
- Employees are not provided with any training in the safe use, storage or maintenance of work equipment.
What Injuries Could Faulty Gardening Equipment Cause?
Faulty gardening equipment could potentially cause injuries that range from mild and transient to serious and life-threatening. This may include:
- Lacerations – caused by a cut from a blade
- Crush injuries – causing broken bones and organ damage
- Loss of vision or blindness – if your eyes are struck or penetrated
- Amputations – such as finger or hand amputation injuries
- Electrocution injuries – caused by faulty electrical equipment
- Paralysis injury – caused by a fall from a height due to faulty ladders
If you would like to discuss making a claim for the injuries you sustained due to your employer breaching their duty of care, please speak to a member of our team.
Employers’ Duty Of Care
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe their workers a duty of care. This states that employers must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety of their employees.
Employers are obligated to carry out risk assessments to identify health and safety hazards, provide proper training for their employees and carry out maintenance within the correct time frame. If an employer identifies a hazard, they should remove it or apply the appropriate control measures to minimise the risk. If an employer fails to do so and causes a worker to be injured, the employer could be liable for the worker’s injuries.
Therefore, a failure to repair gardening equipment could be a breach of an employer’s duty of care. If this were to cause an employee to be injured, they could potentially make a valid claim.
Types Of Gardening Equipment
There may be various pieces of gardening equipment you use at work on a daily basis:
- Lawnmower
- Hedge shears
- Leaf blower
- Strimmer
- Mulcher
- Sprinkler
- Aerator
- Rake
Contact one of our advisors to learn more about faulty gardening equipment claims.
Faulty Gardening Equipment Claims Calculator
You could receive up to two potential heads of loss for a successful faulty gardening equipment case:
- General damages – compensating you for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
- Special damages – compensating you for past and future financial losses due to your injuries.
The table below has compensation brackets that can be used as a guide for general damages. We used the 16th edition Judicial College guidelines (JCG) to create the table, updated in April 2022. Solicitors also use the JCG to aid them in valuing settlements for general damages.
| Injury | Damages | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Injuries Involving Paralysis – Tetraplegia (a) | £324,600 to £403,990 | The amount awarded will consider different factors, such as whether the person feels physical pain, is aware of their disability and their life expectancy is reduced. |
| Injuries Involving Paralysis – Paraplegia (b) | £219,070 to £284,260 | Damages awarded for paraplegia will be impacted by various factors, such as whether the person has depression, their life expectancy, age and degree of independence. |
| Moderately Severe Injury Resulting from Brain Damage (b) | £219,070 to £282,010 | The injury will cause the person to be very seriously disabled. They will require constant care and substantially depend on others. |
| Hand Injuries (c) | £96,160 to £109,650 | This bracket includes instances where either the effective or total loss of one hand has taken place. The hand may have been crushed and then surgically amputated or most of the hand could have been traumatically amputated. |
| Hand Injuries (d) | £61,910 to £90,750 | The index, middle and/or ring fingers have been amputated. The injured hand is of little use and any remaining grip is exceedingly weak. |
| Foot Injuries (b) | £83,960 to £109,650 | One foot is amputated. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight (e) | £49,270 to £54,830 | Complete loss of sight affecting one eye. The award will consider some risk of sympathetic ophthalmia. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight (f) | £23,680 to £39,340 | There may have been an incomplete but serious loss of sight in one eye but the other eye does not have a significant risk of loss or reduction in sight. Or where there is double vision constantly. |
| Chest Injury (d) | £12,590 to £17,960 | A relatively simple chest injury, for example a single penetrating wound. There will be some permanent tissue damage, but there is not any significant long-term effect on the function of the lungs. |
| Chest Injury (f) | £2,190 to £5,320 | The injury resulted in a collapsed lung, where an uncomplicated and full recovery is made. |
You should consider the figures in the table as a guide.
You could also be eligible to receive a payout under special damages. This may include reimbursement for:
- Loss of earnings
- Care and medical costs
- Travel expenses
- Housing adaptations
You must provide evidence of monetary losses, and this could include bank records, payslips and travel tickets.
Please contact our advisors to learn more about the potential compensation you could be eligible to receive. They can consider the unique details of your case to offer advice tailored to your claim.
How To Make Accident At Work Faulty Gardening Equipment Claims
To begin your faulty gardening equipment claim, please contact our team of advisors for an assessment of your case. If they find that you have reasonable grounds to make a compensation claim, they may connect you with one of our experienced personal injury solicitors.
What’s more, a solicitor may offer to work on your case under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which could benefit both yourself and your claim. This type of No Win No Fee agreement involves the following:
- Generally, you won’t pay upfront or during your claim for the services of a solicitor.
- Also, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will commonly not pay for their services at any time.
- On the other hand, in the event your claim is successful, a solicitor working under a CFA can take a small percentage of the compensation, known as a success fee.
- The law caps the amount a solicitor can take. Therefore, you will not be overcharged.
For advice regarding faulty gardening equipment claims, please get in touch with us using the details below:
-
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us in writing to claim online
- Or talk to an advisor using the live chat feature in the corner of your browser.
Occupational Accident Claims
To learn more about claiming compensation for an accident at work, please take a look at the resources below:
- How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Work-Related Illness?
- Advice On Claiming Compensation For An Accident Caused By Dangerous Machinery At Work
- How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Scaffolding Accident?
GOV.UK advice on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
A guide to outdoor working and sun exposure by the HSE
An NHS guide to amputation injuries
Other Guides Available To Check Out
- The Ministry of Defence Accident At Work Claims Guide
- Allergic Reaction After Eating At All Bar One – Can I Claim?
- Lloyds Pharmacy Personal Injury Claims Guide
- Stena Line Ferries Personal Injury Claims Guide
- Best Western Hotel Accident Claims Guide
- Allergic Reaction After Eating At Wimpy – Can I Claim?
- P&O Ferries Personal Injury Claims Guide
- Allergic Reaction After Eating At Beefeater Grill – Can I Claim?
- Quality Save Store Accident Claims Guide
We hope you have found this guide to faulty gardening equipment claims helpful and informative. If you would like to make any enquiries, don’t hesitate to contact us using the details provided.
Guide By Oxland
Edited By Melissa
