Accidents Caused by Colleagues

Have you suffered an injury as a consequence of your colleague’s negligence?  If so, you need not be concerned because you need not make a claim directly against your co-worker.  If your colleague has been negligent or breached health and safety regulations, then you can make a claim against your employer.

Your colleagues may ignore safety rules, operate machinery in an unsafe manner, leave things lying around on the floor, drive workplace vehicles such as cranes, tractors, or forklift trucks without care, or drive company cars negligently.

Technically Speaking

If a colleague has caused you to sustain an injury due to their negligence, your employer will be vicariously liable for your colleague’s actions.  Vicarious liability refers to a situation where someone is held responsible for the actions or omissions of another person.  In a workplace context, an employer can be liable for the acts or omissions of it’s employees, providing that it can be shown that they occurred in the course of their employment.