Work accidents, employee rights and compensation for damage

A work accident should be recorded even if the injury initially seems minor or notifying the employer feels uncomfortable. NAMM attorney Simone Eelmaa and the firm’s founder Küllike Namm wrote in Põhjarannik about work accidents, occupational safety, employee rights and employer liability.

The article discusses what to do if an accident happens at work, the injury at first appears insignificant, notifying the employer seems difficult, or the employee fears that recording the incident may cause trouble. These are precisely the situations in which decisions are often made whose consequences become apparent only later, when the health damage worsens, work ability decreases, or a dispute arises over whether the injury was connected to work.

What should you do immediately after a work accident?

Law Firm NAMM recommends acting quickly and thoughtfully in the event of a work accident. The employee should notify the employer or direct manager of the incident as soon as possible and, where possible, do so in writing.

If the injury requires medical assistance, the doctor should be told honestly that the accident happened while performing work duties. It is also worth writing down what happened, when and where it happened, what work was being done, what work equipment was used, who was present, and whether there may have been shortcomings in work organisation, instruction or work equipment.

Which evidence should be kept?

It is important to keep photographs, messages, emails, medical documents and witness contact details. These may later be decisive if it becomes necessary to prove the circumstances of the work accident, the employer’s possible liability or the damage suffered by the employee.

Recording a work accident is not the employee “creating a problem”. It is a way to protect one’s health, income and rights. If the incident remains undocumented, it may later be significantly more difficult for the employee to claim compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, reduced work ability or other damage.

Is the employer always liable?

For an employer, occupational safety does not mean merely having written instructions. A safe working environment requires actual risk assessment, substantive instruction, suitable work equipment, supervision and readiness to stop work if continuing the work endangers a person’s life or health.

If an accident nevertheless occurs, honest and accurate documentation is in the interests of both parties. It is often assumed that if the employee has breached occupational safety rules, the employer is automatically released from liability. That is not the case. The employer is released from liability only if the employer had ensured occupational safety, suitable work equipment and the necessary preparation, and the accident occurred independently of those measures.

Question: can reporting a work accident harm the employee?

Answer: reporting a work accident is not an accusation against the employer, but a necessary step to record what happened. If the accident remains undocumented, it may later be much more difficult to prove that the health damage was caused by work.

When should legal advice be sought?

If the circumstances of the work accident are unclear, the employer does not wish to register the incident, or the employee does not know how to protect their rights, it is worth seeking legal advice as early as possible. Early advice helps avoid a situation where the necessary evidence disappears and the employee bears alone a risk that may in fact be connected to insufficient occupational safety or the employer’s failure to fulfil its obligations.

The article can be read in Põhjarannik (in Estonian).