Legal accompaniment of accidents at work
Today the legislation pays great attention to the protection of the worker. However, it does not reduce the risk of accidents at enterprises. For certain industries and enterprises, there are some provisions that have been developed for conducting investigations of accidents at work.
Violation of labor protection, as well as the procedure of conducting an investigation of an accident, can lead to administrative, and in some cases, criminal prosecution. Each accident at work (work) should be investigated, registered and recorded. The procedure for conducting an investigation of an accident is clearly defined by law. The employer must follow the procedure and meet the deadlines.
What should you do if an accident happens at work?
If an accident happens at work, the employer should create an investigation commission, for which he approves an order to establish an accident investigation commission.
The commission should involve at least 3 people, and it should include:
- a labor protection specialist or a person appointed by the employer as responsible for labor protection;
- employer representative;
- a trade union representative;
- representative of the authorized body.
The commission should be headed by the employer (or his representative), and in some cases (for example, in case of a group accident, if the workers were seriously injured) by officials of the inspecting state authorities. If the employer does not know about the accident or inability to work has occurred later than the date of the accident, then the investigation will be carried out on the basis of the employee's application within one month from the date of receiving of such application by the employer.
During the investigation, the commission:
- Interview witnesses, eyewitnesses;
- Request information from the employer;
- If it is possible, it receives explanations from the employee;
The employer should ensure that a comprehensive investigation is carried out, for which he should at his own expense provide technical research, examinations, photography and video filming of the scene of the incident, and the provision of company vehicles.
The employee has the right to participate in the investigation of the accident, and in case of impossibility of participation, at the request of the employee, to study the materials of the investigation.
As a result of the investigation, the commission should:
- Establish the circumstances and causes of the accident;
- Identifies the persons that are responsible for the accident;
- Develops proposals to eliminate the identified causes of the accident and prevent recurrence of the accident;
- Determine the employee's behavior in case of an accident;
- Qualify an accident as an occupational or accident that is not related to work.
An accident is an insured event, and the employer should report about all insured events to the insurance company within 24 hours from the moment of the accident. Based on the results of the investigation, if an accident is qualified as an accident as occupational, an act must be formed.
The Labor Code establishes the terms for investigating an accident:
- in case of slight injury, the term is within 3 days,
- in case of serious injury or death of an employee, the term is within 15 days;
Any disagreements about the results of the investigation, including non-recognition by the employer of the fact of an accident or refusal to investigate the accident and draw up an appropriate act, or any disagreements of the employee or his relatives in case of the death of the employee with the content of the act, should be considered by the state labor inspectorate. For violation of labor protection legislation, which caused an accident at the enterprise, the guilty person may be prosecuted.
Industrial accident lawyer
Lawyers of the Tsentralny Okrug Law Firm are ready to provide legal assistance in the investigation of an accident at the enterprise and its solution. Also, we participate in the work of the commission, representing the interests of the employer in the State Labor Inspection Service and appeal against the acts of state authorities and protect the interests of the employer in court, which allow protecting the rights and interests of the enterprise. It may help to avoid unlawful prosecution and unfounded allegations of employees and members of their families about the violation of their rights.
How can you contact us
You can call us + 7 (473) 20-30-161 or send a request using the feedback form on our website
Our e-mail: info@centraldep.ru
Office in Voronezh: lane Detskiy, b. 24, of. 44
Office in Moscow: Holodilny building 3, construction 8, of. 8304, phone number: + +7 (495) 118-27-79.
Author is Irina Volodina