Injury on Duty

INJURED ON DUTY – BASIC INITIAL ADVICE

It is a regrettable fact that police duty can give rise to incidents in which officers sustain injury through no fault of their own. Such incidents can occur in many different ways, whether on police premises, through assaults, defective roads or pavements, as a result of faulty police equipment or through the negligence of other officers.

Many officers are still unaware of their Industrial Injury entitlements and as a result officers are financially missing out and are potentially in the longer term putting themselves at risk.

If you are injured at work you must ask your supervisor to record the details of the injury or accident on the Force reporting system. Many of you will say that minor cuts and bruises for example, will cause no lasting harm. However, if they do cause lasting harm and the matter is not recorded properly then your position at work (should sickness issues be relevant), or your future appropriate pension arrangements could be in jeopardy.

Federation Health & Safety Reps carry out investigations into injuries and accidents at work and they can make recommendations to the Force to improve safety. If matters are not reported then the chances of making improvements are slim.

Recent changes silently introduced by the Welfare Reform Act 2012 mean that you are no longer allowed to simply register an injury with the DWP. It is therefore crucial that the injury is logged at work in the first place.

Please remember that by virtue of Regulation 6, Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 reference injury received in the execution of duty by a member of a police force means an injury received in the execution of that person’s duty while on duty or while on a journey necessary to enable him to report for duty or return home after duty.

It is therefore essential that you ensure the incident is recorded on a RIDDOR form.

You may be able to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) if:

• you were employed when the accident or event happened
• you were on an approved employment training scheme or course when the accident or event happened 
• the work accident or event that caused your illness or disability happened in England, Scotland or Wales

Please print and fill in form BI100A to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) for accidents from the Department of Work and Pensions website.

Please contact the Federation office for further advice.

Types of reportable incidents under RIDDOR;

Deaths and injuries

If someone has died or has been injured because of a work-related accident this may have to be reported. Not all accidents need to be reported, other than for certain gas incidents, a RIDDOR report is required only when:

• the accident is work-related^[1]
• it results in an injury of a type which is reportable

The death of any person

All deaths to workers and non-workers, with the exception of suicides, must be reported if they arise from a work-related accident, including an act of physical violence to a worker.

Specified injuries to workers

The list of ‘specified injuries’ in RIDDOR 2013 replaces the previous list of ‘major injuries’ in RIDDOR 1995. Specified injuries are (regulation 4):

• fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes
• amputations
• any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight
• any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
• serious burns (including scalding) which:
  • covers more than 10% of the body
  • causes significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs
• any scalping requiring hospital treatment
• any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
• any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which:
  • leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness
  • requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours

Over-seven-day incapacitation of a worker

Accidents must be reported where they result in an employee or self-employed person being away from work, or unable to perform their normal work duties, for more than seven consecutive days as the result of their injury. This seven day period does not include the day of the accident, but does include weekends and rest days. The report must be made within 15 days of the accident.

Over-three-day incapacitation

Accidents must be recorded, but not reported where they result in a worker being incapacitated for more than three consecutive days. If you are an employer, who must keep an accident book under the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, that record will be enough.

There is no need to report incidents where people are taken to hospital purely as a precaution when no injury is apparent.

If the accident occurred at a hospital, the report only needs to be made if the injury is a ‘specified injury’ (see above).

Occupational diseases

Employers and self-employed people must report diagnoses of certain occupational diseases, where these are likely to have been caused or made worse by their work: These diseases include (regulations 8 and 9):

• carpal tunnel syndrome;
• severe cramp of the hand or forearm;
• occupational dermatitis;
• hand-arm vibration syndrome;
• occupational asthma;
• tendonitis or tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm;
• any occupational cancer;
• any disease attributed to an occupational exposure to a biological agent.

Further information can be found on the HSE website, click here