Posted By Martyn Hendrie Gary, The answer to your questions is Q1 possibly Q2 possibly Q3 probably no significant affect on your friend or any claim he may make. In any situation where a person has been injured and is considering making a claim for compensation, it is best to get specific advice from someone who can hear the details of what happened and give an informed opinion. I would suggest that your friend consider contacting the citizens advice bureau. They can give advice (free) and if necessary arrange an initial interview/meeting with a solicitor (often free of charge for the first meeting) Hope that this helps

Posted By Simon Ward I work in the construction sector and am well aware of the very high levels of under reporting of reportable (RIDDOR) accidents. I have heard of a subcontractor who was proscecuted and fined £5000 for failing to report a similar injury, but I am not sure how the HSE would find out about it, unless they were contacted by the solicitor of the injured person in the event of a claim. I would be very interested to hear other members experiences regarding the consequences of non-reporting.

Posted By David J Bristow Hi Gary Interesting thread, which raises a few questions: Maybe it’s a bit late (nearly midnight) but I would ask the question of why the employer has no insurance in place – if he employees persons then he has to have Employers Liability Insurance in place, if he hasn’t then he is breaking the law: I would agree with Gary’s response in that your friend needs to seek expert advice on the matter. As stated by Vicky the accident can be reported anonymously, but I thought, and I am not a hundred percent sure, that Doctors at hospital completed forms/questionnaires and if an accident appeared to be work related then they are duty bound to send details to HSE and local authorities – reporting through the back door! – any doctors out there to confirm whether this is fact of fiction! Regards David B

Posted By Graham Bullough David Bristow suggests in his response to this thread that there may be some mechanism by which hospitals and doctors report injuries to HSE and local authorities. From past experience with HSE and involvement with the training of medical students, etc. I am certain that there never has been any such mechanism. What David may have in mind is the fact that before about 1985 doctors, whether GPs or in hospitals, used to be able to or have an obligation to directly report cases of occupational disease to HSE (and be paid the equivalent of half a crown in old money for such notification). As most doctors tend not to think of or supect occupational causes for ill-health, there probably weren't many such notifications under the old scheme. The present system under RIDDOR which relies on employers identifying occupational diseases from sick notes and then notifying HSE is probably even less reliable.