Not a lot we can really say from here, this is one for investigation. Suggest you ask him outright why he didn't report the injury initially, it may tell you a lot about the perception of H&S by this individual and perhaps more widely. Ask him if there were any witnesses and ask his supervisor and workmates if he mentioned any pain at the time or since that might corroborate what he is telling you. Keep an open mind and investigate. In my experience, people who lie about having an accident at work (as opposed to playing football at the weekend) are rarer than those who simply don't want to make a fuss about a genuine accident or fear reporting one. The former category certainly exist though so only careful investigation will tell you which one it is if at all. Finally, remember that any personal injury claim that may arise will be decided on balance of probabilities. There is normally an assumption that an IP's version of events is true unless there is evidence to the contrary, so at the risk of labouring the point too much, thorough investigation and recording of evidence is needed for you to decide if you agree with his account.

Thanks Jimothy and Alex. Time to get my investigators hat on

Hi PL53 Looking back at my original question it does seem to read that way, that wasn't the case although I am being cynical about the operatives motives. I was looking to see what other people thought as I felt that investigating something that occurred 3 months ago on a project that is no longer running was going to be, in reality more of a tick box exercise than something that will highlight issues that I am not already aware of and have documented. The company historically has had poor reporting of incidents and accidents and I am trying to encourage everyone to report everything so I can see what is actually going on rather than getting what people think they want me to hear. In fairness I think a claim might be a good thing and might start getting me the support that I need to implement a complete culture change across the company and it's subcontractors. If you have any thoughts or ideas they would be most welcome.

Claims are a problem to a certain extent, but the best way to prevent claims is to prevent accidents. As for late reporting of accidents, your company should make that a disciplinary matter in my view. That's not being heavy handed it is enforcing a policy of accident reporting. In line with that there should be active encouragement of reporting all accidents however minor. It's up to you how you categorise accidents after that.

Wombleflow From your accounts, the incident appears to be within the scope of the Manual Handling Operations Regs. and that the employer should have trained the individual and his supervisor to handle loads appropriately as well as to recognise symptoms of likely injury Musculoskeletal injuries can be very difficult to recognise and assess validly. If he were to make a legal claim eventually, how would you respond to a question 'Why didn't you refer the IP for assessment by a registered physiotherapist or osteopath who specialises in the condition reported?

I would conduct a full investigation and ensure it is noted there is a time lapse between event occurring and event reporting- this does limit you somewhat- I know I have been there, though mine was over a wet floor that was reported 3 days later- Can I dis/prove the floor is wet? I would only know if the wet floor spoke to me. You need to make sure you do everything in your power to get as much information as possible before coming to any conclusions, but be prepared that sometimes you may have to put your hands up and say you can't give a definitive answer due to reasons X, Y and Z.

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