Law
Ask a Law Question, Get an Answer ASAP!
Sorry for the delay. Yes, he could still pursue you but his claim would only work if he can allege there was no risk assessment or he had no training in how to use the pump truck and working on a tail life. They are not your employees as such but subcontractors - my thoughts are that they should be well-versed in risk assessing work areas and that they should already have training. As they are self employed they should have their own insurance - the fact this man didn't means he is obviously looking to you to deal with his claim.
Did you say you have insurance?. If so, you may need to speak to them as it would likely be a term of their policy with you that any claims (either by employees or subcontractors or visitors) are notified - if you did not do this it could affect your insurance cover.
The way the claim works is that he needs to establish negligence on your part and that would be found if for example there was no risk assessment or no training provided. My view is that this accident was not caused by you though and this was likely just a pure accident (or due solely to his negligence). If he can establish "pri***** *****ability", the issue of "contributory negligence" could come in to play where the court holds him partly responsible for the accident - so his damages are reduced accordingly.
If you can prove a risk assessment was carried out (verbally) then fine - I do not see a problem. HSE guidelines say that they should be done on paper ideally - and the court prefers written evidence - but that is not to say the court would not believe you. I would think that your public liability insurers should be notified and you can pass the letter of claim to them to deal with and defend this matter. The contractor is likely to be classed as a visitor and not an employee.
I hope this helps - if you can please click 5 stars at the top of your screen, I can answer follow up questions at no extra charge and Just Answer will credit me for helping you today.
Many thanks,
Jim