Legal News
Lack of PPE for NHS, care home and other front line workers – making a claim for compensation (26 October 2020)
Date: 26/10/2020
There have been several failings from the government with regards to PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) with one of the main issues being the shortages of PPE for front line workers. There have been instances of front line employees having to wear bin liners or make their own masks at home. This has placed extreme pressures on those on the front line.
Many care homes have been overwhelmed with the Covid-19 outbreak. According to The Health Foundation (www.health.org.uk) there has been around three times the number of deaths in care homes than in hospitals, and while there continues to be a decline in the hospitals there has been a peak in the care homes.
Is there inadequate PPE in care homes too? The answer is yes. I personally experienced this when I received a message from a local care home asking for PPE supplies from anyone that could help.
What does the law tell us and how can it help us with regards to the lack of PPE? At present, the law states that an employer’s duty is to take reasonable steps to provide a safe place and system of work to protect employees, as far as it is reasonably practicable to do so, from reasonably foreseeable harm. This means employers owe a duty to their staff to provide safe equipment and keep them safe.
The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002 and the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1922 (as amended) set out the main requirements in respect of Personal Protective Equipment, the main duties in force are as follows:-
- The duty on employers to provide employees with PPE;
- The duty to undertake assessments of suitability of PPE;
- The duty to maintain and replace PPE; and information;
- Instruction and training on PPE.
There has been a call for an inquiry into the failings of the government to purchase and distribute effective PPE in a timely manner. There is also a concern as to whether doctors and nurses were without adequate PPE which has the potential to lead to corporate manslaughter charges as a result of the deaths of front line workers.
Can I bring a claim for inadequate PPE?
Currently there is a lot of controversy on the legal issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and although the law states that an employee would need to prove there is a breach of duty of care followed by causation it is not as simple as it sounds.
It can be challenging to prove that a breach of duty with regards to inadequate PPE caused an infection. There would need to be scientific expert evidence proving that there is a causal link from a breach of duty of care which caused a person to get ill or die from Covid-19, and was not caused by some other reason in the work place other than inadequate PPE.
How much will a claim be worth for lack of PPE?
If a claim is established then this would be based on similar claims for personal injury. At present for those who have passed away as a result of Covid-19, their representatives would be able to claim bereavement award and future loss of earnings/care claim. Those who have suffered an illness and are still suffering will be able to claim for their disabilities or their lost earnings.
Author Nilma Shah is a solicitor in the personal injury, clinical negligence and litigation departments at Duncan Lewis. She regularly handles different types of serious injury claims, providing legal representation to clients who have suffered negligence - and have sustained serious injuries, from birth injury claims to misdiagnosis claims.
Contact Nilma on 020 3114 1274 or via email on nilmap@duncanlewis.com