What sources do you rely on when attempting to prove liability? There are sources of evidence in an employers’ liability claim that one would look to rely on when attempting to prove liability and causation. The obvious one would be whether there is any CCTV footage of the accident and any available witnesses. In the absence of those we would then look to obtain the relevant documentation, such as an accident report or any complaints about previous defects or dangerous situations that had not been remedied before the accident. If the equipment was defective, then we would want to arrange for an expert engineer to examine the equipment and provide a report setting out their opinion on the same for the Court. We would need to see training documentation and any records of training and toolbox talks, things of that nature. If it is a particularly serious injury, the Health and Safety Executive may well have been involved. In this case we would look to obtain the HSE report, including their investigation and their findings and any photographs that they have taken during the report. This can often be very helpful if the HSE do find that the defendant has been in breach of certain regulations, as this is useful in proving negligence. If there is little or no evidence to support the claimant’s version of events, such as the claimant being on their own at the time of their misfortune, then we must be a little more creative and rely on technology to assist to try and establish as accurate a picture as possible. We can look to obtain data from smart devices such as phones for GPS location, smart watches and even sat nav data from vehicles. We may analyse data captured within apps connected to smart devices in relation to heart monitors to establish changes in patterns at certain times of the event. We would also look at text messages, WhatsApp and other social media that has been posted to see if that can EXPERT INSIGHT 53
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