Injuries at work
Made a mistake at work: can you still claim for your injury?
An employee’s ordinary error is not the same as deliberate recklessness. Assess the safety system as well as the individual action.
Describe your action honestly
After an accident, people often focus on the one movement they wish they had made differently. That is understandable, but legal responsibility may also concern why a dangerous situation was possible and what precautions were reasonably required.
Tell your adviser exactly what you did, including any instruction you did not follow. A reliable account is more useful than an artificially perfect one. Distinguish what you remember from assumptions made after the event.
Safety measures must work in real conditions
An employer’s duty of care includes more than telling staff to be careful. Suitable equipment, effective safeguards, clear instruction and appropriate supervision may all matter. Routine, time pressure and unfamiliar tasks can be relevant to how foreseeable a mistake was.
For a machine incident, ask whether guards, interlocks or a safe maintenance procedure were in place. The machine injury guide explains why training and technical protection address different parts of the risk.
Deliberate recklessness is not an everyday label
An allegation of deliberate recklessness requires a legal assessment, not simply an employer’s description of your behaviour. Ordinary negligence and conscious disregard of a serious risk should not be treated as interchangeable.
At the same time, the employer is not a guarantor against every accident. Whether the duty of care was fulfilled remains important. Explain the complete situation, including available protection and the instructions actually received.
Check written accounts before signing
Ask for a copy of the incident report. Correct factual errors promptly and keep a record of your corrections. Do not sign a declaration of sole responsibility merely to close an internal safety investigation, particularly if you do not understand its legal meaning.
If liability is rejected, our existing guide on an employer refusing liability explains the next questions. For traffic accidents outside this employment framework, partial fault may operate differently.
What to keep or ask for
- Your own account written while memories are fresh.
- Instructions received and the language used.
- Photographs of safeguards and the work environment.
- The employer’s report and your factual corrections.
Questions you may still have
Does ignoring an instruction always amount to deliberate recklessness?
No. That conclusion cannot be drawn automatically. The specific conduct, awareness and circumstances need to be assessed under the applicable legal standard.
Can I claim if no equipment was defective?
Potentially. The organisation of work, instructions or supervision may also be relevant. Conversely, injury alone does not prove that the employer failed in its duty.
Sources and legal context
General information about Dutch personal injury claims. Some source material is in Dutch. Your circumstances may require a different assessment.
This guide explains general principles. It is not a decision on liability or the value of an individual claim.