There are thousands of accidents in the workplace every year, but rarely do millions of people across the globe witness a workplace accident happen live on television.
The victim of the accident in question was Francesco Cigarini and the reason millions of people saw him break his leg live was because it happened during a pit stop in the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix.
Cigarini, a mechanic for the Ferrari F1 team, suffered a double leg fracture when one of the Ferrari drivers, Kimi Raikkonen, was released too quickly from his marker. The accident played out to an audience of millions who saw the mechanic fall after Raikkonen hit him when he drove away from his spot in the pit lane. It resulted in the Finnish driver being forced to retire from third place.
As a result of the accident, the Ferrari team was fined 50,000 euros by the sport’s governing body, the FIA, for an unsafe release at a pit stop. It was the second time during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend that Ferrari had been fined for an unsafe pit release – they were fined 5,000 euros after the second practice session when a car was released with a loose wheel.
Stewards criticised the incident, saying the car was released “in a manner endangering team personnel and causing injury”.
If there is an accident in your workplace, make sure the details are recorded as quickly as possible. Your employer has a responsibility to report serious work-related accidents so make sure they are aware of it and that they’ve reported it and recorded it in the accident book.
RIDDOR is the law that requires employers and other people in control of work premises to report, and keep records of, serious workplace accidents. RIDDOR stands for Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.
If you are hurt at work, you should seek legal advice at the first available opportunity. If it turns out that the company you work for has not done everything it could to inform you about, and protect you from, the risks associated with the job you’re doing and you’ve been injured, we’d like to hear from you.
Our personal injury and employment law specialists have wide-ranging experience of dealing with accidents in the workplace. We will secure rehabilitation and ensure that you recover your losses and receive compensation for your injuries.
To speak to our personal injury team, please call 0113 284 5000 for an initial free, confidential, no obligation consultation.