WORK ACCIDENTS IN WORKING LIFE

Occupational accidents, today's knowledge, technology, etc. It is a common situation in business life as a result of the increase in concepts. Occupational accidents and occupational diseases are also confused because they are close concepts.

What is Work Accident and Occupational Disease?

Although work accidents are closely defined by many global institutions and organizations, in short, they are events that cause a certain injury or damage during a job, occur in an unplanned manner, and in some cases have the capacity to cause production to be interrupted or even stopped for a certain period of time, and even cause death.

Occupational disease is a temporary or permanent illness, physical or mental disability suffered by the insured due to the nature of his work or work, due to repeated causes or due to the conditions of work.

Although there are many differentiating aspects between the two concepts, in general; in occupational accidents, there is an unexpected and unpredictable situation, whereas in occupational diseases, the possibility of occurrence can be predicted if necessary measures are taken as a result of repetitive work. In addition, while the probability of recurrence is low in occupational accidents, it is high in occupational diseases if the necessary precautions are not taken.

What are the Conditions for an Incident to be Considered as a Work Accident?

First, there must be an accident. Secondly, the person who suffered an accident must be an insured employee of the workplace within the scope of Law No. 5510. Thirdly, the worker must have suffered a loss. Fourthly, there must be an appropriate causal link. This causal link is also divided into two. First; there must be an appropriate causal link between the work and the accident. Secondly, there must be an appropriate causal link between the accident and the damage.

Pursuant to Article 13 of the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510; all events that occur while the insured is at the workplace are considered as work accidents. Pursuant to Article 11 of the same law, the places where the insured perform their work are considered as workplaces. For example; the events that happen in the company of an accounting employee of a company are included in the definition of occupational accident in accordance with Article 13. If the same accountant is involved in a traffic accident while going to the bank to withdraw or deposit money, it falls within the definition of work accident pursuant to Article 11.

Why Does a Work Accident Occur?

When analyzing occupational accidents, 4 concepts are emphasized. These are human causes (psychological, physical, workplace, etc.), machine causes (faulty machinery and equipment, inadequate control and maintenance, etc.), work environment causes (inadequate working knowledge, inappropriate working method, etc.) and management causes (inadequate safety management plan, lack of education and training, etc.).

What are the Costs of Work Accidents?

Costs as a result of occupational accidents are divided into three; for the employee, for the employer, for the national economy). For the employee; deprivation of income, need for home care, loss of morale, loss of limbs, etc. can be counted. From the employer's perspective; missing production, social losses, loss of prestige, loss of compensation payments, loss of machinery and equipment, etc. From the point of view of the national economy; public expenditures due to research, law-making, etc., SSI expenditures, community costs can be counted.

What are the Compensations an Employee Can Claim in Case of a Work Accident?

• Compensation for Loss of Labor; The insured employee may suffer temporary or permanent loss of labor force. Financial losses of those who suffer temporary loss of labor force incapacity benefit karşılanır. Kalıcı iş göremezlik olabilmesi için iş gücünün en az %10’unu kaybetmiş olması gerekir. Bu durumda da SGK tarafından iş göremezlik ödeneği bağlanır. Ayrıca kalıcı iş göremezlik söz konusu olursa, çalışan iş yerinden maddi-manevi tazminat talep edebilir.
• Compensation for Deprivation of Support; Unfortunately, work accidents may unfortunately result in death in some cases. In this case, the relatives of the worker can claim this compensation. His/her spouse, male child under the age of 18, female child under the age of 22, mother, father and dependents (even if he/she does not have an official marriage if he/she is obliged to take care of his/her religiously married spouse) can claim.
• Moral Compensation Lawsuit: The insured employee or his/her relative may file a lawsuit for moral damages (if he/she is alive, or his/her relative if he/she is deceased) for the damages suffered.

Note: In the lawsuits to be filed as a result of a work accident, as of the date of the accident 10 years there is a statute of limitations.

What are the Legal Consequences of a Work Accident?

In terms of criminal law;

This branch of law deals with whether the work accident caused death or injury through negligence or fault. If injury is involved 3 months-1 year between the penalties imposed. In the case of a death 2-6 years a penalty is applied. In the case of multiple deaths 2-15 years a penalty is applied.

In terms of the law of obligations;

This branch of law deals with work accidents in terms of material and moral damage. If there is material and moral damage, the insured can claim compensation for the damage by filing compensation lawsuits.

In terms of Occupational Health and Safety law;

This branch of law deals with occupational accidents in order to impose administrative fines on the workplace after the accident due to its negligence.

In terms of the Social Security Law,

This branch of law deals with the realization of payments made by the Social Security Institution to injured persons as a result of an occupational accident.

What are the places that must be notified when a work accident occurs?

Pursuant to Article 13 of Law No. 5510; Work accident, after the day it occurs within 3 working days 'Occupational Accident and Occupational Disease Notification' and their affiliated companies SSI directorates must be notified. Within the scope of the circular numbered 2008/108 published by the SSI, it is stated that notification by petition will also be accepted.

According to Article 77 of the Labor Law No. 4857, in the event of an occupational accident, the workplace shall be responsible for the following day after the accident occurs Within 2 working days to Regional Labor Directorates must make a notification.

Most of the time, there is a perception that when the SSI notification is made, it will not be made to the Regional Labor Directorates. But this perception is wrong. Both are authorized by different laws. Therefore it is mandatory to notify both of them.

At the moment of the accident law enforcement (gendarmerie, police) should be notified.

Work Accident Statistics in Turkey

In 1997, 98,318 occupational accidents occurred in Turkey and 1473 people lost their lives. Until 2012, the average number of occupational accidents was between 70,000-100,000, whereas in 2013 there were 191,389 accidents. In 2013, the number of fatalities was 1,360. In 2016, this figure was 286,068 accidents and 1,405 deaths. In 2018, 1,923 people lost their lives as a result of work accidents.