Britain's immigration rules do not give Romanians and Bulgarians full access to the labour market, but British laws do entitle them to compensation for injuries that are their employers' fault.
Yet the migrants' anxiety over their immigration status can deter them from making claims - a tendency that employers may be tempted to exploit.
Since their countries joined the EU in 2007, Romanian and Bulgarian citizens have had the right to work anywhere within the bloc.
However, the UK has imposed tight restrictions on their direct employment. Similar restrictions do not apply to citizens of the eight countries that joined the EU during its previous burst of expansion in 2004.
Exact numbers are hard to come by, but most Romanian and Bulgarian migrants to the UK are believed to have taken jobs in the construction and hospitality sectors.
Partly as a result of their immigration status, many of them end up working through agencies rather than being hired as employees by a company. If they are builders, they may be paid cash-in-hand.
The more "casualised" the work, the greater the likelihood that employers may endanger or exploit the workers. They may not adequately assess the risks behind a particular job, or they may neglect to provide protective equipment and training.
Workers in the building sector are particularly accident-prone, with unions estimating that 80 per cent of injuries on construction sites in the UK go unreported.
Builders often avoid reporting accidents at work because they fear losing their jobs and endangering their prospects.
According to a representative from UCATT, the UK's largest construction union, companies also prefer staff who don't make a fuss. This creates a climate where all but the most severe accidents tend to go unreported.
Remus Robu, a paralegal with Levenes, a British law firm that pursues claims arising from accidents at work, said Romanian and Bulgarian migrants needed to be better informed of their rights. They should be aware that nationality and employment status had no bearing on their eligibility for compensation or on the amounts awarded, he said.
Nor should migrants be put off by the prospect of a lengthy court case. According to Robu, most cases involving accidents at work were settled before trial, as employers did not wish to incur heavy legal costs where their liability had been established.
But while Romanians and Bulgarians may see themselves as victims of a harsh immigration policy, they have also seemed reluctant to make use of Britain's kinder laws.
Read more articles by Sorana Stanescu, and many more by award-winning journalists, on the leading English-language news site covering the Balkans; http://www.balkaninsight.com/
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