How To Sue For An Office Accident

In order to understand how to sue for an office accident, you must first be sure that your case satisfies the following criteria:

You were owed a duty of care by your employer when you were injured.
The employer breached this duty of care.
Your injuries were a result of this breach.

All employers automatically owe their staff a duty of care as per the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). This duty means they have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to protect the health, safety, and well-being of workers. Employers might meet this obligation in the following ways:

Carrying out regular safety checks on their premises.
Ensuring staff are appropriately trained in health and safety procedures.
Promptly addressing any safety concerns that might arise in the workspace.

If you’re able to show that you suffered injury because your employer failed to fulfil their obligations to you, you may have a valid claim. Speak to our advisors now for free guidance on how to sue for an office accident.

What Compensation Can I Get After Being Injured In An Office?

The compensation you may get after being injured in an office can be made up of both general and special damages. General damages are the part of a claim that compensates for someone’s injuries, and consider factors like the following:

The physical pain.
Psychological suffering.
The severity of harm and duration of recovery.
The general reduction in quality of life (termed a loss of amenity).

When these injuries have a financial impact, then special damages may be awarded. Our guide will cover this part of a claim in more depth shortly.

Claims are all unique, so any ‘average’ compensation that might exist isn’t likely to be relevant to your own situation. Therefore, it helps to understand how a solicitor from our panel would approach the calculation process instead.

They typically start by looking at medical evidence and comparing it alongside publications like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This resource lists guideline ranges of compensation for various injuries based on severity and other considerations.

Compensation Guidelines

The example table below uses entries from the JCG (except the first line). Please note that these brackets are only suggestive and not a guarantee of actual compensation.

Injury	Severity	Compensation
Very severe, multiple injuries with an amount under special damages, such as private medical treatments	Very severe	Up to £1,000,000 plus
Head/Brain	Very severe	£344,150 increasing to £493,000
	Less severe	£18,700 increasing to £52,550
Knee	Severe (ii)	£63,610 increasing to £85,100
Back	Severe (iii)	£47,320 increasing to £85,100
	Moderate (ii)	£15,260 increasing to £33,880
Neck	Severe (iii)	£55,500 increasing to £68,330
Pelvis	Severe (iii)	£47,810 increasing to £64,070
Wrist	Significant	£29,900 increasing to £47,810
Hand	Severe finger fracture	Up to £44,840

How Is Office Accident Compensation Calculated?

As we touched on, office accident compensation is calculated by valuing a claimant’s injuries and assessing whether there is any associated financial loss. To include special damages, it is necessary to put forward evidence such as:

Wage slips or bank statements showing a drop or loss in earnings after the injury.
Medical bills for any private treatments you received.
Bank statements that show you paid for care from professionals, family or friends.
Travel expenses to essential appointments. These expenses can encompass both public transport and the cost of using a car.
Invoices confirming accessibility modifications to your home or car. Special damages will consider both minor and major chances, meaning you could claim for both the cost of installing grab rails and putting in a stairlift.

A solicitor from our panel can use their expertise to help you gather whatever documentation you need to claim for your financial losses. If you would like to learn more about personal injury compensation, you can speak to our advisors using the contact options listed in this guide.

How Might An Office Accident Be Caused?

There are numerous ways in which an office accident might be caused by an employer breaching their duty of care to staff. Let’s look at some examples:

Management refuses to conduct regular office risk assessments, meaning that computer cables are left trailing dangerously. Due to this, a worker suffered a fractured wrist after tripping over wires.
The entrance to a large office building had a wet floor surface that was left without warning signs alerting others about the hazard. As a result, an employee slipped while heading to work and broke their forearm in the fall.
Staff were expected to move boxes of paperwork around the office without the correct training on bending and lifting techniques. This leads an employee to pull a ligament in their back while trying to move a particularly heavy box.
Fire exits in the office are not kept clear of obstructions, despite management being aware of the issue. During a fire, several staff members suffer multiple injuries trying to get around the obstacles and exit the building.

Your own experience will differ, but the principle is the same. If you were hurt because your employer failed to fulfil their duty of care, you could have an eligible claim. Please speak to our advisory team today for an immediate, free assessment and further guidance on how to sue for an office accident.

Examples Of Injuries Sustained In An Office Accident

Next, we look at some examples of injuries that can be sustained in an office accident. These injuries can range from the severe, like head trauma, to straightforward sprains and strains. Other injuries include:

Deep lacerations.
Dislocations and fractures.
Back and spinal damage.
Concussions
Nerve damage.
Electric shock burns.

Whether or not you have multiple injuries, minor or severe, you may be able to claim compensation if they were sustained in an accident that wasn’t your fault. Get in touch today to share your experience and find out if you have a valid case.

Will My Employer Always Be Liable For Accidents In The Office?

Your employer will not always be liable for accidents in the office. While employers have a clear duty of care in respect to workplace safety, staff are also expected to take reasonable steps to prevent accidents or injuries themselves. In order to press ahead with a compensation claim, you would need to show how a duty of care was breached and how this was the root cause of your injury.

If you’re unsure who is liable for your injury, it may help to speak in person with our advisors. There’s no obligation, and all the guidance is free.

Can My Employer Sack Me If I Sue For An Office Injury?

No, your employer cannot sack you if you sue for an office injury. If they were to do so, this might constitute unfair dismissal. However, if it was determined that you deliberately caused the accident in which you or others were harmed, it may be considered gross misconduct.

If you still have concerns, please reach out to our advisory team. They can help clarify the issues and give you a more personalised idea of your options for claiming.

What Do I Need To Sue For An Office Accident?

To sue for an office accident, you will need to put forward evidence that shows how your employer breached their duty of care and, as a result, caused your injuries. This evidence can include the following:

Photos of the injury and the hazard that caused it.
Contact points for any witnesses to the accident.
Many offices have CCTV footage, which could provide insight into the circumstances of the accident and your resulting injuries. If you believe footage exists, you can request a copy of the recording.
Copies of your medical records that detail your injuries.
Paperwork relating to out-of-pocket expenses caused by the injury.
A copy of any report made in a workplace accident book, if your office has one.

Our panel of solicitors understand that proving a claim can feel daunting, especially for individuals who are still recovering from their injuries. That is why they are always ready to use their expertise not only to help gather evidence for clients, but to piece it all together.

Time Limits

The Limitation Act 1980 applies a 3-year time limit for starting personal injury claims, including those involving office accidents. This timeframe is typically counted from the date of the accident.

However, the 3-year time limit is suspended for claimants who lack mental capacity or are under 18 years of age. That is because neither group can make a claim independently of others. While there is a pause on time limits, a litigation friend can act for them to help get their claim started. Otherwise, the standard 3 years will only apply if (and when) a claimant turns 18 or regains mental capacity.

To see if your claim qualifies, take a moment to chat over your accident and injury with our friendly advisors. You can also contact us online or ask a question in the chat feature for a more general discussion about how to sue for an office accident.

Can I Sue For An Office Accident With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

You can indeed sue for an office accident with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. They believe every client deserves high-quality representation, which means you could benefit from services like the following:

Expert guidance at every stage of claiming, ensuring you never feel lost during the process.
Advice on what evidence to gather, together with more direct help to build the strongest claim possible.
A thorough and accurate assessment of the compensation you can claim for.
Full explanations of any jargon you might encounter during the claim
A professionally represented claim where all deadlines are met.

What’s more, the No Win No Fee contract our panel of solicitors offer to their clients makes it even easier to access their services. They work under a Conditional Fee Agreement, which means you aren’t expected to pay any upfront or ongoing solicitors’ fees. What’s more, if the claim fails, no solicitor’s fees are expected to be paid for any finished work either.

Our panel of solicitors instead receive a success fee when a claim wins. This is a percentage that is deducted from the compensation at the end of the claims process. Thanks to The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, there is a capped limit on this percentage, ensuring claimants can expect to receive most of their compensation.

Contact How To Sue

Why not contact the advisory team at How To Sue and discover if one of the solicitors from our panel can help you pursue compensation? Take a moment to chat with our advisors today and see if you can get started now:

Call our friendly advisors on 0800 408 7827
Contact us online.
Ask questions in the live chat below.

More Information

Would you like to read more? We have many guides, including the following:

Read some accident at work FAQs.
See if you can be sacked for having an accident at work.
Find out how to sue for manual handling injuries.

Additionally, you may find these external resources to be helpful:

NHS guidance on how to get copies of your medical records.
Discover what the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says about managing risks at work.
Lastly, learn how to report an injury at work.

In conclusion, thank you for reading this article on how to sue for an office accident, and please don’t hesitate to connect for more free guidance.

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