Accident At Work Claims

In this guide, we’ll look at how accident at work claims can be made after being injured by employer negligence.

Accident at work claims

Accident at work claims guide

All employers will automatically have a duty of care to their employees, no matter the job role or industry. Throughout this guide, we’ll look at exactly what this duty of care entails, as well as how it can be breached. We’ll also look at some of the accidents and injuries that a breach of duty of care could cause. 

If you’re interested in beginning a personal injury claim or simply have more questions about the personal injury claims process, then you can contact us anytime by using the information provided below. If you have a valid claim, our team can let you know this. They can also connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel if this is the case. 

You can contact us by:

  • Filling out your details in the contact us section of our website
  • Calling us at 0800 408 7827
  • Use the live advice feature on our website to talk with one of our advisors.

Jump To A Section 

  1. What Accident At Work Claims Are And Whether You’re Eligible
  2. Had An Accident At Work – What Should I Do?
  3. Accident At Work Claim Time Limit
  4. How Much Could Your Claim Be Worth?
  5. No Win No Fee Solicitors – What The Benefits Are
  6. Accident At Work Claims – Additional Resources

What Accident At Work Claims Are And Whether You’re Eligible

As stated above, all employers have a duty of care to provide to their employees. This means that employers must take reasonably practicable steps to stop you from experiencing harm in the workplace. This duty of care is outlined in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Negligence is when someone who owes you a duty of care breaches this duty in a way that causes injury. If this occurs, you could be entitled to sue your employer for compensation. 

Below are some examples of how employer negligence could result in injury:

  • Your employer does not give you manual handling training, and as a result, you sustain a back injury when you’re told to lift something too heavy.
  • You could be scalded because the hot water urn at your work is faulty.
  • You slip on an unmarked wet floor and suffer from a broken hip, a dislocated shoulder and a head injury as a result.

If you’re unsure about your eligibility to make an accident at work claim, then you can use the contact information above to discuss this further with our team of advisors. They can give you an understanding of how much your claim may be worth and the steps you’ll have to take to make a successful accident at work claim. 

Had An Accident At Work – What Should I Do?

There are certain steps involved in making an accident at work claim. These include:

  1. Informing the person/body that you intend to make a claim against. This is one of the pre-action protocols that must be followed when making a claim.
  2. Seeking legal help – whilst this isn’t a legal requirement, it can help to make the claiming process a simpler and easier process. You can get in touch with us by using the contact information provided above; if your case is valid, you could be provided with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
  3. Collecting evidence to prove that your injury was caused by employer negligence.

There are several different forms of evidence that could support a claim, but not all of them will be applicable to all claims. Collating evidence could involve:

  • Collecting witness details 
  • Requesting copies of any medical records produced 
  • Taking photographs of your injury or of the scene of the accident if it shows the hazard that caused the accident 
  • Requesting CCTV footage of the accident, if it exists 
  • Keeping a diary of your symptoms

If you have any more questions about the process of claiming compensation, speak with a member of our team today.

Accident At Work Time Limit

The Limitation Act 1980 sets out that claimants will generally have three years from the date of their accident, or the date that they realize that employer negligence caused their accident, to begin their claim. Whilst these time limits are important to be mindful of, some exceptions can be made. 

Exceptions can apply, for example, if a claimant is under the age of eighteen or lacks the mental capacity to make a claim. In these cases, a litigation friend could make the claim for them on their behalf and there is no time limit for doing so. 

How Much Could Your Claim Be Worth?

When you sue someone for an injury, your compensation settlement could be made up of two heads. General damages is a head of claim that aims to compensate you for any pain or suffering you’ve undergone as a direct result of your injuries caused by employer negligence. 

The figures below have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, which is a legal document used by solicitors to help assign a value to your claim. These statistics shouldn’t be guaranteed though, due to the large amounts of variables that have to be considered when valuing general damages. 

Judicial College Guidelines

InjurySeverityCompensation
Injury Resulting From Brain DamageModerate (i)£150,110 to £219,070
Back InjuriesSevere (a) (i)£91,090 to £160,980
Other Arm injuriesInjuries resulting in permanent and substantial disablement (b)£39,170 to £59,860
Leg InjuriesModerate (iv)£27,760 to £39,200
Knee InjuriesModerate (b) (i)£14,840 to £26,190
Ankle InjuriesSevere (b)£31,310 to £50,060
Ankle InjuriesModerate (c)£13,740 to £26,590
Injuries to the Pelvis and HipsModerate (b) (ii)£12,590 to £26,590
Injuries to the ElbowModerate or Minor Injury (c)Up to £12,590
Cheekbone Fracture Simple (ii) £4,350 to £6,460

Special Damages Compensation

After an accident at work, you can also claim for special damages compensation. This head of a claim focuses on reimbursing you for any financial losses you have experienced as a result of your injury. You can be compensated for:

  • Cost of care
  • Renovations to aid your recovery
  • Cost of any medication 
  • Loss of earnings

You’ll have to provide evidence to receive special damages compensation, which can come in the form of bank statements, invoices and receipts. For an assessment on how much the special damages head of your claim could be worth, speak with a member of our team today. 

No Win No Fee Solicitors – What The Benefits Are

You could use the services of a No Win No Fee solicitor when making your claim. Our solicitors can work under a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement.

With this kind of agreement in place, you won’t typically be expected to pay any upfront or continuing costs for your solicitor’s services. 

If you’re unsuccessful in making your personal injury claim, then you won’t be expected to pay anything for your solicitor’s services. 

However, in the event that your claim is successful, then you’ll pay your solicitor a success fee.  This is a percentage of your overall award, and it’s legally capped to stop you from being overcharged. 

If you’re interested in learning more about working with a No Win No Fee solicitor, then you can do so by using the contact information below:

  • Filling out your details in the contact us section of our website
  • Calling us at 0800 408 7827
  • Use the live advice feature on our website to talk with one of our advisors.

Accident At Work Claims – Additional Resources

If you’d like to learn more about accident at work claims, you can read our guides below. 

Alternatively, you can follow the below links to learn more:

We hope this guide on making an accident at work claim has been helpful. If you’d like to learn more you can get in touch with us by using the contact information provided above.

Article by Pow

Edited by Sto