How To Sue For Eye Injury Compensation

To sue for eye injury compensation, you need to show that another person or organisation was responsible for your safety and that their actions or failure to act caused an accident in which your eye was injured.

Essentially, your claim will need to meet the following requirements to be deemed eligible:

You were owed a duty of care. A duty of care is a legal obligation that applies when a person or organisation is required to protect your safety. Who owed you this duty depends on where and how your eye injury occurred. For example, an employer had responsibilities for your health and safety while you were at work, while road users had responsibilities towards others using the road.
That duty was not met. You need to establish that the person or organisation responsible for your safety failed to take the steps required in the circumstances, exposing you to the risk that caused your accident. For example, your employer failed to provide suitable safety goggles when your work exposed your eyes to flying debris.
The failure caused an accident in which your eye was injured. There must be a direct connection between the failure, the accident and the eye injury for which you are seeking compensation. For example, flying debris struck your unprotected eye and caused an injury that required medical treatment.

Meeting all 3 requirements could give you grounds to claim eye injury compensation. For more information about where you stand, speak to our advisors for free advice on how to sue for eye injury compensation.

Eye Injury Compensation Claim Examples

Eye injury compensation claim examples show how mistakes at work, in public places and on the road resulted in accidents that injured your eyes. The circumstances leading to an eye injury can vary considerably. Some examples of how you could sustain an eye injury in various situations include:

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Accident At Work

While using cutting equipment at work, you were struck in the eye by a metal fragment after your employer failed to provide suitable safety goggles, leaving you with a serious corneal injury.

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Public Liability Incident

You suffered a retinal detachment after a shop display that had been left unstable toppled over and struck you in the eye.

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Road Traffic Collision

A car driver pulled out of a side road into the path of your motorcycle, causing a collision that fractured your eye socket and left you with double vision.

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These are only a few examples of how an eye injury could occur. Your exact circumstances do not need to appear here for you to have grounds to seek compensation, so speak to our advisors for free to find out where you stand.

What Types Of Eye Injuries Could I Claim Compensation For?

The types of eye injuries you could claim compensation for range from damage to the surface of your eye to serious trauma resulting in permanent loss of sight. Eye trauma can affect different structures within and around the eye, causing temporary symptoms or lasting problems with your vision.

Examples of eye injuries that could form part of an eye injury compensation claim include:

Corneal Abrasions

A scratch to the cornea can cause significant pain and sensitivity to light after dust, debris or another foreign body enters your eye during an accident.

Retinal Detachment

Trauma to the eye can cause the retina to separate from the back of the eye, putting your vision at risk and requiring urgent medical treatment.

Eye Socket Fractures

A heavy impact to your face can fracture one or more of the bones forming your eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling and problems with eye movement.

Optic Nerve Damage

Trauma affecting the nerve that carries visual information from your eye to your brain can result in impaired vision or permanent sight loss.

Partial Or Total Loss Of Sight

Severe eye injuries can leave you with permanently reduced vision or blindness in the affected eye, significantly changing how you manage everyday activities.

Seeking medical attention is important after a serious eye injury, particularly where the accident caused severe pain or changes to your sight.

Your injury does not need to match one of these examples for you to discuss a potential claim. Speak to our advisors for free to discuss what happened and to learn more about how to sue for eye injury compensation.

Could An Eye Injury Have Lasting Impacts?

An eye injury could have lasting impacts where permanent sight loss or another long-term impairment continues to affect your daily life. Changes to your vision can reduce your independence and have wider consequences for your emotional wellbeing and ability to work.

Permanent vision loss can reduce your independence and leave you needing support with activities you previously managed without assistance. Adjusting to that change can be difficult in its own right, particularly where reduced vision affects your confidence or leaves you concerned about navigating everyday life safely.

Impaired vision may prevent you from returning to the same job or limit the work you can undertake. This can affect what you can earn over the long term, rather than only causing financial losses during your initial recovery.

Living with a serious eye injury may also involve ongoing treatment or the use of assistive devices to help you manage day-to-day life. The continuing effect on your life and the future costs created by these needs can both be considered when your eye injury compensation claim is valued.

For a clearer understanding of how the lasting effects of your eye injury could influence your compensation, speak to our advisors for free about how your life has changed since you were injured.

How Much Compensation Could I Get For An Eye Injury Claim?

How much compensation you could get for an eye injury claim depends on the seriousness of the injuries, the extent of any lasting vision problems, and the financial losses it has caused. Compensation can therefore reflect both the harm you have suffered and the financial impact the injury has had on your life.

An award can be made up of two heads of claim:

General damages: This compensates for the pain and suffering, including psychological injury, caused by your eye injury. When this part of a claim is valued, consideration can be given to the extent of any vision loss, your recovery and the long-term effect the injury has had on your quality of life.
Special damages: This compensates for financial losses and expenses resulting from your injury. Depending on your circumstances, this could include lost earnings or the cost of treatment and support you have needed, as well as financial losses expected to continue in the future.

Solicitors can refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when valuing general damages. The JCG provides guideline compensation brackets for different forms and severities of injury, including injuries affecting sight.

The table below provides the loss of sight brackets from the JCG. The first entry is an illustrative figure for multiple very serious injuries combined with special damages and was not taken from the JCG.

Compensation Table

Please note that this table is intended to act as guidance only.

Injury	Severity	Guideline Compensation
Multiple Very Serious Injuries with Additional Financial Losses	Very Serious multiple injuries with financial losses for additional eye treatments, vision aids, and lost earnings.	Up to £500,000 and Above
Injuries Affecting Sight	Total Blindness (b)	In the region of £355,020
	Loss of Sight in One Eye, Reduced Vision in Remaining Eye - Serious Deterioration Risk in the remaining eye (c)(i)	£126,820 to £237,510
	Loss of Sight in One Eye, Reduced Vision in Remaining Eye - with additional problems such as double vision (c)(ii)	£84,490 to £140,020
	Total Loss of One Eye - factors such as age and cosmetic effect will be taken into account (d)	£72,440 to £86,820
	Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye (e)	£65,090 to £72,440
	Serious but Incomplete Loss of Vision in One Eye - - without serious risk of reduced vision in the remaining eye (f)	£31,290 to £51,990
	Permanent Minor Impairment - affecting one or both eyes (g)	£12,040 to £27,720
	Minor Eye Injuries - such as exposure to fumes or being splashed by liquids.	£5,220 to £11,540
	Transient Eye Injuries - a full recovery within a few weeks.	£2,910 to £5,220

Could An Eye Injury Compensation Claim Cover Financial Losses?

Yes, an eye injury compensation claim could cover financial losses caused by your injury, including income you have lost and costs arising from changes to your vision.

Some examples of the losses that could be compensated under special damages include:

Lost earnings: An eye injury may require time away from work for treatment, surgery, follow-up appointments or recovery. You may also have been unable to work because blurred vision, double vision or sensitivity to light prevented you from driving, using screens or safely carrying out your normal duties. Payslips and employment records can help establish the income you lost.
Future loss of earnings: Permanent sight loss can affect the type or amount of work you can do in the future. A claim can account for reduced earning capacity, a change of occupation or an inability to return to work where these consequences are attributable to your injury.
Medical and rehabilitation costs: You may incur costs for specialist ophthalmology appointments, eye surgery, or other treatment required because of your injury. Rehabilitation expenses could also be recoverable where you need support to adapt to reduced or lost vision. Receipts, invoices and treatment recommendations can help establish these costs.
Assistive devices and home adaptations: Significant visual impairment may require equipment or changes to your home to help you remain safe and independent. This could include screen-reading or magnification technology, specialist lighting or adaptations that make it easier to navigate your home. A claim can consider reasonable costs already incurred as well as equipment and adaptations you are expected to need in the future.
Care and support: Serious loss of vision may mean you need assistance with tasks such as preparing meals, travelling outside your home or managing household activities safely. A claim can take account of reasonable paid care costs and, in appropriate circumstances, the value of necessary care provided by relatives or friends.

Living with changes to your sight can create financial pressure at an already difficult time. Speak to our advisors for free to understand which losses could form part of your eye injury compensation claim.

What Do I Need To Make An Eye Injury Compensation Claim?

To make an eye injury compensation claim, you need evidence that supports what happened and the harm you suffered, and your claim must be pursued within the relevant time limit. Understanding these requirements early can help you protect your position.

What Evidence Could Support My Eye Injury Claim?

Evidence that could support your eye injury claim can help establish how your eye was injured and the consequences it has had for you. For example, workplace safety records could show whether suitable eye protection was provided, while photographs could capture the machinery, chemical, debris or other hazard involved in the accident. Your ophthalmology and other medical records can also document the nature of the eye damage, treatment you received and whether you have been left with reduced or lost vision.

For a fuller explanation of what you could use and how it may support your case, read our dedicated guide to evidence needed for a personal injury claim.

What Is The Time Limit For Eye Injury Compensation Claims?

The time limit for eye injury compensation claims is generally 3 years from the date you were injured, as set out within the Limitation Act 1980. Different rules also apply where the injured person was under 18 or lacked the mental capacity to begin a claim themselves. You can learn more about these exceptions in our dedicated guide on the limitation period.

The deadline can depend on your individual circumstances, so it is important not to assume how long you have remaining. Speak to our advice team for free if you would like help understanding the time limit that may apply to your eye injury claim.

Can I Make An Eye Injury Compensation Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?

Yes, you can make an eye injury compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis with a solicitor from our expert panel, provided you meet the eligibility requirements. The solicitors we work with offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), a particular type of No Win No Fee contract. The CFA protects you from paying solicitor service fees upfront, while your claim is ongoing, or if your claim is unsuccessful.

If your claim is won, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation. The percentage will be agreed with you before your claim begins and is legally capped at 25% by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.

To find out more about how to sue for eye injury compensation with a solicitor from our panel, you can contact our advisory team today.

How Our Team Could Help With Your Eye Injury Compensation Claim

Our team could help with your eye injury compensation claim by connecting you with a specialist solicitor from our panel who can investigate what happened, assess the impact on your sight and manage the legal work needed to pursue compensation. This gives you professional support throughout the claims process while you focus on your recovery and adapting to any changes in your vision.

Depending on your circumstances, a solicitor from our panel could:

Address disputes about the cause of your sight problems: Where you had a pre-existing eye condition or your vision deteriorated after the initial accident, your solicitor can address arguments about which symptoms and limitations were caused or worsened by the injury.
Establish how your vision could change over time: Some eye injuries can have lasting consequences that are not fully understood immediately. Your solicitor can use appropriate specialist evidence to consider your longer-term prognosis before the claim is settled.
Examine whether you can return to your previous occupation: If your work depends on driving, operating machinery, or other visually demanding tasks, your solicitor can assess how permanent restrictions could affect your employment and future earning capacity.
Identify your future support and adaptation needs: Significant sight loss may create a need for specialist equipment, rehabilitation, care or changes to your home. Your solicitor can establish what support is reasonably required and account for appropriate future costs within the claim.
Consider rehabilitation and interim payments: If liability is admitted but your claim cannot yet be settled, your solicitor can explore whether rehabilitation support or an interim payment may be available to help with immediate needs while the case continues.

Your solicitor can also keep you informed as the case progresses and explain important decisions clearly. This means you have professional direction when you need it without being left to organise medical evidence, manage legal communications or progress the case yourself.

Contact How To Sue To Discuss Your Eye Injury Claim

Speak to our advisors for free today for further advice on how to sue for eye injury compensation. If our team thinks you may have a strong claim, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

Call the team on 0800 408 7827.
You can open a live chat on your screen and an advisor will be with you as soon as possible.
Or, contact us online and we’ll call you back whenever it suits you.

Learn More

View more of our personal injury claims guides here:

Find out how to sue a school for injuries.
Read our guide on how to sue for emotional distress after any accident.
Check how to sue for facial scar compensation following a breach of safety standards.

We’ve also provided a few external resources for additional information:

Read this NHS guidance on when to call 999 after an incident.
Learn more about the work of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) on their website.
NHS guidance on eye injuries.

Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on how to sue for eye injury compensation.