By Danielle Coleman. Last Updated 26th October 2022. If you’ve suffered an injury at work in an incident that wasn’t your fault, you could claim compensation by making an accident at work claim. This is to compensate you for the physical and psychological damage caused, as well as potentially any financial losses you’ve suffered due to it. This guide can help you by answering important questions such as:
- What are the benefits of using No Win No Fee lawyers in the UK?
- How do No Win No Fee claims work?
- What can you claim for when making an injury at work claim?
- What is the accident at work time limit in order to claim?
- Can I be sacked for having an accident at work?
- What is the kind of accident at work compensation I could receive?
Our advisors can help you with any queries regarding accident claims, such as wanting to know your eligibility for manual handling claims. You can contact us 24/7 for free legal advice using the details below.
- You can call us if you go to the top of the page.
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- Contact us via our website.
Read on to learn more about how you could receive injury at work compensation by using accident at work lawyers.
Select a Section
- How Do Accidents At Work Happen?
- Can I Make An Accident At Work Claim?
- What Is The Accident At Work Claim Time Limit?
- The Latest Workplace Injury Statistics
- Average Compensation Awards In Accident At Work Claims
- Do No Win No Fee Arrangements Apply To Accident At Work Claims?
- How Can An Accident At Work Lawyer Support Me With A Claim?
How Do Accidents At Work Happen?
An accident at work is when you injure yourself accidentally while working. Regarding making an accident at work claim, you need to be able to prove that your employer’s negligence caused your injury.
From a legal perspective, negligence revolves around a third party breaching their duty of care. Your employer will have a duty of care to every employee, meaning that, within reason, they need to make sure the work premises are safe and secure enough to be used. Breaching their duty of care would mean that they have not adhered to the required safety protocols to keep employees safe. If you’re making a personal injury claim, due to this breach, you would’ve been injured.
An employer’s duty of care is detailed in the following UK legislation:
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
- Section 4 of The Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002 is an amendment to The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
Regarding accident at work procedure, The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) states that certain accidents at work and dangerous occurrences need to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
You may be wondering, “what constitutes an accident at work that I may be able to claim for?” Examples of this include:
- Slipping on a wet floor because there were no warning signs displayed, despite the spillage being noticed by staff.
- Tripping on exposed wiring because the employer didn’t check it was secured properly.
- Falling from a ladder due to using faulty work equipment that the employer was aware of.
Injuries that aren’t your fault could result in you wanting to use a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Can I Make An Accident At Work Claim?
Particular criteria need to be met before you can make a successful accident at work claim. We’ve explained the idea of negligence. However, the following three requirements need to be met for the injury suffered to be considered negligence.
- The third party needs to have a duty of care to you.
- They must have breached this duty of care causing an incident.
- And this incident must have led to your injury.
It’s only if all three criteria are met that you may be able to make a successful No Win No Fee compensation claim. You cannot be sacked for making an honest claim against your employer as it is well within your rights to do so.
Evidence that you could use in an accident at work claim includes:
- Photographs
- Witness statements
- CCTV footage
- Medical evidence
The more evidence you’re able to provide, the stronger your injured at work claim could be. For more information about how to claim for an injury at work, such as your rights and how to get in touch with accident at work solicitors, please contact us.
What Is The Recommended Accident At Work Procedure in the UK?
After an accident at work, the procedure in the UK can depend on what has occurred. If you have suffered a serious injury, we recommend you immediately seek medical attention. You should consider gathering evidence for your accident at work claim after receiving any medical care or treatment that is required.
We’ve broken down the procedure into a few simple steps. If you follow these, you could improve your chances of receiving compensation for an accident at work:
- Seek medical attention: seeking medical attention is important as you may need treatment for any issues. However, you could also get a medical report which can serve as helpful evidence for a claim.
- Report the accident: you should record the incident in your workplace’s accident book. Additionally, you should make your employer and colleagues aware of the accident.
- Gather evidence: evidence is crucial for a successful accident at work claim. We’ll discuss what evidence you should obtain in the next section.
- Seek legal advice: we recommend you work with personal injury solicitors to help you receive compensation for an accident at work. Solicitors can use their experience to help you cover all bases of a claim.
If you want to work with experienced solicitors, you could potentially work with someone from our expert panel. Depending on your eligibility, you could make a No Win No Fee claim with our team.
What Is The Accident At Work Claim Time Limit?
There is a set period of time you have to make an accident at work claim. You generally need to begin claims proceedings either:
- Within three years of the accident
- Or within three years of the date you became aware that negligence at least contributed to the injury.
The date of awareness is, for instance, if you have suffered internal issues, such as lung disease caused by asbestos. This means that you wouldn’t necessarily know of the damage caused until many years after it occurred. This time limit is established in the Limitation Act 1980.
There are, however, exceptions to this also detailed in the legislation.
- If you’re a child and want to make a personal injury claim, you have 3 years from the date you turn 18 to do this. However, if you wish to claim before you turn 18, you would need a litigation friend to do this on your behalf.
- If someone doesn’t have the mental capacity to claim, then the three-year time limit doesn’t apply to them unless they recover mental capacity. If that happens, they’d have 3 years from the date of recovery to claim. However, if it doesn’t happen, a litigation friend can be appointed to make the claim on their behalf.
The Latest Workplace Injury Statistics
The HSE provide work injury statistics through RIDDOR. It means that any reported accident or injury at work is reflected in their statistics to give as accurate a picture as possible regarding Great Britain’s work conditions. The most up-to-date figures for non-fatal injuries to employees are from 2014/15 to 2019/20. Within that timeframe, in the selected industries shown above, there were 4,340 non-fatal accidents in the accommodation and food services industries alone. There were also almost 12,000 injuries in the human health and social work industries.
Based on projected figures for fatal injuries to workers in Great Britain in 2020/21, 10 people have died in the transportation and storage industries, 20 people have died in the manufacturing industry, and, across all industries, 142 people lost their lives. These figures, like the ones above, show that injuries can happen in the workplace more frequently than you might think. Therefore, don’t automatically assume that you wouldn’t be able to make an accident at work claim. Our advisors can tell you over the phone in just a few minutes if you’re eligible. Call us today using the phone number at the top of this page.
Average Compensation Awards In Accident At Work Claims
There are two possible heads of claim in an accident at work claim.
- General damages compensate you for the physical and mental pain you suffer due to the accident.
- Special damages compensate you for the financial losses caused by the injury.
If your claim is successful and you secure general damages, it doesn’t always mean that you would claim special damages too. That’s because they’re calculated independently and reflect the evidence you’re able to provide.
General damages are calculated based on the extent and severity of your injury. The Judicial College made note of previous compensation payouts and the corresponding injuries suffered. Due to this, they’ve built compensation brackets for many different types of injuries. Through this, you could learn more about the amount of compensation you could receive if you make an accident at work claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
Evidence, as described above, will give you a greater chance of your accident at work claim being successful. Below is a list of compensation brackets with their associated injuries. The Judicial College has provided these figures.
| Injury and severity | Details | Compensation bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Chest injuries (b) | Life expectancy reduction, disability and function impairments from a traumatic injury that caused permanent damage to the heart and/or lungs. | £65,740 to £100,670 |
| Severe back injuries (ii) | Back injuries with special features such as sensation losses, impairments to mobility as well as bladder, bowel and sexual functioning impairments and unsightly scarring. | £74,160 to £88,430 |
| Very serious severe leg injuries (b) (ii) | Permanent mobility problems due to injuries, such as those in which multiple fractures have required years to heal or needed extensive treatment. | £54,830 to £87,890 |
| Eyes - sight (d) | Loss of one eye with mental health and cosmetic implications | £54,830 to £65,710 |
| Less severe head injury | A good recovery, however, there could be some persisting life-interfering problems, such as moodiness and trouble concentrating. | £15,320 to £43,060 |
| Wrist injuries (b) | Although some useful movement remains, the injury still causes a significant disability of a permanent nature. | £24,500 to £39,170 |
| Less severe arm injury (c) | Substantial recovery has either taken place or is expected from significant disabilities. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Serious shoulder injuries | Shoulder and neck pain, aching elbow and sensory problems down the arm and into the hand, along with grip weakness from dislocation and lower brachial plexus damage. | £12,770 to £19,200 |
| Deafness/tinnitus (d) (iii) | Some noise induced hearing loss, along with mild tinnitus. | £12,590 to £14,900 |
| Moderate neck injuries (iii) | Moderate soft tissue injuries with protracted recovery time and vulnerability to further injury and injuries that accelerate or exacerbate pre-existing neck problems. | £7,890 to £13,740 |
Do No Win No Fee Arrangements Apply To Accident At Work Claims?
A No Win No Fee agreement is a Conditional Fee Agreement. This is an agreement between you and your legal representative, meaning that their legal expenses will only be paid in particular circumstances. It means that:
- Our panel of No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors will not request legal fees during the claims process.
- Instead, the legal fees will be paid via a small, legally capped portion of your compensation.
- As the phrase ‘No Win No Fee’ suggests, you won’t have to pay their legal fees if your claim is unsuccessful.
How Can An Accident At Work Lawyer Support Me With A Claim?
You may wish to have the support of an accident at work lawyer when claiming compensation for a workplace accident. You are not obligated to hire a solicitor to make a claim, but an accident at work lawyer will be familiar with the accident at work claims process.An accident at work lawyer could support your injury at work claim in various ways, including
Get in touch using the contact details below:
- You can call us on 020 8050 2736
- Use our live chat for instant answers
- Fill out our contact form for a callback
Other Resources
Why not check out more of our personal injury claims guides below:
- Claim compensation if you’ve been injured by a moving object at work
- Manual handling injury claims
- How to claim compensation for hand injuries at work
- How to claim compensation after a head injury at work
- A guide on claiming compensation for a workplace injury
- Claim compensation after suffering a finger injury at work
- How to claim compensation for eye injuries at work
- Forklift accidents at work
- How to claim compensation for a knee injury at work
- Back injury at work claims
- How to make a fall from a height claim
- Finding construction accident solicitors
- Making a claim for a sprained ankle at work
- Making a claim for a concussion at work
- How to make factory accident claims
- How long do I have to claim after an accident at work?
- What are my rights after an accident at work?
- What do I need to do after an accident at work?
- Working with serious injury solicitors
- A guide to claiming compensation for fatal work accidents
- How to make a work injury claim
- Tips on preventing an accident in the workplace
- Can my employer sack me after an accident at work?
- How to claim for an accident at work
Thank you for reading our guide to making an accident at work claim.
Written by DUR
Published by VIC