A Guide To Employer Liability Claims - Accident At Work Compensation

You might be able to claim compensation for injuries suffered in an accident at work. Certain requirements must be met to satisfy the employer liability claims eligibility critera. We explain these and provide examples of when your employer could be liable for workplace injuries.

If you are eligible to claim, you may like to know more about how personal injury compensation could be awarded. We explain how settlements are awarded in successful workplace accident cases.

When claiming against your employer, you may like to have the support of a solicitor. This guide concludes with a look at how you can instruct the services of a specialist accident at work claims solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis.

Direct any questions you have about claiming for injuries suffered in the workplace to an advisor from our team.

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What Are Employer Liability Claims?
When Could Your Employer Be Liable For Injuries?
How Do You Prove Your Employer Liability Claim?
How Much Compensation For An Employer Liability Claim?
What Are The Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
Read More About Making Employer Liability Claims

What Are Employer Liability Claims?

Employer liability claims are also known as accident at work claims or workplace injury claims. They are generally made when an employer fails to adhere to relevant health and safety laws, and this lack of compliance results in worker injuries.

A key piece of health and safety legislation is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). It states that your employer must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. This is the duty of care that all employers owe to their employees.

If you suffer injuries in a workplace accident because of a breach of this duty, you could be eligible to make an employer liability claim.

Why Is Employers’ Liability Insurance Relevant To Your Claim?

Your accident at work claim will generally be made against your employer’s insurer. Every employer in Great Britain is legally obligated to have insurance. This is set under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.

What this means is that your employer must have an insurance policy that covers them should an employee make a personal injury claim after an accident at work. This policy must be from an authorised insurer.

For you, this means that if you make a successful claim for injuries sustained in an accident at work, your employer’s insurer will pay the compensation you are owed.

Direct any questions about employer liability claims to our advisory team. They can help assess whether you meet the eligibility requirements and, if you do, help you start a claim.

When Could Your Employer Be Liable For Injuries?

Accidents at work probably happen on a daily basis, but not all accidents will lead to a personal injury claim. We discussed the criteria above that need to be satisfied in order to make a claim against your employer. Here we look at the reasons why a claim may be possible:

Lack of training. Your employer must provide any training required to safely fulfil your job duties free of charge.
Poor housekeeping. Walkways need to be free of clutter to avoid slips, trips and falls. For example, they shouldn’t have cables trailing across them. Additionally, there should be policies in place to deal with a wet floor, such as putting up a sign until the area is dry.
Broken equipment. Workplace equipment should be checked as required or in accordance with manufacturer instructions and removed from use if found to be faulty.
Lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). If PPE is required to safely carry out your work duties, your employer needs to ensure that it is provided for free.

To find out more about employer liability claims, contact an advisor. They can also discuss the situation that resulted in your workplace injuries.

How Do You Prove Your Employer Liability Claim?

As with all personal injury claims, employer liability claims need to be supported with sufficient evidence. This evidence needs to prove liability for your injuries.

Examples of items that could be useful to submit in an employer liability claim include:

Accident report. Your employer must have an accident book under the law if 10 or more people work there. This should be filled in with details of the accident, your name, the time and date.
Medical records. You can request a copy of your medical records to show the nature of the injury and treatment required.
Video footage. If there are any videos of the accident, these can help prove your claim. For example, you can request CCTV footage.
Witness contact details. If anyone, such as a co-worker, saw the accident that caused your injury, you can note their contact information so they can provide a witness statement at a later date.

Can You Be Fired For Claiming Against Your Employer?

If employer negligence caused your injuries and you decide to seek compensation, you cannot be fired. However, if you are fired or suspect constructive dismissal as a result of your legal action, you might be able to make a claim for unfair dismissal.

How Much Compensation For An Employer Liability Claim?

If you make a successful employer liability claim, your settlement could consist of two parts:

General Damages. Successful claimants are compensated for the mental and physical aspects. Those responsible for valuing injuries may refer to the compensation guidelines published by the Judicial College (JCG) for guidance when calculating an amount for this part of a claim.
Special Damages. This part of a settlement reimburses claimants for out-of-pocket costs associated with their injury. Settlements may include compensation for loss of earnings, medical expenses, home help and nursing care, and any adaptations needed to their home to cope with their injury (like a stairlift or ramp). You will need to submit proof of your expenditure, such as receipts for prescriptions, wage slips showing your lost income and invoices from a cleaner.

The first row provides a figure (not from the JCG) for how compensation can be awarded for more than one serious injury and special damages. Figures in the remaining rows are for injuries relevant to workplace accidents from the 16th edition of the JCG. As all compensation claims differ from each other, the table is only to be used as a guide.

Injury	Severity	Notes	Compensation Guideline
Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages	Very Serious	Settlements may account for more than one serious injury and related expenses, including lost wages and nursing care.	Up to £1,000,000+
Brain Damage	Very Severe	Brain injuries this serious result in severe cognitive and physical disabilities requiring full-time nursing.	£282,010 to £403,990
Back Injuries	Severe (i)	Claimants suffer severe pain and disability along with a combination of other symptoms, such as significant impairments to the bladder, bowel and sexual functioning and incomplete paralysis.	£91,090 to £160,980
Arm Amputations	Loss of One Arm (i)	In this bracket, the arm has been amputated at the shoulder.	Not less than £137,160
Neck Injuries	Severe (ii)	These injuries are considerably severe, such as fractures or disc damage that cause substantial movement loss in the neck alongside functioning loss of one or more limbs.	£65,740 to £130,930
Severe Leg Injuries	Very Serious (ii)	The claimant suffers permanent mobility problems, multiple fractures have taken years to heal and required extensive treatment and resulted in serious deformity and limitations, or arthritis has developed making further surgery likely.	£54,830 to £87,890
Hand Injuries	Serious Damage to Both	These injuries result in a significant function loss and permanent cosmetic disability to both.	£55,820 to £84,570
Foot Injuries	Severe	The claimant has suffered either fractures of both heels or an unusually severe injury to one foot, such as severe degloving.	£41,970 to £70,030
Facial Disfigurement	Less Severe Scarring	The injured person suffers a singficant psychological reaction to substantial scars.	£17,960 to £48,420
Wrist Injuries	Significant	Although the claimant will have some useful movement, the injury results in a significant disability of a permanent nature.	£24,500 to £39,170

If you would like a free valuation of your claim and advice about special damages, contact a member of the advisory team.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

If you are eligible to claim against your employer, you may like to instruct a solicitor to work on your case. One of the personal injury solicitors from our panel could help. They have extensive experience with employer liability claims. In addition to their experience, our panel typically offers a No Win No Fee service under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

The benefits of No Win No Fee include:

You won’t be charged upfront for your solicitor’s services.
There also aren’t any ongoing costs.
No charges for your solicitor’s work on your claim if it fails.
Your solicitor will only take a legally limited percentage of your award as a success fee if your claim is successful.

Our advisors can help answer any questions you may have about the accident at work claims process. Additionally, if you have good grounds to launch a claim, they can connect you to one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.

To discuss starting a personal injury claim: