Losing your vision in an accident, whether temporarily or permanently, can have devastating effects on your life. Sensory impairment can mean long-term care needs as well as significant psychological impacts. If you have suffered an eye injury that has interfered with your vision, you may be wondering whether you could make a loss of sight claim.
Within this guide, you’ll find information on the eligibility criteria for making a personal injury claim, the evidence you can use to support your claim and how personal injury compensation is calculated under the two heads of loss. We have also provided a guideline compensation table to aid your understanding.
The final section examines the No Win No Fee agreement offered by the solicitors on our panel and the benefits that come with claiming compensation under such an arrangement.
You can get in touch with our team of advisors if you have any questions regarding loss of sight compensation claims. They can also offer you free advice for your case. You can reach our team at any time via:
- Calling on 020 8050 2736
- Completing our claim online form here.
- Using our live chat window.
Browse Our Guide
- When Could You Make A Loss of Sight Claim?
- How To Make A Loss of Sight Claim
- What Are Common Accidents That Could Lead To Loss of Sight?
- How Much Compensation For A Loss of Sight Compensation Claim?
- Why Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Claim Loss of Sight Compensation?
- Read More About Personal Injury Claims
When Could You Make A Loss of Sight Claim?
In order to be eligible to make a loss of sight claim, you will need to show that the accident in which you were injured was caused by a relevant third party failing to uphold the duty of care they owed you. There are various different situations where you are owed a duty of care. We have listed some examples below.
Public Places
The duty of care owed by occupiers of public places is contained within the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. An occupier must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of all visitors to their premises. This could include performing regular risk assessments and addressing any hazards they are aware of.
The Workplace
Employers are required to take reasonable steps to protect their employees from harm. This is their duty of care as stated under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Precisely how this duty will be met will vary between workplaces.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s regulator for workplace health and safety, publishes guidance on various topics, including training, risk assessments, and providing personal protective equipment (PPE), such as goggles, to help employers understand what they need to do to avoid various workplace injuries, such as eye injuries.
On The Roads
All road users have a collective responsibility to one another. Per their duty of care, road users must take all reasonable steps to minimise the risk of causing harm to one another. This also includes abiding by the Highway Code and Road Traffic Act 1988.
You can get a free assessment of your eligibility to make a personal injury compensation claim by talking to our advisors. Get in touch with our team today using the contact information provided below.
How To Make A Loss of Sight Claim
This section examines what evidence is needed for a personal injury claim. Evidence is important not only for proving a relevant third party was liable for your accident but also for you to get the right compensation, by showing the extent of the injuries you experienced.
Examples of evidence you could collect for your loss of sight claim include:
- After an accident, no matter how minor, it is always worth getting medical treatment. This will then produce medical records such as X-rays or test results that will show the extent of your injuries and the treatments you received.
- If it’s available, you can acquire CCTV or dashcam footage of the accident occurring.
- Photographs of your visible injuries and the accident site.
- Eyewitness contact information. Anyone who witnessed your statement could produce a statement later into the claiming process, so make sure to note their contact details.
Talk to our advisors for further guidance on the evidence that could be gathered for eye injury claims. Additionally, they could connect you with a personal injury solicitor on our panel. As part of their services, they could help you with gathering evidence to support your case.
What Are Common Accidents That Could Lead To Loss of Sight?
As aforementioned, if a relevant third party were to breach their duty of care, this could result in you suffering an injury that affects your vision. Some examples could include:
- You were working as a power tools operator on a construction site. Your employer had not provided you with sufficient eye protection. A piece of wall flew off while you were cutting a hole and damaged your eye, causing permanent sight loss.
- A speeding driver failed to slow down for a bend. This resulted in them crashing into your vehicle in a head-on collision. Your windscreen was shattered in the crash, and a piece of glass hit your eye, causing significant damage.
- You fell down the stairs in a library due to a faulty handrail. The library was aware of this faulty handrail but had taken no steps to fix it. In the fall, you suffer multiple injuries, including an eye laceration and head injury.
To find out if you can make a loss of sight claim for your particular circumstances or to inquire further about the claims process, talk to our team today. You can reach an advisor at any time of day using the contact information provided below.
How Much Compensation For A Loss of Sight Compensation Claim?
Compensation in a successful loss of sight claim can be awarded under two different heads of loss. The first head is known as general damages, which compensates for the physical and psychological harm caused by your injuries.
The team assigned with valuing your claim can refer to your medical evidence alongside the Judicial College Guidelines to reach a potential figure for general damages. This detailed publication contains guideline compensation figures for various injuries.
We have used some of these figures in the table below. Please take note that the top entry was not taken from the JCG. This is a possible total compensation figure for both heads of loss.
Compensation Table
We would like to emphasise that this table has been included for guidance purposes only.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Severe Injuries And Additional Special Damages | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000 + | Multiple very severe injuries as well as special damages payments, such as lost income and medical costs. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | Total Blindness (b) | In the Region of £327,940 | Total Blindness in both eyes. |
| Loss of Sight in One Eye, Reduced Vision in Remaining Eye (c)(i) | £117,150 to £219,400 | Serious risk of further deterioration in remaining eye. | |
| Loss of Sight in One Eye, Reduced Vision in Remaining Eye (c)(iI) | £78,040 to £129,330 | Reduced vision and/or additional problems such as double vision in remaining eye. | |
| Total Loss of One Eye (d) | £66,920 to £80,210 | Award dependent on psychological and cosmetic impacts. | |
| Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye (e) | £60,130 to £66,920 | Additional scarring will be awarded at the top of the bracket. | |
| Serious but Incomplete Loss of Vision in One Eye (f) | £28,900 to £48,040 | No significant risk of reduced or lost vision in the remaining eye. | |
| Permanent Minor Impairment (g) | £11,120 to £25,600 | Includes cases of some double vision that is not constant or sensitivity to bright light. | |
| Minor Eye Injuries (h) | £4,820 to £10,660 | Includes cases of being splashed by liquids or struck in the eye causing temporary vision interference. |
Special Damages In A Loss of Site Claim
Special damages is the other head of loss that may be awarded for your loss of sight claim. It compensates you for the financial losses you have incurred due to your injuries.
Costs you could receive special damages payments include:
- A loss of earnings from time taken off work to recover from injuries. You could also receive loss of future earnings payments if your ability to work has been reduced.
- The cost of domestic care and support, such as help with food preparation, cleaning or maintenance of any outside space if you can no longer carry out these duties safely on your own.
- Ongoing medical costs such as prescription medications or therapy sessions.
Retain copies of your prescription receipts, payslips and other documents as proof of your financial losses.
To discuss your specific claim further and get a better idea of the compensation you could be entitled to, contact our team today using the contact information provided below.
Why Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Claim Loss of Sight Compensation?
After you’ve contacted our advisors to get your eligibility to claim assessed, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor on our panel. The type of No Win No Fee contract offered by our panel is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Working with a No Win No Fee solicitor for your loss of sight claim comes with various benefits, such as:
- No upfront fee to pay for the solicitor to start work on your claim.
- You will also not pay a fee for this work during the claim.
- If the claim fails, there will be no fee to pay for their completed services.
Should you win your claim, you will receive a personal injury compensation payout. A percentage of this compensation will cover the solicitor’s success fee, the rest is yours to keep. Because success fees are legally capped, you will receive most of the awarded compensation.
Get in touch with our team with questions or for a free eligibility assessment. They can also answer any questions you may have about the loss of sight claims process. You can reach us at any time via:
- Phone on 020 8050 2736
- Complete our claim online form here.
- Open our live chat window with the icon on screen.
Read More About Loss of Sight Claims
You can read some more of our personal injury claims guides here:
- Find out how much compensation for an eye injury in a construction accident you could receive.
- Suffering a head injury from a car accident could result in a loss of vision.
- Learn more about accidents in a public place with this guide.
We have also provided these external resources for additional information:
- Read the first aid guidance from the NHS.
- See the latest road safety campaigns from THINK!
- The HSE has published this introduction to managing health and safety for employers.
Thank you for reading this guide to making a loss of sight claim. For more information or a free assessment of your eligibility, contact our advisors today using the details provided above.