Welcome to our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) article discussing accident at work compensation. We cover many frequently asked questions related to workplace accident claims, starting by explaining when you are eligible to claim compensation for injuries you sustained.
Employers owe their employees a duty of care that is backed by law. We discuss this duty and how an employer breaching it could lead to a harmful accident at the workplace.
Continuing through the guide, you can see important details about the start of the claims process. This includes notifying your employer, getting the claim started within the legal time limit, and other actions worth taking in the aftermath of an accident at work.
Furthermore, we outline how accident at work compensation is calculated in successful claims, depending on how the accident and your injuries affect you. Finally, you can get insight into why many people start No Win No Fee compensation claims with an experienced personal injury solicitor from our panel.
You can get in touch to discuss accident at work claims in more detail. It’s free, there’s no obligation to work with us, and an advisor can run your potential claim through a quick and easy case assessment. Get started today by either:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7826 to find out if you could claim compensation.
- Using our contact page to make a workplace injury claim query.
Select A Section
- When Can You Claim Accident At Work Compensation?
- How Could Your Employer Breach Their Duty Of Care?
- Should You Inform Your Employer About Making A Personal Injury Claim?
- How Long Do You Have To Make An Accident At Work Compensation Claim?
- What Could You Do After An Accident At The Workplace?
- How Much Accident At Work Compensation Could You Receive?
- Could I Claim Compensation For An Accident At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis
- More Information About Accident At Work Compensation Claims
When Can You Claim Accident At Work Compensation?
As an employee, you are owed a duty of care by your employer. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets out this duty in law. It sets out a legal obligation for employers to take reasonable and practicable steps that keep employees safe. There are many things an employer can do to protect workers, such as providing the right equipment and PPE, and performing regular risk assessments.
This is important because a breach of that duty is a key element of your potential accident at work claim. A personal injury claim has to show that:
- Your employer owed a duty of care.
- They breached their duty.
- This led to an accident where you sustained physical or/and psychological injury.
How Could Your Employer Breach Their Duty Of Care?
Employer negligence could occur in several different ways. The examples below illustrate how a breached duty of care could result in an employee being injured in the workplace.
- An employer does not provide personal protective equipment such as goggles in a work environment where wood is being cut by machines. A worker suffers a serious eye injury when a flying splinter hits them in the eye.
- A restaurant worker suffers a burned hand injury due to them not being trained correctly.
- Wet floors are not signposted and employees are not made aware. One worker with existing back problems suffers a serious back injury and multiple fractures when they slip on the unguarded floor.
- An employee without training is told to operate a crane. They lose control and the crane falls, crushing an employee and causing serious internal injuries alongside a serious brain injury causing severe brain damage.
Have you been injured in a workplace accident, maybe you have suffered soft tissue injuries or a serious injury to internal organs due to no safety regulations and want to see if you could claim work injury compensation? Learn more about claiming accident at work compensation by calling the number above and speaking to an advisor.
Should You Inform Your Employer About Making A Personal Injury Claim?
Firstly, it’s worth making your employer aware of the incident and your workplace injuries so they can log it in the workplace accident book. Because of The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, your employer might also have a legal requirement to report the accident to the relevant authority.
Depending on whether you are making your accident at work claim with legal representation or not may determine how you tell you employer. Usually if you work with a solicitor they will take care of this for you. If you are making the claim yourself then you will need to follow the Personal Injury Claim Pre-Action Protocol.
Most personal injury claims that are successful will be awarded compensation via employers liability insurance. It is compulsory for your employer to hold employers liability insurance. So if you are worried that the company you work for may be damaged by this claim the insurance are usually the ones that payout.
Get more information on the accident at work claims process and how a solicitor from our panel on a No Win No Fee basis could handle all correspondents with your employer’s insurance company by calling the number at the top of the page.
How Long Do You Have To Make An Accident At Work Compensation Claim?
A personal injury claim must begin within three years of the accident date. This time limit, which applies to accident at work claims, is set out by The Limitation Act 1980.
However, some cases may call for an exception to be made to the normal limitation period. For example, the injured person might be too mentally unwell to start a workplace injury claim. The legal time limit is paused indefinitely for those without the mental faculty to take legal action. A trusted litigation friend can start a compensation claim for them during the pause period. If this doesn’t happen, the injured person will only see the three-year limit come into effect if they recover, starting from the recovery date.
For more information on workplace accident claim time limits, such as how they affect people who were under 18 when they were injured, please give our advisors a call.
Can You Sue Your Employer If You No Longer Work For Them?
You can seek accident at work compensation regardless of whether or not you still work for the employer.
One of our panel’s No Win No Fee solicitors could use their expertise to help you with your workplace injury claim against a current or past employer. Find out more today and learn if you could start a compensation claim with legal representation by allowing our advisors to carry out a free case assessment.
What Could You Do After An Accident At The Workplace?
As well as making sure the employer has a record of your workplace accident, be sure to get any medical treatment you need for your injuries. Not only is this important for your immediate and long-term health needs, but it could also be a source of evidence for your accident at work compensation claim.
Personal injury claims need backing from as much evidence as possible. With that in mind, try to collect any of the below:
- CCTV footage showing the accident and what caused it.
- Photographs of the scene and any visible injuries.
- Medical evidence – for example, test or scan results.
- Witness contact information so witness statements can be taken at a later date.
- A copy of the workplace accident book entry.
If instructed, a personal injury solicitor from our panel can help claimants gather evidence and interview witnesses during the claim. For a more in-depth discussion of how a solicitor could help you make a compensation claim, just call to chat with an advisor.
How Much Accident At Work Compensation Could You Receive?
If you are thinking of making a personal injury claim following an accident at work you may be interested to know how much compensation you could claim. A successful claim would entitle you to accident at work compensation, which could be split into up to two ‘heads’.
One such head is called general damages and accounts for physical pain and emotional suffering caused by your injuries. For example, a settlement could feature compensation for psychological injuries as well as a work injury affecting the body.
Those involved in figuring out compensation amounts during the accident at work claim may use medical evidence such as your independent medical assessment report for support. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a set of guideline compensation brackets, could also aid their calculations.
Compensation Table
As an alternative to a compensation calculator for an accident at work, you could refer to this table. Apart from the top line, it is made up of JCG entries. However, the table is only intended as a guide.
| INJURY | SEVERITY | COMPENSATION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries And Special Damages | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ | Accident at work compensation addressing numerous serious injuries and financial losses such as care costs or travel expenses. |
| Head | Very Severe | £282,010 to £403,990 | The level of award is affected by factors including the injured person's degree of insight, their life expectancy and the extent of physical or sensory limitations. |
| Injuries Affecting the Senses | Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye | £95,990 to £179,770 | There is a serious risk of further deterioration in the remaining eye that is beyond the risk of sympathetic ophthalmia. |
| Back | Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Most severe injuries with very serious consequences not usually found in back injury cases, involving damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots. |
| Amputation of Arms | Loss of One Arm (i) | Not less than £137,160 | Amputation of the arm at shoulder level. |
| Leg | Severe Leg Injuries (i) | £96,250 to £135,920 | The most serious injuries falling short of an amputation. For example, extensive degloving of the leg. |
| Foot | Amputation of One Foot | £83,960 to £109,650 | Cases are treated similarly to below-knee amputations because the ankle joint is lost. |
| Chest | Traumatic Injury | £65,740 to £100,670 | Permanent chest, lung(s) and/or heart damage caused by traumatic injury. Effects include impaired function, physical disability and reduced life expectancy. |
| Hand | Serious Hand Injuries | £29,000 to £61,910 | For example, the injuries reduce the hand to around 50 per cent of its usual capacity. |
| Wrist | Complete Loss of Function | £47,620 to £59,860 | Injuries leading to total loss of wrist function, for example, where an arthrodesis is required. |
Special Damages
Part of a payout could reflect the financial losses that only occurred because of a workplace injury. This head of the claim is called special damages. You could seek workplace accident compensation covering the likes of:
- Personal domestic care costs.
- Travel expenses.
- Home or vehicle adaptation charges.
- Lost earnings or work-related benefits if your injuries leave you unable to work.
Claiming under the special damages head of claim will require relevant evidence. With that in mind, keep hold of any receipts, bank statements or any other documents that show your losses.
Would you like to know more about the compensation you may be entitled to? Just call the number above and discuss your potential accident at work claim with an advisor for free advice.
Could I Claim Compensation For An Accident At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Many people have found that they have the best chance of getting the compensation they deserve by seeking legal representation. Our panel’s personal injury solicitors have years of combined experience in securing accident at work compensation, and they may be able to take your case.
Our panel’s solicitors work under a Conditional Fee Agreement, a form of No Win No Fee deal that rules out any upfront or running charge for their efforts. You won’t pay a penny for your solicitor’s services if your claim doesn’t succeed.
Your solicitor would take a cut of your compensation as their success fee if they guide you to a winning claim. However, because of a legal cap established by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, you will take the majority of what you are awarded.
If you have any more questions about the claims process, how much compensation you could receive or how a No Win No Fee solicitor can help you, please call any time. Our round-the-clock service gives you free access to our advice and a claim evaluation to discover if one of our panel’s solicitors could pick up your accident at work claim.
To make the most of this free support, simply choose a contact option:
- Call 0800 408 7826.
- Contact us concerning your potential claim.
More Information About Accident At Work Compensation Claims
These added guides could answer more questions you might have:
- A case study on how broken wrist injuries at work can result in a payout.
- A guide to back injury claims following an accident that was not your faut.
- This PTSD compensation guide could be useful if you have suffered psychological harm.
Handy information can also be found on these sites:
- Government guidance on requesting CCTV footage of an incident.
- More government advice, this time concerning Statutory Sick Pay and how to claim it.
- NHS advice on how to get your medical records from your GP.
- Health and Safety Executive HSE – safety regulations for sufficient personal protective equipment.
Thank you for reading our accident at work compensation claim guide. Please call or reach out through our web form if we can help you further.