Forklift trucks are heavy machinery that can present genuine risks to health if the proper precautions are not taken. To that end, we have created this guide to making a forklift accident claim if you have been injured at work due to this machinery.
We cover all aspects of accident at work claims, including how compensation is calculated, the eligibility requirements that need to be met, the evidence you can collect to support your case and the time limits to start a claim.
At the end of the guide, we examine the No Win No Fee agreement offered by our panel of expert personal injury solicitors.
To ask any questions, or get a free assessment of your eligibility to begin a workplace accident claim, get in touch today using the contact information here:
- Call the team on 0800 508 7826
- You can also contact us through our website.
- We also operate a live chat service, which you can access on screen now.
Browse Our Guide
- Compensation Calculator For A Forklift Accident Claim
- What Is A Forklift Accident Claim?
- How Could Employers Cause Forklift Truck Accidents?
- Can I Claim If I Was Partly Responsible For A Forklift Truck Accident?
- Will I Get Fired If I Was Involved In A Forklift Truck Accident?
- How Long Do I Have To Claim Forklift Accident Compensation?
- How Do I Prove A Forklift Accident Claim?
- Claim Forklift Accident Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Claiming For An Accident At Work
Compensation Calculator For A Forklift Accident Claim
Compensation in a successful forklift accident claim can be awarded under two different heads of claim: general and special damages. These heads of claim award for physical and psychological harm and subsequent financial losses, respectively.
The solicitors on our panel could assist you with calculating a potential compensation figure. Those assigned this task can refer to your medical documents in conjunction with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG publication contains guideline compensation brackets for various injuries. A relevant selection of which, aside from the first entry, has been used in the table below.
Compensation Table
Please note that these values have been provided for guidance purposes only.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Severe Injuries As Well Substantial Financial Losses | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000 and Above | The injured person will have sustained multiple very severe injuries in addition to incurring significant financial losses including a loss of earnings, medical expenses and care needs. |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 | Cases where there is very little environmental response or language function. The injured person will require full time professional care. |
| Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 | Very serious disability that can involve physical or cognitive disabilities, necessitating a substantial dependence on others. | |
| Injuries Involving Paralysis | Tetraplegia | £396,140 to £493,000 | Paralysis of the upper and lower extremities. Cases where the life expectancy is at least 25 years and the injured person is not in any physical pain will be awarded towards the middle of the bracket. |
| Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 | Lower body paralysis. Awards for paraplegia are dependent on the pain level, impact on sexual function, the degree of independence and the psychological impacts. | |
| Leg Injuries | Amputations (i) | £293,850 to £344,150 | The loss of both legs, such as a double above knee amputation, will be awarded according to the severity of phantom pain, the success of prosthesis and associated psychological impacts. |
| Amputations (iv) | £119,570 to £162,290 | A straightforward below knee amputation of one leg with no aggravating features would be awarded towards the bottom of this bracket. | |
| Severe (iii) Serious | £47,840 to £66,920 | Serious fractures, joint or ligament damage requiring prolonged treatment and causing instability. | |
| Severe (iv) Moderate | £33,880 to £47,840 | Complex or multiple fractures, or severe crush injuries to one limb. | |
| Foot Injuries | Modest | Up to £16,770 | A simple metatarsal fracture, ligament rupture or puncture wound resulting in continuing symptoms such as aching or pain. |
Special Damages
The second head of claim is referred to as special damages. Compensation for financial losses resulting from your injuries can be awarded under special damages.
Examples include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical expenses.
- Care costs.
- Home modification costs.
- Transport costs.
Be sure to hold onto copies of your payslips, receipts and other documents as proof of the losses you incurred. Without them, you may not be able to receive special damages.
You can inquire further about how compensation is calculated in personal injury claims by speaking to our advisors.
What Is A Forklift Accident Claim?
A forklift accident claim is a type of personal injury claim that can be made after an accident involving a forklift truck. Forklifts are vehicles that use a mechanical arm to lift heavy goods. The two main types of forklifts are counterbalance trucks which use rear-mounted weights to stabilise the vehicle, and reach trucks which are designed specifically to reach significant heights.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers are required to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their employees while they are working. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, provide guidance on a variety of topics to help employers meet their legal obligations, including guidance on lift truck training.
The operators of these vehicles should have sufficient training and supervision in the usage of these vehicles. We’ll examine this in greater detail below, but the eligibility criteria for an accident at work claim are as follows.
- Your employer owed you a duty of care.
- They failed to uphold this duty by not taking reasonable steps to ensure your safety.
- This resulted in an accident in which you were injured.
To inquire further about the eligibility criteria in forklift truck accident claims, contact our advisors using the contact details provided above.
How Could Employers Cause Forklift Truck Accidents?
Forklift accidents can occur in a variety of different circumstances. We have provided a couple of examples here to show employer failures can result in you sustaining a workplace injury.
Accidents that occur as a result of an employer not upholding their duty of care could include:
- You had not received proper vehicle safety training before being instructed to use the forklift. This meant you attempted to lift a pallet that was over the weight limit for the vehicle. The truck toppled over, and you suffered a serious leg injury as well as a concussion.
- Your employer had not carried out the latest round of maintenance checks on the company vehicles, and consequently, a set of faulty brakes were not replaced. As a result of this, you were unable to stop the forklift and crashed into a shelving unit. You suffered a major head injury during the crash.
- A badly designed warehouse meant forklift drivers had to engage in complex manoeuvres to transport goods. You were hit by a forklift coming around a blind corner and sustained a serious back injury.
Serious injury can be caused if your employer fails to maintain adequate vehicle safety standards. Contact our advisors for a free assessment of your eligibility to claim in your particular circumstances today.
Can I Claim If I Was Partly Responsible For A Forklift Truck Accident?
Yes, you can still claim. If the evidence shows that you were partially at fault for your injuries, you could make what is known as a contributory negligence claim. This is where your actions, as well as your employer’s, are deemed to have contributed to your being injured in some way.
So for example, you had received health and safety instruction and proper vehicle safety training to be a forklift driver. However, you ignored those instructions and used the forklift in an unsafe manner by driving over the warehouse speed limit. However, the brakes on the vehicle were also faulty, meaning you were unable to stop the vehicle before crashing into a wall.
Although your employer should have repaired or replaced the brakes, you also should have been driving the forklift in a safe manner, as you had been trained to do.
The amount of compensation you would receive in a contributory negligence claim would be affected by how liable you were deemed to be. For example, if you were deemed 25% liable, you would only receive 75% of the compensation amount you would have received had you not been liable at all.
To see whether you still may be able to make a forklift accident claim, even if you were partially liable, you can contact our advisors.
Will I Get Fired If I Was Involved In A Forklift Truck Accident?
Whether or not an employee will be dismissed following a forklift accident will depend entirely on the extent of your involvement in the accident itself.
You cannot be dismissed for making an accident at work claim, as you have a right to be able to make a claim. However, if the accident occurred due to your conduct, then you could be subject to disciplinary procedures or dismissal from your position.
If you believe you have been involved in an accident at work that was not your fault, you can contact our advisors about making a forklift accident claim.
How Long Do I Have To Claim Forklift Accident Compensation?
In most cases, all personal injury claims, such as a forklift accident claim, will be subject to the standard 3 year time limit set out in the Limitation Act 1980. This means that you will have 3 years from the date of the accident to start your claim.
There are circumstances in which exceptions to this can be made, and extensions may be granted. These include:
- Children cannot start claims on their own behalf, so any injured persons who are under 18 at the time of the accident will have the 3-year limit counted from their 18th birthday.
- Anyone who lacks sufficient mental capacity to claim for themselves will have the time limit paused altogether. It will only be reinstated if the person recovers this mental capability and will run from the date they recovered this capacity.
In these situations where the claimant is unable to start their own claim, the court may appoint a parent, guardian or other suitable adult to act as a litigation friend to act on their behalf. To find out more about the time limits in personal injury claims or to check if any exceptions apply in your particular circumstances, contact our team today using the contact information given below.
How Do I Prove A Forklift Accident Claim?
Evidence is a crucial part of any forklift accident claim. The proof you gather will not only be used to demonstrate the fault of your employer but also highlight the extent of your injuries, something very useful when it comes time to calculate a potential compensation figure.
Examples of evidence you could collect include:
- We always recommend that the first thing you do after an accident is to seek professional medical help. While the first concern should always be your health, the records from your treatment can be used as evidence of the injuries you sustained.
- Employers with 10 or more employees are required to keep a workplace accident book. You can request a copy of your incident report from this.
- Training materials, maintenance logs and other workplace records can be used to show that key health and safety measures were carried out improperly or ignored altogether.
- If available, you have the right to request CCTV footage you appear in.
- You can photograph your injuries, the scene of the accident, and what caused it.
- Anyone who saw the accident occur could provide a witness statement. Be sure to take down their contact details so they can provide a statement during the claims process.
To see whether one of the solicitors on our panel could help you with gathering evidence to support your claim, you can contact our advisors.
Claim Forklift Accident Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis
Our dedicated panel of No Win No Fee solicitors can offer eligible claimants a particular type of contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
A CFA significantly benefits the claimant with perks including:
- No fees to pay for the solicitor to begin work on the claim.
- No ongoing service fees during the claims process itself.
- Finally, should the claim be unsuccessful, you will not be met with any fees for their work.
If you do win your claim, however, you will receive personal injury compensation. A percentage of this compensation will make up the solicitor’s success fee. But since success fees are capped by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, you know you will be keeping the majority of any compensation that is paid out.
To learn more or get a free assessment of your eligibility to begin a workplace accident claim, get in touch today using the contact information here:
- Call the team on 0800 508 7826
- You can also contact us through our website.
- We also operate a live chat service which you can access on screen now.
Learn More About Claiming For An Accident At Work
You can view some more of our accident at work claims guides here:
- Learn more about electric shock claims with this guide.
- Find out about the eligibility criteria in manual handling claims and how compensation is calculated here.
- Read our guide to making a construction site accident claim by clicking this link.
We have also provided these external resources for additional information:
- Following a workplace accident, you may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). You can find out more on the Government website.
- Read more about managing risks and risk assessment at work with this HSE guidance.
- Learn when to dial 999 with this NHS page.
Thank you for reading our guide to making a forklift accident claim. To find out if you could be eligible to claim, call our advisors on the number given above 24/7.