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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Assault At Work Compensation Calculator
2. Can An Assault At Work Compensation Claim Be Made?
3. The Most Common Assault Experienced In The Workplace
4. Why You Should Make A Claim For Workplace Assault
5. Which Occupations Are More At Risk Of Experiencing Assault
6. What Happens If I Need To Claim Through The CICA?
7. How To Start An Assault At Work Claim
8. Start Your Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
9. More Information

Assault At Work Compensation Calculator

Our assault at work compensation calculator is a tool that looks at two areas of harm as the basis for estimating what could be owed.

These areas are called general and special damages. Not all compensation calculators include both.

General damages looks at the physical injuries the person endured, as well as the psychological damage that often accompanies a violent assault. Any permanent injury can also be assessed, along with the overall detrimental impact the injuries have had on the person’s quality of life.

Those responsible for calculating general damages might look at medical evidence that has been presented and compare it with guideline bracket amounts in publications like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).  Below is a table made up of entries from this publication showing guidelines for injuries commonly associated with physical violence. This same publication is used for estimates in our compensation calculator.

Compensation Guidelines

Please keep in mind that these sums are purely guidelines and every case will vary. Additionally, the figure in the first row was not taken from the JCG.

Also, any compensation made through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme will correspond to their own tariff. We discuss this in detail below.

For more personalised advice on how to use our assault at work compensation calculator, speak to our advisors. They could connect you with a solicitor from our panel to check how much you could claim for your physical harm and emotional pain and suffering.

How To Calculate Special Damages

In addition to general damages, you might wish to recover associated financial losses and expenses. Under special damages, you can put forward evidence that proves these losses, such as:

• Payslips that show how you experienced a drop or loss in earnings because you couldn’t work due to your injuries.
• Proof of any private medical expenses or counselling costs.
• Receipts for sums paid out to anyone who helped you cook, clean and shop after the injury.
• Invoices or estimates for essential adaptations needed in your home or to your car because of a new disability.
• Any extra childcare costs.
• Tickets and receipts for essential travel.

The solicitors on our panel are experts at calculating special damages and if they can accept your claim, they will also factor in the predicted future costs or expenses that you might face after a workplace assault. This provides a much more accurate and detailed picture of the compensation owed to you. Why not call and see how they could calculate general and special damages for you?

Can An Assault At Work Compensation Claim Be Made?

Yes, in certain circumstances, you can make a claim for an assault at work. However, you need to meet the eligibility criteria for making a personal injury claim.

All workers are protected by a duty of care from their employers while doing their jobs. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) states that employers must take proportionate and reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their workforce while carrying out their job-related duties.

To establish whether you have grounds to make a compensation claim after an assault in the workplace, you need to meet the following three criteria:

• You were owed a duty of care at the moment of injury.
• This duty was breached.
• As a result, you suffered harm.

All three points need to be demonstrated to move forward with a valid personal injury claim for an assault at work. If you feel sure that your employer failed to adequately provide for your safety at work, and you suffered injury after a violent assault, speak to our team.

The Most Common Assault Experienced In The Workplace

Next, we look at some of the most typically encountered forms of assault that might arise in the workplace and provide a general example:

Physical Assault

Employers have a duty to safeguard staff from harm if it is considered to be a risk in that job. This can include providing personal protective equipment (PPE) as needed:

Example – The owner of a betting shop failed to repair the plexiglass screen between staff and the customers. An irate customer was able to smash through the screen and grab a staff member by the neck, causing a soft tissue injury, bruising and severe shock.

Verbal Abuse

Employers need to ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to remove hostile members of the public from the workplace.

Example – An employer neglected to train the staff in these procedures, and a new female member of staff in a late-night off-licence suffered distressing and graphic insults from a customer on their first shift. This caused anxiety sufficient enough to cause PTSD and damage their ability to earn a living.

Aggression

There may be a higher expectation of violence in certain workplaces, such as pubs and nightclubs. This requires employers to be ever more vigilant in preventing harm from happening to employees. One step in doing this is to ensure all workplace equipment protecting staff is working:

Example – The CCTV in a nightclub was broken, and despite being aware of the issue, the management failed to take timely steps to repair it. As a consequence, a member of bar staff suffered a broken jaw and nerve damage that could have been prevented had a member of the security team been able to monitor the club through the CCTV.

Threatening Behaviour

Abuse and assault from other colleagues in the workplace is something employers must address. Failure to do so, or tolerating a workplace atmosphere where threatening behaviour can occur is a breach of duty of care:

Example – The owner of a factory did not take action when a staff member physically threatened another worker. A staff member was targeted and suffered multiple injuries from a physical assault on the premises. Failure to act appropriately made the employer directly liable for the person’s facial scarring in the ensuing compensation claim.

These offer a handful of examples. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which enforces workplace safety standards, offers detailed reading on employer’s responsibilities to avoid violence in workplace. There can be other scenarios where a person suffers an assault at work, so if yours differs, speak to our team. They can lay out your options for starting a compensation claim against the negligent employer.

Why You Should Make A Claim For Workplace Assault

Whilst is may feel distressing to re-live the events, claims for compensation after a workplace assault could help you face the future with more confidence. If you receive compensation, the money can help you access healthcare or counselling, which can speed up your recovery. It may also give you the time and space to re-train and consider your options for work in the future.

Our panel of solicitors are experts in helping people organise and present a solid claim for compensation after a workplace assault. If you have any questions about using our assault at work compensation calculator, speak to a member of the advisory team. A friendly advisor will be happy to discuss it with you.

Which Occupations Are More At Risk Of Experiencing Assault?

A random assault could occur in any workplace, especially those that interface with the general public. However, some industry areas carry a much higher risk. Because of this, it is not unreasonable to expect employers to anticipate and protect against instances of workplace violence in the following sectors:

• The Armed Services.
• The Police Force.
• Prison Staff.
• Hospital staff.
• Social workers and staff in benefit offices.
• Staff in pubs, bars, casinos and nightclubs.
• Night workers and those on 24-hour shift patterns.

In addition to this, the retail sector has seen a notable increase in reported cases of violence. If you work in a shop and have suffered assault because of being left alone or untrained to deal with aggressive customers, speak to our team.

What Happens If I Need To Claim Through The CICA?

There may be incidents where you suffer due to being assaulted at work, but your employer is not responsible or cannot be held liable, ie they have gone out of business. In these cases, you might need to claim compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority or the CICA. The CICA was set up to award victims of violent crime compensation when they wouldn’t otherwise be able to claim it.

However, if you claim through the CICA, your compensation will be valued according to their tariffs instead of using the JCG (in our table earlier in this guide). Furthermore, the CICA have different eligibility criteria that needs to be met in order to claim through them (we look at this below).

A specialist criminal injuries solicitor from our panel could help you with a CICA claim for an assault at work. If you contact a member of our advisory team, they can assess the best avenue for you to pursue a compensation claim (if you are eligible). If you are claiming through the CICA instead of against your employer, an advisor can value your potential compensation as well as advise on what financial losses you could recover under special expenses.

What Is The CICA Eligibility?

As mentioned above, the CICA have specific eligibility criteria that you need to meet in order to claim in this way:

• You must have been injured in an act of violence. This can include physical injuries, as well as psychological injuries or sexual abuse.
• You meet the residency requirements.
• The incident must have occurred in England, Wales, Scotland, (or other relevant place, such as a sea vessel registered there).
• You have evidence that you reported what happened to the police. You will require your crime reference number to proceed with the claim.
• You have medical evidence of your injuries.
• The claim is made within the relevant time limits.

The CICA may liaise with police and other involved parties to confirm that you have cooperated with them. Please speak to an advisor to learn more about making a CICA claim.

How To Start An Assault At Work Claim

You may wish to instruct a solicitor when you start your assault at work claim. However, you can instruct a solicitor at any point during the claims process. Speak to an advisor from our team to learn more about the claims process.

Additionally, you may gather items to use as evidence before seeking legal help.

Evidence is one of the most important steps to making a personal injury claim. It will need to show liability for your injuries, in this case, how a breach in your employer’s duty of care caused the assault.

The following can be useful:

• CCTV footage from the workplace (if available).
• Witness contact information from those who saw what happened, if they’re willing to provide statements later on.
• Photos of the visible injuries.
• Copies of medical reports that document your injuries.
• A copy from the workplace accident book.

Furthermore, you must ensure that you start the claims process within the 3-year personal injury claim time limit. This is set by the Limitation Act 1980 and applies from the date the incident took place. However, there are certain exceptions.

Contact Our Advisors For Further Support

In addition to helping you use an assault at work compensation calculator, one of our team members can discuss the personal injury claims time limit and check to see if you are still within the limitation period. They can also advise on:

• Time limit exceptions
• What evidence you may already have that could be useful to your claim
• How to gather further evidence
• Assess the eligibility of your claim
• Connect you to one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel (if you meet the criteria)

Speaking to an advisor is free as is the advice they give. Get in touch today using the details at the top of the screen.

Start Your Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

You may wish to instruct a solicitor to help start your assault at work claim. There are many advantages to working with a solicitor, including:

• Help collecting evidence to ensure that your claim is strong.
• Ensuring that the Pre-Action Protocol is adhered to (this can help keep your claim out of court).
• Sending any relevant letters or documentation to the defendant’s insurer.
• Making sure that your injuries are accurately assessed and valued, including providing you with an independent medical exam (if required).
• Managing negotiations with the other party.
• Help with applying for any interim payments you may require.

These are just a few of the services provided by the solicitors on our panel. Furthermore, they provide these services on a No Win No Fee basis, under a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Working this way means:

• No upfront or ongoing fees to be paid to your legal team for their work on your claim.
• No fees owed for completed work if the claim fails.
• In fact, a success fee is only collected from your compensation if your claim wins.
• The success fee is a nominal percentage that is subject to a legal limit.

Having the support of a No Win No Fee solicitor ensures that you can focus on your recovery, while the terms of the CFA they work under ensure you keep nearly all of your compensation (if your claim is successful).

Interested? If you would like to talk about how an assault at work compensation calculator works in person, or have other questions about any of the points raised in this article, you can access immediate, free 24/7 information right now:

• Call us on 0800 408 7826 to talk about how much compensation you’re possibly owed.
• Contact us online.
• Use the pop-up window below for an instant reply on how to claim personal injury compensation after workplace assault.

More Information

In addition to the guidance on using an assault at work compensation calculator, you might find the details contained below helpful:

• This guide looks at assault compensation payouts in more detail.
• Also, this CICA claims calculator looks at what you could get.
• In addition to this, personal injury claims in general are discussed.

External resources:

• Here are the victim and witness services from the government.
• Read how the charity Victim Support can help.
• Lastly, when to call 999 for emergencies.

In conclusion, thank you for you interest in this guide on how to use an assault at work compensation calculator. For any more assistance on the topics raised in this guide, please reach out to our advisory team.