By Cat Way. Last updated 12th May 2025. In this guide we are going to look at whether you can claim if you were partly responsible for an accident at work injury and what is meant by contributory negligence.
Throughout this guide, you can read our explanation of the accident at work claims process. We touch on the duty of care that employers owe their employees and the types of incidents that may occur when that duty isn’t met. We will also discuss the eligibility criteria you must meet to begin a personal injury claim and if being partially responsible for your injuries can impact whether you could start a compensation claim.
When you accept partial responsibility for an accident at work, this is known as contributory negligence. We’ll explain how accepting some liability for your injuries can affect your compensation and how legal professionals value each potential head of claim.
Following on from this, we will touch on what evidence could make an accident at work claim and discuss the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor on your case.
Our advisors are here to help if you’d like to find out more information about claiming accident at work compensation. To contact us:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
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Select a Section
- Can I Claim If I Was Partly Responsible For An Accident At Work Injury?
- Contributory Negligence – How Could An Accident At Work Occur?
- What Evidence Do I Need To Support An Accident At Work Claim?
- How Much Compensation Could I Receive In A Contributory Negligence Claim?
- Is It Worth Making A Claim For Compensation
- How Could A No Win No Fee Accident At Work Solicitor Help Me?
- Helpful Resources If You Were Partly Responsible For An Accident At Work Injury
Can I Claim If I Was Partly Responsible For An Accident At Work Injury?
If you were injured in an accident at work but were partly responsible for your injuries, you may still have a valid claim. However, you will need to meet the following personal injury claim eligibility criteria:
- Your employer owed a duty of care to you.
- They failed to fulfil this duty.
- Consequently, you were injured.
Employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This states that they must take reasonable steps that ensure the relative safety of you and your colleagues while at work. If your employer fails to uphold this duty, and you are subsequently injured, then you may start a personal injury claim.
However, the HASAWA also outlines the responsibilities that employees hold. Section 7 of the HASAWA states that you are responsible for taking reasonable care of your own health and safety. If you failed to do so, causing or contributing to your own injuries, then the defendant may put forward a case for contributory negligence.
Read on to learn more, or reach out to with our team to find out if you could make a claim even though you were partly responsible for an accident at work injury.
Contributory Negligence – How Could An Accident At Work Occur?
As we stated in the section above, you must show that your employer acted negligently in order to form the basis of a valid accident at work claim. However, you may be wondering how both parties could contribute to an accident at work.
One example could be if an employee were to run down a corridor and slip on a wet floor. Although the employer is responsible for ensuring spillages are cleaned up or clearly sign-posted with a wet floor sign, the employee may have avoided slipping if they had been paying attention to where they were going and not running.
Another example would be if an employee were to not wear a helmet on a construction site and an object were to fall on them due to the scaffolding being poorly built. The employer should have ensured that the scaffolding was properly and securely built, but due to not wearing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) that was provided to them, the employee also contributed to their injury.
For more information on making an accident at work claim when you are partly responsible for your injuries, contact our team.
What Evidence Do I Need To Support An Accident At Work Claim?
You should provide proof that your employer breached their duty of care, and that this contributed to your injuries.
To do so, you can collect evidence. This can help support many different areas of your claim, including the types of injuries you suffered, how they occurred, and who is liable.
You could include some of the below pieces of evidence in order to strengthen your case:
- Accident book logs: Some workplace accidents are legally required to be reported. If you log your accident as soon as possible, this creates a permanent record of what happened. You could request a copy of this report to be used as evidence in your claim.
- CCTV footage: Footage of the accident or the circumstances that led up to it can help support a claim that your employer acted negligently.
- Witness statements: By collecting the contact information of witnesses, this allows their statements to be taken at a later date.
- Medical records: Your medical records and other official medical documents can help prove the nature of your injuries and what treatment you’ll require going forward.
One benefit of working with a solicitor is the help they provide when you are gathering evidence and build a strong claim. To find out how one of our solicitors could help you, contact our advisors today.
How Much Compensation Could I Receive In A Contributory Negligence Claim?
In a contributory negligence claim, your compensation is reduced in proportion to the amount of responsibility you hold. Imagine that you are found to be half at fault, with your employer taking the other half of the liability, then your compensation would be reduced by 50%.
Your compensation could be split into two separate parts. The first of which, general damages, is awarded in all successful compensation cases. This provides compensation for your mental and physical injuries and the effect that these injuries have had on your life.
When legal professionals value this head of claim, they might use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to provide guidance for this. This document offers guideline compensation awards based on a variety of injuries and severities. You can take a look at some examples of these guidelines from the JCG in the table below. However, the top row is not taken from the JCG, but is instead provided to demonstrate how compensation could be awarded for multiple serious injuries and various related expenses. As all personal injury claims are different, this table only a guide and gives no guarantee of your compensation total.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries and Incurred Expenses | Very Severe | Settlements could compensate claimants for more than one very severe injury and related expenses, such as lost wages and carer costs. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Injury | Very Severe | Brain damage of this severity requires full time nursing care due to severe cognitive and physical diabilities. | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Leg Injuries - Amputations | Loss of Both Legs | The claimant has lost both legs due to amputation. This can either been both above the knee or one at a high level above the knee with the other below. | £293,850 to £344,150 |
| Back Injury | Severe (i) | These cases involve severe pain and disability, such as incomplete paralysis, due to spinal cord and nerve damage. | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Arm Injury | Severe Injuries | Although the claimant hasn't required amputation, these injuries are extremely serious and they are little better off than if the arm had been amputated. | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Injuries to the Hips and Pelvis | Severe (i) | This bracket includes extensive fractures with complications, such as dislocation of a low back joint with a ruptured bladder. | £95,680 to £159,770 |
| Hand Injuries | Total or Effective Loss of One Hand | The claimant's hand has been surgically amputated following a crush injury or most of the palm has been traumatically amputated. | £117,360 to £133,810 |
| Finger Injuries | Amputation of Index and Middle and/or Ring Fingers | Due to these amputations, the claimant's hand is of very little use and they have a weak grip. | £75,550 to £110,750 |
| Knee Injury | Severe (ii) | The claimant suffered a leg fracture that extended into the knee joint resulting in permanent, constant pain. | £63,610 to £85,100 |
The second part of your potential compensation, special damages, aims to restore you to the financial position you were in before you suffered your injuries. An example of this would be, should you lose income due to taking time off work, then you could potentially claim back your lost earnings under special damages. Under this part of the claim you can also cover the cost of:
- Prescriptions.
- Travel.
- Childcare.
- Domestic help.
- Mobility aids.
Presenting evidence relating to your losses could help prove the special damages you wish to claim. Some examples of the evidence you could collect include payslips, receipts and bank statements.
To learn more about making a claim for compensation when you are partly responsible for your injuries, contact our team of advisors today.
Is It Worth Making A Claim For Compensation?
If you were partly responsible for an accident at work injury, it may impact the amount of compensation that you receive. This can cause some people to question whether it is worth starting a claim. However, it is important to note that you cannot predict the outcome of the claim at such an early stage. Legal professionals may need time to consider how much responsibility you should take for your accident.
For example, you may expect that you will be found to be 50% responsible for your accident. However, a judge may determine that your responsibility is 25%. Additionally, there is no guarantee of the compensation total that you may receive. Therefore, you may be entitled to a compensation value that could seriously aid your recovery.
Many people cannot go to work for some time due to their injuries. A monetary award can help to reduce financial stress and allow you to focus on your recovery. Many claimants use the money to seek out specialist help with their recovery, such as expert physiotherapists.
If you feel hesitant to make a partial fault accident at work claim, you can reach out to our advisors at any time. They can explain the process in further detail and potentially connect you to a No Win No Fee solicitor for free.
How Could A No Win No Fee Accident At Work Solicitor Help Me?
Making an accident at work claim can sometimes be complex. However, if you are partly responsible for the incident that lead to your injury, then the process may be a little more difficult to navigate. It is advised to use a specialist accident-at-work claim solicitor to represent you like the ones we have here at Legal Expert.
All of our solicitors provide their expert legal help via a type of No Win No Fee contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement CFA. These agreements can bring you, the claimant, many benefits. These include:
- You will not be asked to pay any upfront solicitor fees for them to begin work on your case.
- No fees needed for the solicitor’s work as the case moves forward.
- Unsuccessful accident at work claims will require no fees being paid to the No Win No Fee solicitor for the work they completed on the case.
If you have a successful claim, under The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, the solicitor can take a success fee out of the compensation you are awarded. This fee is calculated as a percentage but is subject to a legal cap.
To find out if you could be eligible to work a solicitor from Legal Expert for your claim for an accident at work that you were partially responsible for, contact our team of advisors today:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat feature
Helpful Resources If You Were Partly Responsible For An Accident At Work Injury
- If you would like to find out more about the law pertaining to contributory negligence, the following link provides valuable information on the subject: Section 1 of the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945
Below, you can find a list of guides which may tell you more about accident at work claims:
- Discover more answers to your queries on our accident at work FAQs page and learn more about the accident at work claims process.
- Are you wondering if you can claim compensation if you’ve left the company? Our guide offers more information.
- Find out if you could you lose your job if you claim against your employer and get more help with claiming for an accident at work with our guide.
Call our advisors today, and they can inform you if you can still claim if partly responsible for an accident at work injury.
