Kitchen and catering staff can be exposed to many risks in the line of their work. However, employers must take reasonable care to remove as many of these as possible and when not possible, reduce them. Accidents at work could occur when employers fail to do this, resulting in catering injury claims.
The advisors at Legal Expert are available around the clock to answer your questions about claiming for a catering accident at work. As part of our free services, you can have a personal injury claim consultation which will include an assessment of your eligibility to seek compensation. If you satisfy this and would like to proceed with Legal Expert’s services, an advisor can connect you to one of our specialist accident at work solicitors. Our solicitors provide a No Win No Fee service.
4.8 (466 reviews) Key Takeaways
- 2,818 non-fatal, self-reported injuries per 100,000 workers in accommodation/food service during 2021/22-2023/24, collected by the Labour Force Survey and published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Catering can present a unique risk of injuries, whether caused by knives in the kitchen, slips, trips and falls, steam, carbon monoxide or lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Commercial kitchens will need to carry out risk assessments based on these unique risks.
- Front-of-house employees, including waiters and bar staff, may also be entitled to catering injury compensation.
Who Can Make Catering Injury Claims After An Accident At Work?
Anyone who suffered a workplace injury could make a claim if they meet the personal injury claims criteria:
- You must prove that you were owed a duty of care (this is a legal obligation that means that reasonable care must be taken to prevent foreseeable harm).
- There was a breach of this duty.
- You suffered an injury as a result.
Whilst at work, your employer owes you a duty of care to take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure your health, safety and welfare. This is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
To fulfil this duty in catering, your employer must conduct risk assessments. Any risks that can’t be reasonably eliminated, such as the hot oven, must be reduced, such as by providing training and oven gloves.
A member of the advisory team can discuss catering injury claims with you now and assess whether you could have good grounds to move forward with your own claim.
What Are Some Accidents At Work That Occur In Catering?
Some accidents at work that could occur in catering include:
- Slips, trips and falls. For example, slipping on a greasy floor because mats were not provided can cause broken bones and head injuries.
- Lifting and manual handling. For example, if your employer does not provide appropriate manual handling training, you could reach for a box that is too heavy and high on a shelf and suffer a back injury.
- Contact with hot surfaces can result in burns and scalds if appropriate PPE isn’t provided or training on how to release steam isn’t given.
- Contact dermatitis can occur if the employer does not provide gloves for contact with cleaning products, food or water.
- Cuts from knives due to poor training, not providing the correct instrument for the food, or unstable surfaces.
Speak to an advisor today about catering injury claims. They can assess whether the accident that caused your injury makes you eligible for compensation.
How Can My Employer Be At Fault For Catering Accidents?
Your employer could be at fault for catering accidents if they fail to carry out risk assessments. However, once the risks have been identified, measures need to be taken to control them. This can range from providing appropriate kitchen safety training to ensuring proper ventilation.
No two kitchens are the same. Therefore, if your employer operates more than one premises, each location will need its own risk assessment. Furthermore, front-of-house staff may face different risks than back-of-house employees, which also needs to be considered.
Please speak to the advisory team about catering injury claims.
How Could Accidents Be Avoided In Catering?
As stated above, measures need to be taken to control identified risks to avoid catering accidents. These can include:
- Providing anti-slip footwear and ensuring that all spillages are cleaned promptly.
- Making sure there is storage available for incoming deliveries as well as staff belongings, such as coats and bags.
- Ensure good maintenance of kitchen equipment, including regular inspections and required gas checks.
- Providing training and PPE for contact with hot surfaces.
- Ensure safe use of knives, such as training, keeping knives sharp, making sure that suitable knives are available for the task, and secure storage.
To discuss the kitchen incident that caused your injuries, speak to a member of our advisory team.
What Compensation Can Be Awarded For Catering Injuries?
Settlements for catering injury claims may include up to 2 heads of loss:
- General damages for the physical pain, mental suffering and any loss of amenity caused by the kitchen accident.
- Special damages for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the kitchen injury.
To calculate compensation for general damages, solicitors or others involved in valuing your claim may refer to your medical records alongside documents such as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provides a list of guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries. We’ve provided a table below that contains figures from the JCG.
Please only use this table as a guide. Also note, the figure in the first row was not taken from the JCG. For a more accurate estimation of your claim based on your specific injuries, speak to an advisor.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Injuries and Special Damages | Very severe injuries plus high out of pocket expenses | Up to £1 million or over |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Paralysis | Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 |
| Bodily Scarring | Burns Covering 40% or More of the Body | Likely to exceed £127,930 |
| Bodily Scarring | A Number of Noticeable Laceration Scars or One Single Disfiguring Scar | £9,560 to £27,740 |
| Back | Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Arm | Less Severe Injury | £23,430 to £47,810 |
| Dermatitis | Both Hands | £16,770 to £23,430 |
| Shoulder | Serious | £15,580 to £23,430 |
| Ankle | Modest Injuries | Up to £16,770 |
Can I Claim Back Financial Loss In Catering Injury Claims?
Yes, financial losses can be recovered in catering injury claims under special damages. Examples include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Cosmetic surgery for scar reduction.
- Scar-reducing creams and oils.
- Other medical expenses, such as prescriptions.
- Domestic support, such as with cleaning while recovering.
- Home adaptations, such as installing railings.
You will need documentation to prove your out of pocket losses, such a wage slips, receipts and invoices.
Call our personal injury team to find out more about special damages, what costs you can recover based on your unique circumstances and what evidence can prove these losses. They can also estimate how much compensation you could receive for your catering industry accident.
What Is Needed When Making Catering Injury Claims?
Anyone making a personal injury claim will need to submit evidence that sufficiently proves employer negligence occurred (negligence is a breach of duty and the injury this caused). Evidence for catering injury claims may include:
- Accident book.
- Medical records.
- Witness contact information.
- Accident footage.
- Pictures from the accident scene or of your injuries.
- Any inspection reports.
- Equipment maintenance records.
- Your training records.
In addition to having compelling evidence to support your claim, you will need to ensure that it is started within the 3-year personal injury claim time limit.
An advisor can review your claim and check that you are within the time limit (some exceptions apply to the 3-years) as well as discuss what evidence you can collect. If you meet the eligiblity critiera you could also be connected to a personal injury solicitor.
How A No Win No Fee Solicitor Can Help Me Claim Catering Accident Compensation
One of the No Win No Fee solicitors at Legal Expert can help with your catering injury compensation claim by:
- Advising on evidence and helping to collect it.
- Arranging an independent medical assessment at a time and location suitable for you.
- Ensuring that all of your damages are considered.
- Negotiating with your employer’s insurers to make sure that you receive a settlement that adequately compensates you.
- Talking you through the claims process and making sure that you understand any legal jargon connected to your claim.
- Making sure all paperwork is filed within any court-set time limits.
In addition to these services, they will make sure that:
- You are connected to a plastic surgeon (if required) to not only reduce pain from scars, but also minimise their appearance.
- You get any other required medical attention that you may not have access to ordinarily.
- Provide regular updates on the status of your claim.
- Help you apply for an interim payment if you have any immediate expenses.
- Ensure that you get any support for your day-to-day living if your injuries have affected this.
Furthermore, all our solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis to provide these services under a Conditional Fee Agreement, which means that:
- No solicitor’s fee when they agree to support your case or as it is ongoing.
- There is a small, legally limited success fee taken as a percentage of your compensation if your claim is successful. This fee isn’t payable for unsuccessful claims.
Contact Legal Expert
The advisory team here at Legal Expert are available to answer any questions you may have about catering accident claims:
- Contact us online.
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Ask about kitchen accident claims in the live chat.
Learn More
These other guides might be of interest to you:
- Advice on how to claim for carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Learn about permanent scar compensation and how to claim.
- Information about how compensation is awarded for bar and pub accident claims.
Here are a few external resources that might help you:
- Catering and hospitality information from the HSE.
- Claiming Statutory Sick Pay government overview.
- An NHS overview of burns and scalds.
Thank you for reading this guide about catering accident claims. Please get in touch to find out if you are eligible to make a No Win No Fee claim with one of our solicitors.
