I Hurt Myself At Work What Should I Do? | Step-By-Step Guide
By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 1st February 2023. Welcome to our claims guide where we’ll attempt to answer “I injured myself at work, what should I do?”.
At Legal Expert we often get questions from members of the public who have been injured at work, about what they should do, and whether or not they can claim compensation for their injuries. “I injured myself at work, what should I do?” is one of the questions that our advisors may be asked, as well as, “I injured myself at work can I sue?”, “I injured myself and can’t work, what should I do?” and “Do I get paid if I get injured at work?”, amongst other questions.
“I hurt myself at work what should I do?”
If you have been injured at work because of an accident that was caused by negligence on the part of your employer, or the part of another party then you could be entitled to make an accident at work claim for personal injury compensation. We will always fight to get you the maximum amount of compensation that you are owed, and may give you the option to make a no win no fee claim for compensation.
If you have been injured at work because of an accident that was not your fault, call Legal Expert today. Tell us your “I injured myself at work” story and if you are entitled to claim, we can provide you with an excellent personal injury solicitor to handle your claim.
Our advisors are also trained to answer other questions you may have, such as “What are my injury at work rights?”, “What should I do after an accident at work?” and “can I be dismissed after accident at work?” Call Legal Expert today on 0800 073 8804 to learn more.
Select A Section:
- A Guide On What To Do If I Injured Myself At Work
- Accident And Injury At Work Procedures
- Report that you injured yourself at work
- Collect Evidence Of Your Accident And Injuries
- Speak To Colleagues Who Witnessed Your Injury
- Keep A Diary Of Your Injury Symptoms
- Keep A Diary Of Costs
- Get Medical Treatment
- Find A Specialist Injury At Work Solicitor
- Workers Injury Compensation
- Injury At Work – Claiming With No Win No Fee Solicitors
- Recommended Reference Materials
A Guide On What To Do If I Injured Myself At Work
Welcome to our claims guide where we’ll address “I hurt myself at work what should I do?”.
Each year in the UK 71,062 people are injured at workplace. There are also an estimated 1.4 million people in the UK who have a work related injury. If you have injured yourself at work because of a freak accident that wasn’t anyone’s fault, or because you were taking unnecessary risks, you may not be entitled to compensation.
However, if the accident was caused completely or in part because of negligence on the part of your employer, you may be entitled to compensation. For example, if you work with heavy machinery, and a machine was faulty and injured you, this could be negligence on the part of your employer, as not checking or mending the machinery would not be upholding their duty of care. Another example would be a broken floor board not being fixed in an office and an employee tripping on it and falling.
In this guide on what to do after an accident at work we will explain what your injury at work rights are, in the UK, and we will look at common accidents at work compensation examples. We will also advise you on concerns you may have, such as “Do I get paid if I get injured at work, in the UK?”, and “How do I claim for injury at work?” We have also provided you with an injury at work calculator, so that you can estimate how much compensation you could be entitled to claim.
Call Legal Expert today to begin your claim for an accident at work. If the advisors believe that you have the right to claim compensation, we have excellent no win no fee solicitors to handle your case.
Accident And Injury At Work Procedures
As an employee, you are protected when you are at work by the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974.
This act states that employers have a “duty of care” towards their employees. This means that they are responsible for providing employees with a safe and hygienic environment in which to work, whilst they are on their premises, or carrying out tasks for them. As well as maintaining the premises to acceptable standards, employers have to carry out regular risk assessments to identify health and safety hazards which could put employees at risk, failure to apply control measures (implementations to get rid of or manage a hazard) to a known hazard is known as negligence.
So for example, if a railing on a staircase is broken and reported to the management by an employee, or disrepair is identified during a risk assessment, they are legally required to fix the railing as soon as possible. Failure to do so is negligence. If the employer fails to do so and an employee is injured on the staircase as a result, the employer could be held liable for their injuries and have to pay the injured employee compensation.
Your workplace should also have an accident and injury at work procedure for reporting workplace injuries. According to RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 2013), if an accident can be defined as a reportable accident it must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within fifteen days.
What is a reportable accident? A reportable accident is any sort of accident which results in the employee being incapacitated by their injuries or illness for 7 or more calendar days. It also includes some categories of illness and injuries that must be reported to the HSE no matter how many days the employee is incapacitated, such as chemical burns, or hand or foot crushing injuries.
We will now look at the answer to the question “I hurt myself at work what should I do?” in more detail.
Report That You Injured Yourself At Work
If you’re wondering “I hurt myself at work what should I do?”, this section will highlight the importance of reporting accidents in the workplace.
Reporting an injury at work, should be part of any business or organisation’s accident at work procedure. As we have already mentioned according to RIDDOR, any accident at work defined as a “reportable accident” should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.
If your accident is not a reportable accident, you still need to report your accident to your place of work. This will count as evidence to support your claim. It is also important that your place of work knows what happened, so they can make any adjustments that need to be made to your working environment or how employees carry out their activities that will better protect you and your colleagues from accidents in the future.
Completing An Accident Report Book
You should make a formal report in the accident log book as soon as you possibly can. Make sure the details of your accident, as well as the date, time and place are accurately recorded, before you sign.
Collect Evidence Of Your Accident And Injuries
One of the other things you can do if you’re wondering “I hurt myself at work what should I do?” is collect any evidence you can. You can take photographs and use CCTV to support your claim.
Collect CCTV And Video Evidence
You may be able to submit video evidence of the accident, or the circumstances that led up to it, as evidence in your claim. If you choose to hire a solicitor, they may also request copies of CCTV tapes if they are available, to support your claim.
Take Photos
You can collect visual evidence to support your compensation claim by taking photos of your injuries, the hazard that caused your injuries and anything else that might help your case. Include a date stamp if possible.
Speak To Colleagues Who Witnessed Your Injury
One of the other things you can do if you’re wondering “I hurt myself at work what should I do?” is collect witnesses’ contact details.
Unfortunately, unscrupulous employers sometimes conduct an investigation into what happened when the employee who was injured is still in hospital or on sick leave. This can be in order to bend the truth to make the business or organisation look less culpable. Speak to a trustworthy colleague, and ask them to speak up on your behalf as the investigation takes place, reporting any wrongdoing back to your and your solicitor if necessary.
To learn more about your injury at work rights, contact our team of advisors. They can offer free legal advice.
Keep A Diary Of Your Injury Symptoms
Doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners do not always record every symptom that you have experienced. Also, if you had a major injury, minor injuries may not be included in your medical report by doctors and nurses. We recommend that you record all of your symptoms including major symptoms and minor symptoms in a diary. You should also make a separate appointment with your GP for any minor symptoms you have so there is a medical report of these injuries.
Keep A Diary Of Costs
You should keep a record of any costs that you have had as a result of being injured at work and keep all your receipts. Your receipts may be used as evidence to support your claim. You could also claim back any expenses related to your injuries such as: medical expenses, travel expenses, mobility equipment expenses, home or car adaptation expenses, or reimbursement for loss of income.
For more information addressing “I hurt myself at work what should I do?” get in touch with our team of expert advisors.
Get Medical Treatment
If you have injured yourself at work, then getting medical treatment is a priority. As well as getting the help that you need you need, the doctor will also produce a medical report which will provide evidence of your injuries. When you claim compensation you will also see a doctor for a medical assessment, which your claim will be based on. Legal Expert can arrange this for you.
Find A Specialist Injury At Work Solicitor
One of the best things you can do if you’re wondering “I hurt myself at work what should I do?” is find legal help.
Find the right personal injury solicitor to explain your injury at work rights and handle your case today. Call Legal Expert and ask us, “Can I claim compensation?” If you are entitled to claim compensation, we will provide you with an excellent personal injury solicitor to handle your case. Our solicitors have up to three decades of experience handling cases like yours, so call us today to see if you are entitled to claim.
Workers Injury Compensation
When seeking workers’ injury compensation, there are two types of damages that could be included in your claim. In a successful claim, you would receive general damages, which aim to compensate for any pain, suffering or loss of amenity caused by your injuries. You may also be eligible to claim special damages, which relate to any financial losses or expenses caused by your injuries.
Although we cannot give you a completely accurate estimate of the final settlement figure you could receive, we are able to use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to work out estimates for general damages. The JCG, now in its 16th edition, is used by solicitors, alongside medical evidence, to value general damages in personal injury claims.
| Type of injury | Comments on the injury | Severity | Compensation settlement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neck injury | Ruptured tendons may cause chronic conditions. | Severe (iii) | £45,470 to £55,990 |
| Wrist injury | There is significant permanent disability but useful movement remains. | ‘B’ | £24,500 to £39,170 |
| Back injury | Symptoms include reduced mobility and nerve root irritation. | Moderate (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Back injury | Your ability to function in everyday life may be affected. | Moderate (ii) | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Knee injury | There may be minor instability and other mild future disability. | Moderate (i) | £14,840 to £26,190 |
| Neck injury | The award within this bracket is influenced on the need for future surgery. | Moderate (ii) | £13,740 to £24,990 |
| Wrist injury | Some permanent disability with pain persisting to some degree. | ‘C’ | £12,590 to £24,500 |
| Knee injury | You may suffer from lacerations or bruising injuries. | Moderate (ii) | Up to £13,740 |
| Hand injury | There might be penetrating wounds or crush injuries. | Moderate | £5,720 to £13,280 |
The above figures are just estimates. The final award you may receive would also take into account any special damages. Special damages could include costs and losses such as:
- Loss of earnings
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs
It’s important to provide evidence of any damages you make a claim for. For example, to prove special damages such as a loss of earnings due to time off work, you could use payslips or bank statements.
Get in touch with an advisor to find out if you could be eligible to claim for a work related injury or about compensation at work.
Injury At Work – Claiming With No Win No Fee Solicitors
You may be wondering how to claim for an injury at work. A solicitor could help you navigate the legal process. Your claim could be supported by a No Win No Fee solicitor. They may provide their legal services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
If you would like to claim because you suffered an injury at work and decide to use the services
“I hurt myself at work what should I do?”
of a No Win No Fee solicitor, you usually won’t be charged upfront for your solicitor’s support. They typically won’t ask you to pay ongoing fees either. Should your solicitor successfully recover back injury at work compensation, they will take a legally capped success fee from your award. However, if they fail to secure a payout, they usually will not ask you to pay their solicitors fee.
If you have any questions about what steps you could take to start the legal process, call our advisors. The advice they give is free. Additionally, they can assess the chances of your claim succeeding. If it seems like you could successfully recover compensation, they could put you in touch with our solicitors. If you hurt yourself due to employer negligence, get in touch today.
To speak to an advisor:
- Start your claim online.
- Call 0800 073 8804.
- Use the live chat.
Recommended Reference Materials
Reporting Accidents And Incidents At Work
RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
I’ve Had A Slip Or Trip Accident At Work – What Happens Now?
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
- Can I claim compensation if I’ve left the company?
- Can you lose your job if you claim against your employer?
- Injured due to tiredness or fatigue – can I claim?
- I hurt myself at work, can I make a claim?
- What to do if you cut off your finger at work
- I suffered a burn injury at work, how much could I claim in compensation?
- How to claim compensation for industrial dermatitis
- I was injured at work – what are my rights?
- Is my employer liable for an accident at work?
- Who pays my medical bills if I’m injured at work?
- Can I make a claim if injured in my probation period?
- Who pays damages in an accident at work claim?
- I slipped on water at work, can I make a claim?
- Does my employer pay my medical bills if I’m injured at work?
- Can you still claim compensation f you didn’t take time off work?
- Do you have to be an employee to make a workplace injury claim?
- I am a new employee, can I make a claim?
- How do you prove an accident at work claim?
- Do you need to be an employee to make a workplace accident claim?
- What happens if you do not report an injury or accident?
- Can I make a claim if I’m an agency worker?
- I was dismissed after an accident at work, what should I do?
- If I was partly at fault for an accident can I still make a claim?
- I am self-employed and had an accident at work, can I make a claim?
- I had an accident at work due to no safety boots – can I make a claim?
- Can an apprentice make an accident at work claim?
- I suffered a head injury due to no helmet – can I make a claim?
- Can I claim if injured because of no safety goggles?
- What is the time limit for an accident at work claim?
- What are my employers’ responsibilities after an accident at work?
- Will suing my employer create problems?
- How to make a claim for inadequate tools and equipment
- What is the maximum weight I can lift at work?
- I had an accident at work, what are my rights?
- Who has the overall responsibility for recording injuries at work?
- How long after an injury at work can I make a claim?
- I fell down the stair at work, can I make a claim?
- Learn more about accident at work claims here
- Learn how to claim for an injury caused by a scaffolding collapse. Get more information on the accident at work claims process.
Thanks for reading our claims guide addressing the question of “I hurt myself at work what should I do?”.
Article By HC edited by Jay.
