I Slipped On Food At Work, Can I Make A Claim?
Last updated 7th August 2023. By Cat Way. This is a guide on whether you could make a personal injury claim after you slipped on food at work and sustained injuries. We will explain the criteria you must meet to bring forward a claim and the duty of care you are owed by your employer. Following this, we will outline how proving that your employer breached this duty of care can strengthen your claim.
I Slipped On Food At Work, Can I Make A Claim?
Additionally, we will provide examples of accidents related to slipping on food in the workplace, statistics on how common slips and falls are, and what injuries you may suffer due to this type of accident.
Furthermore, we will distinguish between the two potential heads of a personal injury claim, under which you could be eligible to receive compensation, and look at how payouts may be calculated for a successful case.
Our guide also explores what a No Win No Fee agreement entails and how choosing to work with workplace accident injury solicitors could benefit you throughout the claims process.
Please continue reading if you want to know more about claiming after you have sustained injuries in a slip and fall accident at work. Alternatively, you can reach us to discuss frequently asked questions and a free consultation using the methods listed below.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Complete our online form to contact us
- Use our live support feature to chat with our advisors
Select A Section
- Can I Claim Compensation If I Slipped On Food At Work?
- How Long Do I Have To Claim If I Slipped On Food At Work?
- What Is A Slip On Food At Work?
- What Injuries Could Slipping On Food Cause?
- I Slipped On Food At Work, How Much Could I Claim?
- Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Claims After You’ve Slipped On Food
Can I Claim Compensation If I Slipped On Food At Work?
If you have slipped on food at work, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim in some circumstances. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), your employer has a duty of care. This means that they are required to take reasonably practical steps to ensure your safety in the workplace. This includes performing risk assessments and providing you with proper training.
To meet the eligibility criteria to make a personal injury claim, the following must be true for your case:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and place of your accident
- They breached this duty
- This breach led to you sustaining either mental or physical injuries
This outlines the definition of employer negligence, for which you could make a personal injury claim. To find out if you could be eligible to claim, contact our team of advisors today.
How Long Do I Have To Claim If I Slipped On Food At Work?
Generally, you will have three years to start a personal injury claim if you slipped on food at work and suffered an injury because your employer breached their duty of care. This time limit is set out by the Limitation Act 1980, which is a piece of legislation that dictates how long you have to begin legal proceedings for different kinds of claims.
This legislation also outlines the exceptions to this rule. For example, the personal injury claims time limit does not come into force until the claimant turns 18. As such, if the person is injured while under the age of 18, a litigation friend can start their claim for them at any point up until the time limit reinstates. Otherwise, the person will have three years from their 18th birthday to start their claim.
Similarly, the time limit has an indefinite pause placed on it for those who lack the capacity to make a claim for themselves. In these cases, a litigation friend can start their claim for them. If they regain the appropriate capacity, then the time limit will begin on the date of their recovery.
To learn more about making an accident at work claim after you slipped on food at work, contact our team today.
What Is A Slip On Food At Work?
Slips on food at work could happen for various reasons, for example:
- A kitchen slip could happen due to food spilt on the floor during preparation creating a slippery surface.
- A member of waiting staff could slip and fall due to food spilt on the floor by customers.
- Whilst delivering food, one of the boxes could break, spilling food on the floor and causing the delivery worker to slip and fall.
How Common Are Slips In The Workplace?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides useful information on preventing slips and trips in kitchens and food service, stating that slips and trips are the most common cause of major accidents at work.
Under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), employers must report certain accidents and injuries to the HSE, where they then compile these reports into useful statistics. This includes the following:
- 61,713 non-fatal injuries to employees were reported by employers in 2021/22.
- 30% of these non-fatal injuries resulted from slips, trips, or falls on the same level. This is more than any other accident kind.
What Injuries Could Slipping On Food Cause?
Various injuries could occur if you were involved in an accident at work in which you slipped on food. Examples of injuries you may sustain include:
- Sprains
- Fractured or broken bones
- Dislocations
- Soft tissue injuries
- A brain or head injury
- A neck injury
- Psychological injuries, such as stress or anxiety.
You may be eligible to claim if you can show that your injury resulted from your employer breaching their duty of care.
I Slipped On Food At Work, How Much Could I Claim?
When a successful claimant is awarded personal injury compensation, the settlement can consist of up to two heads. These are general damages and special damages.
General damages cover the psychological harm and the physical pain and suffering caused by your injuries. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), provide guideline compensation brackets that accident at work solicitors can use to assist them in valuing the general damages head of claim. Therefore, we have used these figures to create the table below. Please note that they should be used as a guide. The differing details of a claim determine the level of the award given.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe (b) | The person is left very seriously disabled with a substantial dependence on other people and requires constant care. | £219,070 to £282,010 |
| Back | Severe (a)(i) | The most severe injuries where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged causing a combination of very serious consequences. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back | Moderate (b)(i) | This bracket includes injuries such as a traumatic spondylolisthesis accompanied by continuous pain and the possibility that spinal fusion will be required. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Back | Moderate (b)(ii) | Injuries within this bracket are frequently encountered, such as disturbed muscles and ligaments which cause backache, and soft tissue injuries leading to prolonged acceleration of a pre-existing condition. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Neck | Severe (a)(i) | Within this bracket, included could be an injury that is associated with incomplete paraplegia or that causes permanent spastic quadriparesis. | In the region of £148,330 |
| Neck | Moderate (b)(i) | This bracket will include injuries involving fractures and dislocations with immediate symptoms and could possibly necessitate spinal fusion. It could also include chronic conditions. | £24,990 to £38,490 |
| Ankle | Severe (b) | This bracket will include injuries necessitating the insertion of pins and plates and there is a significant residual disability involving ankle instability and a severely impacted ability to walk. | £31,310 to £50,060 |
| Arm | Less Severe (c) | Although there will have been significant disabilities, the person will be expected to make, or will have already made, a substantial amount of recovery. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Shoulder | Serious (b) | There is a shoulder dislocation and harm to the lower fraction of the brachial plexus, resulting in pain in the neck and shoulder, aching in the elbow, weakened grip and sensory symptoms in the hand and forearm. | £12,770 to £19,200 |
| Wrist | (e) | A Colles’ fracture that is uncomplicated in nature. | In the region of £7,430 |
Special Damages For Workplace Accident Claims
Special damages is the second type of compensation that could be awarded for a successful personal injury claim following a workplace accident where the claimant slipped on food. This covers past and future monetary losses suffered due to the injuries. Evidence will be crucial in proving these losses.
Examples of losses that special damages could compensate for and the evidence you could provide in support include the following:
- Payslips to show loss of earnings
- Bank statements or invoices to show the cost of home adaptations
- Public transport tickets to show the cost of travel
Speak to one of our advisors today for an estimation of the compensation you could be eligible to receive. Additionally, you could use our compensation calculator for an estimate.
Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Claims After You’ve Slipped On Food
If you have slipped on food at work due to your employer breaching their duty of care and you sustained an injury as a result, you may choose to bring forward a personal injury claim using a solicitor. They could offer to work on your claim under a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
This typically means that you will not pay for your solicitor’s services if your personal injury claim is unsuccessful. Also, it eliminates upfront and ongoing payments for these services.
Under a CFA, your solicitor can take a success fee from the compensation if your claim is successful. A success fee is calculated as a small percentage of the compensation. The law caps this amount at a specified percentage. What’s more, this will all be discussed between you and your solicitor before agreeing to an arrangement.
For more information on No Win No Fee agreements, please contact our advisors for free and confidential advice. They can also assess your claim, and should they find that you may have valid grounds to pursue compensation, they could connect you to one of our No Win No Fee slip, trip or fall solicitors.
To get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Complete our online form to contact us
- Use our live support feature to chat with us
Learn More About How To Claim For Slips and Falls
Find more information in the guides below:
- Find out How To Prove Liability And Injuries In A Slip And Fall Case and get more information on how to claim
- Learn about claiming Compensation For A Broken Wrist From A Slip Trip Fall Accident and find out if you could be eligible to work with a solicitor
- Are you wondering if you Could Make A Claim For Slip And Fall Head Injury Settlements? Read our guide to learn more.
Please also visit the following external links:
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – GOV.UK
- Risk Assessments – HSE
- First Aid – NHS
Thank you for reading this guide on making a personal injury claim after you have slipped on food at work and been injured. If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch using the details provided above.
Written by Marsey
Edited by Mitchell/ Oxland