Who Pays Your Medical Bills If You’re Injured In A Work Accident? – Accident At Work Medical Bills Guide
By Jo Greenwood. Last Updated 27th July 2023. If you’re injured in a work accident, you could end up with a large bill for medical costs incurred while being treated and recovering from your injuries. In this guide, we’re going to try and answer the question, “who pays your medical bills if injured in a work accident”. We’ll also look at what treatment and care costs might be incurred, other things you can claim compensation for and when you could make no win no fee personal injury claims following an accident at work.
Here at Legal Expert, we offer a free assessment of your claim and our advisors offer free advice too. If you’d like to start your claim right away, please call us on 0800 073 8804 today.
Alternatively, to find out more about claiming work accident medical expenses, please carry on reading.
Select A Section
- Our Guide To Who Pays Your Medical Bills If Injured In A Work Accident
- What Are Injuries And Accidents At Work?
- What Medical And Care Costs Might Be Encountered?
- Does Your Employer Always Cover These Costs?
- What Medical Treatment And Care Costs Could I Claim For?
- What Other Special Damages Could I Claim?
- How Much Could You Claim For Your Injury?
- When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation?
- No Win No Fee Accident At Work Claims
- Further Information And Resources
Our Guide To Who Pays Your Medical Bills If Injured In A Work Accident
If you’re injured at work, medical expenses could become expensive depending on the nature of your injuries. But, who pays your medical bills if injured in a work accident? You might want to claim compensation for those costs from your employer.
Injured at work
In this guide, we’ll look at when you could be eligible to claim, why an employer might be liable and what amounts might be paid for certain injuries. Injury compensation is usually paid depending on what part of the body is injured and how severe the injury is. However, medical costs, when paid, are based on the financial impact they have on you. Therefore, it’s really important to ensure you keep a record of all costs linked to your accident and to check with a personal injury solicitor before agreeing to pay for something which you might not be able to include in your claim.
It’s important that if you’re involved in an accident at work, you take some steps to secure evidence to support your claim. Here’s what we recommend you do:
- Report the accident to a supervisor as soon as possible. Later on, you can ask for a copy of the accident report
- Ask witnesses for a statement.
- Photograph the scene of the accident including the root cause.
- See if there is any CCTV covering the area where the accident happened.
- Visit your GP or A&E for treatment. Medical records can also be used as supporting evidence.
Taking these steps could really improve your chances of lodging a successful claim against your employer.
When you’ve read this guide fully, if you’re not sure whether you could claim for your injuries of if your employer should cover your medical costs, please call an advisor for free legal advice on your options.
What Are Injuries And Accidents At Work?
There are many different types of accident at work which can occur. We can’t list them all here but here are some examples:
- Falling from height – such as a fall from scaffolding or a ladder.
- Accidents involving dangerous machinery.
- Injuries sustained because an item has fallen on you from a height.
- Crush injuries caused by heavy vehicles.
- Injuries sustained because machinery was faulty or not maintained properly.
- Slips, trips and fall injuries caused by negligence such as not clearing up leaks.
- Burns caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers need to risk assess the workplace regularly and make changes possible. That’s because they have a duty of care to keep staff safe at work wherever possible. Therefore, if you’re injured in a work accident caused by any of the following, you might be entitled to begin a claim:
- A lack of proper training.
- Equipment that wasn’t maintained according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Inadequate protective equipment like safety goggles or hard hats.
- A lack of understanding of the company’s health and safety procedures.
To discuss whether you could claim for an injury sustained in the workplace, please call the number at the top of the screen for a no-obligation assessment. We can also answer the question, who pays your medical bills if injured in a work accident?
What Medical And Care Costs Might Be Encountered?
When people consider claiming because they were injured in a work accident, they often think about compensation for the pain and suffering caused. However, there are a number of other costs which can be incurred following the accident.
For instance, you might have to pay for prescription medicines and other treatments or in certain circumstances, private treatment not offered by the NHS. Also, in more serious cases, you might require professional care from a nurse to help you recover from your injuries.
Who pays your medical bills if injured in a work accident? We’ll cover these in more detail later in this guide but it’s safe to say that these medical and care costs should be accounted for as part of your claim so that you’re not left out of pocket.
Does Your Employer Always Cover These Costs?
Who pays your medical bills if injured in a work accident? Is it your employer? When you make a claim because you’re injured in a work accident, you’ll actually be doing so against your employer’s liability insurance policy. By law, they are obliged to have insurance in place to cover the costs of any personal injury claims made by staff.
If your claim is successful then compensation paid for your injuries and associated medical and care costs will actually be paid by the insurer, not your employer.
It’s worth bearing in mind that employers can’t treat you any differently for making an honest claim. They can’t discipline you or sack you for doing so as that could lead to an unfair dismissal claim being bought against them.
Therefore, you shouldn’t be put off from making a claim for the compensation you could be entitled to.
What Medical Treatment And Care Costs Could I Claim For?
While the NHS provides free medical treatment in most cases, you could claim for private healthcare costs if you have a good enough reason to not use the NHS. Also, the cost of prescriptions and over the counter medication can soon build up. Therefore, you could include these costs in your claim.
It’s also possible, in extreme circumstances, to claim for costs of professional care required to help you recover from your injuries. If you use a family member to care for you, an hourly rate could be worked out to claim back the cost of their time.
What Other Special Damages Could I Claim?
As well as the costs listed in the previous section, you could also claim for:
- Travel costs – These could be claimed if you have to travel to and from medical appointments because of your injuries. Also, you could claim if you have to make alternate travel arrangements because your injuries prevent you from driving. You could also include parking costs in this part of your claim.
- Loss of income – If you need time off from work due to your injuries, you could claim for any lost income. This could include time off to recover or for medical appointments. Furthermore, you could claim for future lost income if your injuries have a long-term effect.
- Home adaptations – Should your injuries be serious enough to mean you require to make modifications to your home, you might be able to include the costs in your claim.
- Damage to personal items – Finally, you could claim for any personal property damaged when you were injured in a work accident. For instance, if your clothes were ripped during a fall, you could include the replacement costs.
With all of these financial expenses, we’d recommend you keep hold of receipts, parking tickets, bus or train tickets and bank statements which could all be used as evidence to support your claim. Another good idea is to keep a diary following your accident which details all of your expenses. Then, when your solicitor discusses your claim with you, it’s much easier to explain how each cost was linked to your injuries.
How Much Could You Claim For Your Injury?
To help you understand how much compensation could be paid due to injuries sustained in an accident at work, we’ve included the personal injury claims calculator table below. It contains examples of work accident compensation for specific injuries.
| Injury Type | Seriousness | Compensation | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arm injury | Severe | £96,160 to £130,930 | This range of compensation is for the amputation of the arm above the elbow. |
| Leg injury | Serious | £39,200 to £54,830 | This range of compensation includes fractures or injuries to ligaments or joints where prolonged treatment is required or stability issues are caused. |
| Back injury | Moderate (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | This range of compensation includes injuries that result in limited movement with permanent or recurring pain. Includes wrenching-type injuries and disc lesions. |
| Foot injury | Serious | £24,990 to £39,200 | This range of compensation includes injuries which require prolonged treatment as well as pain caused by traumatic arthritis. |
| Toe injury | Severe | £13,740 to £21,070 | This range covers the amputation of all toes. The amount will depend on whether they were surgically removed or traumatically. |
| Ankle injury | Modest | Up to £13,740 | This range of compensation includes less serious sprains, fractures or ligament damage. The amount of compenastion depends on factors like time taken to fully recover. |
| Neck injury | Moderate | £7,890 to £38,490 | This range of compensation includes injuries such as a prolapsed invertebral disc requiring surgery and fractures which increase the chance of oesteoarthritis. |
| Hand injury | Moderate | £5,720 to £13,280 | This range of compensation includes soft tissue damage, crush injuries and lacerations. |
| Finger injury | Minor | Up to £4,750 | This range of compensation includes fractured fingers. The time to recover can affect the payment amount. |
Because we can’t list all injuries, please call an advisor for a free assessment of your specific case. A solicitor could provide you with a more personalised compensation estimate for any type of injury.
When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation?
So that a personal injury lawyer to take on your claim, you’ll need to be able to prove that:
- You suffered an accident at work;
- Which left you injured; and
- The accident was caused due to employer negligence.
Also, you’ll need to claim within the personal injury claims time limit. This is usually 3-years from the date of your accident or the diagnosis of your injuries.
If you’re in any doubt about whether you could claim compensation or not, please call to discuss your options with a specialist member of our team.
No Win No Fee Accident At Work Claims
If you have been injured at work and are eligible to make an accident at work compensation claim, one of our solicitors may be able to help you with your case. They could help you with claiming general and special damages. Furthermore, they may offer to assist you with your claim on a No Win No Fee basis with a Conditional Fee Agreement.
When making a claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor under this arrangement, you won’t have to pay them anything upfront or during the process of your claim for their services. You also won’t have to pay them for their services if your claim is unsuccessful.
Should your solicitor succeed with your work injury claim, they will take a legally capped success fee from your compensation award.
To find out whether you could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors under a CFA, please contact our advisors. They can be reached via:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Using our live chat.
- Contact us online.
Further Information And Resources
Thanks for taking the time to read our guide about claiming if you’re injured in a work accident. To help you further, we’ve linked to some more guides and external resources:
Expenses And Benefits – This guide for employers provides information about when they need to inform the government about any benefits and expenses payments.
The Health And Safety At Work Act 1974 – The legislation that could be used to claim for accidents in the workplace.
Employee Legal Rights – A useful government resource providing all sorts of employee rights advice.
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?
- What should I do if I hurt myself 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?
- 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
How much do these workplace injuries cost the economy?
All of these injuries cost the economy a total of 6.3 million work days. These injuries were lost due to non-fatal injuries in the workplace. The total costs to the economy and country include both human and financial costs. The costs include;
- The cost of lost economic output.
- The cost of healthcare.
- The cost of other payments made.
The human costs are the values assigned to loss of life, suffering and pain.
Annual costs of injuries in the workplace
The annual costs of injuries in the workplace as well as sickness due to were £16.2 billion in 2018/ 19. This figure excludes illnesses such as cancer.
Article by Brett.
