Tiredness & Fatigue Accidents In the Workplace Claims – Eligibility & Payouts

Fatigue accidents in the workplace could be caused by an employer asking you to work excessive hours, provide inadequate breaks and rest periods, or due to poor shift scheduling. Any of these causes could lead to a worker suffering fatigue and exhaustion, impaired physical and/or cognitive abilities, resulting in avoidable accidents and injuries. In some instances, such as long-distance drivers and those working with complex machinery, accidents can even be fatal. Fatigue accident in the workplace claims enable those harmed due to their employer’s actions, to seek compensation from their employer for their injuries and any related financial losses.

To claim for an accident at work, you must show that your employer’s failure to ensure your safety led to the accident, causing you to be injured. You will need evidence to show what caused the accident, how your employer was at fault, and how you were harmed.

An experienced injury at work lawyer could help you to claim compensation for an accident and injuries caused by tiredness in the workplace. Our solicitors provide their services on a No Win No Fee basis and have decades of collective experience supporting accident at work claims. Please speak to one of our advisors with any questions you have.

 

Can I Claim For Workplace Accidents And Injuries Caused By Fatigue?

You can claim for workplace accidents and injuries caused by fatigue if you can show that your employer failed to keep you safe at work, in line with workplace health and safety legislation, regulations and guidelines. To be eligible to claim, you need to meet these criteria,

1. You Employer Owed You A Duty Of Care
Employers have a legal responsibility (duty of care) towards employees and workers. This means that they must take reasonable steps to ensure workplace safety, including ensuring each employee has adequate rest breaks during their shift. They must adhere to general work safety legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, as well as any industry or workplace specific legislation.

2. The Duty Of Care Was Breached
You then need to show that they failed to adhere to the relevant legislation, failing to keep you safe, breaching their duty of care. This could happen if your employer failed to provide you with adequate rest breaks during your shift, forced you to work excessive hours, or gave you irregular shift patterns with too short a gap between shifts. Any of these could lead to an accident occurring at work.

3. You Were Injured As A Result Of This
Finally, you need to show that the breach of duty outlined above and the resulting accident led to you being injured. This could range from minor conditions through to severe and life-changing injuries. In some instances, they could result in fatal accidents at work. For example, by failing to ensure that shift patterns allowed for sufficient time to rest, a van driver fell asleep and crashed into a tree, suffering a head injury.

An advisor could help to assess your case and eligibility to claim for an accident caused by tiredness.

What Does The Law Say About Rest And Breaks At Work?

The Working Time Regulations 1998 set specific rest times and break periods for workers. These rest periods differ depending on the number of hours worked, as well as the age of the employee.

Adult workers are entitled to:

• During Your Shift: A 20 minute rest break during your shift, if working longer than 6 hours. This break must be taken during the shift, not at the beginning or end of it.
• Between shifts: 11 consecutive hours rest between shifts. For example, if a shift ends at midnight, the subsequent shift should not begin before 11am.
• Weekly rest: 24 uninterrupted hours rest every 7 days, or 48 hours every 14 days. This equates to 1 day off per week.
• Holiday entitlement: in line with holiday entitlement rights (calculated here).

Those under 18 are entitled to a 30 minute break when working for more than 4.5 hours. If your work puts your health and safety at risk, such as monotonous work on a production line, workers should be given sufficient rest breaks to ensure their health and safety is not put at risk.

Get help with fatigue accidents in the workplace claims from our team.

Examples Of Tiredness And Fatigue Accidents In The Workplace Claims

Examples of tiredness and fatigue accidents in the workplace could include road accidents caused by tired drivers, machinery accidents due to repetitive work, and forklift accidents caused by drowsiness.

Accidents and injuries due to tiredness and fatigue can include,

• Driving and transportation accidents: an HGV driver is drowsy and momentarily falls asleep due to working long hours with insufficient breaks between shifts. They collide with an oncoming vehicle, both drivers suffer broken bones, including clavicle fractures.
• Healthcare accidents at work: a healthcare worker has been asked to do back-to-back shifts. They are drowsy and suffer a needlestick injury whilst treating a patient, contracting a bloodborne illness.
• Manufacturing accidents: a forklift worker suffers multiple microsleeps during their shift. They fail to see another pedestrian worker, striking them with the vehicle and running over their lower leg.
• Building site accidents: a scaffolding worker has worked for more than 6 days without a day off. Their judgment and physical abilities are both impaired. They fail to properly attach their safety harness, later tripping and falling from a height. They suffer neck injuries.

These are just some circumstances in which fatigue accidents in the workplace claims could be made. Contact us to learn more.

What Industries Are More Susceptible To Accidents Caused By Tiredness?

Industries with 24/7 operations, long-hours, shift work, and tasks which are safety-critical, monotonous, or otherwise susceptible to accidents caused by tiredness and fatigue. According to information published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), fatigue is implicated in workplace accidents costing the UK as much as £240 million per year. The HSE monitor workplace health and safety in Great Britain.

Industries which are more susceptible can include,

• Logistics and transportation. Fatigue is implicated in as many as 20% of accidents on major roads.
• Emergency services. Paramedics, firefighters, and police officers can work long hours under stressful circumstances.
• Healthcare. Medical professionals frequently work long-shifts and may need to work different shift patterns, impairing their cognitive function.
• Manufacturing and other heavy industries. Manufacturing and petrochemical industries often require long hours, include demanding work, and can be stressful environments.
• Construction. Work on building sites often requires physically demanding work, exposes workers to extreme weather (heat and cold), and places people in potentially dangerous circumstances.
• Forestry, fishing, and agriculture. These sectors again can require long hours, outdoor work in the elements, and may require the use of (heavy) machinery.

Fatigue accidents in the workplace claims could be brought for incidents in these, and other, industries. Get in touch to learn more.

How Can Employers Avoid Fatigue Related Accidents From Occurring?

Employers can prevent fatigue related accidents from occurring by complying with the Working Time Regulations, carrying out risk assessments, and optimising workplaces, duties and shift patterns to allow for adequate rest.

Key strategies to reduce fatigue related risks can include:

• Carrying out risk assessments for safety-critical roles, such as long-distance HGV drivers.
• Optimising shift patterns to avoid excessively long shifts, ensuring those working late nights or early mornings get sufficient rest, and that safety-critical tasks are not carried out when workers may be more prone to tiredness.
• Ensure workplaces are well lit, comfortable, and are not too warm. This can help to keep workers more alert.
• Provide education and training on the importance of sleep hygiene and the risk of tiredness and fatigue.

In addition, employers can review shift patterns, working hours, and the use of overtime to ensure that roles do not leave workers excessively tired.

If your accident was caused by fatigue in the workplace, you could be entitled to claim compensation. An advisor could help you understand your rights after an accident at work.

What Compensation Could Be Awarded For Tiredness And Fatigue Accidents?

Compensation for accidents caused by tiredness and fatigue could be awarded for your pain and suffering as well as financial losses, such as lost income, medical bills, and care costs. Below we look at examples of what compensation could be awarded for different types of injuries. These figures (excluding the first) come from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

Legal professionals may use the JCG when working out the value of your injuries. It provides a list of injuries in varying severities with corresponding compensation brackets. However, it is important to note that any compensation awarded may differ from these figures.

Can Fatigue Accidents In The Workplace Claims Payout For Financial Losses?

Fatigue accidents in the workplace claims payouts can also compensate for financial losses, such as medical bills, care costs, and lost income. These can be compensated under special damages. With evidence, such as invoices and bank statements, you could be compensated for,

• Lost income and earnings.
• Medical bills.
• Care costs.
• Travel related expenses.
• Mobility aids.
• Domestic support, such as a cleaner or child minder.

Please contact our team for an assessment of what you could be owed.

How To Bring A Workplace Fatigue Or Tiredness Injury Claim

To bring a workplace fatigue or tiredness injury claim you need to collect sufficient evidence to prove your employer breached their duty of care (as outlined in an earlier section). There are further practical steps you could take to bring a claim. These include,

1. Getting Medical Care For Your Injury Or Illness

Your first priority should be to seek medical care for your injuries or illness. This may involve visiting an A&E department, urgent care clinic, or your GP surgery. Following this, you should follow any treatment plan, take the medication prescribed, and follow medical advice. Doing so also creates medical records showing how and when you were harmed.

2. Collect As Much Evidence As You Can

When it is safe to do so, collect proof of what happened, who was at fault, and how you were harmed, such as,

• Contact details for witnesses.
• CCTV footage of the accident.
• Copies of any rotas that show shift patterns.
• Employee handbooks with details about overtime and rest breaks.

This evidence can help to strengthen your case.

3. Ensure That You Report The Accident

It is important to have an official record of the accident in which you were injured. Your employer should have an accident report book in which all incidents are recorded. Formal records, such as this, strengthen your claim.

4. Keep An Injury Diary

In this you should record details such as the pain you experience and how your injury affects you on a day-to-day basis. You can also record any financial losses you sustain, with documentation to verify this, as well as any travel to medical or legal appointments.

5. Seek Legal Advice

Your final step may be to seek advice from a personal injury solicitor. A solicitor could help to verify that you have a valid personal injury claim, estimate what you could be owed, and help you file your case on time.

Is There A Time Limit For Bringing A Fatigue Accident Claim?

There is a 3 year time limit from the date on which your accident occurred in which to file a claim for injuries caused by tiredness. This is set by the Limitation Act 1980. There are circumstances in which this time limit may be suspended, such as where the person harmed lacks sufficient mental capacity to make a claim, or is under the age of 18. You can read more about time limits for accident at work claims in our dedicated guide.

You can learn more about the process of making fatigue accidents in the workplace claims by talking to our team.

What Can Legal Expert Do To Help Claim Fatigue Injury At Work Compensation?

Legal Expert can help you claim compensation for injuries caused by fatigue in the workplace by explaining the claims process, gathering evidence, and filing your claim. Our solicitors are experts in helping people to secure compensation for accidents and injuries in the workplace. They could help you claim fatigue injury at work compensation by:

• Explaining key legal terms.
• Gathering evidence.
• Contacting witnesses and taking statements.
• Organising independent medical assessments
• Filing your claim.
• Negotiating with other parties.

With decades of combined experience and having already helped clients to secure over £80 million in compensation, we could help you. Learn more about how we could help you by contacting our team.

No Win No Fee Fatigue Accidents In The Workplace Claims

No Win No Fee fatigue accidents in the workplace claims allow you to seek compensation with a specialist solicitor without needing to pay solicitor’s fees upfront, while the claim progresses or if it is unsuccessful.

Our solicitors provide their No Win No Fee services under a Conditional Fee Agreement. Under this funding arrangement, if a claim is successful, then the solicitor deducts a small, legally limited percentage of the compensation as a success fee. This fee is not payable if you are not awarded compensation following the successful completion of a claim.

Contact Our Solicitors To Make A Claim

Contact our advisors today, who can assess whether your claim has merit and, if it does, connect you to one of our solicitors:

• Phone 0800 073 8804.
• Contact us online.
• Talking to us in the live chat.

More Information

Find more information on fatigue in the workplace and accident claims.

• Learn about lorry and HGV accident claims here.
• View our guide on factory accident claims here.
• Learn more about building and construction accident claims here.

References.

• View working time regulations for mobile workers in this government resource.
• View the maximum weekly working hours in this government resource.
• Read more about working time regulations from the HSE here.

Get in touch with us to learn more about fatigue accidents in the workplace claims.