Claiming If Injured While Working on A Production Line
By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 9th January 2024. This guide will explore whether or not you can make a claim if you were injured while working on a production line. We will discuss the requirements for starting a personal injury claim including the time limits. Also, we will explore the steps you can take to prove the validity of your claim.
Additionally, we will discuss the ways in which you could be injured while performing work of this nature.
The severity of your injury could affect how much compensation it might be possible for you to receive. We will examine examples of compensation that you could be awarded if your claim succeeds.
Finally, we will discuss how the services our solicitors offer could be of use to you. For example, they could assist you in gathering evidence and ensure you put forward a complete case. They can also offer these services on a No Win No Fee basis which we will provide further information on later in our guide.
For more information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of our expert advisors. They can provide you with free legal advice 24 hours a day.
You can reach them by:
- Calling on 0800 073 8804
- Using the live-chat box at the bottom of the screen.
- Filling out the contact form
Claiming if injured while working on a production line
Select A Section
- Criteria To Claim When Injured While Working On A Production Line
- What Is A Production Line And What Industries Do You Find Them In?
- How Could You Be Injured While Working On A Production Line?
- Ways To Prove Claims For Production Line Accidents At Work
- Examples Of Compensation For Production Line Accidents
- Get Help With Claiming From A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Production Line Accident Claims
Criteria To Claim When Injured While Working On A Production Line
If you were injured in the workplace and wish to claim compensation, you must prove that negligence occurred. This involves your employer being in breach of their duty of care and this breach causing you psychological or physical harm.
An employer has a duty of care to take all reasonable and practicable steps to prevent employees from harm in the workplace. The steps they could take to achieve this include ensuring they address any hazards they become aware of in the workspace and maintaining work equipment to make sure it is fit for purpose.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 outlines the duty of care employers owe their employees. If this duty is breached and you are injured as a result, you may be able to claim against your employer for negligence.
Is There A Time Limit To Claim If Injured While Working On A Production Line?
The standard time limit when making an accident at work claim is three years from the day you sustained your injury. This is outlined in the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are some exceptions that may be relevant to your case.
For more information on when you could be eligible to claim, please contact one of our advisors using the contact details above. You can also find out more about time limitations and exceptions that could apply.
You must satisfy the eligibility requirements to claim personal injury compensation.
What Is A Production Line And What Industries Do You Find Them In?
You might be curious to know, ‘What is a production line?’ Essentially, it is a factory arrangement where items move through a set of sequential mechanical or manual handling operations to produce a finished product. It may involve employees, machines or equipment.
A production line might typically be found in industries such as:
- Manufacturing.
- Food and beverage production.
- Technology.
- Construction.
- Pharmaceutical.
If you have been involved in a production line accident and would like to know if you could make an accident at work claim, speak to our advisors at any time for free advice. Additionally, if you seek legal support, you may be connected to one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
How Could You Be Injured While Working On A Production Line?
There are many ways you could be injured while working on a production line. Below, are some examples:
- Insufficient equipment and machinery checks could result in traumatic amputations. For example, if a component malfunctions, an employee’s arm could be pulled into a dangerous part of the machine and amputated. Sufficient equipment checks should be carried out to look for wear and tear as well as malfunctioning parts to prevent an employee from being injured working on a production line.
- Lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) could result in scalpings. If PPE is required to safely carry out your work duties, your employer must provide it for free. For example, long hair may be caught in a conveyor belt. To avoid this, your employer may provide hairnets or hats as well as have rules regarding long hair.
- Lacerations may occur if the correct safeguards and/or shields are not in place around blades. For example, a piece of equipment may have a safety barrier that was removed for cleaning but not replaced before use.
To find out more about your eligibility to claim if you have been injured at work, contact one of our expert advisors using the contact details above.
Employers must ensure the reasonable safety of all production line workers.
Ways To Prove Claims For Production Line Accidents At Work
As part of the claiming process, you should collect as much evidence as possible to support your claim that employer negligence occurred.
Some steps you could take to collect evidence include:
- Requesting CCTV footage of the accident.
- Taking photographs of the accident site and your injury.
- Seek medical attention and requesting any medical records.
- Keeping a symptom diary detailing your mental and physical state before and after your injury.
- Taking down the contact details of any potential witnesses.
Ensure that you collect as much evidence as you can. If you need help doing so, our injury at work solicitors could help you provided your claim is valid and has a chance of being successful. To find out whether you could work with our solicitors, contact one of our advisors using the details above.
Examples Of Compensation For Production Line Accidents
If your claim is successful, you could receive compensation under two heads of claim. The first is general damages which can compensate you for the mental pain and physical suffering you have experienced because of your injury.
The guideline compensation brackets in the table below are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, a document solicitors can use to help them value your injuries. These figures are not a guarantee, however, as each personal injury claim is unique.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Guideline compensation bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries plus expenses | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ | Settlement amounts could include compensation for multiple serious injuries and incurred costs, such as nursing care and lost wages. |
| Amputation of arms | Loss of both arms (a) | £240,790 to £300,000 | Full awareness of the injury which reduces the person to a state of considerable helplessness. |
| Amputation of arms | Loss of one arm (b) (i) | Not less than £137,160 | The arm is amputated at the shoulder. |
| Hand injuries | Total or effective loss of both hands (a) | £140,660 to £201,490 | Extensive damage to both hands rendering them little more than useless as a result of a serious injury. |
| Hand injuries | Less serious hand injuries (g) | £14,450 to £29,000 | Injuries such as severe crush injuries resulting in impaired function without the need for future surgery. |
| Other arm injuries | Severe injuries (a) | £96,160 to £130,930 | These injuries fall short of amputation, but are extremely serious, and the injured person is no better off than if they had lost the arm. |
| Other arm injuries | Less severe injury (c) | £19,200 to £39,170 | The person will have experienced significant disabilities, but a substantial degree of recovery is expected. |
| Wrist injuries | Severe (a) | £47,620 to £59,860 | The person will experience complete loss of function in the wrist. |
| Injuries to the elbow | Less severe injuries (b) | £15,650 to £32,010 | These injuries do not involve major surgery or significant disability, but do cause impairment of function. |
| Injuries to the elbow | Moderate to minor injuries (c) (i) | Up to £12,590 | These injuries, such as lacerations, will be fully resolved after about one year. |
What Are Special Damages?
Special damages compensate for any out-of-pocket costs incurred because of your injury. This compensation should return you to the financial state you were in before you suffered an injury. Examples of the costs you could claim back include:
- Current and future care costs.
- Costs of travel, such as to and from medical appointments.
- Cost of medical bills.
- Current and future loss of earnings.
It is important to keep any evidence you can of these costs, such as receipts and bus tickets.
For more information about the personal injury compensation you could receive following a successful injury at work claim, contact one of our expert advisors using the details above.
Get Help With Claiming From A No Win No Fee Solicitor
You may wish to have one of our solicitors represent your workplace accident claim. They can offer you a certain type of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement.
Typically, under the terms of this agreement:
- You won’t owe your solicitor any upfront fees for their services.
- You won’t need to pay any ongoing costs to your solicitor for their services while your claim proceeds.
- No payment will be made to your solicitor for the work they have done on your case should it be unsuccessful.
If your case is successful, you will be required to pay your solicitor a small fee from your compensation. The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 restricts the amount they can take, so you cannot be overcharged.
A solicitor can support your workplace injury claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
Discuss Your Claim With An Expert
To find out whether you could work with one of our solicitors when making a personal injury claim, get in touch with one of our expert advisors today for more information.
You can reach them by:
- Calling on 0800 073 8804
- Using the live-chat box at the bottom of the screen.
- Filling out the contact form.
Learn More About Production Line Accident Claims
Below we have provided some more useful information about claiming if you were injured while working on a production line.
Some more of our other personal injury guides:
- Burn Injury Claims Guide
- Can I Be Sacked For Making A Claim Against My Employer?
- 10 things to know about an accident at work claim
Further useful links from outside sources:
- Broken bone – NHS
- Health and safety in the manufacturing sector – Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- Electrical injuries – HSE
Written by Wright
Edited by Mitchell
