Minor Injury At Work Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation
By Cat Way. Last Updated 14th June 2023. Welcome to our minor injury at work claims guide.
Just because an accident or injury is classified as being minor, does not mean that the victim doesn’t suffer painful injuries, or that their life is not impacted significantly. Put simply, even a minor injury at work can have dire consequences for the victim.
Minor injury at work claims
Minor is a term used to classify the accident and/or its consequences. Here, we are talking about accidents such as slips, trips or falls, spilt drinks causing a scald, etc.
This guide is going to cover some common kinds of minor accidents that a person could be able to make personal injury claims for if a third party such as their employer was to blame for causing the accident. Our claims team is available on 0800 073 8804, to answer any questions you may have once you have finished reading this guide.
Select A Section:
- When Could I Claim For A Minor Injury At Work?
- Recording Minor Injuries At Work
- Examples Of Minor Injuries At Work
- Claims For Minor Back Injury At Work
- Minor Injury At Work – Compensation Payouts
- No Win No Fee Compensation Claims For A Minor Injury At Work
- Further Injury At Work Information
When Could I Claim For A Minor Injury At Work?
Sustaining a minor injury at work can have negative consequences and lasting effects on your day-to-day life. As such, you may be wondering when you could make a personal injury claim for minor accident compensation.
To be entitled to accident at work compensation, you must be able to meet the personal injury claims criteria. As such, you need to prove:
- You are owed a duty of care.
- This duty of care is not fulfilled.
- You suffer harm as a result.
Your employer’s duty of care to their employees is set out by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This legislation states that your employer has a responsibility to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure your safety in the workplace.
If your employer fails to fulfil this duty, and you suffer a minor injury as a result, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact our team of advisors today to learn more.
Recording Minor Injuries At Work
The answers to questions such as, ‘do I get paid if I get injured at work?’ depends on whether the accident reporting processed was followed properly. Each company in the UK required to comply with all Health & Safety requirements for the industry they operate within. Part of the compliance process is recording minor injuries at work in the company accident book. This ensures that a record of every accident is kept, and although there is no requirement to send a minor injury at work report to HSE, the accident book is reviewed as part of the company’s compliance audit.
If you fail to record your accident in the accident book, it could affect your ability to claim sick pay, and also your ability to make minor injury at work claims for the harm you suffered.
Examples Of Minor Injuries At Work
Minor injuries can be caused by many kinds of accidents, and by many hazards. For example, examples of minor injuries at work and their causes could include:
- Minor head injuries at work caused by being struck by a falling object.
- Minor back injuries at work caused by manual handling accidents.
- Minor foot injuries at work caused by a slip, trip or fall accident.
- Minor brain injuries at work caused by a fall from height.
- Minor whiplash injuries caused by a road traffic accident involving a work vehicle.
All of these are examples of how common accidents can result in some form of minor injury to an employee. In each of these examples, if the employer was to blame for the hazard that caused the accident, then the injured employee could have a basis for making a compensation claim.
For information on slip, trip and fall accidents, please see the next section of our minor injury at work claims guide.
Claims For Minor Back Injury At Work
Based on the statistics that we presented in a previous section, we can see that manual handling and lifting accidents are the second most common of all workplace accidents.
Every company in the UK is required to provide staff that are required to lift and move heavy loads, with adequate training and safety equipment. When the company fails to do this, it can result in a manual handling accident.
Due to the nature of these accidents, back-related injuries are common. Even a minor back injury can take a long time to heal, and have a large impact on the private life of the employee, often seeing them lose their mobility for a period of time.
Therefore, due to the nature of a back injury, and how recovery progresses, even if it heals within the three-month minor injury upper cut off limit, it could still qualify as a more serious injury.
Please speak to a member of our claims team to learn whether this is true in your own case and if you could be able to make minor injury at work claims for yourself.
Minor Injury At Work – Compensation Payouts
The amount of compensation that you could receive for a minor injury can depend on a number of different factors, including the severity of your initial injury and how long it will take to recover.
There are two heads of compensation you could pursue in your personal injury claim. The first, general damages, is awarded to all successful claimants. This head of claim focuses on your injuries and the effect they have on your life. Often, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) are used to help legal professionals value this head of the claim, as this document offers guideline settlement awards for different injuries. You can find some examples of the amounts listed in the 16th edition of the JCG below.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Information About the Injury | Compensation Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finger | Minor | Injuries such as minor cuts, torn nails, and trivial soft tissue injuries. | Up to £4,750 |
| Thumb | Severe | Dislocation | £6,340 to £7,780 |
| Wrist | Minor | Injuries such as minor cuts, grazes and bruising, and trivial soft tissue injuries including minor sprains or strains. | £3,530 to £4,740 |
| Arm | Moderate | Simple fractures | £6,610 to £19,200 |
| Toe | Moderate | Injuries such as minor cuts, torn nails, and trivial soft tissue injuries. | Up to £9,600 |
| Foot | Modest | Injuries such as minor cuts, grazes and bruising, and trivial soft tissue injuries. | Up to £13,740 |
| Ankle | Modest | Injuries such as minor cuts, grazes and bruising, and trivial soft tissue injuries including minor sprains or strains. | Up to £13,740 |
| Leg | Minor (iii) | Simple fractures to tibia or soft tissue injuries | Up to £11,840 |
| Neck | Minor (iii) | Recovery within 3 months | Up to £2,450 |
The second head of compensation is special damages, which addresses the financial losses you suffer as a result of your injuries. For example, if a fall at work results in a minor concussion, you may be unable to drive while you recover. In this case, special damages could help you recoup the cost of train tickets or taxis to essential appointments.
To learn more about minor injury at work compensation, contact our team today or use our compensation calculator.
No Win No Fee Compensation Claims For A Minor Injury At Work
Using a No Win No Fee claims service is a good option for having minor injury at work claims processed in a way that doesn’t expose you to any financial risk at all. In the case of a No Win No Fee service, your solicitor carries the risk, as they will not charge a fee unless your claim is successful. This means that you won’t be charged for:
- Starting your claim.
- Processing your claim.
- If your claim is unsuccessful.
You will only be liable to pay a fee once your solicitor has received a compensation payment on your behalf. Your solicitor will then take the fee they are owed (a percentage of the settlement that will have been rep-agreed), and then they will give you the rest of the compensation. This is a simplified explanation, and we recommend you speak to one of our advisors on the number below for more information about the claims service we offer.
You may be under the misconception that a minor injury is not worth claiming for. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As you can see from the compensation table we provided farther up this guide, even a minor injury can attract thousands of pounds in compensation.
Therefore, you have nothing to lose by speak to one of our expert advisors on 0800 073 8804, to find out whether you have a valid personal injury claim or not. An advisor will evaluate your claim, and the offer you some free legal advice on how best to proceed.
Further Injury At Work Information
These external links all contain information that relates to minor injuries in the workplace:
- NHS advice on treatment for minor injuries
- Health & Safety Executive information on trips, slips and falls
- The Occupiers Liability Act of 1984
Below, you can find lots of guides on claiming compensation for a workplace accident:
- Learn more about accident at work claims and find out if you could be entitled to compensation.
- Read our top 10 things to know about accident at work claims and learn more about compensation claims.
- Find out what to do if injured from work activities and if you could claim compensation by using our helpful guide.
Thanks for reading our minor injury at work claims guide.
Article By Mac
