If you have suffered an injury when you stood on a nail at work, you likely already know that the potential consequences can be far-reaching. Even if a nail injury appears minor, it may still cause life-threatening conditions like tetanus and lead to serious financial loss. That is why we have created this guide detailing the steps involved in claiming personal injury compensation.
We begin this guide by first outlining the eligibility criteria for making a claim. Then, we discuss the question of compensation, including what it can cover and the factors that may be considered when calculating payouts in the event a claim succeeds.
Our guide will also take a look at how poor health and safety standards in the workplace can lead to someone stepping on a nail. We’ll provide some examples of the common injuries that may cause and the reasons why they can result in a potentially valid compensation claim.
As you near the end of this guide, you’ll learn more about the claims process and what evidence you might need. We finish this guide by discussing the benefits of working with one of our expert solicitors. They have many decades of combined experience, helping win compensation for clients across the country on a No Win No Fee basis.
Are you ready to find out whether you can make an accident at work claim? It’s easy to get in touch, and there is no obligation to speak with one of our advisors. Get started by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Using the live chat feature
- Contacting us online
Jump To A Section
- Can I Claim Compensation If I Stood On A Nail At Work?
- How Much Could I Get After Standing On A Nail?
- How Could Stepping On A Nail At Work Be Caused By Negligence?
- What Injuries Could Standing On A Nail Lead To?
- What Should I Do After I Stood On A Nail?
- Get Help From Legal Expert
- More Information
Can I Claim Compensation If I Stood On A Nail At Work?
Yes, you can claim compensation if you stood on a nail at work so long as you satisfy certain eligibility criteria. This criteria requires you to demonstrate the following:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- Someone breached that duty of care.
- As a result of that breach, you suffered an injury.
Your employer has a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure your safety, health, and wellbeing in the workplace. This responsibility is referred to as a duty of care and is laid out by the Health and Safety at Work etc, Act 1974 (HASAWA). We’ll discuss how an employer might breach their duty of care later on in this guide.
To see if you’re eligible to claim, please contact one of our team members. They can give you a free case assessment and answer any questions you might have.
How Much Could I Get After Standing On A Nail?
How much compensation you could get after standing on a nail will depend on factors like how your injuries have impacted your life and whether they’ve led to a disability. These injuries are covered under general damages, the first of 2 heads of loss in a personal injury compensation claim. The other head compensates for the financial losses that your injuries have caused, referred to as special damages.
General damages are often assessed by using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a resource that compiles suggested compensation brackets for various injuries. Solicitors may use this publication alongside medical evidence to help put a value on this part of a compensation claim.
Below, you can find some guideline figures from the publication. The table is not a guarantee of compensation, and the lead figure isn’t sourced from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages (Such As Lost Earnings) | Severe | Up to £500,000+ |
| Foot | Amputation of 1 Foot | £102,470 to £133,810 |
| Very Severe | £102,470 to £133,810 | |
| Severe | £51,220 to £85,460 | |
| Serious | £30,500 to £47,840 | |
| Moderate | £16,770 to £30,500 | |
| Modest | Up to £16,770 | |
| Toe | Amputation of the Great Toe | In the region of £38,210 |
| Severe | £16,770 to £25,710 |
What Would Determine The Amount Of Compensation I Get?
Various considerations may be taken into account when determining the amount of compensation you might get in a successful claim. For instance, general damages might factor in the severity of your injury and how it has affected your enjoyment of life and ability to perform activities. This impact, which is referred to as a loss of amenity, might mean you can no longer work your job or do certain tasks without help from others.
As touched on, special damages can also influence compensation payouts. Under this head, you can claim for any loss that is provably connected to the injuries you sustained after you stood on a nail at work. So long as there is supporting evidence like payslips or invoices, special damages can cover costs like the following:
- Physiotherapy/Occupational therapy: You might need help with rebuilding muscle function and strength if your injury leads to a tetanus infection.
- Medical expenses: These expenses can include private treatments and medications. If you suffered mental injuries after you stood on a nail at work, you may also be able to claim for the cost of therapy or counselling.
- Income: Special damages can cover past and future loss of earnings for things like time taken off and missed promotions.
- Travel: Costs related to attending essential appointments, such as parking fees, petrol, and bus tickets.
- Home/Vehicle modifications: In some instances, there may be a need to make adaptations to accommodate things like a breathing tube or mechanical ventilation.
Whether you suffered a major or minor injury after standing on a nail at work, our advisors are here for you. They’re available 24/7, ready to answer your questions about compensation or give you a free case assessment.
How Could Stepping On A Nail At Work Be Caused By Negligence?
Stepping on a nail at work might be caused by negligence if someone fails to uphold their duty of care. As well as the Health and Safety at Work etc, Act 1974, employers must comply with other legislation as part of their duty of care, including:
- Management Of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: These regulations outline the steps employers must take to manage occupational health and safety, such as conducting risk assessments and providing workers with training and information that is adequate.
- The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992: This set of regulations places a duty of care on employers to take reasonable steps to ensure that their workers are supplied with suitable PPE.
You can speak to one of our advisors to learn more or to get a free case assessment.
What Injuries Could Standing On A Nail Lead To?
Standing on a nail can lead to a range of injuries, some of which are potentially life-threatening. In the following sections, we’ll discuss some of the more common injuries and the circumstances in which they could lead to a valid compensation claim.
Tetanus
Also known as lockjaw, tetanus is a serious condition caused by a bacterial infection. It affects the muscles and nerves, with symptoms that can include difficulties breathing, jaw stiffness, painful spasms, and seizures. In severe cases, tetanus may be life-threatening, leading to issues like a pulmonary embolism and respiratory failure.
- Example: You are not provided with reinforced boots by your employer despite working on a construction site where there is a need for such PPE. As a result, a protruding rusty nail pierces your shoe, leading you to develop tetanus and suffer kidney damage.
Infections
Nails are fertile ground for bacteria, which can lead to serious infections if they enter the bloodstream. These infections can quickly deteriorate and result in a life-threatening condition like sepsis.
- Example: Carpeting is pulled from floors during office renovations. However, no warning signs are placed to inform workers about potential hazards, including the risk of exposed nails. Management also does not provide staff with an alternative environment in which to work. Due to this, you step on a nail, resulting in a bone infection (osteomyelitis) that leaves you in permanent and severe pain.
Lacerations
Depending on their extent and depth, laceration injuries can lead to substantial bleeding or cause damage to muscles, tendons, and nerves.
- Example: Despite knowing for some time that the floor surface is in serious disrepair, supermarket management fails to take any steps to make repairs or alert others about the potential hazard. Subsequently, you step on an exposed nail, causing deep lacerations that damage your nerves.
Puncture Wounds
A puncture wound usually creates a small hole, but this type of injury often goes deep and is difficult to clean, increasing the risk of infection. Such wounds may affect mobility, cause excessive bleeding, damage nerves, and even lead to amputation.
- Example: Management fails to conduct regular risk assessments at the warehouse where you work, leaving multiple nails strewn through walkways. You step on one of these nails while manually handling a package, suffering a deep puncture, the force of which causes serious nerve damage with a permanent effect on mobility.
These examples aren’t intended to be an exhaustive list, so please get in touch to see if you have grounds to make a personal injury claim.
What Should I Do After I Stood On A Nail?
If you’ve stood on a nail at work, you should first get immediate medical attention. As we’ve seen, this type of accident has the potential to lead to life-threatening conditions like tetanus.
Depending on how large your employer is, you’ll also want to ensure that the incident has been recorded in an accident book. Companies can use it to inform the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Great Britain’s workforce health and safety regulator, of certain reportable injuries. This requirement is set out by a piece of legislation called the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
To specifically help your claim, you’ll need to ensure that you have sufficient evidence and are within the correct time limit. We’ll discuss both in the following sections.
Evidence
In order to support your accident at work claim, you will need evidence showing how you meet the eligibility criteria that we outlined earlier in this guide. You might find the following examples to be of use:
- Medical records: This information can show the extent of your injuries and the suffering caused by them. These records can also provide a timeline of your treatments and what the overall prognosis is. For instance, you might have severe injuries that have led to permanent mobility issues, affecting your overall quality of life.
- Witnesses: If your accident was witnessed by others, such as colleagues, then you could collect their contact details and pass them on to your personal injury solicitor. They can use those details to collect statements in support of your claim.
- Visual record: Photographs can not only show your visible injuries but also document the scene where you stood on a nail at work. If you developed tetanus, you could take videos showing your muscle spasms and jaw stiffness. Additionally, there may be CCTV or other video footage showing the accident happening.
Gathering evidence is an important part of the claims process, one which can benefit from the expertise of a personal injury solicitor. If you work with a solicitor from our panel, they will be able to help you from the outset with obtaining proof for your claim.
Time Limits
Personal injury claims have 3 years in which to be started, as established by the Limitation Act 1980. This time limit, also referred to as a limitation period, usually begins from the date of an injury, but there are exceptions to this. Specifically, children and mentally incapacitated adults are exempt from the time limit as neither group can make a claim on their own.
In such circumstances, the standard 3 years will only take effect if:
- A child turns 18, at which point they have till their 21st birthday to launch a claim.
- If an individual’s mental capacity returns. Then, the 3-year window begins from the date of recovery.
However, a litigation friend can be used to help someone from one of the above groups make a claim whilst time limits are on hold. This role may be filled by any adult, including loved ones and solicitors.
For more information on the limitation period and how to prove an accident at work, feel free to speak to an advisor. They’re here to help, and all advice given is free and confidential.
Get Help From Legal Expert
You can get help from one of our expert personal injury solicitors and benefit from their years of experience advocating for clients nationwide. Our solicitors work to the highest professional standards, offering services like:
- Negotiating tirelessly to secure a settlement for you.
- Helping collect evidence, including witness statements.
- Connecting you with specialists, including physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
- Providing clear, regular advice and answering any questions you have about the claims process.
- Handling all communications on your behalf.
With a commitment to represent all clients regardless of their financial situation, our solicitors work under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement. Often known simply as a CFA, it means you won’t face paying upfront or ongoing fees for your solicitor’s work. If you don’t get any compensation, you don’t pay any solicitor fees at all.
Under a CFA, you do pay a success fee if you win compensation. The fee is payment for your solicitor’s service and comes out of your compensation, but the percentage taken is capped by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Contact Our Accident At Work Solicitors
If you’re ready to find out whether you can claim for being injured after you stood on a nail at work, our advisory team is here to assist. They’re available 24/7 and can provide further guidance on the claims process. Get in touch by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Using the live chat feature
- Contacting us online
More Information
You may want to check some of our other guides, including:
- Frequently asked questions about accident at work claims.
- How to claim as a cleaner injured at work.
- Find out about making an unsafe work area claim.
As well, we’ve gathered some useful external resources:
- A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) overview of employer responsibilities.
- HSE guidance on using personal protective equipment.
- Government information on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
If you’ve been injured after you stood on a nail at work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our advisory team to see if you can claim compensation.
