Warehouse Accident Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Get?

By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 6th November 2023. Welcome to our guide to warehouse accident claims. In this guide, we look at the types of injuries sustained in warehouse accidents and how personal injury lawyers could help those affected.

Working in a warehouse can be dangerous. As well as more common back injuries, forklift accidents, racking accidents, and even forklift accidents death can occur in such a physically demanding environment.

The injuries that warehouse workers can sustain in an accident can range from minor to severe.

In order to successfully claim compensation, it is essential that the claimant is able to prove that the warehouse operator acted in a negligent fashion. If this is the case – if the operator has ignored health and safety guidelines, for example – an injured party may have the right to claim compensation.

Claiming for an injury from a warehouse accident

Select a section:

1. Examples Of Compensation Payouts In Warehouse Accident Claims
2. Eligibility Criteria For Warehouse Accident Claims
3. How Can Accidents Happen In A Warehouse?
4. I Had A Warehouse Accident – What Evidence Do I Need?
5. How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Warehouse Accident?
6. Make A Warehouse Accident Claim With Our No Win No Fee Solicitors
7. Helpful Links On Accident At Work Claims

Examples Of Compensation Payouts In Warehouse Accident Claims

Let’s begin by taking a look at how much compensation you could receive for injuries caused by a warehouse accident.

Compensation payouts for successful personal injury claims for warehouse accidents may consist of two parts. These are general and special damages.

To compensate for your physical pain and mental suffering caused by the accident, you will be awarded general damages. When valuing this part of your warehouse injury claim, those responsible for evaluating your case may refer to the guidelines from the Judicial College (JCG) to help them. The JCG is a list of guideline compensation brackets for different injuries.

The table below provides a few figures for injuries that could be relevant to accidents in warehouse claims from the JCG’s 16^th edition. As every personal injury claim is assigned a value on their individual merits, this table is only provided for illustrative purposes.

You might also be awarded special damages to compensate for any monetary losses that your injuries have caused. Here are a few examples of special damages that could be included in a warehouse accident claim:

• Costs for nursing care.
• Travel expenses.
• Mobility aid costs, including wheelchair purchase or rental and crutches.
• Money towards home adaptations, such as installing a stairlift.
• Your loss of earnings, including pension contributions.
• Medication costs, including over-the-counter pain relief and prescriptions.

To recover your expenses, you should submit proof, such as payslips, bank statements, invoices, and receipts.

If you would like to discuss what could be included in your warehouse accident compensation claim, speak with one of the Legal Expert team members. They can also provide you with a free claim valuation.

Eligibility Criteria For Warehouse Accident Claims

If you would like to seek personal injury compensation for harm you have suffered in a warehouse accident, you need to be able to prove that:

• Your employer owed you a duty of care.
• This was breached.
• Your injuries occurred as a result of the breach.

Warehouse workers can be exposed to a range of different risks and it’s up to employers to safeguard against those.

The duty of care that all employers owe their employees is set out by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). Per their duty of care, employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees while they are at work. If your employer breached their duty of care, causing you to become injured in a workplace accident, you may be eligible to receive compensation.

Please contact one of our advisors if you have any questions about warehouse accident claims.

How Can Accidents Happen In A Warehouse?

There are numerous different types of accidents that could potentially occur in a warehouse and workers may sustain serious injuries as a result. Such incidents could occur as a consequence of an employer failing to uphold the duty of care they owe their employees. Examples of potential warehouse accidents and their causes include:

• Slips, trips and falls – Such accidents that injure warehouse employees may occur because of issues such as spillages, loose cables or wires or objects obstructing a walkway. A failure to carry out a risk assessment by the employer can make such accidents more likely.
• Falling objects – Employees may potentially be injured by falling objects in a warehouse if they are left in a dangerous position or not moved correctly. The potential cause may be linked to a failure by staff or the employer to follow the correct health and safety procedures.
• Manual handling injuries – Staff in warehouse could potentially be injured while attempting to move heavy objects, such as boxes containing items. Such injuries are more likely if an employer breaches their duty of care by failing to provide adequate training on the best manual handling techniques.
• Injuries caused by machinery or vehicles – Packaging machinery, forklift trucks, pallet trucks plus other machinery and vehicles may be used within a warehouse by staff. Injuries involving such machinery or vehicles could potentially occur if a worker using them makes a mistake. Such accidents could more likely occur if an employer does not provide adequate training or fully explain health and safety procedures to staff using such equipment.

For more advice on warehouse accidents and whether you can claim for injuries in this type of accident, contact our advisors for free today.

I Had A Warehouse Accident – What Evidence Do I Need?

One of the most important steps when making a warehouse accident claim is ensuring that you have enough evidence to support your claim. Evidence can be helpful for a number of areas in your claim, including proving how the accident occurred, who was responsible, and how severe your injuries are.

Some examples of evidence you could use to support a claim for a warehouse accident include:

• CCTV footage: If your accident was caught on CCTV, you may be able to request the footage to be used as evidence.
• Accident book logs: All workplaces with ten or more employees are legally required to have an accident book. When you log your accident here, it creates a permanent record of what happened.
• Medical records: Your medical records may offer further insight into your injuries, their severity, and how they’ll affect you going forwards.
• Witness statements: Taking down the contact details of those who witnessed your accident, such as any fellow warehouse workers, ensures that their statements can be taken by a professional at a later date.

If you choose to work with a solicitor on your accident at work claim, they can help you gather this evidence. For example, a solicitor could take statements from witnesses and could arrange for you to undergo an independent medical assessment.

To find out how one of our solicitors could help you claim compensation, contact our team today. Or, read on to learn more about warehouse claims.

How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Warehouse Accident?

When starting a warehouse accident claim, you must adhere to the time limits. Under the Limitation Act 1980, you will generally have 3 years from the date of the incident to initiate legal proceedings for a personal injury claim.

However, in certain circumstances, there are exceptions. These include:

• Children under the age of 18 cannot begin legal proceedings themselves. The time limit is paused until they turn 18. A litigation friend could be appointed by the court to bring forward a claim for them before their 18^th. However, if they reach their 18^th birthday and a claim was not filed for them, they will have 3 years from this date to begin the process.
• Those without the mental capacity to bring forward a claim for themselves. These parties have a suspension applied to the limitation period that lasts for as long as they are unable to handle legal proceedings. During this suspension, a litigation friend could act for them. If the individual regains this capacity needed to claim, they will be given 3 years from this recovery to begin civil proceedings, provided that a claim was not already made for them.

Talk to an advisor from our team if you have any questions about the limitation period for personal injury claims for a warehouse accident.

Make A Warehouse Accident Claim With Our No Win No Fee Solicitors

If you are eligible to make a warehouse accident claim, you may like to instruct a solicitor to help with your personal injury case. One of our accident at work solicitors could provide legal representation. They typically provide their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement.

When a solicitor provides their services under this type of agreement, you usually won’t be asked to pay anything upfront for their work on your claim. There won’t be any ongoing charges either for their services or if your claim fails. However, if your case has a successful outcome, they will subtract a success fee from your award. This amount is a percentage that is limited by the law.

One of our team members can answer your questions about warehouse accidents and the claims process. Additionally, if you meet the eligibility criteria to make a claim for compensation, you could be connected with one of our personal injury solicitors.

To talk about your potential warehouse accident claim:

• Fill out our ‘claim online’ form, and an advisor will call you.
• Call 0800 073 8804
• Connect via our live chat.

Helpful Links On Accident At Work Claims

Here are a few guides about claiming for an accident at work:

• How to claim for a minor injury at work
• 10 things to know about accident at work claims
• What to do if injured from work activities

Remeber, if you need any more advice on warehouse accident claims or if you’d like to connect with a personal injury solicitor, please get in touch today for free.