Accident At Work Claims Specialists Get Maximum Compensation

Personal injury experts 100% No Win, No Fee Claims
Nothing to pay if you lose.

Get the maximum compensation you deserve
Specialist solicitors with up to 30 years experience
Find out if you can claim compensation Call 0800 073 8804

Accident At Work Claims Guide | How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

By Daniel Archer. Last updated 9th May 2022. Welcome to our comprehensive guide to making an accident at work claim. If you have been injured in an accident caused by your employer’s negligence, you could seek compensation. Our guide will provide you with the information you need to put forward a strong claim.

In this guide, we aim to answer questions about how to claim compensation, what your settlement may include and how it may be calculated. We’ll also explore what evidence you could gather to provide in support of your claim. Also, we’ll look at the benefits of using a No Win No Fee workplace injury solicitor.

Additionally, we’ll help you better understand whether you’re eligible to claim by exploring your rights in the workplace and your employer’s duty of care.

Furthermore, we’ll provide accidents at work examples of how an employer could act negligently. We’ll also provide examples of the injuries someone could sustain in different workplace accidents.

Our guide will also provide information on the personal injury claim time limits and any exceptions that may apply. Factors like this can be crucial to you being able to receive workplace negligence compensation.

Although we have aimed to cover the information you need, we understand you may have questions after reading. If so, our team is available 24/7 to provide you with free legal advice.

They can answer any questions you may have regarding your claim and could assess your case to determine whether you’re eligible to seek compensation.

For more information, get in touch by:

Calling 0800 073 8804
Filling out our online contact form with your query
Chatting with our specialist solicitors now using our live chat function

Explore The Sections On Accident At Work Claims Below

What Is An Accident At Work Claim?

An accident at work claim could be made if your employer acted negligently by failing to uphold their duty of care to prevent you from sustaining harm. As per Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, all employers are responsible for taking reasonable steps to ensure their employee’s safety.

Each employer’s duty of care may vary depending on the nature of the work, but generally, their responsibilities might include:

Providing adequate training
Providing the correct equipment
Ensuring any equipment is safe and fit for purpose
Putting in measures to prevent discrimination in the workplace
Carrying out regular risk assessments to address any hazards
Removing or controlling the risk of any hazards they become aware of

If you have been injured at work because your employer failed to uphold their duty of care, you could claim compensation by pursuing a workplace injury claim.

For more information, you can call our team on the number above. Alternatively, continue reading for examples of how an employer could breach the duty of care they owe you.

Accidents At Work Examples

Many different accidents can happen in the workplace. In some cases, it may not have been anyone’s fault. In these cases, an employer may not be held liable for the accident.

Instead, employers are only held responsible if an accident was caused by their failure to uphold their duty of care resulting in an employee sustaining harm.

In the sections below, we have included some examples of accidents where an employer may have acted negligently and the injuries an employee could sustain as a result.

If you have experienced a similar accident or would like to discuss your accident at work claim in more detail, call our team. You can discuss your potential workplace negligence compensation claim at a time that works for you using the above details.

Slips, Trips And Falls In The Workplace

Slips, trips and falls in the workplace could happen for various reasons. For example, your employer may have failed to carry out regular risk assessments on workplace equipment to ensure it was safe to use. As a result, someone may have fallen from a height and broken their leg after using a faulty ladder.

Alternatively, your employer may have failed to take steps to control the risks of hazards in the office. For example, they may have left wires strewn across the office causing an employee to trip over and fracture their wrist.

Industrial And Occupational Diseases

In some workplaces, employees are required to work with dangerous substances that put them at risk of experiencing occupational diseases. It’s your employer’s responsibility to put measures in place to either control or remove the risk of the hazards these substances may pose.

For example, if you regularly work with chemicals that have a risk of causing irritation to the skin, your employer should provide protective gloves to control the risk. If they fail to do so, you could develop occupational dermatitis.

Another example would be if you developed lung disease from asbestos exposure after working on building sites without sufficient protection for a long period of time.

In these cases, you may be able to make an accident at work compensation claim.

Manual Handling Accidents

Your employer has a responsibility to provide you with adequate training to perform your job correctly and safely. If they fail to do so, you could sustain harm.

For example, your employer may have failed to provide you with relevant training to lift heavy stock safely. As a result, you may have strained a muscle in your back in a manual handling accident.

Violence In The Workplace

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there were 688,000 incidents of violence at work in 2019/2020. Around 299,000 were incidents of assault and 389,000 were incidents where someone had been threatened.

If an employer has been made aware of one employee threatening another employee, they must take reasonable steps to address the situation. Failing to do so could mean the threatened employee is at higher risk of experiencing violence at work due to their employer’s negligence.

If your situation is different to the accident at work examples we have included, call our team. They can discuss making an accident at work compensation claim following a similar or different incident.

Recording And Reporting Workplace Accidents

According to HSE, there were 51,211 non-fatal injuries sustained by employees during 2020/2021 as reported by employers under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR).

There are certain injuries and accidents that must be reported under RIDDOR. For instance, deaths, specified injuries and occupational diseases.

This helps provide an insight into the nature of injuries and accidents that take place at work. Please note, not all accidents and injuries reported by employers were caused by negligence.

The graph below shows non-fatal injuries to employees by the most common accident kinds reported by employers under RIDDOR during 2020/2021.

As you can see, slips, trips and falls on the same level were the most commonly reported accidents by employers. Receiving accident at work compensation successfully will depend on whether your injury was caused by negligence. If it is, how much compensation for an injury at work you could receive will depend on factors including the evidence you can provide and the severity of your injury.

How Can I Make An Accident At Work Claim?

We understand it may feel overwhelming to make a claim against your employer. You may be concerned that a claim could cause tension or you may be worried about causing financial hardship to your company by claiming.

However, all employers are required to have insurance as per the Employers Liability (Compulsory) Insurance Act 1969. The insurance provides employees with a way to claim against their employer without worrying about the financial impact it could have on the company.

Additionally, there are several steps you could take to ensure you build a strong workplace injury claim. We have explored these in more detail below.

Get your injuries treated by a medical professional: You should aim to seek medical attention as soon as possible after the accident to ensure your injuries are treated correctly. Also, you can use records of any medical treatment or diagnosis as evidence to support your claim.
Gather evidence: You could obtain other evidence to support your claim that your employer acted negligently. This can include witness details, CCTV footage, photographs and records of your accident in the workplace accident book.
Get in touch with a No Win No Fee solicitor: We understand you may feel apprehensive about seeking legal representation, but it may benefit you to seek advice from an experienced solicitor. They can help you gather relevant evidence to support your claim and advise you on your next steps at each stage of your claim.

We have personal injury solicitors who all have experience handling accident at work compensation claims. Furthermore, they could take your claim on a No Win No Fee basis which means you could avoid paying an upfront cost often needed for a solicitor to start working on your case.

Steps to prove an accident at work claim

In order to give yourself the best chance of a successful claim for an accident at work, you need to gather as much useful evidence as possible. This proof needs to establish that your injuries were caused by your employer’s negligence. This means you must be able to prove that your injuries would not have occurred if your employer had upheld the duty of care they owed you.

Below, we have included some examples of evidence you may find useful when making a workplace injury claim.

Video evidence – For example, your workplace may have CCTV cameras. The footage could contain proof that your injuries were caused by your employer’s negligence.
Photographs – Not only of your injuries, but also of the hazards that led to you being injured.
Witness contact details – If there were other people present during the incident that caused your injury, they may consent to having a statement taken. A solicitor can assist you with gathering these statements, as well as other forms of evidence.

If you’d like to know more about evidence gathering, then get in touch with our advisors today. We can also give you an estimate of how much compensation for an accident at work you could be awarded.

Are There Time Limits For Putting Forward An Accident At Work Claim?

Time limits apply to all types of personal injury claims, including claims for road traffic accidents, public liability and an accident at work claim. These time limits are set out in the Limitation Act 1980.

If you suffer an injury in a workplace accident, you have three years from the date of the accident to make an injury at work claim.

Alternatively, the symptoms of your injury may not be present straight away. In these cases, people may not be aware that they have suffered an injury or illness until sometime after.

For this reason, there is an exception meaning the three years will not start until the claimant becomes aware that their employer’s failings at least contributed to the injury or illness.

Are There Exceptions To The Three Year Rule?

There are exceptions that may apply to your accident at work claim in specific circumstances, such as:

Lack of mental capacity: If a person lacks the mental capacity to claim on their own behalf, the time limit is frozen. During this time, someone could apply to act as a litigation friend and claim on their behalf. This can include a parent, guardian or solicitor. If they recover their mental capacity and no one has made a claim on their behalf, they will have three years from the recovery date to claim themselves.
Child accident claims: If a person is under the age of 18 when the accident takes place, someone could apply to act as a litigation friend and pursue the claim on their behalf. Alternatively, they will have three years from the date they turn 18 to put forward the claim themselves.

For further information on the personal injury time limits, please get in touch on the number above.

How Long Does An Accident At Work Claim Take?

The time an accident at work claim takes to settle will vary depending on several factors, such as:

Whether the defendant admits liability
Whether further evidence is required
If the claim goes to court

Accidents At Work Compensation Examples

We understand you may be wondering ‘how much compensation for an accident at work claim could I receive?’. However, it’s difficult to provide a definitive idea of what your claim may be worth.

Generally, though, general and special damages may make up your overall settlement package. Each takes a different aspect of your accident into consideration. General damages focus on providing compensation for your physical and psychological injuries.

In order to accurately calculate the value of your injuries, medical evidence may be used to determine the full extent of your condition. Additionally, you may be invited to attend an independent assessment to produce a current report on your injuries and the extent to which they’ve impacted your quality of life.

How Much Compensation For An Injury At Work Could I Receive?

Furthermore, guidelines set out by the Judicial College may be used alongside any medical evidence to help value your workplace injury claim. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a publication that provides compensation brackets for different injuries and conditions.

We have created a table using figures from the JCG to give you an idea of the compensation amounts that may be awarded in an injury at work claim. They analyse previous payouts, comparing them to the extent of the injury to build the compensation brackets you see below.

Injury Type	Additional Details	Example Compensation Award
Head Injury	(e) Minor head injury that resulted in minimal brain damage. The award given will depend on factors such as severity and recovery time.	£2,070 to £11,980
Injuries affecting sight	(h) A minor eye injury such as where someone has been struck in the eye and has been caused initial pain and had their vision temporarily affected.	£3,710 to £8,200
Deafness or Tinnitus	(d) Partial hearing loss: (i) A person may have experienced severe tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss.	£27,890 to £42,730
Chest injuries	(b) A traumatic injury to the chest that caused permanent damage and reduced a person's life expectancy.	£61,710 to £94,470
Asbestos-Related Disease	(a) Cases of mesothelioma which causes severe pain and impacts on the person's function and quality of life.	£65,710 to £118,150
Back Injuries	(c) Minor: (ii) A less serious strain or sprain that someone fully recovers from within two years.	£2,300 to £7,410
Arm Injuries	(d) A simple forearm fracture.	£6,190 to £18,020
Wrist injuries	(f) A minor displaced fracture.	£3,310 to £4,450
Work-Related Upper Limb Disorders	(c) Cases such as carpal tunnel syndrome where symptoms are resolved within three years.	£8,110 to £10,090
Anke Injuries	(c) Moderate: A fracture that leads to a less serious disability such as the person having difficulty walking on uneven ground or standing for long periods of time.	£12,900 to £24,950
Dermatitis	(b) Where both hands are affected for a significant time but are helped with treatment.	£8,110 to £10,710
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	(d) Less severe cases where a full recovery is made within two years.	£3,710 to £7,680

Please only use these figures as a guide as your actual settlement award will vary depending on different factors unique to your case.

Alternatively, you could use our accident at work compensation calculator to get an estimate of what your claim may be worth. Or, if you choose to hire a personal injury solicitor, they could accurately value your claim as part of their services.

What Additional Costs Could My Injury At Work Compensation Claim Comprise?

As mentioned, your accident at work claim may also comprise special damages which allow you to claim back any past or future monetary losses. The losses incurred as a direct result of your injuries might include:

Medical bills, such as the cost of any prescriptions or physiotherapy
Loss of earnings, including loss of promotion or reduction in pension
Care costs, including for yourself or anyone else dependent on you
Home adaptations, such as changes to the structure of your home to make it more accessible

Please note, you must provide evidence in order to claim back any financial losses under special damages. For instance, you could keep receipts to highlight any medical expenses or payslips to show any lost wages.

If you’re unsure whether you could factor financial losses into your claim for a work accident, get in touch with our team of advisors for free legal advice. Alternatively, if you have any further questions about how to claim compensation, our team could help.

No Win No Fee Accident At Work Claim

All of our solicitors work under No Win No Fee agreements, meaning there is no upfront cost to pay your solicitor.

It’s important to note that you have the option to pursue your accident at work claim without legal representation. However, when doing so your claim may incur costs as the claim proceeds, such as medical or court fees. Whereas, if you claim with a solicitor under the No Win No Fee agreement, the agreement covers these costs.

As well as avoiding upfront and ongoing costs, you won’t be asked to pay solicitor fees if your claim is successful. There will also be no hidden fees – any potential costs you could pay for your workplace injury claim will be clarified and agreed upon upfront.

If the claim is successful, you pay a small success fee with a legal cap. This is deducted from your compensation award. The success fee is in place to cover the work your solicitor has done on your case. However, your solicitor will discuss how the fee works before they begin working on your claim.

Most importantly, our solicitors have experience handling workplace injury claims so can help you get the compensation you deserve.

For more information, see below for how you could start your injury at work compensation claim with one of our solicitors today.

Start Your Claim For Work Injury Compensation

We’ve covered a wide array of information in our guide on making an accident at work claim. But perhaps you’re still wondering what work injury compensation you could receive. If you have any unanswered questions, our team could help.

An advisor can provide further clarification by answering any queries you have about accident at work compensation. For example, if you’re unsure whether your employer acted negligently, our team can assess your case to determine whether you have a valid claim.

Alternatively, you may be ready to proceed with an injury at work claim. If so, our team could connect one of our solicitors to begin working on your case if they feel it has a chance of success.