By Jade Mooney. Last Updated 20th March 2025. Have you been injured in the workplace? If your workplace injury was caused due to negligent behaviour by your employer, you may have questions such as how to sue a company for an injury. Some people may be worried about making any kind of workplace accident claim, as they may fear the repercussions of making a claim against their employer. They may fear that it will create bad blood between them and their employer while others may worry that they could be sacked.
However, if your employer is liable for your injuries, and you take appropriate legal action, there should be nothing to fear. Moreover, you can also potentially make a claim that involves suing a company for an injury even if you were not an employee.
For more information, you can reach us by:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Completing our online contact form
- Chatting to us on our live support feature
But before you do so, read on to discover everything you need to know about launching a claim of this nature and the personal injury law UK in place.
Select A Section
- How To Sue A Company For An Injury
- Can I Sue A Company If I’m Not An Employee?
- Evidence To Sue A Company For Negligence
- Suing A Company For Damages – How Much Compensation Could I Receive?
- Time Limits For Suing A Company For An Injury
- How To Sue A Company For An InjuryOn A No Win No Fee Basis
- More Resources
How To Sue A Company For An Injury
When you are suing a company (that is also your workplace) for an injury you suffered while you were at work, you will need to meet certain eligibility criteria to have a valid personal injury claim. These are:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty.
- You suffered injuries as a result of this breach.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe all of their employees a duty of care. The exact responsibilities held by a company will depend on the type of work their staff is involved in. In summary, though, employers should take reasonable steps to protect their staff while they are working.
Therefore, if you can prove that you suffered an injury while at work due to your employer failing to adhere to their duty of care, you may be able to make a personal injury claim.
If you contact our advisors about your potential claim for a work accident, they can review your case and help establish if you have strong grounds to claim compensation. Contact our advisors today to learn more about your eligibility or to ask other questions, such as how to sue an employer for a work accident.
Can I Sue A Company If I’m Not An Employee?
Having looked at how to sue a company for an injury as an employee, we need to examine how those not working for the company but who were injured on the premises can claim compensation.
Companies don’t owe a duty of care just to their staff; they have an obligation to members of the public and any self-employed contractors or agency staff as well. A company is required to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of any visitors to its premises under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA).
As an example:
A kitchen outfitter has a balcony in their customer showroom. Despite multiple reports that the mountings were coming loose, no measures had been taken to organise a repair, nor had any warnings or barriers been placed. You were browsing in the store when you leant on the balcony. The railings gave way, and you fell from a considerable height, breaking multiple bones in the fall.
You can keep reading to learn how to prove liability in your claim, as well as get a better idea of how compensation is calculated. Use the details provided below to ask our advisors, “How do you sue a company after an accident?” or to get a free assessment of your eligiblity. The team are available 24 hours a day.
Evidence To Sue A Company For Negligence
You might have valid reasons to sue a company as we covered earlier in this article. However, if you are wondering how to sue a company for negligence, you will need to submit evidence that proves your injuries were caused by a breach in the duty of care owed to you.
Examples of useful evidence that could help prove employer negligence includes:
- Accident book. This should be filled in with your name, date and time, along with details of the incident.
- These could be of the accident scene or of your injury is if it was visible, such as swelling or lacerations.
- Footage of the accident. For example, you can request CCTV for a personal injury claim. Additionally, another party may have filmed the accident on their phone.
- Witness contact information. If anyone saw what happened, they can give a statement at a later date.
If you need any advice on gathering evidence, our advisors would be happy to help. Any legal advice they give to you is free. Additionally, they can assess the validity of your claim. Should it seem to them like you might successfully recover workplace injury compensation, they could connect you with our No Win No Fee solicitors specialising in accident at work claims.
Suing A Company For Damages – How Much Compensation Could I Receive?
So, when you sue a company for an accident, what could you claim? The damages you could receive after suing a company can include general damages, and special damages.
General damages cover your injuries and the pain and suffering that they cause you. This heading also covers loss of amenity, which means loss of enjoyment in things like hobbies.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) are often used to help calculate this head of claim. This is because it provides guideline compensation amounts for a range of different injuries and illnesses, with different amounts for differing severities.
Below, you can find some examples of these guidelines. Please note that the first entry is not from the JCG.
| Injury | Injury severity | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Brain damage | Very serious (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Epilepsy | Established Grand Mal (a) | £124,470 to £183,190 |
| General psychiatric damage | Severe (a) | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Sight | Total loss of one eye (d) | £66,920 to £80,210 |
| Wrist | Complete loss of function (a) | £58,110 to £73,050 |
| Chest | Chest and lung damage (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 |
| Shoulder | Serious (b) | £15,580 to £23,430 |
What Are Special Damages?
Special damages are the second head of claim you could receive after successfully suing a company. Under this heading, you can claim back the financial losses you suffered as a result of your injuries.
For example, you might want to sue a company for severe injuries that left you out of work. In this case, special damages could help you recoup the cost of any earnings you lost while recovering from your injuries.
This heading can also help you cover the cost of:
- Prescriptions
- Childcare
- Mobility aids, like a wheelchair or crutches
- Help with cleaning and cooking
- Physical therapy
- Counselling
You’ll need to provide proof of your losses in order to make a claim. To do this, you can provide relevant invoices, receipts, or bank statements.
To learn more about what this heading of compensation could cover, get in touch with our team of advisors today. Or, for more information on how to sue a company, keep reading.
Time Limits For Suing A Company For An Injury
If you are suing a company for an injury you suffered, you must ensure you start the process within the relevant time limit. Under the Limitation Act 1980, you will have three years to start your claim from the date the accident occurred.
This time limit can work differently under some circumstances. For instance, the time limit is paused for those under the age of 18. While it is paused, a litigation friend can claim for them. If a claim is not made y their 18th birthday, then they will have three years to start one from this date.
The time limit is suspended if the claimant doesn’t have the mental capacity to make a claim. A litigation friend can claim for them while it is suspended. It will only come into force if the claimant recovers/
Contact our advisors today for more advice on the criteria for suing for damages following a workplace accident.
How To Sue A Company For An Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
While you have hopefully found our guidance on how to sue a company for an injury useful, you may prefer to have an experienced solicitor on your side and pushing for the best possible outcome.
It’s important to make sure that the terms offered by a solicitor work for you. For example, our No Win No Fee solicitors provide their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement. It means that:
- You aren’t paying for their work before or during the claim.
- If you don’t successfully sue for injury, they take no fee for the services provided.
- Winning the case does mean the solicitor takes a success fee. However, that is a portion of the compensation rather than a payment from your pocket. Additionally, that portion is strictly capped because of legislation called The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Whether you just want to ask, “How do you sue a company?” or you would like to know if a solicitor can help you make your case, you can find out for free. Our support service is available all day, every day, so you can speak to us at a time that suits you. Simply choose any of these options:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Completing a contact form
- Chatting to us on our live support feature
More Resources
Hopefully, you have found this guide informative. If you need any further advice, though, the links below may be just what you are looking for.
- Government advice on reporting accidents and incidents at work
- ABI information on public liability insurance
- Government information on employer’s liability insurance
- Our guide to accident at work claims
- Supermarket accident claims guide
- Our guide on theme park accident claims
- Gillingham Personal Injury Solicitors
- Gloucester Personal Injury Solicitors
- Gosport Personal Injury Solicitors
- Grantham Personal Injury Solicitors
- Greenock Personal Injury Solicitors
- Greenwich Personal Injury Solicitors
- Grimsby Personal Injury Solicitors
- Guildford Personal Injury Solicitors
- Hackney Personal Injury Solicitors
- Halesowen Personal Injury Solicitors
- Foot Injury Claims
- Get help claiming ankle injury compensation with our informative guide.
- Find out how to claim for an accident at work if you were injured working as a server or wait staff with our informative article.
If you have still have any questions on how to sue a company for an injury, you can contact our advisors using the details highlighted above.
