Personal Injury Claims Against Your Employer – A Guide To Claiming Compensation

By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 22nd October 2025. If you’ve been injured at work due to your employer’s fault, you may be worried about being unable to work for many days. You may also be concerned about whether it is possible to make personal injury claims against an employer. These questions may cause you undue mental strain in addition to your physical injuries.

Here at Legal Expert, our solicitors understand just how much of a difference empathetic, professional support can be when navigating a personal injury claim. They have been advocating for many years on behalf of injured workers throughout the UK, and one of them could help secure compensation for you next. Contact us now for more information on how to start claiming.

What You Need To Know About Injury Claims Against Employers:

• Can I be sacked for making an injury at work claim against my employer? No, you cannot be sacked for simply claiming after a workplace accident that wasn’t your fault. 
• What happens if there are no witnesses? You can use medical records, CCTV footage, photographs, and a copy of your accident book report as evidence.
• Can I sue my employer for a personal injury caused by not using the provided safety gloves? Yes, but your claim may be settled on the basis of contributory negligence if you were partly responsible for your injuries.
• Am I able to claim for any loss of earnings caused by my workplace injury? Accident at work compensation can cover any loss of current or future earnings that result from an injury.
• Do I need to pay anything to start an injured at work claim against an employer? Legal Expert’s solicitors do not charge clients any upfront or ongoing service fees for their work.

What Are Injury Claims Against Your Employer?

Employers owe their staff a duty of care while they are at work and performing their duties. This duty is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). It establishes that employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. For example, any training that is required to safely complete work-related tasks must be provided free of charge.

If you have been injured at work, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim against your employer. To bring forward such a case, you will need to be able to prove the following with evidence:

• Your employer owed you a duty of care. For example, risk assessments should be carried out.
• This duty was breached. For example, a risk assessment was not carried out before you were asked to use a ladder.
• You suffered injuries because of this breach. Due to a lack of appropriate risk assessments, the ladder was used over uneven ground. When it fell, you sustained back, neck and head injuries.

If you have any questions about the eligibility requirements for personal injury claims at work, please speak to an advisor from our team.

Claiming Compensation For An Accident Caused By Your Employer

If you are considering making a work accident claim against your employer, your ability to claim compensation for your accident is intrinsically linked to the concept of negligence.

While the amount of compensation you could receive as a result of your claim depends heavily on the severity and the type of your injury, whether your claim can be considered legitimate depends on how responsible your employer was for your accident. This, in turn, depends on whether the employer acted negligently.

For your employer to act with negligence to instigate personal injury claims against employers, they must have failed to adhere to health and safety standards. The Health and Safety Executive, a government agency, essentially governs workplace safety. This, in turn, not only encourages employers to act responsibly but also enforces workplace safety legislation.

This duty of care covers measures such as;

• Completing risk assessments of your task,
• Providing training to complete tasks, and
• Clearly defining the limits of your job.

If your employer has failed in any of these responsibilities, they could be considered responsible for any injury resulting. Contact us today to learn more about personal injury claims against employers.

How Long Do I Have To Make A Personal Injury Claim Against My Employer?

If you want to make a personal injury claim against your employer, you must do so within a specific time frame set out by law. 

Under the Limitation Act 1980, you must start your claim within three years of your accident. However, depending on the circumstances of certain claims, some exceptions to this rule may apply, such as:

• Under 18: The three-year time limit will be paused until their 18th birthday and will run until they turn twenty-one. This exception is in place because minors cannot legally start a claim.
• Lack of mental capacity: The three-year time limit will be paused indefinitely unless they regain it, at which point the time limit will apply. 

If the time limit on a claim has been paused, a litigation friend may act on behalf of the injured person. Our advisors can give you more information on the role of litigation friends. 

How Long Will My Claim Against My Employer Take?

Personal injury claims against an employer can take anywhere between a few months and some years. However, there is no fixed time period, as every claim has its own unique circumstances. There are certain factors which affect when you will get your settlement, such as:

• Liability: If your employer admits responsibility for your injuries, you can proceed to negotiate your compensation. Otherwise, you may have to spend more time gathering evidence against your employer.
• Evidence: Having strong evidence means that you don’t have to spend any more time proving your employer’s liability.
• Negotiations: If your employer accepts liability, they may offer a compensation amount which you aren’t satisfied with. This could lead to the process of negotiations.
• Litigation: If your claim ends up in court, the legal process may increase the time for your claim to get settled.
• Complexity of injuries: Your injuries may be complex and require additional time for diagnosis. This could also lead to more time being required to assess their impact on your overall life.

An experienced work injury solicitor can assess your case and give you an estimated timeline for the progress. Call our advisors now for more information on time limits and how long the personal injury process takes.

Injuries That Could Lead To Claims Against Your Employer

Here are some example scenarios that could lead an injured employee to make a personal injury claim against an employer:

• An employer does not regularly check or maintain machinery. Due to this employer’s negligence, an employee gets their arm trapped in the machinery and it is crushed.
• Because of a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) an employee using a table saw suffers a serious eye injury caused by flying splinters.
• A worker gets a broken bone injury from tripping on wires left trailing along the floor that had not been signposted or tidied away..
• Employees are not given the necessary manual handling training. This leads to one employee experiencing significant back pain due to carrying a heavy load.
• The area below work on a roof is not cordoned off and employees are not warned. One worker suffers a severe brain injury when bricks fall off the roof and onto their head.

If you’ve suffered unnecessary harm in a workplace accident because of employer negligence, you may be able to seek compensation. Call today if you have any questions regarding personal injury claims at work.

The Process Of Making A Claim Against Your Employer

When making a personal injury claim, you’ll need to demonstrate that your employer acted negligently and you were injured or suffered harm as a result. Therefore, as part of the personal injury claim process, you should gather as much supporting evidence as possible.

To give you an idea of how to prove a workplace accident claim, we’ve listed a few examples of evidence below:

• You should record details of the incident in your workplace accident book. Any workplace that has more than 10 employees are required to have an accident book by law.
• Collect the contact details of any witnesses who can provide a statement on your behalf.
• If your workplace has CCTV, request the footage.
• Take photographs of your injury and the accident scene, including any hazards that caused you harm.
• Gather medical evidence, such as a diagnosis from a medical professional or your hospital records.

Continue reading to find out what personal injury compensation you could be awarded following an accident at work. Alternatively, get in touch whenever is most convenient for you. We offer free no-obligation legal advice around the clock.

How Much Compensation Will I Get From My Employer?

Following a successful personal injury claim, you will be awarded general damages. This compensates you for the pain you have experienced due to your personal injury at work.

When valuing your claim, a legal professional may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document lists guideline compensation brackets for different injuries at various severities. For the table below, we have listed some of these. We’ve also included a figure in the top row (not from the document) for multiple severe injuries and financial losses.

However, it is important to note that compensation tends to reflect the specific details and circumstances of each claim. The table should only be used as a form of guidance.

Special Damages For A Personal Injury Claim Against Your Employer

You could also be eligible for special damages. This head of your claim allows you to recover the financial losses resulting from an injury.

For example, if your injuries prevent you from working, this could lead to a loss of earnings. In this case, you could potentially recoup these losses under special damages. This heading can also include:

• Travel expenses.
• Childcare costs.
• Prescription costs.
• The cost of a mobility aid.

You must be able to provide evidence of your losses in order to claim them back, so keeping any relevant documents, such as bank statements or receipts, could be beneficial.

Contact our team of advisors today to learn more about how to make a personal injury claim against your employer.

Accident At Work Solicitors – No Win No Fee Claims

Our No Win No Fee solicitors can support a personal injury claim against an employer under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). If one of our solicitors does support your case under such an agreement, you won’t have to pay them a service fee for their work before the claim has begun or while it is underway. You also don’t need to pay for your solicitor’s services if the claim fails.

If your accident at work claim is successful, then your solicitor will take a small and legally capped percentage from your compensation. This is known as a success fee, and the legal cap ensures that you get to keep most of your compensation.

Contact us for free today to learn more about working with a No Win No Fee solicitor. Our advisors can also answer any other questions you may have about claiming for work injuries. To speak to our team, you can:

• • Call us on 0800 073 8804
  • Use the 24/7 live chat service on our website
  • Contact us online.

Other Guides You May Find Helpful

We have lots more guides on  which you can browse below: 

• Learn about climbing wall activity accident claims
• Claiming compensation for understaffing injuries

Thank you for reading our guide to claiming against an employer. We hope you now know more about how personal injury claims against employers work.