In this guide, we will explain when you may have valid grounds to make a personal injury claim after you were involved in a conveyor belt accident in the workplace. There are various ways that an accident involving a conveyor belt could occur. For example, a fault with the machinery could cause it to malfunction, leading to you sustaining an injury. If your injuries were caused by your employer breaching their duty of care, which they owed to you at the time and location of the accident, you may be eligible to claim.
As we move through this guide, we will explore what is meant by the term employer duty of care and the relevant legislation that outlines this. Also, we will provide information regarding the relevant time limits applicable to personal injury claims. What’s more, we will look at the evidence you could collect to support your potential workplace injury claim. Finally, we will explain how entering into a No Win No Fee agreement could allow you to use a solicitor without paying upfront fees for their services.
Continue reading this guide to learn more about pursuing compensation after an accident at work. You can also contact our advisers at any time for a free consultation. They can provide you with both free and confidential legal advice regarding your potential personal injury claim.
To do this, you can:
- Call 0800 408 7825
- Complete our form to contact us
- Use the live support window below to speak with an adviser
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Conveyor Belt Accidents At Work And How To Claim For Them
- What Can Cause A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?
- Ways To Gather Evidence For A Work Accident Claim
- How Much Can I Claim For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?
- Can I Claim With The Help Of A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
- More Support With Claiming For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work
A Guide To Conveyor Belt Accidents At Work And How To Claim For Them
Conveyor belts may be used in some workplaces to transport items from one place to another. These workplaces could include factories, airports, and food processing plants.
To make a conveyor belt accident at work claim, you must prove employer negligence. This means:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the location and time of your accident
- Your employer breached this duty of care
- As a result of the breach, you sustained physical injuries and/or psychological harm
Employer duty of care is laid out by the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974. This states that employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety and health of their employees. This can include providing employees with the correct level of training to work with a conveyor belt and carrying out risk assessments.
The Time Limits For Accident At Work Claims
After an accident at work that meets the definition of employer negligence, you generally have 3 years from the date of the accident to begin a claim. This is established by the Limitation Act 1980, which outlines the time limitations for personal injury claims.
However, there are some exceptions to this 3-year time limit. If you would like to learn more about how these exceptions may apply to your potential claim, please speak to our team.
What Can Cause A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?
An accident involving a conveyor belt could occur in the workplace for various reasons, for example:
- An employee is not provided with any training to work with a conveyor belt
- The speed of the conveyor belt or production line is too fast
- The conveyor belt is not correctly maintained, leading to faults
- There are spillages on the floor near the conveyor belt or obstructed walkways
- The conveyor belt is overloaded
This could lead to an accident in which an employee sustains injuries that range in severity from minor to severe. Examples of the injuries that you could suffer in a conveyor belt accident include:
- Lacerations, cuts and grazes
- Broken bones and fractures
- Amputations
- Dislocations
- Degloving
If you sustained an injury at work because your employer breached the duty of care owed to you at the time and location of your accident, you may be eligible to pursue compensation. Speak to our advisers to learn more.
Ways To Gather Evidence For A Work Accident Claim
If you would like to pursue personal injury compensation following a workplace accident, and your case is found to be eligible, you must gather evidence of employer negligence. This could include the following:
- CCTV footage of the accident
- Photographs showing the scene of the accident and any visible injuries
- Contact details of anyone who witnessed the accident
- A copy of your medical records
- A copy of the report in the accident book
You should also seek legal advice regarding your potential claim. Our advisers are available 24/7 to provide insight into the eligibility of your conveyor belt accident at work claim.
How Much Can I Claim For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?
The award for a successful personal injury case can be divided into two separate heads of claim: general and special damages. General damages can compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, which could be physical and/or psychological.
To help them assess this head of claim, injury at work solicitors can refer to a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This provides compensation bracket guidelines for different types of injuries. Therefore, we have referred to the JCG to create the table below. Please remember that this table is a guide.
Guideline Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Brackets |
|---|---|---|
| Arm Amputation | (b)(ii) Loss of One Arm | £109,650 to £130,930 |
| Arm Amputation | (b)(iii) Loss of One Arm | £96,160 to £109,650 |
| Arm Injuries | (a) Severe | £96,160 to £130,930 |
| Arm Injuries | (b) Injuries that Result in Permanent Substantial Disablement | £39,170 to £59,860 |
| Hand Injuries | (c) The Complete or Effective Loss of One Hand | £96,160 to £109,650 |
| Hand Injuries | (d) Amputation of Index and Ring and/or Middle Fingers | £61,910 to £90,750 |
| Hand Injuries | (e) Serious | £29,000 to £61,910 |
| Hand Injuries | (f) Severe Fractures of Fingers | Up to £36,740 |
| Wrist Injuries | (a) | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| Back Injuries | (b)(ii) Moderate | £12,510 to £27,760 |
Additionally, you could be eligible to receive special damages to compensate you for the financial losses resulting from your injuries. For example, special damages could account for:
- Loss of earnings, past and future
- Care costs
- Travel expenses
- Housing adaptations
It is important that you provide evidence of these financial losses. This could include invoices, payslips and travel tickets. Contact our advisers to learn more about the compensation you could be eligible to receive for your potential personal injury claim for a conveyor belt accident in the workplace.
Can I Claim With The Help Of A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
A personal injury solicitor could help you to compile evidence and present a complete claim. What’s more, they could offer their services under the terms of a type of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This would mean that you wouldn’t have to pay for your solicitor’s services upfront or during the ongoing claims process. Also, they generally wouldn’t charge you for their services if your claim fails.
This type of agreement also means that your solicitor can deduct a success fee from the compensation in the event your claim succeeds. This fee is calculated as a percentage that is subject to a legislative cap, which means that you always receive the majority of the compensation.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about pursuing workplace accident compensation, our advisers can help. They can offer you a free consultation at a time that is most convenient for you. Additionally, if our advisers discover that you may have valid grounds to make a workplace injury claim, they could put you in touch with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel.
To make an enquiry, you can:
- Call 0800 408 7825
- Complete our form to contact us
- Use the live support window below to speak with an adviser
More Support With Claiming For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work
More accident at work claim guides from our website:
£42,000 Compensation Payout For An Accident At Work Injury Claim
I Had An Accident At Work, Can I Claim Compensation?
An Accident Was Caused By No Manual Handling Training At Work – Could You Claim Compensation?
If you’ve suffered an injury because you received no manual handling training at work, then you could be entitled to compensation. This guide offers lots of useful advice on proving such a claim and the legal requirements surrounding workplace manual handling training.
External resources you may find useful:
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – Information from GOV.UK
Reportable Incidents – Guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on which incidents an employer must report
First Aid – Information from the NHS
If you still have any questions regarding your eligibility to claim personal injury compensation following a conveyor belt accident at work, speak to our team.