If you have been injured at work, you may be asking questions such as “Am I owed compensation?” and “Can I make a work injury claim if I didn’t take time off?” In answer to these questions, if the accident was not your fault you may be owed compensation. And you may not need to have taken time off work in order to make an accident at work claim. Depending on how you were injured, the impact it has had on you and your job role, you may not have had to take time off work.
Important Points
- In 2023/24 604,000 people suffered a workplace injury in the UK. This is according to self reports from the Labour Force Survey and found in reports published by the Health and Safety Executive.
- 1.7 million people suffered new or long-standing work-related ill health over the same period.
- You may not have to take time off work if you are still able to carry out your duties. An employer may also provide reduced or changed duties, allowing you to remain at work.
- Returning to work will not affect your personal injury claim.
- One of our panel of No Win No Fee accident at work solicitors could help you make a successful claim.
We are on hand to help you make an informed choice about your next steps. If you choose to claim compensation, one of our panel of specialist solicitors could help you. Find out more by,
- Calling our team on 0800 408 7825.
- Completing our form to contact us.
- Messaging us live on our chat below.
Jump To A Section
- Can I Still Make A Work Injury Claim If I Didn’t Take Time Off Work?
- Can I Make An Accident At Work Claim If I Didn’t Seek Medical Attention?
- If I’m Injured At Work, Will I Have To Take Time Off?
- If I Choose To Return To Work, Will That Impact My Claim?
- How Much Accident At Work Compensation Can I Get?
- How To Begin A Workplace Injury Claim
- How Can Public Interest Lawyers Help Me?
- More Information
Can I Still Make A Work Injury Claim If I Didn’t Take Time Off Afterwards?
Yes. You could make a work injury claim if you did not take time off afterwards. There are several criteria which any claim for an accident at work must meet. Having taken time off work is not one of these.
The main criteria any workplace injury claim must meet are that,
- You were owed a duty of care by your employer. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, all employers have this duty of care to workers. Additional health and safety legislation may apply depending on the industry, workplace, duties and equipment used.
- Your employer breached this duty of care. They may have failed to provide a safe working environment or provided work equipment which was defective or faulty.
- As a result of the accident, you suffered an injury. This injury could have been avoided if the employer had upheld their duty of care.
Work injury compensation claims may also need to satisfy criteria, such as starting the claims process within the applicable time limit. However, it is important to note that if you are injured in an accident at work, your right to claim compensation is not affected by whether or not you took time off.
Our expert advisors are on hand to discuss your case. They could help determine whether you have a valid claim and answer questions such as “can I make a work injury claim if I didn’t take time off?” Get in touch today.
Can I Make An Accident At Work Claim If I Didn’t Seek Medical Attention?
Yes, you could claim for a work injury even if you didn’t seek medical attention straight away. When making any type of personal injury claim you will need to present a body of evidence supporting your case. The more extensive and detailed this evidence, the stronger a claim may be.
Medical records can form a significant part of this body of evidence. Even if you did not get immediate medical help, you may still be able to claim compensation. However, doing so without any medical evidence may be more challenging. As such, it is advisable to get medical help as soon as possible after being injured in an accident at work. This not only begins to create medical records, but ensures that you get any treatment necessary.
You can still visit your GP or a hospital (as appropriate) if you continue to experience symptoms or have any visible injuries. When you do, you should explain how your injury or illness occurred. This may be recorded in your medical notes, creating additional evidence.
Seeking medical treatment early shows the other party in the claim that you took steps to mitigate the impact of the injury on you. By doing so, you show that you took steps to reduce your potential losses. Delaying any necessary treatment may indicate to the other party that they are not entirely responsible for your injuries. This may impact your compensation claim.
An advisor could further explain the importance of seeking medical treatment and how medical notes could help you claim work injury compensation.
If I’m Injured At Work, Will I Have To Take Time Off?
The simple answer is that no, you may not have to take time off if you are injured at work. You may choose to return to work if you can safely carry out your duties alongside recovering from your injury. However in some instances it may be necessary or even legally required for you to take time off work.
Whether you can safely return to work may depend on what injury you sustained and how severe it was. For example, if you work in a physically demanding role, such as a chef, and suffered an ankle injury, you may need to take time off. In other instances you may be legally required to take time. For instance a delivery driver who sustained an eye injury may legally have to stop driving till they have recovered.
If you do have to take time off because of a workplace accident you may be entitled to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). In addition you may be entitled to sick pay from your employer. This is dependent on your contract.
Factors affecting whether you may need to take time off:
- How you were injured and whether you suffered a minor or serious injury.
- Your workplace, type of work and responsibilities. Would your injury prevent you from carrying out workplace duties or make it dangerous to perform them?
- Whether your doctor or other healthcare professional has recommended you take time off work.
If you do need to take time off you should ensure that you follow your employer’s procedure for doing so. This may involve self-certifying for the initial 7 days and then subsequently getting a medical note from a doctor for additional time off.
If you went straight back to work you may be asking “can I make a work injury claim if I didn’t take time off? Get the answer to this and other questions about making a personal injury claim by contacting us.
If I Choose To Return To Work, Will That Impact My Claim?
Choosing to return to work after an accident or injury does not impact your eligibility to make a claim. You may choose to return to work if your injuries do not prevent you from safely doing so. As long as your case meets the eligibility criteria already set out in this guide, you could have a valid case.
Prior to returning to work you should ensure that you reported the accident at work to your employer and that they recorded that in their workplace accident book. In some cases injuries may need to be reported via RIDDOR. This is the Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. Any reports will be made by your employer.
Our team could provide further information on reporting a workplace accident and how to successfully return to work.
How Much Accident At Work Compensation Can I Get?
How much accident at work compensation you could get will be individual to your case. In general, the more severe your pain and suffering following an injury, the more you may be awarded. A solicitor or other party involved in determining compensation may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This resource contains guidelines on what could be awarded. This part of a settlement is called general damages and is for pain and suffering. Figures in the table are taken from the JCG. Please note that the headline figure was not taken from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Damages |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple types of injury + special damages (such as medical expenses. | Severe. | Up to £500,000+ with special damages for medical bills. |
| Head and brain injuries. | D - less severe. | £18,700 to £52,550. |
| E - minor injury. | £2,690 to £15,580. | |
| Hips/ pelvis. | B - moderate (ii) | £15,370 to £32,450. |
| Neck injuries. | B - moderate (ii) | £16,770 to £30,500 |
| Wrist injuries. | C - less severe injuries. | £15,370 to £29,900. |
| Arm injuries. | D - simple forearm fractures. | £8,060 to £23,430. |
| Shoulder injuries. | C - moderate | £9,630 to £15,580. |
| Thumb injuries. | U - moderate. | £11,800 to £15,370 |
| Back injuries. | C - Minor (i) | £9,630 to £15,260. |
The next part of your settlement is special damages. Here you may be compensated for a variety of financial losses associated with and resulting from your injury.
Examples of financial losses:
- Medical expenses – you may claim for the cost of seeking medical treatment, the cost of prescriptions or of other medication.
- Travel costs – this could include the cost of traveling to attend medical treatment.
- Lost income – this could include any lost earnings, pension contributions or workplace benefits if you did take time off work.
If you did take some time off or anticipate taking time off in the future, you may be able to recover these losses.
When you successfully claim compensation, general damages are automatically taken into account. However, evidence of any financial losses must be submitted for them to be considered. Evidence could include bank statements, invoices & receipts or wageslips.
An advisor from our team could connect you to a solicitor from our panel. They can then assess your case and provide an assessment of what you may be entitled to claim.
How To Begin A Workplace Injury Claim
To begin any workplace injury claim you need to ensure that you are within the time limit to do so. There is a time limit within which any claim for an accident at work must be started. Under the Limitation Act 1980, adults claiming on their own behalf must start a claim within 3 years of being injured.
Circumstances in which a work accident claim could be made outside this time limit include where claimants:
- Are minors – those under 18 can not claim on their own behalf. Time limits do not start till they reach this age.
- Have reduced mental capacity – those with reduced mental capacity can also not claim on their own behalf. Time limits only apply if their capacity is regained.
In these cases a litigation friend could initiate a claim on behalf of the person harmed at any point whilst the time limit is not in effect. To become a litigation friend you must be a suitable adult and make an application to the courts.
To begin a workplace injury claim you will also need to collect evidence. We have already highlighted why medical evidence is important. Further forms of evidence may include:
- Copies of your medical records.
- Copies of your workplaces accident report book.
- CCTV footage.
- Photographs of the accident scene and any visible injury.
- Contact information for any witnesses.
If you were injured in an accident at work you may be asking “can I make a work injury claim if I didn’t take time off work?” Contact our team for help with your personal injury claim for an accident at work.
How Can Public Interest Lawyers Help Me?
At Public Interest Lawyers we could help by connecting you to one of our panel of personal injury solicitors. They are experts at handling claims involving employer negligence and could assist you in getting the compensation you deserve.
When you contact our advisors, they could review your case and connect you to an expert solicitor. Just some of the ways in which our panel of solicitors could help include:
- Organising independent medical assessments. These may be carried out by an appropriate medical expert who reviews any medical records and your injury. They then produce a report which can be used as evidence.
- Help collating evidence, such as financial records or witness statements.
- Explaining the claims process.
- Filing your case and negotiating your settlement with the other party.
In addition, the solicitors we work with offer a nationwide service and have taken on countless claims across the country. They could even take on claims using a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that you only have to pay for the solicitors fees if and when you are awarded compensation. The solicitors fee will be deducted from your compensation.
Contact Our Team
Our advisors are on hand to answer questions such as “can I make a work injury claim if I didn’t take time off” or any others you may have. You can get in touch with us now by:
- Talking to us online via our live chat.
- Sending us a message over our contact form.
- Call us now 0800 408 7825.
More Information
Below you can find other helpful personal injury claim guides and references.
- You can read about how to claim for an accident caused by poor lighting in the workplace in this resource.
- Find out how to claim for a fall at work in this compensation guide.
- Check what to expect at a personal injury medical appointment in this guide.
References.
- Learn more about entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in this government resource.
- Find out what to do if you have an accident in this first aid guide from the NHS.
- Read about workplace health and safety in this resource from the Health and Safety Executive.
We hope you now know more about your rights after an accident at work and when you could claim compensation. Get the answers to questions such as “can I make a work injury claim if I didn’t take time off?” by contacting an advisor today.