This guide is part of our series on accident at work claims and looks specifically at who could be eligible to claim following a pallet truck accident. You will see information on the duty of care employers owe to their workers.
To explain how this type of accident could occur, we have included some example scenarios of employers failing to meet their legal obligations and causing an accident. We also explain how personal injury compensation figures are reached, with reference to the two heads of loss this accident at work compensation can be awarded under.
The final section of our guide looks at the benefits of working with an expert personal injury solicitor from our panel under the type of No Win No Fee contract they can offer their services.
If you have questions, would like advice or are looking for a free assessment of your eligibility to claim, contact our advisory team today. You can get through to us at any time using the following:
- Call 0800 408 7825
- Fill in our contact us form and an advisor will call you.
- Alternatively, you can use the live chat button to get through to an advisor instantly
Browse This Guide
- Can You Claim Compensation For A Pallet Truck Accident?
- What Are Causes Of Pallet Truck Accidents?
- How Much Compensation For A Pallet Truck Accident?
- What Do You Need To Claim For Pallet Truck Accidents?
- Make A No Win No Fee Pallet Truck Accident Claim?
- Read More About How To Claim For An Accident At Work
Can You Claim Compensation For A Pallet Truck Accident?
A pallet truck, also referred to as a pallet jack, is a mechanical pump trolley used for lifting and moving pallets of goods. An accident involving a pallet truck could be very serious considering the heavy loads being moved. With this in mind, employers have a legal responsibility to ensure their workers are safe while carrying out their work activities.
The general duty of care owed by employers to their workforce is set out by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Per this legislation, employers must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their employees.
The specific legal requirements for ensuring work equipment is safe for use are contained within The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The regulations require that work equipment be suitable for intended use, adequately maintained, and only used by workers who have received adequate instruction and training in the safe use of that equipment
Therefore, if an employer fails to train their employees properly or doesn’t carry out proper maintenance, this could constitute a breach of their duty of care. We’ll examine specific examples in the next section, but the eligibility criteria to claim for a pallet truck accident are as follows.
- Your employer owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached when your employer failed to take reasonable steps to ensure your safety. For example, your employer never carried out a risk assessment.
- Their breach of duty caused an accident in which you suffered significant injuries.
For a free assessment of your eligibility to claim or to ask any questions that arise while reading this guide, contact our advisors using the contact details given in the introduction.
What Are Causes Of Pallet Truck Accidents?
A pallet truck accident can occur in several different ways. This section details a few examples of how an employer could fail to uphold their duty of care and cause an accident.
- Your employer failed to carry out the latest round of maintenance checks on the warehouse pallet trucks. Consequently, a faulty hinge on one of the trucks was not spotted and repaired. You went to use the faulty pallet truck to lift some goods when the hinge gave way, causing you to fall forwards and hit your head on the pallet, suffering a significant head injury.
- You and your coworkers received no training on how to use the pallet trucks at a garden centre. This resulted in you loading a pallet with too much weight. The truck arms snapped when you attempted to lift the pallet, causing the compost bags to fall and crush the left foot of your colleague, resulting in a severely broken foot and damage to multiple toes.
Pallet truck accidents can happen in various circumstances. If you don’t see your particular accident here, don’t worry, you could still be eligible to claim. You can get a free consultation regarding the validity of your potential claim by speaking to our advisors. Our team is available 24 hours a day via the contact information provided below.
How Much Compensation For A Pallet Truck Accident?
Compensation following a successful personal injury claim for a pallet truck accident can be awarded under up to two different heads of loss. These are:
- General Damages: compensating for the physical and psychological harm you have experienced.
- Special Damages: compensating for the financial losses that result from your injuries. We will cover Special Damages in more detail below
One of the tasks a solicitor can do for you is calculating a potential compensation figure. The legal team responsible for this can refer to the report from your independent medical assessment you’ll receive as part of the claims process, alongside the figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG publication contains guideline award brackets for a broad array of injuries. We have used a relevant selection of these brackets in our compensation table. We’d like to point out that the first table entry is not a JCG bracket.
Compensation Table
We’d like to emphasise that this table has been included to act as guidance only
| Injury Type | Severity | Guideline Compensation Value |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries With Special Damages Payments | Very Severe | Up to £500,000 and above |
| Injuries Resulting From Brain Damage | Moderate (c)(i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Epilepsy | Established Grand Mal (a) | £124,470 to £183,190 |
| Back Injuries | Severe (a)(ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 |
| Neck Injuries | Moderate (b)(i) | £30,500 to £46,970 |
| Hand Injuries | Severe Fractures to Fingers (f) | Up to £44,840 |
| Less Serious (g) | £17,640 to £35,390 | |
| Hernia | Continuing pain (a) | £18,180 to £29,490 |
| Toe Injuries | Serious Toe Injuries (d) | £11,720 to £16,770 |
| Moderate Toe Injuries (e) | Up to £11,720 |
Special Damages In A Pallet Truck Accident Claim
It is very often the case that the compensation you receive under Special Damages will be greater than what you receive for your injuries. Accidents at work, especially those involving work equipment and machinery, can result in life changing injuries. We have given some examples of monetary losses you could claim compensation for here:
- You may require a significant amount of time off work due to injuries sustained in an accident involving a pallet truck, resulting in a substantial loss of earnings. You could receive compensation for this lost pay.
- Once you return to work, you could claim for the cost of transport if you have been advised by doctors not to drive.
- If your mobility has been affected, you could require accessibility modifications to your home, such as ramps or a modified shower.
- You may also require in-home care for tasks such as preparing meals, cleaning and maintaining any outside space if you can no longer carry out these tasks on your own safely.
As with General Damages, claiming Special Damages will require you to submit some supporting evidence. So, be sure to retain copies of your payslips, invoices for care, travel tickets and other documentation that shows you incurred monetary losses.
As personal injury claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis, this section is intended to provide guidance only. You can get a more personalised estimate of the potential value of your claim by speaking to advisors. Contact the team today using the contact details given below.
What Do You Need To Claim For Pallet Truck Accidents?
Making a claim for a pallet truck accident will require supporting evidence to be submitted. The purpose of this evidence is twofold: first, you will highlight the extent of your injuries, and second, you will demonstrate that those injuries are the fault of your employer.
We have provided some possible evidence you could use here:
- It is always recommended after any accident, but especially when heavy machinery is involved, to get proper medical attention. While your health is absolutely the first priority, the medical records produced by your treatment can be very useful evidence for highlighting the injuries you sustained.
- If it is available, you can request CCTV of the accident.
- Employers with 10 or more employees are legally required to keep a workplace accident book. You can use a copy of your incident report as part of your evidence.
- Workplace documentation such as training or maintenance records can be used to show whether these tasks were carried out incorrectly or not at all.
- If any of your colleagues saw the accident occur, they could be called as a witness. Be sure to take their contact information so they can give their statement later in the claims process.
Working with an experienced personal injury solicitor from our panel to collect evidence could be of considerable benefit. A solicitor could not only help you to assemble a thorough body of supporting evidence but also ensure your claim is brought within the relevant time limit. To find out if you’re eligible to work with a personal injury expert from our panel, contact our advisors for your free assessment today.
Make A No Win No Fee Pallet Truck Accident Claim?
At Public Interest Lawyers, our panel of expert personal injury solicitors has years of experience handling claims. Get a free assessment from our advisors to find out today if your potential claim for a pallet truck accident is valid.
If it’s decided you have valid grounds to proceed, a solicitor from our panel could offer you their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement. This is a type of No Win No Fee agreement. Known as a CFA, this type of No Win No Fee contract offers potential claimants some very desirable benefits, including:
- No initial fees to pay for the solicitor to begin working on the claim.
- No fees during the actual claims process.
- No fee to pay should the claim fail.
You will receive personal injury compensation if you win your claim. A percentage of this compensation will deducted as the solicitor’s success fee. Because success fee percentages are capped by law, you will keep most of any compensation awarded.
We know this guide may contain a lot of new information and that starting a personal injury claim can seem daunting. That is why our advisory team are available 24 hours a day to answer your questions. The team can also offer a free assessment of your eligibility to claim. Get in touch today using the following:
- Call 0800 408 7825
- Fill in our contact us form and an advisor will call you.
- Alternatively, you can use the live chat button to get through to an advisor instantly
Read More About How To Claim For An Accident At Work
You can read some of our other accident at work claim guides here:
- Learn about your rights after an accident at work with this guide.
- Find out more about the manual handling claims process here.
- Read our guide on how compensation is calculated in a broken finger at work claim.
We have also provided these external resources for additional information
- The NHS has published this guidance on sprains and strains and the symptoms to look out for.
- You can read about the work of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) on their website.
- After an accident at work you could be entitled to receive Statutory Sick Pay. You can read more about claiming sick pay on the Government Website.
Thank you for reading this guide on claiming compensation for a pallet truck accident. You can get further advice, or find out if you are eligible to start a claim by speaking to our advisors. The team are available at any time via the contact details given above.