Following an accident at work with a forklift, you may be asking, “What are the maximum payouts for a forklift accident claim?” This guide examines this question and more.
We have provided information on the duty of care owed by employers, how to prove fault, and our main focus, how compensation is calculated. You will also see a compensation table with guideline figures to aid your understanding.
For answers to any questions that arise or for a free consultation regarding your eligibility to claim, talk to an advisor today via:
- Phone on 0800 408 7825 to find out how to claim for forklift truck accidents.
- Our contact us form for advice on forklift truck accident claims.
- Open the live chat window.
Browse Our Guide
- What Are The Maximum Payouts For A Forklift Accident Claim?
- Can You Make A Forklift Accident Claim?
- What Types Of Forklift Accidents Could Lead To A Claim?
- What Could Help You Claim For A Forklift Accident?
- Why Make A Forklift Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- More Resources About Making A Personal Injury Claim
What Are The Maximum Payouts For A Forklift Accident Claim?
In order to answer the question, “what are the maximum payouts for a forklift accident claim?” we first need to explain how accident at work compensation is calculated.
There are two relevant heads of loss: general damages (for physical and psychological harm) and special damages (for financial losses) that compensation can be awarded under.
If you instruct a solicitor to represent you, they will calculate a possible compensation figure. The legal team responsible for calculating general damages can refer to your medical evidence (more on this further down) and publications such as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG lists many injuries and illnesses that could be suffered as a personal injury, categorising them according to their severity and aligning them with compensation guideline brackets.
Compensation Table
The first entry in the table is not featured in the JCG. We emphasise that the values given here are for guidance purposes only.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries In Addition To Significant Special Damages | Very Serious | Up to £1,000,000 and above |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Moderate (c)(iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 | |
| Chest Injuries | Loss of One Lung and/or Serious Heart Damage (a) | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Damage to Chest and Lungs (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 | |
| Other Arm Injuries | Severe Injuries (a) | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Less Severe Injury (c) | £23,430 to £47,810 | |
| Hand Injuries | Severe Fractures to Fingers (f) | Up to £44,840 |
| Leg Injuries | Less Serious (c)(i) | £21,920 to £33,880 |
Special Damages
As we briefly mentioned above, special damages is the second head of loss. You could receive compensation for certain financial losses, including:
- Loss of earnings from time taken off work.
- If you can no longer safely carry out these tasks yourself, you may incur care expenses for cooking, maintenance work, and cleaning of your home.
- Travel costs if you have been medically advised to not drive.
- Home adaptations such as an access ramp or stairlift.
Claiming compensation for financial losses will require you to provide some supporting evidence. Be sure to retain copies of your payslips, care invoices and other documents that show you incurred these expenses.
This section is intended to explain how compensation may be calculated and offer guidance on what your claim could be worth. As every claim is valued individually, we cannot make guarantees. For a more specific idea of how to claim compensation in your particular situation, contact our team today.
Can You Make A Forklift Accident Claim?
Employers have a duty of care to all their workers to take reasonable steps to ensure their safety while at work. This is a legally binding obligation under the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974.
There are also more specific regulations relating to the safe use of work equipment under The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The improper use of heavy machinery can result in a serious accident at work.
While the ways in which this duty can be upheld vary between workplaces, Britain’s national regulator for health and safety, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), provides detailed guidance on a range of topics to help employers maintain high standards of safety and risk management.
To be eligible to make an accident at work claim, the following will need to be shown:
- That you were owed a duty of care by your employer at the time of the accident.
- That this duty was breached by your employer.
- And finally, that this breach caused an accident in which you were injured.
We’ll go into more detail in the next section, but as an example, if your employer failed to adequately maintain the forklifts and you were injured by the lifting arm failing, you could be eligible to claim compensation.
To learn about making a forklift accident compensation claim, or for a free assessment of your eligibility, talk to our advisors today.
What Types Of Forklift Accidents Could Lead To A Claim?
Forklift trucks are heavy machinery used to lift and move loads in a variety of different settings. These vehicles are used in warehouses, depot yards and in construction sites. We’ve already examined the regulations that employers need to obey if forklifts are used on their sites, now we’re going to look at how improper use of a forklift truck could lead to an accident
Examples could include:
- Workers at a rail freight depot were not given adequate training in proper forklift operations. This resulted in colleagues overloading the forklift. The truck fell onto you when a worker attempted to lift the pallet onto a freight car, causing a serious leg injury.
- Poor maintenance practices meant a fault on a warehouse forklift’s brakes was not spotted and repaired. Your colleague was driving the truck while you were checking off pallets from a clipboard. The faulty brakes failed to stop the truck, and you were hit, causing a severe chest injury.
- Maintenance personnel had not been provided with suitable protective shoes. As you were completing a repair of the lifting arm, the mechanism failed, and the lifting arm fell, resulting in a crushed foot that needed amputation.
There are, of course, many other scenarios where a forklift accident could take place. To query claiming forklift accident compensation in your circumstances further or to ask, “What are the maximum payouts for a forklift accident claim?” talk to our team today.
What Could Help You Claim For A Forklift Accident?
A strong body of supporting evidence will form the backbone of your claim. This evidence will demonstrate both the fault of your employer and the impacts of the accident on you. Potential evidence examples are:
- We always stress the importance of getting your injuries seen by a trained medical professional when advising potential claimants. Your health is the first priority, but any records from your treatment, such as copies of scans or test results, can be used as evidence in your claim.
- CCTV footage of the accident, if available.
- You can also take photographs of the accident scene, your injuries and what caused it.
- Your co-workers could provide witness statements, so take down their contact information.
- Employers with 10 or more staff are legally required to keep an accident book. You can request a copy of your incident report.
Gathering evidence is something a solicitor could support you with. Talk to our team to find out if you’re eligible to claim. If you are, a dedicated personal injury solicitor from our expert panel could assist you with collecting evidence.
Why Make A Forklift Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Having explored the question, “What are the maximum payouts for a forklift accident claim?”, this section looks at how our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors could support you during the forklift accident claims process.
Our panel can offer legal services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), a No Win No Fee contract that includes the following benefits:
- No fees payable to the solicitor to start working on the claim,
- There will also not be fees for that work as your claim progresses.
- And finally, should the claim fail, you will not be paying for the solicitor’s services.
You will receive a personal injury compensation payout should your claim succeed. The solicitor will deduct their success fee from this compensation. However, as The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 imposes a legally binding cap on success fees at 25%, you will keep most of any awarded compensation.
For answers to any questions or for a free consultation regarding your eligibility to claim, talk to an advisor today via:
- Phone on 0800 408 7825.
- Our contact us form.
- Opening the live chat window.
More Resources About Making A Personal Injury Claim
You can view some of our personal injury claims guides here:
- Learn if you could claim compensation after poor lighting in the workplace caused an accident.
- Read this guide to claiming compensation if obstructed walkways caused you to fall and injure yourself.
- Find out more about making a multiple injury claim following a serious accident.
We have also provided some external resources that you may find helpful:
- Following an accident that causes long-term disability, you may be eligible to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP), find out more on the Government website.
- You can read the NHS guidance on administering First Aid on their website.
- Read about the types of reportable incidents with this Health and Safety Executive (HSE) page.
Thank you for reading our guide on “What are the maximum payouts for a forklift accident claim?” To get your free eligibility assessment or to ask any questions, talk to our advisory team using the details given above.