How Does An Accident At Work Claim Work?

Accident at work

How Does An Accident At Work Claim Work?

By Jo McKenzie. Last Updated 16th June 2023. You may be wondering, how does an accident at work claim work? If an accident at work has injured you, and this resulted from negligence you may be eligible to claim compensation. You will normally claim against your employer if they neglected their duty of care towards you, causing a workplace accident. This guide will explain how to claim accident compensation from your employer. We will also answer any questions about how long an accident at work claim can take.

To begin your claim, please call our helpline today. An advisor can explain how to claim for a work accident. Moreover, we can appoint a skilled accident at work solicitor from our panel to handle your claim. You will have the option to fund the services of the solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, so there is no solicitors fee to pay ahead of time. Call us on 0800 408 7825, or contact us via our website today to claim.

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How Does An Accident At Work Claim Work?

First of all, let’s establish what an accident at work claim is. An accident at work claim is a compensation claim for a workplace injury. When we are at work, your employer owes you a duty of care, which means that they are responsible for your welfare as much as can be reasonably expected.

This duty is applied through law and comes from the Health And Safety At Work etc Act 1974. If your employer neglects their duty of care, this can cause an accident at work. Therefore if you are harmed because your employer is negligent you could be eligible to pursue an accident at work claim.

What Are The Stages Of An Accident At Work Claim?

How does an accident at work claim work? Here are the stages of making an accident claim for a workplace injury:

Firstly, the employee must establish whether the accident they suffered could have been avoided had better practices been applied in the workplace.

Once it has been determined that the employer is liable for the employee’s injuries. Then the employee can look to begin a claim. This will usually involve gathering evidence. Gather evidence to support your claim. For example, witness details, images of the accident scene and the accident report in your company’s logbook.

Please be aware that if you are injured in an accident at work it is important that you seek medical advice. This will not only ensure that you recover as well as you can and receive any treatment you need but this will also ensure that your injuries are recorded. This can be used as evidence as part of your personal injury claim.

Although it is not a legal requirement to have a solicitor represent you they will have the capabilities and experience to ensure the claim is filed correctly and within the relevant time limits. They can also help to arrange the independent medical examination you will need as part of your personal injury claim.

Both parties will then negotiate. If the employer admits liability a compensation settlement will be agreed upon. If the claimant’s lawyer feels the settlement is too low, they may reject the defendant’s initial offer. Therefore negotiations will continue until both parties agree on a compensation payment amount.

If liability is denied or a settlement cannot be agreed upon then the case will go to court.

How Often Are People Injured In Workplace Accidents?

The Health and Safety Executive, produce statistics for accidents at work. According to the Labour Force Survey, LFS 441,000 injuries to workers happened in 2020/21. And sadly, 142 fatal accidents happened during the same period.

Accident At Work Claim – What Evidence Do I Need?

As we have previously stated, when making an accident at work claim, you need to prove that you were injured due to your employer breaching their duty of care. Evidence is crucial for proving that you were injured due to negligence. Some of the potential evidence you could gather to help prove negligence occurred for an accident at work claim in the UK could include:

  • Any CCTV footage or photographs of the incident.
  • A completed accident report book (if your workplace has one on site). This could provide crucial details for your work accident compensation claim, such as the nature of the accident and the date it occurred.
  • Eyewitness’s contact details (for a solicitor to collect a statement from them at a later date).
  • A copy of your medical records stating your injury and any treatments you may have received for it.

Contact our advisors today if you are still wondering how to claim for an accident at work.

How Do Both Parties Agree On A Settlement?

An important part of how accident at work claims work is ensuring that the claim is filed correctly. As you cannot go back and ask for more compensation later down the line if you forgot to include something. So getting the settlement correct the first time around is vital.

A settlement is the claimant’s compensation payout. To get the settlement right it is important to have all the evidence collated together so that nothing can be left out. This includes medical evidence and evidence of any losses.

Your medical records along with your independent medical assessment findings will be used alongside guidelines by the Judicial College to work out what you could be awarded for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. This is known as general damages.

Next, all losses and expenses including past and predicted future losses will be calculated to come to a value under special damages.

The claimant and the defendant’s solicitors may enter into a process known as the pre-action protocols. The pre-action protocols reacquire both parties to discuss the accident claim and try to settle the accident claim without going to court.

How Long Does An Accident At Work Claim Take?

Every claim is different, so we cannot give you an estimate for how long your claim could take. That will depend entirely on the individual circumstances of your claim. There is no time limit in which claims must be completed.

However, an accident at work claim has a time limit in which it must be started. According to the Limitation Act 1980, you must either start your claim within:

  • Three years of the date of your accident
  • Three years of the date you were made aware of your injury

This time limit does not apply to people injured under the age of 18 or people lacking the mental capacity to start a claim. In either situation, their time limit is suspended:

  • Until they turn 18 – at which point they have three years to claim
  • Until they gain the capacity to start a claim – or indefinitely if they never do

A litigation friend can be appointed to act on either group’s behalf while they are unable to represent themselves.

Please reach out to one of our advisers if you would like to learn more about accident at work claims and the time limits that may apply to your claim.

Check What You Could Claim For An Accident At Work

Your compensation payout will include up to two heads of claim. These are general damages, which will pay you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that your injuries caused. In addition, you may receive special damages.

An important part of how an accident at work claim works is valuing the claim. Solicitors will use guidelines from the Judicial College and your medical report to help them value your claim. However, you can review our compensation table that has figures taken from the Judicial College.

We used guidelines from the Judicial College to create the table. But your final payment may vary. Please call our claims helpline to discuss how much you could claim.

Injury Severity Comments Amount
Brain Damage Moderate (i) There are personality changes, effects on vision and speech as well as other senses. There is the risk of developing epilepsy in the future and there is moderate to severe intellectual deficit. £150,110 to £219,070
Brain Damage Moderate brain damage (C) (iii) The injury has reduced both memory capacity and the ability to concentrate. There is also a small risk of epilepsy. £43,060 to £90,720
Leg Injury Amputation (iii) One leg is amputated above the knee. Various factors will affect how much is awarded, such as presence of phantom pains. £104,830 to £137,470
Amputation of Arms Loss of one arm (ii) One arm is amputated above the elbow. A shorter stump may create difficulties for the person to wear a prosthesis. £109,650 to £130,930
Back Injury Moderate (i) A wide range of injuries fall into this bracket. These may include a prolapsed intervertebral disc or nerve root irritation. Surgery may be necessary. £27,760 to £38,780
Back Injury Moderate (ii) Injuries could include disturbed ligaments and muscles that cause backache. £12,510 to £27,760
Knee Injury Moderate (i) The knee has been dislocated or the cartilage has been torn. This could cause minor instability or weakness in the knee. £14,840 to £26,190
Shoulder Injury Serious A dislocated shoulder with damage to the brachial plexus that causes neck and shoulder pain. £12,770 to £19,200
Neck Injury Moderate (iii) A neck injury which could have made a pre-existing injury worse over a shorter time frame. Typically this may be five years or less. £7,890 to £13,740
Chest Injury (f) Chest injuries which lead to a collapsed lung or lungs. The injury is uncomplicated and a full recovery takes place. £2,190 to £5,320

Accident At Work Claim – Special Damages

If you have suffered financially due to your work accident and injuries, your accident at work claim could include special damages. For example, you could claim for:

  • Lost earnings
  • Care costs
  • Repair or replacement expenses
  • Travel costs

If you would to learn more about work accident claims or what you could claim in compensation, please reach out to an adviser.

Claiming For An Accident At Work With A No Win No Fee Lawyer

If you are considering claiming for an accident at work, you might wish to use the services of an experienced personal injury lawyer. One of the lawyers on our panel may be able to help you with your accident at work claim. They may also offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.

When making a claim with a lawyer under a CFA, you will not have to pay anything upfront to your lawyer for them to begin working on your claim. Furthermore, you will not be obligated to pay for their services if the claim were to fail.

In the event that your claim is successful, your lawyer will deduct a success fee from your compensation. This fee is subjected to a legal cap, and under a CFA this cap is 25%

To discuss your claim and see if you could be eligible to work with a lawyer on our panel, you can contact our advisors. You can contact them by:

Find Out More

Please read our online guides to learn more about making an accident claim.

£24,250 Compensation Payout For An Accident At Work Eye Injury

£42,000 Compensation Payout For An Accident At Work Injury Claim

Back Injury At Work Compensation Examples in the UK

An HSE guide to risk management at work

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

An NHS guide to back pain

Thank you for reading our guide to how an accident at work claim works?