By Marlon Marquardt. Last Updated 6th January 2023. If you have a work-related injury, who pays your compensation? Employers are responsible for ensuring their employees are safe when at work. At times, other parties may also owe workers a duty of care. But the defendant will normally be your employer in an accident at work claim. This guide will explain how to claim compensation for an accident at work. And we will look at who pays compensation in successful accident at work claims.
Work related injury
If you have been injured at work because of employer negligence, we can help. Public Interest Lawyers can assess your accident at work claim. If our advisors can see that you have legitimate grounds to pursue a personal injury claim we can provide you with free legal advice. We can also connect you with a specialist No Win No Fee accident at work claims solicitor.
Please call us on 0800 408 7825 or contact us via our website to begin your claim.
Select A Section
- After A Work-Related Injury, Who Pays Your Settlement?
- What Is Employers Liability Insurance?
- What If My Employer Does Not Have Insurance?
- How Many People Are Injured In The Workplace?
- Work Related Injury Claim – How Do I Prove Negligence?
- Work-Related Injury Compensation Calculator
- Start Your No Win No Win Work-Related Injury Claim
After A Work-Related Injury, Who Pays Your Settlement?
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, employers owe a duty of care to their workers to provide a safe working environment. Therefore, employers are responsible for their workers’ health, safety, and welfare while at work as far as can be reasonably expected.
Your employer can do the following to uphold this duty of care:
- Ensure that the work environment is as safe and hygienic as possible.
- Carry out regular risk assessments to identify potential health and safety hazards.
- Remove hazards or apply measures to reduce the risk these hazards pose.
- Provide employees with adequate training to carry out their tasks safely.
- What’s more, conduct regular checks on equipment and vehicles.
If a worker experiences a work-related injury, who pays their settlement? This is all dependent on whether the injury was caused by a breach of the duty of care owed to the employee. If the employee was completely at fault for their own injury then no compensation would be possible. Employees who are partially responsible for the accident are still able to claim but they would receive a reduced rate of compensation.
The worker could claim against the employer if liability can be proven. However, if another party caused the injuries, the worker may be able to claim compensation from them. For example, who would pay compensation if a postal worker trips on an uneven pavement? The worker could potentially pursue a claim against the local council or company that manages the outdoor space.
Workplace Negligence Examples
Your employer could be negligent in various ways. Some examples of workplace negligence could be:
- A failure to provide you with necessary or safe equipment
- A failure to provide you with necessary training.
- A lack of maintenance or safety checks
- A failure to provide you with a safe working environment
If you suffered a work related injury because of a breach of duty of care, then you could be able to claim compensation for your work injury.
If you would like to learn more about your eligibility to claim or how workplace negligence could be assessed, please reach out to one of our advisers.
How To Claim Work Related Injury Sick Pay In The UK
When claiming for an injury that is work related, it’s worth noting that you might not always be entitled to sick pay. You might have had jobs in the past where your employer provided full sick pay after you were injured at work and therefore may think that this is a requirement.
However, unless your contract specifically states that you are entitled to sick pay, you may not receive it. This is even the case for when your injury was work related and caused by the negligence of your employer. Therefore, it could be helpful to claim as the financial damage inflicted by time off work could have a detrimental impact on you.
Depending on the circumstances of your injury, you might be eligible to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Under SSP, you may receive £99.35 per week if you are too ill to work. It may be paid by your employer for as long as 28 weeks. Whether or not you are entitled to SSP, you could be still eligible to claim for loss of earnings under special damages in a personal injury claim.
Our advisors can offer free advice on seeking work related injury sick pay in the UK. Furthermore, if you have sustained a work related injury, the lawyers on our panel could help you make a claim.
What Is Employer’s Liability Insurance?
Under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance Act) 1969 generally employers are legally required to have employer’s liability insurance. The employer must be insured for £5 million or above. Furthermore, an employer can be fined if they do not have employer’s liability insurance.
Does Employer’s Liability Insurance Cover the Payout?
Many people worry that making a personal injury claim against their employer will damage their working relationship. Furthermore, if you work for a small business, you may worry that your employer may not be able to afford it. If you have a work-related injury, who pays for your compensation package? If your employer is found liable for your injury then their insurance provider will pay the compensation.
Your rights are protected if you have an accident at work. For example, it is illegal for you to be sacked for an accident at work that was not your fault even if you decide to pursue a claim. In fact, in the unlikely event that you are fired for claiming, you could take your employer to a workplace tribunal for unfair dismissal.
What If My Employer Does Not Have Insurance
Generally, in most cases, it is illegal for your employer not to have employer’s liability insurance. So it is highly unlikely that your employer will be uninsured. However, who pays your compensation if your employer is uninsured and you have a work-related injury? Your employer pays the compensation out of their pocket. What’s more, your employer could be fined £2,500 a day if they are uninsured.
Could My Employer Be Exempt From Having Insurance?
Under the Employer’s Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, some exceptions exist to having employer’s liability insurance. For example, a small family business that is not a limited company is exempt if all the employees are close relatives. Likewise, so are National Health Service trusts and other public bodies.
How Many People Are Injured In The Workplace?
In the UK, there is legislation to protect the health and safety of workers. Including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and industry-specific legislation. However, each year thousands of people are injured in accidents at work. Let’s look at some key statistics from the HSE about non-fatal work-related injuries in Great Britain for 2020/21.
- According to the Labour Force Survey, 441,000 people experienced a non-fatal injury at work.
- Moreover, 51,211 non-fatal workplace injuries were reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under RIDDOR.
- According to the Labour Force Survey estimates, 339,000 injuries caused up to 7 days of absence from work. And 102,000 injuries caused by more than seven days of absence from work.
These are the most common accidents at work in 2020/21:
- Slips, trips and falls at the same level – 33%
- Manual handling accidents – 18%
- Struck by a moving object – 10%
- Acts of violence, such as an assault – 8%
- And falls from a height – 8%
These statistics are based on injuries reported to the HSE under RIDDOR.
Work Related Injury Claim – How Do I Prove Negligence?
If you’ve suffered a work related injury, to successfully claim you would need to prove that your injury was caused by negligence. To do this, evidence is crucial. Potential evidence you could use includes:
- CCTV footage. This could help determine how the injury occurred.
- Photographs of your injury and the site of the accident. This can highlight the full extent of your injury and provide further insight into the cause.
- Contact details of any potential witnesses. They can be contacted to provide a statement as to what occurred.
- The record of the accident in the workplace accident book. All workplaces with ten or more employees are obligated to have a workplace accident log where incidents are recorded. This can prove useful in a claim.
As previously mentioned, claiming for an accident at work should not negatively impact your relationship with your employer as they legally need to have insurance for an injury at work – this is where your compensation comes from.
Please call us for free legal advice using the details provided to learn more about potential evidence you could use in a claim. Our advisors can inform you if you’re able to claim and give further insight into the claims process.
Work-Related Injury Compensation Calculator
If you have a work-related injury, who pays your medical expenses? If your personal injury compensation claim against your employer is successful, you can be awarded two types of damages.
General damages compensate claimants for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by their injuries. And in addition, special damages are sometimes paid out. Special damages compensation reimburses the claimant for any expenses related to their injuries.
Here are some examples of special damages:
- Medical expenses, including the cost of medication or surgery
- Travel expenses
- Loss of earnings
- Care expenses
- Home or car adaptation expenses
- Mobility equipment expenses
How Much Compensation Can You Get?
You can use the table below to estimate how much compensation you can receive in general damages. How did we get these compensation amounts? The compensation brackets included in this table are based on Judicial College guidelines. However, no two claims are the same. So please be aware that the amount of compensation you could receive may vary.
| Damaged Body Part | Category | Comments | Settlement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neck | Severe (i) | These injuries could result in spastic quadriparesis or be associated with partial forms of paraplegia. The claimant may need to wear a collar all day and night for several years and may still see little improvement in neck movement. | In the region of £148,330 |
| Neck | Moderate (i) | The injury could leave the person with impaired function in the neck and make them vulnerable to trauma in the future. Cases where existing injuries were made worse could be included here. | £24,990 to £38,490 |
| Back | Severe (ii) | Includes injuries such as damage to the nerve root. This could lead to reduced mobility, loss of sensation and could also impair sexual, bowel and bladder function. | £74,160 to £88,430 |
| Back | Moderate (i) | This category could include injuries such as prolapsed intervertebral discs which need surgical care. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Wrist | (a) | Injuries which have resulted in a complete loss of function in the wrist. | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| Wrist | (b) | A wrist injury which results in permanent or significant disability. Some useful movement does remain. | £24,500 to £39,170 |
| Arm | Less Severe | The person suffers significant disabilities but is expected to be make a substantial recovery. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Arm | Fracture | Simple Forearm Fracture. | £6,610 to £19,200 |
| Shoulder | Serious (b) | May include brachial plexus injuries which cause pain in the neck, shoulder and elbow. The person may also have sensory symptoms in the hand or the forearm and experienced reduced movement as well as loss of grip strength. | £12,770 to £19,200 |
| Shoulder | Moderate (c) | This could include a frozen shoulder. The injury could cause limited movement and pain in the shoulder which persists for around 2 years. | £7,890 to £12,770 |
These figures should not be taken as fact. If you call our advisers any time of the day or night they can provide you with an estimate in a free no-obligation consultation.
Start Your No Win No Fee Work-Related Injury Claim
If you wish to claim compensation for a work-related injury, Public Interest Lawyers can help you. We can provide you with a No Win No fee solicitor to handle your compensation claim.
Many people prefer to use a No Win No Fee solicitor because they won’t have to pay a solicitors fee ahead of time. Instead, you pay a success fee if your solicitor wins your claim. Therefore the solicitor will deduct this from your compensation payout. What’s more, they will only charge you a success fee if you win.
You will sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) before work begins on your No Win No Fee claim. You can read our online guide to making a No Win No Fee claim to learn about what the process involves.
Begin Your Accident At Work Claim
To begin your claim for an injury at work, please contact Public Interest Lawyers using the details below. We can provide you with a No Win No Fee lawyer to handle your claim.
- Call our claims helpline on 0800 408 7825.
- Contact us online to begin your claim.
- Or, chat with an advisor using our Live Support widget.
Work-Related Claim Resources
Thank you for taking the time to read this guide to work-related injuries and who pays. So, to learn more about making an accident claim, please feel free to read these guides.
Why Is It Important To Report Accidents In The Workplace?
Accident At Work – Lost Wages Due To A Work Injury
£24,250 Compensation Payout For An Accident At Work Eye Injury
An HSE guide to first aid at work
An HSE guide to PPE
A guide to preventing falls from the NHS
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide. We hope it has answered the question, “after a work-related injury which pays?”.