Check If You Can Make A Workplace Injury Claim

By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 2nd May 2023. You might be eligible to make a workplace injury claim if an accident at work injured you. You could claim compensation if the workplace accident was not your fault. Your employer is responsible for implementing proper health and safety standards. So, you could claim compensation if your employer caused the accident by acting negligently.

You could potentially claim compensation for injuries caused by the following accidents:

  • Slips, trips and falls
  • Falls from a height
  • Industrial illnesses
  • Chemical burns
  • Manual handling injuries

To hold a valid claim though you must be able to show how your employer failed to take reasonable steps when protecting your safety at work.

Our panel of accident at work solicitors could offer to handle your compensation claim. If you call our advisors they will assess your case. There is no obligation to use our services by getting in touch. If they can see that your case has good grounds they could connect you with a personal injury solicitor.

What’s more, if they decide to work on your case they could provide a No Win No Fee service. Therefore you will only have to pay a success fee if they win your compensation claim against your employer.

Contact Public Interest Lawyers to begin your accident at work claim. Call us on 0800 408 7825 to speak to an advisor about your claim today.

Workplace injury claims guide

Workplace injury claims guide

Select A Section

Can I Make A Workplace Injury Claim

What is a workplace injury claim? It is a compensation claim for injuries that an accident at work caused. According to health and safety legislation in the UK, your employer owes you a duty of care when you are at work. Therefore your employer is responsible for ensuring that your working environment is hygienic and safe. No workplace is 100% safe but all reasonable steps must be taken to mitigate risks.

Your employer may be liable for your workplace injuries under the following circumstances:

  • Firstly, your employer owed you a duty of care (i.e. you were an employee, casual worker or contractor).
  • Secondly, your employer neglected their duty of care towards you. And the negligence caused an accident.
  • And the workplace accident injured you.

If your workplace injury compensation claim is successful, you will receive up to two heads of claim. These include general damages, which compensates you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity your injuries caused. And your payout can also include special damages. Special damages compensate you for the financial losses that your injuries have caused. For example, you could claim back medical costs and any loss of earnings.

How Long Do I Have To Start A Workplace Injury Claim?

You may be wondering how long you have to claim for an accident at work.

The time limit for making a workplace injury claim is three years. Therefore, you must begin your claim within three years of the injury.

These principles are set out in the Limitation Act 1980.

What Workplace Injuries Could You Claim For?

If an employer neglects their duty of care, their negligence can lead to accidents in the workplace. Here are some examples of accidents at work:

  • Spillages on the floor can cause slip and fall injuries. Likewise, hazards on the floor or broken flooring can cause trip or fall accidents. The worker could suffer a soft tissue injury or a fracture.
  • A broken railing can cause a fall from a height. The worker could suffer a traumatic head injury, or a back injury at work, as a result.
  • If an employer does not give a worker the correct personal protective equipment (PPE), this negligence can cause chemical burns in at work. The chemical burns can leave permanent scars, which can be psychologically distressing.
  • If employers do not train workers to safely carry out manual handling tasks, they could experience a musculoskeletal injury.

Whether you experienced a minor accident at work or a severe injury, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Please call our claims helpline to find out more.

What Duty Of Care Does Your Employer Have?

You could potentially make a workplace injury claim if your employer breached their duty of care. And you were injured as a result.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer owes you a duty of care. This is to take reasonable steps to ensure your safety while at work.

How should your employer implement their duty of care? Your employer should have a health and safety policy and follow relevant health and safety regulations. Moreover, employers are responsible for regular risk assessments and removing or controlling potential hazards. What’s more, your employer should train workers to carry out relevant tasks safely.

How Do I Prove My Injury At Work Claim?

To be able to make a personal injury claim following a workplace accident, you will need to prove that negligence occurred. Collecting sufficient evidence can help prove your injuries as well as employer liability.

Some examples of the evidence that could be useful in an injury at work claim include:

  • A report in the accident book (which we will look at in more detail in the next section).
  • A copy of your medical records, which will include details on the nature of the injuries you suffered and the treatment that you required.
  • Photographs from the accident scene.
  • Video footage of the accident, such as from CCTV.
  • Contact details from anyone who saw the accident so they can give a statement later in the claiming process.

Call our advisors to learn more about making a personal injury claim following an accident in work.

Advice On Reporting An Accident At Work

If you have suffered an injury at work, you should log the accident in the work accident book. Any workplace that has more than ten employees should have one of these onsite. The report should include information about the type of accident you were involved in, when it happened and the injury you suffered. This report could be used as evidence to support your personal injury claim.

However, you will only be able to request a copy of the report regarding your workplace accident. This is because the book needs to stay on-site to be able to record any other incidents that may occur.

In addition to the accident book, your employer must report certain incidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). The HSE is a government agency that enforces health and safety regulations.

Get in touch with our advisors for free advice about reporting an accident at work. Additionally, they can assess your claim, and if it seems valid, you could be put in touch with one of the lawyers from our panel.

Workplace Injury Claims Calculator

Clients often ask us how much a workplace injury claim is worth. As each and every claim is unique to the claimant it is impossible to give an average amount for how much a workplace injury claim could be settled for. As we stated above a successful claim will include general and special damages. General damages will compensate for the injury and specials damages looks at financial loss. Below is a table with compensation brackets in.

Injury Severity Possible Settlement Notes
Brain Injury Moderate – C – i £150,110 to £219,070

 

Moderate to severe intellectual deficit, changes in personality, there may also be effects on this person’s speech, sight or senses.
Brain Injury Moderate – C – II £90,720 to £150,110

 

This person may have between a moderate and modest intellectual deficit. This person’s ability to work has been reduced greatly and may have been removed. This person also has some risk of epilepsy.
Back Injury Severe – A – i £91,090 to £160,980 The most severe injuries to the back such as those affecting the nerve roots and spinal cord. This person could have severe pain, be disabled suffer incomplete paralysis and their sexual, bowel and bladder function may be impaired.
Back Injury Severe – A – ii £74,160 to £88,430 This injury has a special feature which takes it out of/ above the lower brackets in which it is an orthopaedic injury.
Facial Injury Less Severe Scarring £17,960 to £48,420 There is substantial disfigurement and the person has also had a significant psychological reaction.
Facial Injury Significant Scarring £9,110 to £30,090

 

The worst effects of the scarring or facial injury will have been reduced through plastic surgery. There will still be some cosmetic disabilities. There is not a great psychological reaction or the reaction has reduced.
Shoulder Injury Moderate – C £7,890 to £12,770

 

Frozen shoulder injuries which limits movement in the shoulder. There is discomfort and symptoms of the injury that lasts for about 2 years.
Shoulder Injury Clavicle Fracture – E £5,150 to £12,240 Damages awarded depend on the severity of the fracture, how serious any disability is and what residual symptoms there are.
Scar Injury £2,370 to £7,830

 

Several superficial scars or a single scar which is noticeable. It may be on the arms, legs or hands.
Colles Fracture Single Level In the region of £7,430

 

There only includes uncomplicated Colles’ fractures.

We used Judicial College guidelines to create the compensation amounts in this table. However, your compensation payout may be lower or higher, depending on your circumstances. An advisor can accurately estimate how much compensation you can claim for your injuries. Please note we have not included special damages you could claim in this table.

Make A No Win No Fee Workplace Injury Claim

If you would like to work with a solicitor for  your work-related injury claim, you might be interested in a No Win No Fee agreement, such as a Conditional Fee Agreement. This type of arrangement can be offered by the solicitors on our panel and typically offers the following benefits:

  • You won’t have to pay an upfront fee to your solicitor
  • Ongoing fees accrued during the claim are covered
  • Should the claim succeed, a success fee is payable to your solicitor and is deducted from your compensation
  • The percentage solicitors take is capped under the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, so you won’t be overcharged
  • If your claim is not successful, you aren’t required to pay your solicitor for their work

If you have suffered a work place injury and would like to know more about the workplace injury claims process. You could enlist a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel to help you put together a claim. Furthermore, they’ll gather evidence of your office injury and can assist with proving your employer’s negligence.

All you need to do to get in touch is the following:

  • Pop up to an advisor using our chat with us widget
  • Ring at any time on 0800 408 7825
  • Use our contact us page and we’ll get back to you

Related Information

You may find these accident claims guides helpful:

If you need more advice on how to claim compensation for a workplace injury, head here. You can learn all about the eligibility criteria, No Win No Fee agreements, and how we can help you

Getting Signed Off Work For A Workplace Injury

Accident At Work – Do I Get Paid If I Get Injured At Work?

£14,750 Compensation Payout For An Accident At Work Hand Injury

A guide to occupational diseases from the Health and Safety Executive

An HSE guide to work-related stress and how to avoid it

If you’ve tripped and fallen at work due to the likes of an obstructed walkway or a spillage that hasn’t been cleaned up, you could claim compensation for the injuries suffered. You can learn all about your legal rights in our guide.

An NHS guide to treating back pain

We appreciate you reading our guide to making a workplace injury claim.