Assaulted At Work Compensation Claims

By Mark Clause. Last Updated 4th August 2022. Workplace violence can be very traumatic and if you were assaulted at work, compensation could be something you are entitled to. Employers have a legal responsibility to protect your safety as much as is reasonably practicable in the workplace and if they fail in this duty, you could claim compensation.

Assaulted At Work Compensation Claims

Assaulted At Work Compensation Claims Guide

In this article, we answer some useful questions, such as ‘what happens when you are assaulted at work?’, ‘can I sue my employer for an assault whilst working?’ and ‘how much compensation will I get for an assault in the UK?’ Compensation amounts in cases such as these can vary dramatically depending on the evidence presented, so we explain what you need to put the best case forward.

With this in mind, you could start a personal injury claim today when you contact our advisors. When you’ve been assaulted at work because of employer negligence, compensation claims can offer a legitimate way to help you put your life and finances back together. 

Find out more by calling us on 0800 408 7825 or contact us via our website. You can also use the ‘live support’ option at the bottom right of this screen.

Select A Section

  1. Assaulted At Work Compensation Claims Explained
  2. What Evidence Do I Need To Claim For An Assault At Work?
  3. Can I Sue My Employer If I Was Assaulted At Work?
  4. Assaulted At Work, What Are My Rights?
  5. Compensation After Being Assaulted At Work
  6. Victim Of Crime Compensation – Assault Compensation Calculator
  7. Contact A No Win No Fee Accident At Work Solicitor
  8. Read More On Workplace Assault Claims

Assaulted At Work Compensation Claims Explained

Some workplace environments can be dangerous. Do you work in a bar, nightclub or betting shop and regularly confront aggressive behaviour? Or do you work in some aspect of social care where you might encounter violence from customers or users? Frontline workers, security staff and people in the service industry can all be at higher risk of assault at work.

In addition to this, you may also be at risk of an assault at work from your own colleagues. Whatever the scenario, your safety should be of paramount concern to your employers. Any form of physical, verbal or mental attack in the workplace can leave you traumatised. The implications of this event may mean you suffer financial harm as well by missing work.

Before you commence a workplace claim with a personal injury solicitor, it’s essential to clearly establish who is liable. Under a law called the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers are bound by specific expectations to provide as safe a workplace environment as reasonably possible. This could involve adequate staffing, training, personal protective equipment (PPE) where necessary and sensible, realistic provisions and procedures for performing the job.

In this guide, we explain how to claim compensation from your employer with the right evidence, including financial and medical. If you can prove that your employer failed in their duty of care to protect you and you suffered actual harm as a result, you could be owed compensation.

What Evidence Do I Need To Claim For An Assault At Work?

Two main pieces of evidence can support your claim for assault in the UK workplace. The first is a medical assessment carried out by an independent GP or specialist. Called a ‘medico-legal’ report, it can outline your exact injuries and include an opinion of whether they’re consistent with the potential consequences of the accident.

A solicitor may use the report to compare your injuries to those listed in the Judicial College Guidelines. This publication offers guidance on compensation amounts for varying degrees of injury severity. The report is shared with all those involved in the claim.

As a consequence of your assault injuries, you may need to pay for a whole array of unwanted and sudden costs such as:

  • A shortfall in income from being off work
  • Missed bonuses or pension contributions
  • Medical needs – physiotherapy that isn’t covered by the NHS
  • Travel costs to hospital or work
  • Child care costs
  • Domestic care needs

As long as you can demonstrate and prove these losses with the correct paperwork such as receipts, bills or invoices, you could have these amounts included in your ultimate request for damages under a head of claim called ‘special damages’. Speak with our advisors for more guidance.

Can I Sue My Employer If I Was Assaulted At Work?

Importantly, there are three questions to ask yourself before proceeding with a claim against your employer:

  • Did they have a legal duty of care for me at that precise moment?
  • Was that duty breached in some way?
  • Did it directly result in me suffering an injury?

Your employer has a duty to do all that can reasonably be expected to protect you from potential hazards. This includes customers or other employees potentially assaulting you.

Under the legislation mentioned earlier, there is a duty for employees to protect themselves as well.

But an incident of personal assault that was the result of understaffing, poor procedure or lack of training could be something your employer is directly responsible for. 

You may have warned your employer about the risk another staff member or customer posed to you, but they failed to take reasonable steps to ensure your safety. If this resulted in your injury, you could claim. Check with our advisors now.

Assaulted At Work, What Are My Rights?

Every employee, sub-contractor and visitor has the right to be reasonably safe when they access work premises or participate in the requirements of their job role. Health and Safety directives are very clear and can be easy for employers to implement. 

After being assaulted at work, you could:

Be entitled to pursue an honest claim for damages with no threat of being dismissed or suspended

  • Have the right to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you need to be off work as you recover
  • Report the incident to the police

Steps to take

After an injury at work, you could:

  • Properly attend to your injuries
  • Report your assault to your employer or the police
  • Ensure that the assault is logged in the workplace accident book and through the RIDDOR system of reporting accidents if applicable
  • Obtain CCTV to back up your claim if it’s available
  • Get witness contact details for statements at a later date if possible
  • Carefully retain the proof of all consequential out-goings caused by the assault
  • Reach out to a personal injury lawyer

Compensation After Being Assaulted At Work

Furthermore, you have other options for being compensated after an assault at work. It may be the case that your employer was doing everything in their power to ensure your safety but a customer or colleague still attacked and injured you. Unless this could be reasonably described as an expected hazard in your job role (such as police officer or security staff) and it was not created by employer neglect, you could sue the person who attacked you directly.

It may be the case that this individual lacks the sufficient means to make any meaningful compensation payment to you. In this case, it can be possible to seek damages from a governmental agency instead, called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). This authority exists to offer some kind of remuneration to victims of violent crime who may otherwise receive nothing.

Each case is decided individually by the CICA and compensation is evaluated using their own tariff ranging from £1,000 to a maximum of £44,000. However, it’s not guaranteed and there are certain criteria requirements. For example, you must have reported the crime to the police and actively assist with their efforts to apprehend the offender.

Victim Of Crime Compensation – Assault Compensation Calculator

Once you receive initial medical treatment, you may start to think about how you can get justice. A compensation claim cannot remove the memories of an assault at work, but it can provide some comfort nonetheless. This is especially true if you no longer feel safe in your job after the assault.

A personal injury solicitor could provide you with a calculation of how much assault compensation you may receive. Numerous factors could influence how much you could get, a key example being the type and severity of your injuries. The recovery time and the impact on your day-to-day life are other important elements.

Based on this information, we have the table below for you to consider. It lists several awards for numerous injuries based on previously successful compensation claims. These figures come straight from the 2022 edition of the Judicial College Guidelines. Note that these aren’t the same as compensation payouts for CICA criminal injury claims.

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Injury Severity JCG Award Bracket Notes
Head Injury (d) Less severe brain damage £15,320 to £43,060 Good recovery overall but some persistent issues with memory and concentration.
Wrist (c) Less severe injuries £12,590 to £24,500 Some permanent disability such as persistent pain and stiffness.
Ribs (g) Fractures of ribs or soft tissue injuries Up to £3,950 Causing pain but only for a limited period of weeks.
Back Moderate (ii) £13,740 to £24,990 Disturbance of ligaments and muscles causing soft tissue injuries
Knee Severe (iii) £26,190 to £43,460 Pain, discomfort, deformity, degenerative changes and the need for remedial surgery.
Psychiatric Damage (d) Less severe £1,540 to £5,860 How long the period of disability lasted and the extent to which everyday activities were impacted will be taken into account.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (a) Severe £59,860 to £100,670 Major impact on life, inability to function as before or return to work.

Also remember that settlements can be divided into two parts. General damages focus primarily on the physical and mental consequences of the accident. Meanwhile, special damages focus on lost income, medical bills, hospital travel costs and other related expenses. Contact us to discuss how much you could receive if your victim compensation claim is successful.

Contact A No Win No Fee Criminal Injury Solicitor

Once you have the evidence in place and are ready to proceed, a No Win No Fee agreement can help you start a case at no upfront cost. Importantly, having personal injury lawyers working under this arrangement means:

  • If your case fails, you have nothing to pay at all
  • Only a small, legally capped percentage will be taken as payment if the case wins

Also, No Win No Fee agreements mean you don’t have to pay any ongoing lawyer fees during the claim. This approach means that you can concentrate on getting well whilst a lawyer does the work to try and secure you the highest compensation award possible for your claim.

Contact Public Interest Lawyers today to see if you can construct an effective claim for workplace negligence that left you injured. We can offer the guidance and information to enable you to connect with our panel of No Win No Fee lawyers today. So, with this in mind, you can:

Our advisors give free legal advice. What’s more, you won’t be under any obligation to proceed with the services of our panel.

Read More On Workplace Assault Claims

Thank you for reading this guide. In conclusion, we can also offer other guides such as:

Additionally, external sources that could be of use include:

We also have some other guides you may find useful:

Thank you for reading our guide on assaulted at work compensation claims. 

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