Accident at Work Claim UK
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If you would like legal advice on your potential accident at work claim, please either:- Click Free Assessment and complete the online questionnaire, or
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Accident at work claim FAQs
What is my legal position if I get dismissed after my accident at work?
If I make a claim, will I suffer victimisation?
Is my employer always responsible if an accident at work has caused my injuries?
If a fellow employee causes my accident, will my employer still be liable?
What steps should I take if an accident at work has happened?
What happens if my injuries were partly my own fault?
What legislation is there to protect people in the workplace?
What is my legal position if I get dismissed after my accident at work?
According to statistics provided by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, over 29 million working days are lost each year as a result of accidents and ill health.
Not infrequently an accident at work leaves the injured person unable to continue in his or her job. The employer will then often decide to terminate that person's employment on the grounds of incapacity.
In such circumstances there is little that can be done to prevent the employment being terminated. It is however advisable in such cases for the injured person to seek advice from a specialist employment lawyer. For a preliminary overview of the legal position the Tiger (Tailored Interactive Guidance on Employment Rights) website provides much useful information.
If liability for the accident is good, then a loss of earnings claim can be advanced in respect of the medically supportable period of absence from work. Such claims involving more serious injuries will often contain a substantial loss of earnings claim.
If I make a claim, will I suffer victimisation?
People frequently worry whether they will suffer retribution from their line manager or from fellow employees if they decide to bring an accident at work claim for damages.
In the occasional case, sadly this does happen. However in the overwhelming majority of cases there is no difficulty and workplace victimisation as a result of the legal claim is rare.
Most employers are realistic enough to simply refer the matter on to their insurers when a letter of claim is received. After that, all the contact is with the insurers and not the injured person's employers.
Is my employer always responsible if an accident at work has caused my injuries?
A common law, the employer owes his employee a non-delegable duty of care. The legal meaning of this is that the responsibility to ensure that the workplace is safe is not something from which the employer can retreat.
Even if a UK accident at work is caused by faulty machinery or equipment supplied by third parties, responsibility will remain with the employer. If you are off work for over three days then the accident must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive, which may then undertake a full investigation.
In addition to the common law duty of care, the employer must also comply with extensive statutory duties to prevent injuries.
If a fellow employee causes my accident at work, will be employer still be liable?
Under the doctrine of "vicarious liability", if a fellow employee causes your accident at work, the employer would normally still be liable to pay you damages for your resultant personal injuries.
The main exception to this is where your injuries resulted from violent horseplay or an assault by a fellow employee. In those circumstances, the employer could argue that this was outside the scope of the employment and thereby deny liability.
What steps should I take if an accident at work has happened?
Although not always practicable, especially if the injuries are serious and require immediate attention, the first sensible step will be to report the matter, and to make sure that an entry is made in the accident report book.
If a legal claim is later to be made, then it helps if a contemporaneous record has been made of the reasons for the accident. Details of witnesses should also be obtained.
One important line of enquiry subsequently will concern previous similar accidents and/or complaints. The existence of these would normally be sufficient to put the employer on notice that accident at work was likely to happen and accordingly steps should have been taken to prevent this.
What happens if my injuries were partly my own fault?
Sometimes it is possible that your accident at work was caused partly by your own negligence. One example of this would be where training had previously been provided, but this was ignored.
If an accident takes place consequently, then the defendants will legitimately be able to raise an allegation of contributory negligence.
Sometimes the parties will negotiate a suitable reduction in correspondence, but if this were not possible then ultimately a judge would decide the appropriate deduction.
Expressed simply, it was established that your injuries resulted 50% from your own negligence, then your damages would be reduced by 50%.
What legislation is there to protect people in the workplace?
When an work accident claim is made, the injured person can make use of extensive European Union legislation, which covers areas as diverse as unguarded or dangerous machinery, personal protective equipment, and also back injuries caused by unsafe lifting.
We have handled a number of injury at work compensation claims on behalf of individuals who have suffered lacerations, scalds and burns due to inadequate gloves, and also eye injuries, where goggles or visors were inadequate or not provided.
Under the relevant regulations, the employer is required to assess whether protective equipment or clothing should be provided, and if so then to enforce the correct use.