Injury at Work Compensation UK
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If you would like an initial free assessment of your UK injury at work compensation claim, please either:- Click Free Assessment and complete the online questionnaire, or
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Injury at work compensation FAQs
What is my legal position if I get dismissed following my work accident?
If I make an injury claim, will I suffer victimisation?
Is my employer always responsible if an accident at work causes my injuries?
If another employee causes my injury, is my employer still liable?
What steps should I take following my accident at work?
What happens if my injuries were partly my own fault?
What law is there to protect people in the workplace?
What is my legal position if I get dismissed after my workplace accident?
Sometimes an accident leaves the 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.
If so then there is little that can be done to prevent the employment being ended. It is advisable in such cases for the injured person to seek advice from a specialist employment lawyer as quickly as possible.
If liability for the accident is strong, then a loss of earnings claim can be advanced in respect of the medically justifiable period of absence from work. Claims involving more serious injuries will often contain a sizeable loss of earnings claim.
If I make a claim, will I be likely to suffer victimisation?
People often worry whether they will suffer retribution from their manager or from other employees if they decide to seek injury compensation.
Occasionally this can happen. However in the majority of cases there is no difficulty and workplace victimisation as a result of the legal claim is rare.
Most employers will refer the matter on to their insurers upon receipt of a letter of claim. After that, all the correspondence 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". This means that the employer is ultimately responsible to make sure that the workplace is safe.
Even if the accident is caused by faulty machinery or equipment supplied by third parties, responsibility still remains with the employer.
In addition to the basic duty of care, the employer must also comply with extensive statutory duties to prevent injuries.
If another employee causes my accident at work, will be employer still be liable?
Under the doctrine of "vicarious liability", if a fellow employee has caused your accident at work, the employer would still be liable to pay you damages for your resultant personal injuries.
The main exception to this is where your injuries resulted from horseplay or an assault by a fellow employee. If a personal injury claim was made, then the employer would probably maintain that this was outside the scope of employment and so deny liability.
What steps should I take after my accident at work?
Although not always possible, especially if the injuries are serious and require immediate attention, the first step must be to report the matter officially, and to make sure that an entry is made in the accident book.
If an injury claim is later to be made, then it helps if a record was made at the time, stating the reasons for the accident. Details of witnesses should also be obtained.
One important line of investigation concerns previous similar accidents and/or complaints. If there are any, then the employer would be on notice that an 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 contributed to by your own negligence. One example of this would be where training had been provided, but this was ignored.
If an accident takes place as a result, then the defendants will legitimately be able to raise an allegation of contributory negligence.
Sometimes the parties will negotiate a suitable reduction in the course of correspondence, but if this were not possible then ultimately a judge would decide the appropriate deduction.
Expressed simply, it was held that your injuries resulted 50% from your own negligence, then your damages would be reduced by 50%.
What law is there to protect people in the workplace?
When a workplace injury claim is made, the injured person can make use of extensive EU legislation, which covers areas such as unguarded or dangerous machinery, personal protective equipment, and also back injuries caused by unsafe lifting.
We have handled a number of accident at work claims on behalf of individuals who have suffered lacerations and burns due to inadequate gloves, and also eye injuries, where goggles or visors were not provided.
Under the relevant regulations, the employer is required to consider whether protective equipment or clothing should be provided, and if so then to insist upon the correct use.
Injury at work compensation claim