Work Injury Claim UK
Welcome to the website of Boris Kremer, a personal injury lawyer dealing with UK work injury claims.
If you would like an initial free assessment of your potential UK work injury compensation claim, please either:- Click Free Assessment and complete the online questionnaire, or
- Telephone Boris to discuss your claim personally, on 0845 021 2222. Your call will be charged at the local rate. Our hours of business are 9am to 5pm.
Work injury claim FAQs
What are my legal rights if I get dismissed following my work accident?
If I make a compensation claim, will I suffer victimisation?
Is my employer always responsible if I suffer an accident at work?
If another employee was the cause of my injuries, is my employer still liable?
What practical steps should I take following an accident at work?
What happens if my injuries were partly my own fault?
What health and safety law is there to protect individuals in the workplace?
What is my legal status if I get dismissed after my accident?
Sometimes an accident leaves the person unable to continue at work. The employer may then decide to terminate that individual's job on the grounds of incapacity.
If so then there is not much that can be done to prevent the person's employment being ended. It is advisable for the injured person to seek legal advice from a specialist employment lawyer as quickly as possible.
If the case has reasonable prospects of success, then a loss of earnings claim can be advanced for the medically justifiable period of absence from work. Work injury compensation claims involving more serious injuries will often contain a sizeable loss of earnings element.
Do work injury compensation claims lead to victimisation?
Injured people often worry that they will suffer retribution from their manager or from other employees if they decide to seek 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 pass the matter on to their insurers upon receipt of the 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 my accident happens at work?
A common law, the employer owes his employee a "non-delegable duty of care", meaning that the employer is ultimately responsible to make sure that the workplace is safe.
Even if the accident is caused by defective machinery or equipment supplied by others, responsibility is still with the employer.
In addition to the legal duty of care, the employer must also comply with extensive statutory duties to prevent accidents.
If another employee causes my accident at work, will be employer still be liable?
Under the principle of "vicarious liability", if a fellow employee has caused your accident at work, your employer would still be liable to pay you damages for your resultant personal injuries.
The main exception is where your injury results from horseplay or an assault by a fellow employee. If a work 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 measure should be to report the matter, and to make sure that an entry is made in the accident book.
If a work injury claim will be made later on, then it will help later if a record was made at the time, stating the reasons for the accident. Details of possible witnesses should also be obtained.
One important line of investigation concerns previous similar accidents and/or complaints. If there have been, then the employer would be on notice that an accident was likely 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 or contributed to by your own acts. One example of this would be where training had been provided, but this was ignored.
If an accident takes place as a direct consequence, then the defendants will probably raise an allegation of contributory negligence.
Sometimes the parties' representatives will agree a suitable reduction in the course of correspondence, but if this were not possible then in the last resort a judge would decide the appropriate discount.
Expressed simply, if your injuries resulted 50% from your own negligence, then your compensation would be reduced by 50%.
What law is there to protect people in the workplace?
When a work 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 law, the employer is required to consider whether protective equipment or clothing should be provided, and if so then to insist upon the correct use.