Workplace Accident Claim UK
Welcome to the website of Boris Kremer, a UK personal injury solicitor specialising in workplace accident claims.
If you would like an initial free assessment of your potential workplace accident 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.
Workplace Accident Claim FAQs
What are my rights if my job is terminated following my workplace accident?
If I make a personal injury claim, will I be victimised?
Is my employer always "in the firing line" if I suffer an workplace accident?
If another employee was the main cause of my injuries, is my employer still liable?
What essential steps should I take following an accident in the workplace?
What if my accident was partly my own fault?
What health and safety law is there to protect individuals in the workplace?
What is my legal standing if I get dismissed following my accident?
Sometimes an accident leaves the person unable to carry on at the workplace. The employer may then decide to end 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 terminated. It is advisable for the injured person to obtain legal advice from an employment solicitor 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. Workplace accident compensation claims involving more serious injuries will often contain a large loss of earnings element.
Do workplace injury claims sometimes lead to victimisation?
Injured people frequently 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.
Can my employer avoid blame for my workplace accident?
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 faulty machinery or equipment supplied by others, the responsibility is still with the direct employer.
In addition to the legal duty of care, the employer must also comply with wide statutory duties to prevent accidents in the workplace.
If another employee causes my accident, will the employer still be liable?
Under the principle of vicarious liability, if a fellow employee causes your accident at work, then your employer would still be liable to pay you damages for your resultant personal injuries.
The main exception is where your injury results from violent horseplay or an assault by another employee. If a compensation claim was made, then the employer would probably maintain that this was outside the employment and so deny liability.
What steps should I take following my accident at work?
Although not always possible, especially if the injuries are serious and require immediate attention, the first step should be to report the matter, and to make sure that an entry is logged in the accident book.
If a personal injury claim is made later on, then it will help later if a record was made at the time, stating the reasons for the accident. Details of any 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 preventative steps should have been taken.
What happens if my personal injuries were my own fault, at least in part?
Sometimes it happens that your accident at work was caused or contributed to by your own acts or omissions. One example of this would be where proper training had been given, but this was ignored.
If an accident takes place as a result, then the defendants will probably make an allegation of contributory negligence against you.
Sometimes the parties' representatives will agree a suitable reduction in the course of correspondence, but if this were not possible then ultimately a trial judge would decide the appropriate discount.
Expressed simply, if your injuries resulted one half from your own conduct, then your damages would be reduced by 50%.
What law is there to protect people in the workplace?
When a personal 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 procedures.
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.
Legally, the employer is required to consider whether protective equipment or clothing should be provided, and if so then to insist upon the correct use.
Workplace accident claims and workplace injury compensation