Workplace Injury Claim UK
Welcome to the website of Boris Kremer, a UK personal injury solicitor dealing with workplace injury claims.
If you would like an initial free assessment of your potential workplace injury 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 Injury Claim FAQs
What are my legal rights if my job is ended following my workplace accident?
If I make a compensation claim, will I risk being victimised?
Is my employer always at risk of fault if I suffer an workplace injury?
If another employee was at fault in causing my injuries, is my employer still liable?
What essential steps should I take after suffering a workplace injury?
What happens if my accident was partly my fault?
What health and safety law is there to protect individuals in the workplace?
What is my legal standing if I get dismissed as a result of my workplace accident?
Sometimes an accident leaves the person too unwell to continue working. The employer may then decide to end that person's job on the basis of incapacity.
If so then not much can be done to prevent the employment being terminated. It is advisable for the accident victim 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 made for the medically justifiable period of absence from work. Workplace accident claims involving more serious injuries will often contain a sizeable loss of earnings element.
Do workplace accident claims ever lead to victimisation?
Injured people frequently worry that they will suffer retribution from management if they decide to seek compensation.
Sadly, this does happen occasionally. However in the great majority of cases there is no difficulty and workplace victimisation as a result of a legal claim is rare.
Most employers will pass the matter over to their insurers upon receipt of the letter of claim. After that, all the correspondence is with the insurers of the employers, rather than the employers direct.
Can my employers avoid all blame for my workplace accident?
A common law, the employer owes his employee a non-delegable duty of care. Basically this means that the employer is ultimately responsible for the workplace being safe.
Even if your accident was caused by faulty machinery or equipment supplied by other parties, the responsibility is still with your employers.
In addition to the basic legal duty of care, the employers must also observe the extensive statutory duties to prevent workplace accidents .
If another employee causes my accident, will the employer still be liable?
Under the principle of vicarious liability, if a fellow employee causes your workplace accident, then your employer may still have to pay you compensation for your resultant injuries.
The main exception is where your injuries stem from horseplay or a physical assault by another employee. If a compensation claim was made, then the employer would probably try to argue that the conduct complained of 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 hospitalisation, 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 if an accurate record was taken at the time, stating the causes of the accident. Details of any witnesses should also be obtained.
One important line of investigation concerns previous similar accidents and/or complaints. If these have previously occurred, then the employer would struggle to maintain the at the accident was not foreseeable.
What happens if my injuries were my own fault, at least in part?
Sometimes it happens that your workplace accident was contributed to by someting you did or did not do. One example of this would be where proper training had been given, but this was not followed.
If an accident takes place as a result, then the defendants' insurers will most likely make an allegation of contributory negligence against you.
Sometimes the parties' representatives will be able to agree a suitable reduction out of court. However if not 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 one half.
What law is there to protect employees in the workplace?
When a personal injury claim is made, the accident victim can make use of extensive European Union legislation, covering areas as diverse as unguarded or dangerous machinery, personal protective equipment, and 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, eye injuries, where goggles or visors were not provided, and also back injury compensation claims.
Legally, the employer must consider whether suitable protective equipment or clothing should be provided, and if so then to insist upon their use.