How To Sue Your Employer After A Workplace Accident

If you’ve suffered a workplace accident because of negligence that resulted in you being injured, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Health and safety legislation is in place to prevent these accidents from happening.

In this guide, we will look at accidents in the workplace and what to do if you’ve suffered an injury due to your employer’s negligence. This guide will also look at how workers’ compensation is calculated.

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Choose A Section

Could I Claim Compensation For A Workplace Accident?
Examples Of Accidents In The Workplace
Steps To Take If An Employer Breaches Workplace Health And Safety Guidelines
How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Workplace Accident?
Connect With Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors
How Do I Learn More About Claiming Compensation For A Workplace Accident?

Could I Claim Compensation For a Workplace Accident?

You may be able to make a compensation claim if you have suffered an accident while at work that left you injured where your employer was at fault. Health and safety legislation is designed to keep you safe at work. Employers have a duty of care to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety of their employees.

You could claim with the help of a No Win No Fee solicitor if you have suffered an injury in a workplace accident as a result of your employer’s negligence.

In all accident claims, the following points will need to be proven:

You were owed a duty of care
This duty of care was breached
As a result of this breach, you were harmed

Follow the banner at the top of this page to speak to one of our advisors. They are available 24/7. They could connect you with our panel of personal injury solicitors. You are under no obligation to use our services after you have received legal advice, so there’s nothing to lose from getting in touch.

Examples Of Accidents In The Workplace

Your employer should take reasonable steps to prevent workplace accidents and identify hazards. If they fail to do this, and you’re injured as a result, you could be entitled to make a compensation claim.

Common accident types that could result in claims include:

Slips, trips and falls. For example, you might slip on a wet floor if this was not cleaned up or signposted within the appropriate timeframe. This could result in a leg injury.

Inadequate PPE. If you require personal protective equipment to carry out your employment duties safely it is up to your employer to provide you with it. If they fail to do this, or they provide you with PPE that is not suitable, and you’re injured as a result, you could claim.

Injuries related to poor training. You can’t be expected to know how to do something or how to use a particular piece of equipment without the proper training. If your employer fails to train you properly and you’re injured as a result, you could be entitled to claim.

For more information on claiming for harm caused in a workplace accident, speak with an advisor today.

Health and Safety in the Workplace Employer Responsibilities

According to the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974, employer responsibilities include:

Provide and maintain equipment vital to carrying out work.
Carry out risk assessments to identify and remove hazards to health. For example, waiting until cooking oil has cooled before cleaning deep fryers.
Provide health and safety training
Maintain good housekeeping (for example, ensuring that walkways etc. are free from obstruction)
Provide appropriate PPE that is required to do the role safely

If you’ve been involved in a workplace accident because your employer has breached the duty of care that they owe you, our advisors are available 24/7. If you have a valid claim they can connect you with our panel of personal injury solicitors.

Steps To Take If An Employer Breaches Workplace Health And Safety Guidelines

If you’ve suffered a workplace accident as a result of negligence, you should:

Seek medical attention. Some injuries require immediate medical assistance. To make a claim you will need medical evidence. Records from a visit to a doctor or hospital could support your claim.
Collect evidence of what happened. Ask your supervisor for any relevant CCTV footage. Additionally, you could take photographs or ask any witnesses for their contact details so that a statement can be taken later on.
Fill in the accident log book. Having an accident book on site is a legal requirement for employers with ten or more people. This should include your name and contact details, details of the accident, and the time and date that it occurred.
Seek legal advice from accident at work lawyers. This isn’t a requirement, but it could help the claims process run more smoothly.

Speak to our advisors now if you’ve suffered as a result of negligence on the part of your employer. They are available 24/7. Our advisors are waiting, click the banner below or give us a call to speak with one of them.

How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Workplace Accident?

If you’ve been injured in a workplace accident caused by negligence you may be entitled to claim compensation. There are two types of damages that can impact how much compensation you receive: general damages and special damages.

General Damages

General damages cover compensation for the physical and mental pain associated with your injury. In order to value this head of your claim, you may be invited to a medical assessment with an independent expert.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a publication solicitors use to help value general damages. In the table below we’ve included some example figures for potential compensation. These are for illustrative purposes only. For a more accurate assessment of the value of your claim, speak with an advisor today.

Injury	Compensation	Notes
Moderate brain damage (ii)	£85,150 to £140,870	Moderate to modest intellectual deficit. The ability to work is greatly removed or non-existent. Some risk of epilepsy.
Total loss of one eye	£51,460 to £61,690	Age, mental health impact and cosmetic impact will be considered when valuing the claim.
Partial Hearing Loss or/and Tinnitus (i)	£27,890 to £42,730	Severe tinnitus and Noise Induced Hearing Loss
Lung disease	£94,470 to £127,530	In a young person where the disease will probably get worse and result in a premature death.
Bowels	Up to £172,860	Loss of natural functioning in the bowels and inability to control the bladder with other medical complications.
Hernia	£13,970 to £22,680	Continued pain and limitation on physical activities and employment after repair.
Moderate neck injuries (i)	£23,460 to £36,120	Fractures and dislocations resulting in severe immediate symptoms and chronic conditions, resulting in impaired function and vulnerable to further trauma.
Severe back injuries (i)	£85,470 to £151,070	Damage to the spinal cord and nerves resulting in partial paralysis with impaired bladder, bowel and sexual function.
Severe hip injury (i)	£73,580 to £122,860	Extensive pelvic fractures or hip injury with other medical complications such as loss of control of bladder and includes intolerable pain.
Below knee amputation of both legs (ii)	£189,110 to £253,480	The higher on the legs the amputation, the higher the award. Awards will consider phantom pains, psychological symptoms, success of prosthetics, and degenerative risks to other limbs.

Special Damages

Costs associated with your injury can be expensive. You can claim back special damages; this is the part of your claim that covers these costs. However, you must keep the evidence. For example, if you keep the receipts for taxi fares associated with attending medical appointments related to your injury, then they could be included in your claim.

Special damages can include compensation to cover:

Loss of income.
Potential loss of future earnings.
Transport costs, such as taxi fares to appointments.
Repairs or replacement of property damaged in your accident. For example, if you fell and shattered your phone screen, keep the receipt to have the phone screen repaired.

It may be tempting to accept the first compensation offer you receive. However, if you work with a solicitor, then they can advise you on when to accept an offer of compensation.

You can follow the banner at the top of the page to speak to one of our advisors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They’ll be happy to offer you free legal advice.

Connect With Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors

No Win No Fee accident at work claims are simple to understand. Traditionally, hiring a solicitor to work on a claim can be expensive.

However, you can avoid upfront or ongoing costs by working with a No Win No Fee solicitor. With No Win No Fee agreements, there is also nothing to pay in the event that your claim is unsuccessful. If you win your case a legally capped success fee will be deducted by your lawyer.

If you’ve been injured in a workplace accident as a result of negligence, then you could be entitled to compensation. Working with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis could benefit you; get in touch with one of our advisors today to find out more.

Call Our Team to Discuss a Workplace Accident Claim

We hope that this guide on workplace accident injuries has been helpful. If you’re ready to claim, or would like more information, you can:

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How Do I Learn More About Claiming Compensation For A Workplace Accident?

We’ve included some useful resources that you might find useful if you’re planning on making an injury at work claim:

Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). This piece of legislation outlines what incidents should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.

The Health and Safety Executive. You can contact this organisation if your employer isn’t taking your concerns about health and safety seriously.

When To Visit A&E. This page explains when you should visit an Accident and Emergency department if you’ve been injured.

You are also welcome to read other guides on our website, such as the following:

If you’ve suffered an injury in a workplace accident as the result of negligence, our advisors are standing by to offer you free legal advice.