I Was Burned at Work Due to a Faulty Fire Alarm, Could I Claim Compensation?

A faulty fire alarm at work could lead to injuries. If the fire alarm malfunctioned as a result of negligence, you may be able to claim.

In this guide, we explore injuries that could occur as the result of fire alarm failures. We explain the duty of care employees are owed and what legislation governs this. This guide will also address some of the ways that malfunctioning fire alarms could result in accidents that lead to injuries.

You might decide you would like to claim workers’ compensation with the help of a lawyer. Because of this, we also look at No Win No Fee agreements and how using a solicitor could make the claims process seem less stressful.

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Choose A Section

What Could Happen If A Faulty Fire Alarm Isn’t Fixed?
Fire Accidents In The Workplace
What If I Get Hurt Because Of A Faulty Fire Alarm?
Using A Compensation Calculator For Burn Injury Settlements
What Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Do?
Guidance About Making An Accident Claim Due To A Faulty Fire Alarm

What Could Happen If A Faulty Fire Alarm Isn’t Fixed?

Workplaces must have working fire alarms installed. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA), all employers owe their employees a duty of care. The duty of care means that employers must take reasonable steps to ensure workers are safe in the workplace. This includes ensuring that all of the fire safety equipment in the workplace is in good working order.

If a fire alarm is faulty, and a fire occurs, this could cause employees to be injured. They might not be alerted to a fire quickly enough, leading to injuries such as:

Burns.
Smoke inhalation.
Scarring.

If a faulty fire alarm led to you being injured in a workplace accident, you may be entitled to compensation. Our advisors are standing by to talk about your potential claim. If it’s valid, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

Fire Accident At Work Statistics

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) collects statistics on workplace injuries. Certain types of injuries should be reported by your employer under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), including certain fire injuries.

51,211 total non-fatal injuries to employees were reported in 2020/21; of these:

110 were caused by exposure to fire
25 were caused by exposure to an explosion.

Fire Accidents In The Workplace

Your employer should carry out fire safety risk assessments and these should be kept up-to-date. This includes ensuring fire alarms are working and testing them regularly; doing so is part of their duty of care. A faulty fire alarm that is not discovered could lead to injuries if there is a fire that people aren’t alerted to.

Some other examples of how fires could occur as a result of negligence include:

Poor housekeeping. Clutter or debris could be a fire hazard, especially if there are stray sparks. For example, this could include wood shavings. They should be regularly cleared to prevent sparks from electric equipment, such as table saws, setting them on fire.
Faulty fire-fighting equipment. Fire-fighting equipment should undergo the required checks to ensure that it is in working order.
Lack of escape routes. Not only should escape routes be clearly marked and free of obstruction, but employees should be made aware of the emergency exits.
Faulty electrical equipment. Your employer should keep required safety checks and electrical safety checks up to date. For example, a spark from a frayed wire could result in a fire.

Our advisors are available to talk to you if you have experienced a workplace injury due to a faulty fire alarm. If you have a valid claim, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

What If I Get Hurt Because Of A Faulty Fire Alarm?

If you choose to make an accident at work compensation claim for your faulty fire alarm injuries, there are steps you can take to strengthen your claim. Employer negligence must be proven in order for you to receive compensation.

Steps you could take following an injury include:

Seek medical attention. Medical records from a doctor or the hospital could be submitted as evidence. You might be invited to an independent medical assessment if you decide to claim compensation.
Ask for CCTV. If there is any CCTV that shows the accident taking place, you could ask the relevant person for it.
Note witness details. If there were witnesses to the accident, you could note their details. Witness statements could be taken at a later date.
Request fire alarm testing records. These records should make a note of any faults discovered during routine fire alarm testing and how often the alarm system was tested.
Seek legal advice. Following your injury, you might like to find out about claiming compensation. This process could be less stressful with the help of a No Win No Fee lawyer.

Employer negligence resulting in a faulty fire alarm could cause an injury. Contact our advisors using the banner below to find out more about the evidence you could submit in support of a compensation claim.

Using A Compensation Calculator For Burn Injury Settlements

When you make a claim for compensation, your settlement could consist of two different heads of claim. These are general and special damages.

The pain and suffering caused by your injuries are compensated under the general damages head of your claim. In order to help calculate general damages, solicitors refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which is a document that lists guideline compensation brackets for injuries. We have included a table with a few examples from these guidelines below:

Injury	Potential Compensation	Notes
Burns covering 40% of body	Likely to exceed £98,380	Numerous factors affected the award, including; percentage of body covered by burns, burn thickness, cosmetic impact and subsequent reaction, need and extent of surgery, physical disability and the psychological impact.
Single disfiguring scar	£7,350 to £21,330	Single disfiguring scar of the legs, arms, hands, back or chest.
Single noticeable scar or several superficial scars	£2,220 to £7,350	Scars to the legs, arms, or hands with a minor cosmetic deficit.
Disfigurement of the face (a)	£27,940 to £91,350	Very severe scarring with a severe psychological reaction and very disfiguring cosmetic effect.
Disfigurement of the face (b)	£16,860 to £45,440	Less severe scarring with substantial disfigurement and psychological reaction.
Disfigurement of the face (c)	£8,550 to £28,240	Significant scarring with some cosmetic disability after plastic surgery and where there is not a great psychological reaction. If the psychological reaction was considerable but diminished.
Disfigurement of the face (d)	£3,710 to £12,900	One scar that can be camouflaged or a number of very small scars with marred but not markedly appearance and some psychological impact.
Disfigurement of the face (e)	£1,600 to £3,310	Minor impact only.
Fatal: Severe burns (a)	£11,770 to £22,350	Severe burns and lung damage with full awareness then fluctuating levels of consciousness between 4-5 weeks. and death within a few weeks up to three months.
Fatal; Severe burns (b)	£9,870 to £10,010	Severe burns and lung damage followed by unconsciousness three hours later. Excruciating pain. Death two weeks later.

Under the special damages head of your claim, you could claim for costs associated with your injuries. However, you must provide evidence of these costs.

You could claim special damages for:

Cosmetic procedures. For example, plastic surgery to reduce the appearance of the scars left by burn injuries.
Cosmetic devices. This could include specialist makeup and wigs to conceal scars left by burns.
Specialist oils/creams. Burn treatment creams and specialist oils and creams could reduce the appearance of scars, but you might not be able to get them on the NHS.
Therapy. Therapy costs related to your injury could be recovered.
Loss of earnings. You could claim for loss of earnings if your injuries have meant that you’ve had to take any time off work.

For an estimate of damages and advice on what you could claim special damages for, you can talk to our advisors.

What Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Do?

Claiming compensation could seem less daunting with the help of a solicitor. Your solicitor could help with supplying evidence to strengthen your claim. Furthermore, they can advise you on when to accept or reject an offer of compensation.

A No Win No Fee agreement offers a way to hire legal representation with minimised financial risk. With a No Win No Fee agreement, there are no solicitors fees to pay upfront or as the claim progresses.

A success fee, which is legally capped, only applies if your claim is successful. This will be taken from your award. The legal cap ensures that you always get the majority of the compensation you’re awarded.

For more information on how a lawyer could help you secure compensation, speak with an advisor today. If you have a valid claim, you could be connected with a lawyer from our panel.

Claim Compensation From A Faulty Fire Alarm Accident

Our advisors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with free legal advice if you have been injured at work due to a faulty fire alarm caused by negligence. They can advise on the evidence you will need to back up your claim.

Eligible claims could be passed on to our panel of personal injury solicitors. To speak to us today, you can:

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Guidance About Making An Accident Claim Due To A Faulty Fire Alarm

Here are some additional links you might find helpful:

We’ve also included some more of our guides:

If you have any more questions about claiming for harm caused by a negligent faulty fire alarm, speak with an advisor today.

Publisher Fern Stein

Writer Danielle Beasley

Faulty Fire Alarm Claim