Should I Make An Eye Injury At Work Claim?

If you have injured your eye at work due to an accident because of employer negligence, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim.

To make a personal injury claim, you must be able to provide evidence that your employer breached their duty of care resulting in your injury.

This following in-depth article will explain whether you could have a valid claim, how to build a strong case and how much compensation you could receive for an eye injury caused by employer negligence.

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How Could I Make An Eye Injury At Work Claim?
What Are Examples Of Accident Scenarios Causing Eye Injuries?
How Should I React If I Injure My Eye?
Calculating Compensation For An Eye Injury At Work Claim
Learn About The Benefits Of A No Win No Fee Agreement
More Resources About Eye Injury At Work Claims

How Could I Make An Eye Injury At Work Claim?

Workplace health and safety is paramount for all employers to consider. Accidents can happen; however, you may be eligible to make a claim for an eye injury if you provide sufficient evidence that your employer breached their duty of care that caused you an injury.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is an important piece of health and safety legislation that outlines the steps that should be taken under an employer’s duty of care. The duty of care dictates that employers must take all reasonable and practicable steps to ensure a safe working environment for their employees.

In the case your employer breaches their duty of care leading to your injury, you may be eligible to make a claim. Contact our advisors today to find out more.

Statistics For Eye Injuries

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) is a piece of legislation that documents the reporting of workplace injuries to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). According to RIDDOR, 51,211 non-fatal employee injuries were reported by employers between 2020/2021.

In particular, RIDDOR statistics showed 802 non-fatal eye injuries of which 720 employees were off work for more than a 7-day period.

What Are Examples Of Accident Scenarios Causing Eye Injuries?

Employers must follow the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HAWASA), which establishes the regulations an employer should follow to ensure that their employees remain safe and secure in their work environment.

The legislation outlines duties for employers relating to:

Providing and maintaining work systems – Ensuring equipment is maintained to a high and safe standard.
Providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Providing sufficient protective equipment fit for your job. For example, ensuring that employees are safe handling, storing and transporting goods and hazardous materials.
Providing adequate training and supervision – Making sure that all employees are provided with free, relevant training to perform their jobs safely.
General Housekeeping – Clearing pathways and cleaning hazards to maintain a safe workplace. For example, clearing spills and obstructed pathways.
Risk Assessments – Identifying, assessing, controlling, recording and reviewing risks.

To prove your personal injury claim, you must have evidence to show employer negligence. The ways an employer can breach their duty of care includes:

Slips, trips and falls – Spills that haven’t been properly cleaned, despite being noticed, could result in a fall that results in injury.
Improper equipment maintenance – Equipment in the workplace that is not properly maintained could cause injury. For example, debris hitting you in the face like screws or metal filings.
Insufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Your employer may refuse to provide the necessary PPE, or provide PPE unfit for use, such as goggles in a lab protecting chemicals from reaching the eye region.

How Should I React If I Injure My Eye?

If you have been injured as a result of an employer’s negligence, you must be able to provide evidence to support your personal injury claim. If you choose to hire a solicitor, they can help you make this process easier. Examples of evidence you can collect include:

Medical Records – Seeking medical attention ensures you get the help you need for your injury, but it can also help support your claim. Any notes made by a medical professional documenting your injuries can be used as evidence.
Accident Book Logs – By law, all businesses with 10 or more employees must have an accident workbook. Filling this out after your accident will provide a timely, dated record of your injury. If you cannot do this yourself, a colleague can do this for you.
CCTV Footage – If your workplace has CCTV you can ask your employer for the footage. You can also get video footage from dashcams and colleagues if they have filmed it. This can provide a visual component to your claim.
Pictures of the injury and accident area – Take photographs of the injury and the accident area which could help your claim.
Witness contact details – Taking contact information of any witnesses ensures that statements can be collected by a legal professional at a later date. This could provide important evidence for your claim.

To learn about other evidence that could be collected, contact our panel of advisors for legal advice today.

Calculating Compensation For An Eye Injury At Work Claim

How much compensation you may be able to receive for your eye injury depends on your circumstances. A personal injury claim can be broken down into two types of damages. The first, general damages, notes the pain you have suffered due to the injury.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) outlines potential compensation brackets for a plethora of injuries at different levels of severity. The following table outlines the potential compensation for some injuries:

Injury	Compensation	Notes
Total Blindness (b)	In the region of £252,180	Total Blindness
Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (i)	£90,100 to £168,730	Heightened risk of deteriorating in the remaining eye, beyond sympathetic ophthalmia.
Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (ii)	£60,010 to £99,440	Reduced vision and/or other problems like double vision.
Total Loss of One Eye (d)	£51,460 to £61,690	Depends on age, psychiatric consequences and cosmetic effect.
Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye (e)	£46,240 to £51,460	Some risk of sympathetic ophthalmia. Upper bracket includes around the eye scarring not sufficient to merit a separate award.
Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye (f)	£22,230 to £36,960	Serious incomplete vision loss in one eye without notable risk of further loss or sight reduction in the other eye. Constant double vision, blurred vision and light sensitivity in both eyes requiring dark sunglasses at the upper end of the bracket.
Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye (g)	£8,550 to £19,690	Permanent minor vision impairment in one or both eyes. Sporadic double vision, permanent light sensitivity not requiring dark glasses.
Minor Eye Injuries (h)	£3,710 to £8,200	Minor injuries. Hit in the eye, fume exposure (smoke), splashing liquids. May cause initial pain and vision interference.
Transient Eye Injuries (i)	£2,070 to £3,710	Minor cases, complete recovery within a few weeks.
Trivial Facial Disfigurement (e)	£1,600 to £3,310	Minor cases only.

Additionally, you may be eligible to claim special damages. Special damages encompass the financial costs accrued over time due to your injury. Special damages could include:

Medical Care
Loss of income and future earnings
Gracious care by a loved one
Travel expenses to and from medical appointments

Learn About The Benefits Of A No Win No Fee Agreement

You do not need to hire a No Win No Fee solicitor to make a personal injury claim. However, legal help could simplify the process.

The benefits of a No Win No Fee agreement include that there are no immediate costs and you will pay no success fee to your solicitor if the claim fails. Your No Win No Fee solicitor will take a small, legally-capped percentage of the compensation awarded to cover their legal fees if the claim succeeds.

To learn more about No Win No Fee agreements, visit our page on how to make a No Win No Fee claim.

Telephone Our Team To Discuss An Eye Injury At Work Claim

To find out how our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors could help you, contact our team of advisors now via:

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More Resources About Eye Injury At Work Claims

Please see the helpful links provided:

NHS – When should I call 999?

SSP – Statutory Sick Pay

NHS – Eye Injuries

You could read more of our guides below too:

If you would like to know any more about making an eye injury at work claim, then contact our advisors today.

Reporting An Accident At Work