Workplace Health and Safety Accident Claims - Who Is At Fault?

Workplace health and safety is important for all employers to consider. While you’re at work, your employer owes you a duty of care. This duty of care means that they need to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure your safety. If your employer breaches this duty of care, you could be involved in an accident that leaves you injured.

Accidents in the workplace can take many different forms. Some kinds of accidents, like incidents involving moving machinery, may not apply to all industry sectors. Others, like slips, trips and falls, can occur in a wide range of different environments. Whatever industry you work in, your employer has a responsibility to ensure your safety as much as is practicable.

This article explains the evidence you will need to pursue a claim for injury caused by a health and safety breach. With this in mind, if you’re ready to commence a claim right now, please get in touch for instant free legal advice by:

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The Role Of Workplace Health And Safety Law
How Can Workplace Accidents Happen?
What Can I Do If My Employer Breaches Workplace Health And Safety Legislation?
Accident At Work Compensation Payouts
Connect With No Win No Fee Accident At Work Solicitors
Learn More About Workplace Health And Safety

The Role Of Workplace Health And Safety Law

Workplace health and safety is regulated by a number of pieces of legislation. The Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974 establishes the duty of care you’re owed as an employee. It states that your employer needs to take reasonably practicable steps to reduce the risk of you being injured or made ill at work.

However, there are some other pieces of legislation that dictate how employers should act in relation to health and safety. For example:

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. This piece of legislation outlines how employers can ensure employee safety when dangerous substances need to be stored and handled as part of the job role.
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. This legislation relates to the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) that you need in order to do your job safely. Your employer must supply you with PPE that protects you against a risk that you’re exposed to as part of your job.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 outlines some of the specific responsibilities your employer has towards you. For example, maintaining adequate ventilation, maintaining the condition of floors and traffic routes and ensuring that the indoor temperature is suitable.

There are a number of other pieces of legislation that apply to specific industries. This includes laws like the Factories Act 1961 and the Mines and Quarries Act 1954.

For more information on how breaches of workplace health and safety laws can cause accidents that result in injuries, please read on. Otherwise, get in touch with our team of advisors for free legal advice about the process of claiming.

How Can Workplace Accidents Happen?

There are a number of different ways that workplace accidents can occur because of the negligence of an employer. These include:

Lack of training. Your employer needs to make sure that you receive the training you need to carry out your role. For example, if your role involves lifting and carrying, you should be trained on safe lifting techniques to reduce the risk of you injuring your back.
Poor housekeeping. In order to prevent accidents like slips, trips and falls, employers should ensure that trip and slip hazards are reduced. For example, walkways should be kept clear of obstructions and spills should be cleaned up in a timely manner.
Faulty PPE. In some cases, you might need PPE to protect you from the risks you face in your role. For example, you may need to wear a respirator or goggles if you work with potentially harmful materials that emit fumes. If you aren’t provided with PPE, or the PPE you’re given is knowingly unfit for purpose, you may be able to claim for any injury or illness you sustain.

This list is not exhaustive. There are many ways that an employer can breach workplace health and safety laws that we have not mentioned above.

If you’ve been injured as a result of your employer’s negligence, get in touch today to see if you could be eligible to claim. One of our advisors may be able to connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

What Can I Do If My Employer Breaches Workplace Health And Safety Legislation?

If your employer’s negligence has caused you to be injured or become ill, then you may have a valid claim for compensation. It’s important that you collect evidence in support of your claim in order to strengthen your case.

Some of the things you can do include:

Report the incident in the accident book. All workplaces that employ more than 10 employees must have an accident book by law. You can fill this out after the incident with the details of what happened. If you’re not able to do this, for example, if you’re incapacitated or need to seek immediate medical attention, then a colleague can do this for you.
Request CCTV footage. If CCTV is present in your workplace and caught the accident, then this could be used as evidence. You can request a copy of this footage from your employer.
Collect witness details. If someone else saw the accident take place, then they could provide a statement at a later date that supports your version of events.
Take photos of the area or injury.
Seek medical attention. Of course, it’s important that you do this for your own well-being. However, the reports generated from your GP or hospital visit could be used to support your claim for compensation.

For more information on what evidence you could collect after a workplace health and safety breach has caused you to become injured, speak with an advisor from our claim team. In addition to offering free legal advice, they could assess how much your claim might be worth.

Accident At Work Compensation Payouts

You may be wondering how much compensation you could receive in an accident at work claim. A publication called the Judicial College Guidelines provides a list of guideline award brackets for a number of different injuries of varying degrees of severity. They are based on past personal injury cases.

The part of your compensation that relates to your injuries is known as general damages. The table below includes some general damage compensation brackets taken from the Judicial College Guidelines:

Injury Bracket	How Much?	Notes
Moderately Severe Brain Damage	£205,580 to £264,650	This level of brain damage will lead to very serious disabilities. These disabilities can be physical or cognitive. Aspects like life expectancy and degree of insight will affect the level of award within this bracket.
Severe (i) Neck Injuries	In the region of £139,210	Cases within this bracket will see the injured person with little or no movement in the neck and severe headaches, despite wearing a collar 24 hours a day for a period of years.
Serious Shoulder Injuries	£11,980 to £18,020	Nerve damage, dislocation, soft tissue injuries resulting in permanent symptoms and injuries that restrict shoulder movement will fall into this bracket.
Arm Injuries	£36,770 to £56,180	Injuries within this bracket will result in disability of a permanent and substantial degree.
Wrist Injuries	£44,690 to £56,180	Injuries resulting in a complete loss of wrist function.
Severe (i) Knee Injuries	£65,440 to £90,290	Where there has been disruption of the joint resulting in considerable pain and loss of function.
Severe (i) Back Injuries	£85,470 to £151,070	Injuries within this bracket might involve damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots. The consequences of these injuries will be very serious and not typical of back injuries.
Asthma	£9,990 to £18,020	Relatively mild asthma-like symptoms might happen if you were exposed to harmful, irritating vapour.
Bowels	£51,460 to £108,620	This bracket will include cases where a penetrating wound has caused some permanent damage; however, natural control and function returns eventually.
burns	Likely to exceed £98,380	Many factors will be taken into account, such as the extent of the burns, their severity, the age of the injured person and the need for surgery.

In order to value this head of your claim, you’ll be invited to a medical assessment. In this assessment, an independent expert will assess your injuries and confirm that they’re consistent with the accident you were involved in. This report will then be used with the help of the Judicial College Guidelines to value your claim.

There is a second potential head of claim that you could be entitled to, called special damages. This part of your compensation aims to return you to the financial position you were in before you were injured. It reimburses you for any financial loss or out-of-pocket expenses you’ve incurred because of your injuries.

Special damages can cover:

Lost income from the time you’ve taken off work
Adaptations to your home
Child care costs
Plastic or reconstructive surgery costs
Travel costs to doctor or hospital appointments

A claim for special damages will need to be backed up with evidence. For example, you could show a payslip to illustrate the loss of earnings you’ve experienced or invoices from childcare that you’ve had to pay for because your injuries mean that you cannot do this yourself.

Connect With No Win No Fee Accident At Work Solicitors

At this point in the guide, you may be interested in claiming against your employer for injuries sustained as the result of a breach of workplace health and safety laws. You may wish to hire a solicitor to represent you in the claims process.

However, there are costs to hiring a solicitor in the traditional fashion; what’s more, you would be expected to pay these costs with no guarantee that you will be compensated at the end of your claim. If this is something you would like to avoid, then you may be interested in a No Win No Fee agreement.

No Win No Fee agreements require no upfront fees to your solicitor, and there’s nothing to pay them as the claim progresses. If your claim is unsuccessful, your solicitor won’t request any payment at all.

In the event that you’re awarded compensation, a success fee will be deducted from your compensation. This is legally capped to ensure that you aren’t overcharged.

One of our advisors could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel to work on your claim. Simply:

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Learn More About Workplace Health And Safety

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide. We’ve included some additional resources that you may find useful below:

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents– This charity aims to reduce the risk of accidental injury with advice and general guidance.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)– This government information lets you know if you could be eligible to receive SSP if you’ve been off work because of injury without full pay.

HSE Work at Height– This HSE site advises employers on how to reduce the risk of injury in their employees who work at a height.

You can read more of our guides below too:

Thank you for reading our guide on how breaches in workplace health and safety law can result in injury.