Accident at Work Claims – Can I Claim Compensation?
Accident at Work claims are not at all unusual and if you’ve suffered an accident at work you may well have thought about making a compensation claim against your employer.
Your employer has a duty to ensure that you are safe from injury and injuries are often the result of employers not adhering to important health and safety matters.
In general terms, employers need to make sure that you have the right training, the proper equipment and all the right working systems in place to keep you safe.
If your accident at work was caused by a fellow colleague’s negligence then your employer is going to be held generally responsible in these circumstances.
We recognise that if you have suffered an accident that is serious enough to keep you off work then this can be a really worrying time. This will be especially true if your employer is able to stop paying your usual salary. It won’t take long for financial worries to add to your list of concerns and this is why it’s so important that you seek the right legal advice straight away about your claim for compensation.
Accidents at Work – What are the Most Common Accidents?
There is a broad spectrum of injuries that can occur in the working environment and we have over 20 years of experience helping clients make a claim for compensation for workplace injury claims.
Below we have set out links to a selection of different types of accident at work claims which we hope might help you:
Compensation for Electric Shock at Work
Forklift Truck Accident Claims
Injuries caused by faulty doors
Slip and Fall Accidents at Work
There’s no substitute for talking through the circumstances of your work accident claims with one of our team of solicitors.
We will let you know whether you can make a compensation claim and if it is worth pursuing.
If it is we’ll be delighted to help you make a claim for your workplace injury and claim compensation.
What Are Your Rights Following an Accident at Work?
Thankfully employment legislation serves to ensure that workers rights are strongly protected. There are comprehensive health and safety rules which employers must follow and adhere to.
Employers have wide-ranging responsibilities and a duty of care to make sure staff are safe. Employers must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this. Employers are under a duty to risk assess the workplace and must provide training on how to deal with the risks.
Employers are also obliged to engage employees in consultations relating to health and safety issues.
The employer’s duty of care extends to taking steps to keep you reasonably safe where ever you are working whether that is on your employer’s premises or elsewhere.
If you feel working conditions are unsafe and you consider that your employer is not heeding your concerns then it is possible for you to make a complaint directly to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Indeed you are perfectly entitled to remove yourself from work altogether if you believe you are in imminent danger or serious harm.
The health and safety regulations cover the whole of the workforce so whether the worker is full or part-time, temporary or not.
It’s also important to note that as an employee there are several fundamental rights in the context of claiming compensation against your employer:
- The right to bring an accident compensation claim in the first place;
- The right to obtain compensation for your work accident related injuries arising out of your employer’s negligence whether that is for your physical or psychological injuries as well as any financial losses;
- The right to claim damages without being penalised or treated detrimentally as a consequence;
- The entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay – if you find yourself having to go on sick leave because of your accident at work then you should look at receiving sick pay.
What will You be Paid following an Accident at Work?
If the injuries you suffer in your accident mean that you cannot work for four or more days on the run then you will be able to claim Statutory Sick Pay.
In some instances, your employer will be under a contractual obligation to pay you company sick pay and the amount that you are entitled to will be stated in your contract of employment. Often this will mean that you are able to recover more than the statutory minimum.
In other instances, employers provide their own bespoke sick pay arrangements for work accident injuries and these can provide favourable terms and might include private healthcare too.
It’s clear that when bringing accident at work claims you and/or your solicitor will need to review the terms of your contract to confirm exactly what sick pay arrangements are in place.
What to do following an Accident at Work?
First Aid
First of all, it’s vital that if you are injured at work you receive any first aid treatment you require straight away and as a priority.
Your employer is under an obligation to have an allocated first aider to assist you and all being well they will be at hand to administer initial first-aid for you.
Even if your work accident injuries are thought to be on a minor scale it’s really important that you are assessed as quickly as possible and that you are checked out, as necessary, by a fully qualified medical expert.
Depending on the nature and extent of the workplace injury you may well need treatment at hospital. This is especially the case if you have sustained a head injury in which case your condition will need to be carefully monitored.
Attending Hospital and/or Your GP
Depending upon the workplace injury, you are likely to have needed initial medical attention either at hospital or from your GP.
It is important that if you have ongoing symptoms that you continue to seek medical advice so that your condition can be assessed and monitored.
If you do not go back for a further assessment when you are still suffering then not only will you be able to receive further treatment that could facilitate your recovery there is every chance your employer’s insurers will conclude that you had made a full recovery beforehand.
Reporting Accidents at Work
Once you are in a fit state to do so it is crucial that you formally report your work accident to your employer. In the ordinary course of events, the most suitable person to report the accident in work to will be your manager.
Again, even if the personal injury is minor and even if you blame yourself it is absolutely essential that you take the trouble to report the work accident. If your workplace has 10 or more employees then your employer will be under a legal obligation to have an accident book as well as a formalised procedure for accident reporting.
The accident book, where you need to enter the details of your accident, is one of the most important documents in the context of bringing a claim.
You, therefore, need to be absolutely sure that the accident details are factually accurate and clear. If the details are wrong in any way then you must not sign the book until they meet with your satisfaction! It’s always a good idea in practice if you request a copy of your entry in the accident book so that you can preserve it, keep it safe and prevent it from being lost or mislaid.
If your employer does not have an accident book or for any reason they fail to record the work incident then you should take the initiative and make a written account of what happened. You need to sign and date the document and then send this to your employer making sure your employer acknowledges it.
It is also worth noting that in certain circumstances your employer is under a duty to report accidents at work to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the event that the accident results in the employee being off work for more than 7 consecutive days.
If your work accident isn’t formally reported then your employer’s insurers will almost certainly conclude it never happened and their starting point will probably be to refuse to entertain your claim. On the same theme always make a point of telling your colleagues that you suffered an accident at work. Tell them what happened and run through the injuries with them. This means if there is any dispute about you being hurt you will be able to rely upon your colleagues to put the record straight.
Collecting Evidence
We know from our experience that if there’s a way of wriggling out of liability insurers will go for it!
This means it’s crucial as far as possible to gather together the information and evidence that will support your accident work claim.
If, for example, you have fallen as a result of a defect then if possible you (or a trusted colleague) should take photographs of the scene of the work accident showing the dangerous state of affairs.
It’s important to find out what any witnesses saw or heard at the time of your work accident as this could be key information that could support your claim and may even make the difference between your claim succeeding or not.
It’s fair to say that some colleagues may be reticent about coming forward for fear that your employer will penalise them for doing so.
Clearly, a fair-minded employer will welcome any information that can help them establish the cause of your work accident with a view to making sure there’s no repeat performance.
Keeping a Record of Your Injuries
It is good practice to make sure that you keep a detailed record of your injuries which is updated over time. This will mean you have a written chronology setting out your progress so that you are able to refer to this as necessary further down the line.
Depending upon the personal injury it’s also a good idea to take a series of photographs showing the injury at different stages. This will help your solicitor to quantify your accident at work claim more easily and make a claim for the compensation you deserve.
Your Financial Losses
It is also important to keep a full record of all the expenses and costs that you have incurred arising out of the work accident and including all receipts in support.
Your employers will be in a position to provide details of your loss of earnings arising from a workplace injury and details of any other workplace losses.
The golden rule in terms of recoverability is whether the expense is reasonable and necessary as a consequence of the effects of the accident.
It is surprising how quickly financial losses can rise especially if your injuries are serious.
Try your best to get into the habit of recording the expenses as you go along as you may find if you put off this job you will struggle to remember everything or you may have lost the documents in support of your workplace injury. If in doubt get in the habit of saving any documents that you think may be able to support your injury compensation claim. You can always double-check with your injury compensation solicitor at a later stage.
How Can We Help You?
If you are thinking about making a workplace injury claim, you need to talk to our team of accident at work solicitors.
- For over twenty years we have handled hundreds of accident at work claims and we know exactly what it takes to succeed with your injury claim for compensation.
- Our accident at work solicitors are also aware that many accident victims are worried about taking action against their employers. If you’re anxious that making a workplace injury claim will sour your relationship with your boss, you’re not alone.
- You needn’t feel in any way awkward about making a claim, after all you are the one who has been injured and your employer, by law, will have an insurance policy to rely upon.
- One of the advantages of working with Carter and Carter’s work accident solicitors is that we know exactly how to handle accident at work claims carefully and diplomatically, giving you the best chance of winning compensation for any injury, distress or suffering you may have suffered.
- It’s not ever justified for your employer to take action against you on the grounds that you decide to bring an injury claim.
- The overriding responsibility is upon your employer to keep you safe at work and if they breach their duty of care towards you then you are entitled to bring an injury claim – full stop.
Why choose us?
Experience
Rely on all our years of Experience to give you the very best chances of success and so you can get the compensation you deserve.
Our Service
We can help you wherever you are in England and Wales and we have lots of clients all over the country. Distance isn’t a problem for our compensation solicitors and if you need us to travel to see you for any reason we’re happy to do so.
Costs
We operate a genuine No Risk Costs Guarantee so you have absolutely no worries here.
Our Team
We are fully committed to making the process as simple and painless as possible for you. Don’t worry you won’t be just a number in a filing cabinet and you can be sure that we will always treat you in a friendly and professional manner (even on a Monday morning!)
Getting the Care and Rehabilitation that You Need
One of the first things we look at when you contact us is whether it is likely that some form of rehabilitation will facilitate your recovery.
In fact, both the Claimant’s solicitor and the Defendant are both under a duty to consider, as early as possible, whether the injured party has needs that can be addressed by rehabilitation, treatment or other means.
In practice, whether the employer’s insurer is prepared to fund the rehabilitation will depend upon their assessment of liability. If the claim is clear cut in the Claimant’s favour then you will often find that the employer’s insurer will offer a rehabilitation assessment and then treatment in accordance with the recommendations made.
It is of course in the employer’s insurers interests to agree to fund any recommended treatment as this, if it is successful, is likely to reduce the various heads of compensation. By the same token, the Claimant will hopefully be able to get back on their feet sooner and look to enjoy a better quality of life than would otherwise be the case.
Interim payments for any recommended treatment are not unusual in circumstances where the employer’s insurer accepts liability as to their responsibility.
Where an employer’s insurer refuses to make an interim payment for any reason it is possible, depending upon the prospects of success, for the Claimant’s solicitor to issue proceeding and then make a formal application for an interim payment.
It will then be for the court to decide whether the Claimant is entitled to the payment sought and will if liability has not been conceded, leading to the Court assessing whether the Claimant is likely to succeed. If so then the Court will also need to look at whether the amount being sought is reasonable in all the circumstances.
In practice applications for interim payments in this context are fairly rare and generally only occur if there is a real dispute between the parties in terms of liability.
If you have any concerns about not being able to obtain rehabilitation treatment following an injury at work then contact us and we will be pleased to see if we may be able to assist.
Accidents at Work – The Claims Process
You may have already done some research on your options when it comes to making accident at work compensation claims. But here are three interesting facts you may not know:
- If you make an accident at work claim, it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever have to appear in court or give evidence against your boss.
- You may be holding back because you feel loyalty to your employer. But did you know that a successful injury claim is very unlikely to have any real impact on their business? Your compensation (and our legal fees) will be paid by your employer’s accident insurance.
- You will never have to part with a penny if you lose as our No Win No Fee agreement means exactly that!
So there’s not as much at stake in terms of making an injury claim as you might have thought. Not only that but making a claim is a very simple process.
At the very least, it’s worth filling in our injury claim form or giving our accident at work solicitors a call so that we can give you some initial advice about your chances.
- Talking to us is entirely free, and we certainly won’t try to talk you into taking action if you decide not to pursue your accident claim.
- If you’re the victim, the law is on your side – and we’re here to help!
- Remember, we guarantee that if your injury claim is unsuccessful, you will pay ABSOLUTELY NOTHING so call us today!
How much is Your Accident at Work Claim Worth?
Calculating the value of injury claims is a relatively simple process for an accident at work solicitor specialising in the field.
Clearly much will depend upon the severity of the personal injury and the prognosis for the future.
Compensation for your pain and suffering is known as “General Damages” which can compensate you for physical as well as any psychological injuries. It will be necessary for your solicitor to organise medical evidence so that it is possible to accurately assess the effect of the accident upon you.
For more serious injuries it is likely that there will need to be a whole range of different experts reports prepared on your behalf. The experts will need to review and consider all relevant medical records before arriving at an independent assessment of your condition and the prognosis for the future.
It is not unusual on occasions for experts to indicate that they need to see the client again at some point in the future before they can arrive at a final prognosis. Much will depend upon how the client responds to any recommended rehabilitation and the extent to which their body is able to repair itself over the course of time.
The compensation system is not purely about the physical or psychological injuries you have sustained but there are a number of other heads of loss that can be really important in terms of valuing your personal injury claim.
For instance, other heads of damage for your personal injury claim can include the following (not exhaustive):
- Past and future loss of earnings;
- Loss of congeniality of employment – this is where the accident at work has forced you to give up on your chosen career and to compensate you for being unable to follow you career;
- Past and anticipated medical costs such as physiotherapy, psychotherapy or counselling etc;
- Additional Travel expenses which might be linked to you receiving treatment to facilitate your recovery;
- Claim for past and future care costs – these type of costs can mount up very quickly overtime especially if you have suffered a serious personal injury which has left you reliant on others on a day to day basis.
It is difficult to comment specifically here as each personal injury claim is different and needs to be assessed individually. It will be necessary for your solicitor to weigh up all the various factors to produce a helpful indication for you.
If you are keen to learn the likely value of your personal injury claim then please contact us and we will be delighted to provide you with our preliminary valuation.
If you choose to instruct us then we will of course use all our experience and knowledge to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve for your accident claim.
Who makes the Compensation Payment if Your Accident at Work Claim Succeeds?
As indicated above all employers are under a legal duty to make sure they have a liability insurance policy
This insurance policy should also extend to providing cover for injury claims where other employees have caused the personal injury.
Provided the employer has complied with the terms and conditions of the policy then it will fall to the employer’s insurers to meet the personal injury claim.
In practice, this means that it is the workplace accident insurer or the insurer’s solicitors who are responsible for investigating the injury claim and negotiating a settlement as necessary.
Any initial offers tend to be on the low side although occasionally there’s the odd surprise!
Whatever the situation when you make a claim we will be able to fully advise you so you can be assured that you are coming away with the best injury compensation.
How Long will Your Accident at Work Claim Take to Finalise?
Now here is a question that isn’t easy to answer – every injury claim is different and for that matter so is every defendant solicitor or claim’s handler!
The workplace accident claims that can take the longest to finalise are those ones that involve serious injury or are difficult in terms of liability.
If you have a serious injury then it stands to reason that it is going to take time to gather together all the necessary medical evidence. Even then it is wise to make sure that you wait until it is known what the final prognosis looks like. This means you won’t end up settling your workplace accident claim prematurely and potentially for an amount that is insufficient compensation. It is so important that your injury claim is finalised at the right stage so that you can be sure that your compensation is at the right level and there is no risk of under-settlement.
In terms of liability, it is easy to see that if the Defendant’s insurer contests liability then it will take more time to bring them to the negotiating table. On occasions, the insurers will dig their heels in and it will be necessary to proceed to trial. In our experience, a full-blown workplace liability trial is really quite unusual and thankfully, in any event, we have an excellent record of winning results over many years.
If we are looking at the more straightforward workplace accident claims where liability is not in dispute and we are dealing with a less serious injury then the whole personal injury claim can be settled in a matter of months and sometimes over a few weeks.
You can rest assured that whatever the type of workplace accident you have we will do all that we can to progress matters as quickly and as efficiently as possible for you.
Our aim is to make things as simple and as streamlined as possible for you so that you don’t have to worry about what is happening with your injury claim or what is the next step.
We set out below a list of factors that will have a bearing upon the length of time accident at work claims can take:
- The extent of the evidence which substantiates the workplace injury claim;
- How long the Defendant’s insurer takes to investigate the claim – in the first instance they have up to 3 months in which to conclude their enquiries;
- If liability is admitted in early course or at all when making a claim;
- The speed and efficiency of your solicitor in dealing with the progression of the Claim;
- The number of medical reports required and whether it is necessary to monitor your recovery before looking to negotiate a settlement;
- If it is necessary to issue proceedings whether the court deals with the paperwork and issues directions in a timely way.
No Win No Fee – Accident at Work Claims
- If we believe that your compensation claim will be successful then we will be able to offer you a genuine No Win No Fee agreement.
- When making a claim there’ll be nothing for you to pay upfront and nothng to pay if your workplace accident claim doesn’t succeeed for any reason with our No Win No Fee agreement.
- This means you will be able to move forward without having to worry about the possibility of being saddled with expensive legal fees.
Call us and we will be only too pleased to answer any questions at all about bringing your injury compensation claim.
Has your Accident at Work Claim been Rejected by Your Solicitor?
- We are accustomed to being contacted by clients who have beed advised by their solicitors that their compensation claim has been rejected and there are no prospects of success.
- If this is the case then please don’t lose heart as we may well be able to salvage your claim for you.
- We have years of experience as taking on rejected claims and have made it our business to take on claims that have been rejected.
- We will do all that we can to help you claim compensation on a No Win No Fee basis.
- We know that despite your current solicitors opinion we may well be able to progress your compensation claim and win the argument.
Please call us so we are able to chat through the circumstances and provide you with our opinion in relation to the merits of your personal injury claim.
Why Choose Us to handle Your Accident at Work Claim?
- First and foremost we have been helping clients injured at work bring compensation claims for years and years (in fact since 2007 when the company was formed and way before this too!)
- We are specialists in the personal injury field and have all the necessary expertise and experience to ensure you come away with the best possible compensation.
- We have the dedication, motivation and commitment to put your workplace claim on the right footing and will do all we can so you come away with the result you are looking for.
- Our genuine No Win No Fee service means you won’t be worrying about any legal costs so you can proceed with confidence with your compensation claim.
- The best way of demonstrating to you that we will look after you at every step of the way is to let our client’s do the talking for us (we happen to be quite proud of these comments!)……Look here: Amazing Reviews
FAQs
How long does it take to receive an offer of compensation?
Much will depend upon the complexity of the claim, the seriousness of the injury and whether liability has been admitted but the following is a good guide:
1) Straightforward Claims where liability admitted and minor injuries you might receive an offer within 3 to 6 months.
2) Claims involving more serious injuires where more than 1 medical report required may take 6 to 12 months
3) Complex Claims where liability disputed, serious injuries and extensive medical assessment may tak 12 months upwards until and offer is made.
Who pays compensation for an accident at work?
The Defendants Employer’s Liability Insurers pay the compensation.
How long do accident at work claims take?
The time it takes to settle an accident at work claim can vary hugely, but in cases where liability is not disputed and good recovery is expected within a reasonable period, it typically takes 6 to 9 months to conclude matters. Similarly, slip, trip, and fall claims sustained at work usually settle within 6 to 9 months.
For a free, no obligation discussion about Accident at Work Claims, simply either call us now on 0800 652 0586, email us on [email protected], or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will explain all of the options available to you.
