Accident at work injury compensation
If you’ve suffered an accident at work that wasn’t your fault, this article aims to explain the process of receiving an accident at work payout. We use an example case study to explain how the process for making a workplace accident claim works.
Throughout this article, we guide you to the right pieces of legislation and law, to the statistics that show how common workplace accidents are and who had the duty of care to try and prevent them. If you were the victim of an accident that could have been avoided, this article can help. Please feel free to call or email us at any point if you want more information on:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Email at Public Interest Lawyers
- Speak to our team at the ‘live support’ option, bottom right
Select a Section
- A Guide To Calculate Compensation For An Accident At Work Payout
- What Is An Accident At Work?
- Financial Issues From Workplace Accidents
- Common Workplace Accidents
- Care Claims For Victims
- Compensation Settlement Value From A Lawyer
- Case Study: £42,000 Compensation For An Accident At Work Payout
- Expert Compensation Calculation Estimates
- No Win No Fee Accident At WorK Payout
- Look For Trustworthy Personal Injury Lawyers
- Our Team
- Further Advice
A Guide To Calculate Compensation For An Accident At Work Payout
The first step to take with any accident at work is to make sure you report it properly. This link explains how to do that and it could support your claim to do so. This guide will take a close look at employers liability EL. It will examine how legislation applies a duty of care for employees. We look at these in further detail below, but right now there are three important questions to ask before you start a negligence claim against your employer:
- Who had the legal duty of care to you?
- How did they breach it? What did they not do to protect your safety at work?
- Did you suffer direct injuries because of that?
When you are sure that your accident would not have happened if your employer had been paying closer attention to the safety procedures at work, speak to our team about seeking an accident at work payout. You could be owed compensation for any unnecessary suffering.
We now look at what can be defined as an accident at work. We will also discuss what evidence you will need. How you can benefit from using a No Win No Fee solicitor. And how much compensation would be the right amount? To conclude we will tell you what to look for to find the best-suited solicitor for your case.
What Is An Accident At Work?
An accident at work can take many many different forms. It is important to say, however, that not all accidents that happen at work would make the employee eligible to receive compensation. As discussed earlier it must be proven that there was a breach in the duty of care an employer has for his/her employees.
The Health And Safety At Work etc Act 1974 is a key piece of legislation that applies this important duty of care. To achieve this level of safe working environment an employer could adequately train employees, provide information and onsite maintenance to ensure you are not exposed to harm whilst perform your job and risk assessments.
If you were harmed and suffered injuries during the course of your working day and you feel that the accident could have been avoided, it may be that you are eligible for an accident at work payout. Please feel free to speak to our team if you aren’t sure who had the duty of care where you were injured.
Financial Issues From Workplace Accidents
In addition to your injuries, an accident in the workplace can seriously disrupt your ability to earn a living. If you need time off work to recover, you may not receive sick pay or support. You could find financial problems happening as a result.
A No Win No Fee lawyer can explain something called special damages. This is a type of compensation that you may be eligible for if you can prove that the injury has cost you money. Things that you could claim for include:
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of potential earnings from missed work opportunities
- Costs for care help
- Travel costs to hospital appointments
- Physiotherapy and counselling
- Special medicines and equipment, crutches, wheelchairs etc
- Any out-of-pocket costs that are as a direct result of your injuries
Nonetheless, there may be other things that could be included. When a skilled No Win No Fee lawyer has the chance to listen to your situation first hand, they may see other expenses that could be returned to you. This could give you the best chance to increase your accident at work payout.
Common Workplace Accidents
If there is a missing or diminished duty of care anywhere can become a hazardous place. Government statistics show that during 2019/20 nearly 700,000 people sustained an injury at work. Typical accident hot-spots in the workplace could include:
- Tripping on cables or obstacles
- Slipping in unattended wet patches or unmarked wet floors
- Falling down stairs or tripping in poorly lit areas
- Being injured by faulty or wrongly used machinery
- Suffering injuries from incorrect procedures
- Exposure to hazardous and badly stored chemicals
- Lack of training or information resulting in injury
- Violence in the workplace
- Exposure to loud noises
- Lacerations from falling objects
There may be many other examples. If you are injured in an accident at work that could have been prevented we may be able to help. Speak to us today to discuss how you could launch a personal injury claim.
Care Claims For Victims
If your injuries are severe and your recovery time looks set to be quite long, you might need others to help you wash, clean, cook and food shop. The term ‘gracious care’ is applied to family members who help with this and the courts will recognise these expenses.
You may not be able to rely on family members to help out during your convalescence, you might need to pay for a professional carer to come into your home and look after you. This can be very expensive. However, if you have a successful claim you could claim back costs you have paid on care.
If you speak to a No Win No Fee lawyer they will advise you on how to keep track of these costs and present them as evidence in your case. These costs will be included as part of the special damages element of your claim.
Compensation Settlement Value From A Lawyer
You may need a medical assessment to support a personal injury claim. This helps in the following ways:
- It’s a chance for a doctor to confirm that you were injured by the accident
- It rules out the chance of injury being a pre-existing medical complaint
- They can give advice about how long it will take to heal or if there’s long-term damage
- It’s strong evidence in your case for an accident at work payout
After the medical assessment, your compensation claim can be valued using two heads of loss:
- General damages are amounts that take into account the pain and suffering your injuries have caused you. Judicial College provides guidelines amounts so that solicitors may value the claim accurately.
- Special damages try to take into account all the actual costs that your injuries have forced on you. As mentioned above, anything that you can prove is the result of trying to deal with your injury. These could include; care from a nurse or carer, cook or cleaner, loss of earnings, medication costs, cost of rehabilitation. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
Giving your solicitor all the facts can really improve your chances of a higher accident at work payout. Speak to our team for a free, no-obligation chat about eligibility and we could help you start your negligence case against work today.
Case Study: £42,000 Compensation For An Accident At Work Payout
Mr Grey worked in the local factory and was responsible for supervising the storage of all stock. This was arranged on several high-level shelving areas and one day, when attempting to retrieve a box of stock on the second level, the safety rail snapped and he fell twenty feet landing very badly and suffering multiple injuries to his legs, arm and head.
The accident was reported and he was taken to hospital. Mr Grey had several extensive tests and it was confirmed that he has suffered a concussion, a simple fracture to his forearm and a fractured femur.
When back at home he had a chance to really think about what had happened that day and why it happened. After some research, he discovered that the safety rail was broken through disrepair and had not been fixed. This breach of duty of care on behalf of his employers had directly caused his accident and subsequent injuries.
Mr Grey decided to start a negligence case against his employers as the costs of being at home with no money coming in and the care he needed just to function was soon eating into his savings and pension. The money worries made him feel as bad as the actual injuries and he decided to seek help through a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Result; Accident At Work Payout
After a short assessment, the solicitors took the case on for Mr Grey and with the medical assessment and expenses proof, Mr Grey’s firm admitted that they should have replaced the guard rail. His case was settled out of court. He received an accident at work payout of £42,000 which consisted of general and special damages.
Our case study is just a typical example of the sort of cases personal injury solicitors handle. Your No Win No Fee lawyer can also discuss any concerns you might have about returning to your place of work after the outcome of your claim. If you feel there is resentment at work because of your decision to sue for negligence, your solicitor can advise on your legal rights about this, too.
Expert Compensation Calculation Estimates
Mr. Grey’s claim was valued in the following way:
| General damages | Special damages |
|---|---|
| Mr. Grey suffered multiple injuries in his fall. £15,000 for his fractured forearm £8,550 for his fractured femur £8,220 for his head injuries. |
He lost earnings – £5,000 |
| He required carer services – £2000 | |
| Physiotherapy and counselling to overcome mobility issues and trauma – £1500 |
|
| Loss of deposit for a planned holiday – 1,230 | |
| Travel expenses to hospital – £500 |
Compensation amounts are never guaranteed and each case is different but when you speak to a No Win No Fee lawyer you give yourself the best chance of winning the highest amount in damages for an accident at work payout.
No Win No Fee Accident At Work Payout
The advantages of using a No Win No Fee solicitor to seek compensation for accidents in the workplace are numerous and although you may be familiar with the expression, you may not really understand what they do or how it could help you.
You may also feel reluctant about hiring a solicitor to start a negligence case if you’ve never used one before.
Firstly, the main advantage is that you do not need to pay any fees upfront to a No Win No Fee solicitor. This enables you to access legal advice and support right at the beginning of your claim. Also, with no fees to pay whilst your case is ongoing, you can relax throughout. Finally, if your case is not successful, there’s nothing to pay the solicitors at all.
However, If your case wins, there is something called a ‘success fee’ which is a nominal, amount that is capped by law to remain low enabling the bulk of the compensation to go directly to you. The fee is also only payable after you have received the compensation.
Look For Suitable Personal Injury Lawyers
Once you are satisfied that there was a missing duty of care and it resulted in you suffering an injury at work you could start your search for a No Win No Fee solicitor if you have decided to use one.
When looking for a solicitor that will be best suited for your case you could find reviews useful. They can inform you about whether past clients have been pleased with the service they received. Reviews can inform you whether the solicitor in question has represented cases like yours before. Whether they have been successful. However, if you find that you want a simpler way to find an expert solicitor simply call our advisors.
Contact Our Advisors
Contacting us is easy and our team is on call now. You can:
- call us direct on 0800 408 7825
- Write to us at Public Interest Lawyers
- Use the ‘live support’ option, bottom right
We hope this guide has helped in your decision to start a claim for an accident at work payout.
Further Resources
For information about making a negligence case against the council, please click here
Further reading on places that could be accident hot spots, please read here
Information about claims in a public park, please read here
Detailed information about workplace accident statistics, please read here
More information about avoiding slip and trip hazards, please read here
To conclude, for reading on the safe handling of chemicals at work, please read here
Article by EA
Publisher EC.