Explaining The Accident At Work Claim Process

Accident-At-Work-Claim-Process

A Guide To The Accident At Work Claim Process

In this guide, we discuss the accident at work claim process, which is useful if you have suffered an injury due to employer negligence. We will look at the eligibility criteria and evidence that could support your work injury claim.

Furthermore, we have a section on how a solicitor might value your injuries. This guide also examines the time limits that apply to personal injury claims.

Finally, we will look at the benefits of working with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, should you choose to instruct one. To find out if you can instruct a solicitor on our panel, contact our team of advisors now by:

  • Calling us on 0800 408 7825
  • Completing our Contact Us form
  • Speaking with us using the live chat function on our website

Jump To A Section

  1. When Are You Able To Make A Workplace Accident Claim?
  2. Explaining The Accident At Work Claim Process
  3. Work Accident Compensation Calculator – How Much Could You Receive?
  4. Is There An Accident At Work Claim Time Limit?
  5. Claim For A Workplace Accident Using Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors
  6. The Accident At Work Claim Process – Read More About It Below

When Are You Able To Make A Workplace Accident Claim?

As part of the accident at work claim process, you must ensure that you have a valid case. Employers owe a duty of care to their employees to take all reasonable steps to look after their health and well-being at work. This is a legal duty owed to you under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Therefore, to meet the eligibility criteria for a personal injury claim, you must show:

  1. That a duty of care was owed to you by your employer
  2. That your employer breached their duty of care
  3. You suffered injuries as a result of your employer’s breach of their duty of care

Examples Of Employer Negligence

  • You slipped on a wet floor that had been mopped because no warning signs were put up, and as a result, suffered a back injury. 
  • There were trailing wires across the office floor due to no risk assessment taking place, and you had a fall at work, resulting in a trip injury. 
  • You were not trained on how to work on a conveyor belt safely. Despite knowing this, your employer asked you to work on one anyway, causing your hand to become trapped. 

These are just a few examples of employer negligence. If you have been involved in a workplace accident, contact our advisors for a free case assessment to determine if you can make a personal injury claim.

Explaining The Accident At Work Claim Process

When making a personal injury claim following an accident at work, you must follow the correct process. This means adhering to the Pre-Action Protocol for personal injury claims.

As part of the protocol, you will be expected to:

  • Send a Letter of Notification informing the defendant that you are likely to make a personal injury claim.
  • Send a Letter of Claim which should state clearly a summary of the facts on which the claim is based.
  • The defendant should respond to this by stating if liability is admitted.
  • Then disclosure of all documents should take place, followed by expert witnesses.

These are some of the actions that will need to be taken as part of the accident at work claims process. If you instruct a solicitor, they will carry out all of these actions on your behalf.

What Evidence Is Needed In An Accident At Work Claim?

Seeking medical attention if injured provides you with the treatment you may require and could produce medical records. These may be used as evidence in your accident at work claim to outline your injuries. Other evidence you could gather includes:

  • CCTV footage of yourself
  • Photographs of your injuries and the accident site
  • Witness contact details so that they can give a statement at a later date

If you were to instruct a solicitor from our panel as your legal representative, they will not only work on a No Win No Fee basis, take all the steps needed in the pre-action protocol but also collect the evidence needed to support your claim. 

Work Accident Compensation Calculator – How Much Could You Receive?

Personal injury settlements can consist of up to two heads of claim. The first is general damages, which will be discussed in this section. General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering you experienced due to your injuries. 

The amount you could be awarded would be dependent on several factors, including:

  • The severity of your injuries and how they have impacted your quality of life
  • Any loss of enjoyment you have experienced due to being unable to attend events because of your injuries
  • The treatments you have had or will have to recover and how long your rehabilitation will take

Additionally, to help solicitors work out how much compensation you could receive, they may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provide brackets of compensation for injuries of different type and severity, using previous court cases. To add, solicitors could obtain your medical reports and use these in line with the JCG to help further value your injuries. 

As every case is different, we cannot guarantee what compensation you could receive, but below, you will find the guideline brackets for different injuries from the JCG.

Compensation Table

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Injury Severity Guidelines Notes
Leg Amputations (i) – Loss of Both Legs £240,790 to £282,010 Both legs are lost above the knee or one has been lost above the knee at a high level and the other has been lost below the knee.
Severe (ii) – Very Serious £54,830 to £87,890 Permanent mobility problems, requiring mobility aids for life. This bracket also includes fractures that have taken years to heal, limiting ones movement, and injuries where arthritis means further surgery is likely.
Foot Amputation of One Foot £83,960 to £109,650 Treated in a similar way to below-the-knee amputations, due to the loss of the ankle joint.
Serious £24,990 to £39,200 Injuries leaving permanent pain from arthritis or future risk of arthritis with the need for prolonged treatment and potentially fusion surgery.
Hand Serious Damage to Both Hands £55,820 to £84,570 Resulting in significant reduction in the function of the hands and permanent cosmetic disability.
Severe Fractures to Fingers Up to £36,740 Potentially resulting in partial amputations, leading to deformities and reduced function.
Back Severe (iii) £38,780 to £69,730 Disc lesions or fractures or chronic conditions from soft tissue damage. Despite treatment, some disability remains.
Moderate (i) £27,760 to £38,780 Permanent disability is less severe than severe (iii). Injuries include compression fractures with reduced mobility.
Shoulder Severe £19,200 to £48,030 Involves damage to brachial plexus, resulting in significant disability.
Serious £12,770 to £19,200 Dislocation of shoulder and damage to brachial plexus. This causes neck and shoulder pain. This bracket also covers rotator cuff injuries, with persisting symptoms.

Claiming Financial Losses After An Accident At Work

The second form of compensation you could receive is special damages, which compensate you for reasonable past and future losses incurred due to your injuries. These are not limited to but include:

  • Loss of earnings
  • Travel costs
  • Medical expenses

To ensure you’re fully compensated, you should provide evidence of your losses, like:

  • Payslips
  • Receipts
  • Invoices

Evidence is an important part of proving your losses, and a solicitor could help you with this. Contact our team of advisors, who may offer to pass you over to a solicitor on our panel. 

 Is There An Accident At Work Claim Time Limit?

As part of the accident at work claim process, you must adhere to the personal injury time limits. Generally, under the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit to begin a claim is three years from the accident. 

However, if someone lacks the capacity to act, a litigation friend can be appointed to claim for them. In this instance, no time limit would apply unless the person gained the capacity to act for themselves. If so, the general time limit would apply from this date.

Also, if someone was injured whilst under the age of 18, a litigation friend could be appointed to claim for them. No time limit would apply unless they waited until their 18th birthday. At that point, the claimant would have three years to begin a claim.

Claim For A Workplace Accident Using Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors

Why not consider appointing a legal professional to ensure your work injury claim runs smoothly? This section of the guide discusses the benefits of instructing a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis. Our panel of solicitors work under a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’. 

The benefits of instructing legal representation this way include:

  • No upfront fees for the solicitor’s service
  • No fees to keep your personal injury claim moving forward 
  • If your claim fails, you wouldn’t have to pay your solicitor for the service they provided.
  • If your claim wins, your solicitor could take a small percentage of your compensation, called a success fee, which is legally capped.

Furthermore, our panel of work accident solicitors have many years of experience and only take on cases that they believe they can win. Therefore, you can be certain that your time is well spent with them. If you would like to find out more, contact our team of advisors by:

  • Calling us on 0800 408 7825
  • Completing our Contact Us form
  • Speaking with us using the live chat function on our website

The Accident At Work Claim Process – Read More About It Below

We hope this guide has answered your questions surrounding the accident at work claim process. If you would like to read more of our guides, please take a look here:

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