A Guide To Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claims

In this guide, we will explain the valid grounds to make a conveyor belt accident at work claims. There are various ways that an accident involving a conveyor belt could occur. For example, a fault with the machinery could cause it to malfunction, leading to you sustaining an injury. If your injuries were caused by your employer breaching their duty of care, which they owed to you at the time and location of the accident, you may be eligible to claim.

As we move through this guide, we will explore what is meant by the term employer duty of care and the relevant legislation that outlines this. Also, we will provide information regarding the relevant time limits applicable to personal injury claims. What’s more, we will look at the evidence you could collect to support your potential workplace injury claim. Finally, we will explain how entering into a No Win No Fee agreement could allow you to use a solicitor without paying upfront fees for their services.

Continue reading this guide to learn more about pursuing compensation after an accident at work. You can also contact our advisers at any time for a free consultation. They can provide you with both free and confidential legal advice regarding your potential personal injury claim.

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  1. Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claims Eligibility Criteria 
  2. What Can Cause A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?
  3. Ways To Gather Evidence For Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claims
  4. How Much Can I Claim For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?
  5. Can I Claim With The Help Of A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
  6. More Support With Claiming For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work

Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claims Eligibility Criteria

Conveyor belts may be used in some workplaces to transport items from one place to another. These workplaces could include factories, airports, and food processing plants.

To make a conveyor belt accident at work claim, you must prove employer negligence. This means:

  • Your employer owed you a duty of care at the location and time of your accident
  • Your employer breached this duty of care
  • As a result of the breach, you sustained physical injuries and/or psychological harm

Employer duty of care is laid out by the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974. This states that employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety and health of their employees. This can include providing employees with the correct level of training to work with a conveyor belt and carrying out risk assessments.

The Time Limits For Accident At Work Claims

After an accident at work that meets the definition of employer negligence, you generally have 3 years from the date of the accident to begin a claim. This is established by the Limitation Act 1980, which outlines the time limitations for personal injury claims.

However, there are some exceptions to this 3-year time limit. If you would like to learn more about how these exceptions may apply to your potential claim, please speak to our team.

What Can Cause A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?

An accident involving a conveyor belt could occur in the workplace for various reasons, for example:

  • An employee is not provided with any training to work with a conveyor belt.
  • The speed of the conveyor belt or production line is too fast.
  • The conveyor belt is not correctly maintained, leading to faults.
  • There are spillages on the floor near the conveyor belt or obstructed walkways that create a fall risk.

This could lead to an accident in which an employee sustains injuries that range in severity from minor to severe. Examples of the injuries that you could suffer in a conveyor belt accident include:

  • Lacerations, cuts and grazes
  • Broken bones and fractures
  • Amputations
  • Dislocations
  • Degloving

If you sustained an injury at work because your employer breached the duty of care owed to you at the time and location of your accident, you may be eligible to pursue compensation. Speak to our advisers to learn more.

Ways To Gather Evidence For Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claims

Conveyor belt accident claims, like any type of workplace accident claim, must be supported by relevant evidence. You can instruct a solicitor to help you gather proof, but there is never a bad time to get started yourself if you’re able to. For example, you could try and get:

  • Photos of the scene, plus any injuries that are visible.
  • CCTV footage. If your place of work has a CCTV camera, you could apply to receive the footage.
  • Medical evidence. For example, you could get a copy of test results or X-rays that show the extent of your harm.
  • A copy of the workplace accident book report. Make sure that the person responsible for updating the accident logs reports what happened, and check their entry to confirm its accuracy.
  • Contact details for potential witnesses to the incident.

You should look for evidence that highlights how the accident happened, who or what caused it, and how it affected you.

If you’d like more guidance on collecting evidence for conveyor belt accident at work claims, simply call our team of advisors for a free chat.

How Much Can I Claim For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?

The award for a successful personal injury case can be divided into two separate heads of claim: general and special damages. General damages can compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, which could be physical and/or psychological.

To help them assess this head of claim, injury at work solicitors can refer to a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This provides compensation bracket guidelines for different types of injuries. Therefore, we have referred to the JCG to create the table below.

Guideline Compensation Table

Please remember that this table is a guide. The top line is the only one that cannot be found in the JCG.

Injury SeverityGuideline Compensation Brackets
Multiple Serious Conveyer Belt Accident Injuries Plus Lost Earnings and Other Financial LossVery SevereUp to £500,000+
Arm Amputation(b)(i) Loss of One Arm At Shoulder LevelNot Less Than £167,380
Arm Amputation(b)(ii) Loss of One Arm Above the Elbow£133,810 to £159,770
Arm Injuries(a) Severe £117,360 to £159,770
Arm Injuries(b) Injuries that Result in Permanent Substantial Disablement£47,810 to £73,050
Hand Injuries(c) The Complete or Effective Loss of One Hand£117,360 to £133,810
Hand Injuries(d) Amputation of Index and Ring and/or Middle Fingers£75,550 to £110,750
Hand Injuries(f) Severe Fractures of Fingers Up to £44,840
Wrist InjuriesComplete Loss of Function£58,710 to £73,050
Back Injuries(b)(ii) Moderate £15,260 to £33,880

Additionally, you could be eligible to receive special damages to compensate you for the financial losses resulting from your injuries. For example, special damages could account for:

  • Loss of earnings, past and future
  • Care costs
  • Travel expenses
  • Housing adaptations

It is important that you provide evidence of these financial losses. This could include invoices, payslips and travel tickets. Contact our advisers to learn more about the compensation you could be eligible to receive for your potential personal injury claim for a conveyor belt accident in the workplace.

Can I Claim With The Help Of A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

A personal injury solicitor could help you to compile evidence and present a complete claim. What’s more, they could offer their services under the terms of a type of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This would mean that you wouldn’t have to pay for your solicitor’s services upfront or during the ongoing claims process. Also, they generally wouldn’t charge you for their services if your claim fails.

This type of agreement also means that your solicitor can deduct a success fee from the compensation in the event your claim succeeds. This fee is calculated as a percentage that is subject to a legislative cap, which means that you always receive the majority of the compensation.

A lawyer explains conveyor belt accident at work claims to a client.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about pursuing workplace accident compensation, our advisers can help. They can offer you a free consultation at a time that is most convenient for you. Additionally, if our advisers discover that you may have valid grounds to make a workplace injury claim, they could put you in touch with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel.

To make an enquiry, you can:

More Support With Claiming For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work

More accident at work claim guides from our website:

£42,000 Compensation Payout For An Accident At Work Injury Claim

I Had An Accident At Work, Can I Claim Compensation?

An Accident Was Caused By No Manual Handling Training At Work – Could You Claim Compensation?

If you’ve suffered an injury because you received no manual handling training at work, then you could be entitled to compensation. This guide offers lots of useful advice on proving such a claim and the legal requirements surrounding workplace manual handling training.

External resources you may find useful:

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – Information from GOV.UK

Reportable Incidents – Guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on which incidents an employer must report

First Aid – Information from the NHS

If you still have any questions about conveyor belt accident at work claims, please get in touch.