If a liable party’s actions or inactions caused you an eye injury, you likely aren’t sure of your next steps. An eye injury can have a serious impact on your life and your ability to carry out your daily tasks. This guide examines eye injury claims.
By making an eye injury compensation claim, you can pay for medical treatment and relieve some of the financial stress you may be under. This guide will tell you everything you need to know regarding the claims process, including how to begin your claim, some causes of injuries, and how compensation could be awarded for this type of injury.
You’ll also find out the kind of evidence you will need and how the highly experienced solicitors on our panel could assist you in making an eye injury claim under a No Win No Fee contract.
If you want to find out more about how to claim at any time while reading this guide or if you would like to get one started, we’re here to help you around the clock. Find out whether you’re eligible to make a claim today by:
- Calling our advisors on 0800 408 7825.
- Filling in our contact form.
- Clicking the live chat option.
Choose A Section
- Am I Eligible To Claim For An Eye Injury?
- Eye Injury Compensation Values
- Eye Injuries You Can Claim For
- How To Claim Compensation For An Injury
- How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You
- More Information
Am I Eligible to Claim For An Eye Injury?
For eye injury claims (as with all personal injury claims), you must prove that a duty of care towards you was neglected. A duty of care is an obligation that falls on an individual or organisation. Simply put, it means that all those involved must abide by conduct that keeps others safe to a reasonable degree. Duty of care is protected by law.
If a duty of care towards you was breached, causing you to become injured, you could pursue an eye injury claim. If your accident does not meet this criteria, you cannot go forward with a claim. Duty of care can apply in many ways. We look at a few in the following sections.
Accident At Work
Per the Health and Safety etc Act 1974, all employers must ensure that reasonably practicable steps are taken to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.
If you had an accident at work that led to an eye injury, you have to be able to state how your employer neglected their duty of care. Some issues that could lead to an accident at work include not being provided with the correct eyewear and working in a dimly lit space.
As part of fulfilling their duty of care, if personal protective equipment (PPE) is required to carry out the job role safely, then it needs to be provided to employees free of charge. Employers must also create a workplace free of as many risks as possible, or where these risks are reduced. For example, by carrying out a risk assessment, a dimly lit space could be identified.
Road Traffic Accident
If your eye injury compensation claim stems from a road traffic accident, you will need to prove how the road user neglected their duty of care. Anyone using the roads must navigate in a responsible and safe manner that avoids causing both themselves and others injury and damage. This is the duty of care. To ensure compliance with this, road users must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
Per road safety regulations, drivers must drive at a safe speed, let pedestrians cross where necessary, and remain free of distractions. Any of the above being neglected could mean you could claim against the road user/s.
For example, a speeding driver crashed into your vehicle, causing airbag deployment and a shattered window. The glass became stuck in your eye, resulting in the loss of that eye.
Public Liability Accident
You can additionally pursue eye injury claims if your injury occurred in a public place. Via the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, occupiers of public spaces (the individual or organisation in charge of the premises) must ensure the reasonable safety of those who are lawfully visiting the public place. If a breach in this causes you to sustain an eye injury, you could make a public liability claim.
For example, the local council or the owner of a restaurant must maintain equipment and carry out regular risk assessments to prevent accidents. If this isn’t the case, you can likely claim against the occupier for your eye injury.
If the local council failed to carry out necessary repairs to broken pavement and you trip, you could land on your face, which could result in a broken eyesocket as well as a permanent scar.
To find out more about eye injury claims or discuss the exact cause of your injury, please contact us using the details at the top of the screen.
Eye Injury Compensation Values
Settlements for successful eye injury claims may consist of up to two heads of loss (or parts), known as general and special damages. General damages compensate for your physical pain and mental suffering caused by the accident, whereas special damages compensate for the financial losses that have been brought about due to your injury.
There are several different types of eye injury, and compensation amounts will vary between successful claimants. This is due to the differences between claims, with each one awarded compensation based on its own merits.
The table below may give you a clearer idea of how general damages could be calculated. That’s because we took the figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which is a document used by those who value claims to assign a compensation amount to various types of injuries. However, the JCG is only a guideline and as such, our table should only be used as guidance. Additionally, the first figure was not taken from these guidelines.
| INJURY | SEVERITY | COMPENSATION GUIDELINE |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages | Very Serious Injuries And Related Expenses | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Eye injury | Total Blindness and Deafness | In the region of £493,000 |
| Eye injury | Total Blindness | In the region of £327,940 |
| Eye injury | Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye | £117,150 to £219,400 |
| Eye injury | Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye | £78,040 to £129,330 |
| Eye injury | Total Loss of Eye | £66,920 to £80,210 |
| Eye injury | Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye | £60,130 to £66,920 |
| Eye injury | (f) Serious But Incomplete Vision Loss | £28,900 to £48,040 |
| Eye injury | (g) Minor But Permanent Vision Impairment | £11,120 to £25,600 |
| Eye injury | Minor | £4,820 to £10,660 |
Special Damages
Special damages cover financial losses caused by the injury. For an eye injury compensation claim, you could receive special damages for:
- Costs towards any treatment required.
- Transport to and from the hospital.
- At-home care, like assistance with cooking, cleaning, or gardening.
- Any new eye equipment required, such as glasses or a new prescription.
- Loss of earnings.
For the latter, you would need to be able to show proof of earnings like a payslip which will show how much you would have been expected to earn. Additionally, for any special damages you claim, you will need to have proof such as receipts.
Eye Injuries You Can Claim For
You can claim for many types of eye injury, including:
- Minor eye injuries.
- Double vision.
- Loss of sight.
- Impairment of vision (both temporary and permanent).
- Eye pain of varying degrees.
- Loss of your eye and related cosmetic damage.
As mentioned, the eye injury compensation you receive will depend on the severity of your injuries and how they have impacted your life.
How To Claim Compensation For An Injury
To make an eye injury claim, you will need to identify who is responsible for the injury. This can be your local council, your manager, or a road user. You will need to identify who specifically breached their duty of care and how they did so to make a claim.
Once you have identified this, contact a solicitor. You can then begin to build your case with an expert on your side. It’s also helpful to start gathering evidence before pursuing a compensation claim.
Evidence To Support Your Claim
All claims require evidence to back up your statement. For eye injury claims, useful evidence types would be:
- Medical records – this can be anything from a medical professional, like a prescription or notes from your NHS or private medical record, including independent medical assessments.
- Photo or video evidence that show faulty equipment or dangerous working conditions. If you suffered an eye injury from a road traffic accident or in a public place, photograph the area where the accident occurred.
- Witness statements – if anyone saw the accident happen, their statement can help make your own stronger. Collect contact details at the scene of the accident from anyone willing to provide a statement further into the claims process.
How Long You Have To Start A Claim
As stated via the Limitation Act 1980, most people have three years to pursue a personal injury claim, such as an eye injury compensation claim. This time limit begins from the date of the accident. Though you have three years, we recommend claiming eye injury compensation as soon as possible so there’s no risk of running out of time.
In some cases, the three-year time limit doesn’t apply. If your claim is eligible to proceed, our advisors can let you know about these exceptions and whether they are relevant to your case.
No Win No Fee Agreements
Having legal support, such as from a personal injury solicitor, during the claims process could prove expensive. However, if you decide to seek support with your claim from a solicitor providing services under a No Win No Fee agreement, you will only pay for your solicitor’s work if your compensation claim is successful. This will be taken as a legally limited percentage known as a success fee from the compensation awarded to you. Furthermore, if your claim is unsuccessful, you do not have to pay solicitor fees.
Our panel of solicitors provide their No Win No Fee services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
How Long It Takes To Receive Compensation
The claims process can be lengthy. There’s no way to say for certain how long it will take to be awarded eye injury compensation. Factors like gathering evidence can lengthen the claims process. However, once your claim has been settled, you should receive compensation within four weeks.
How Our Panel Of Solicitors Can Help You
At Public Interest Lawyers, our panel of specialist solicitors have decades of experience with eye injury claims. If your claim is considered to be eligible, we will offer legal advice and support throughout the process. Moreover, our solicitors will negotiate to ensure that you receive the amount of compensation you deserve.
In addition to offering legal advice, our panel operate on a No Win No Fee basis, eliminating the financial strain of starting a claim.
Now you know some of the more common eye injury claims and whether you’re eligible to make one, you can contact our expert advisors using the below methods. They can advise on whether you are eligible for compensation and if it seems like you are, connect you to one of the solcitiors from our panel.
- Calling on 0800 408 7825.
- Filling in our contact form.
- Clicking the live chat option.
More Information
Here’s some additional guides from our website that you might find useful:
- Find out what to do after a slip trip and fall restaurant accident.
- Discover your rights following an accident at work.
- Keep up to date on changes to road rules like the Highway Code.
External resources that could help you:
- NHS.UK – find out more about various eye injuries.
- Find out about claiming Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in this overview from the government.
- Learn how to request CCTV footage of yourself from this government guide.
Thank you for reading our guide about eye injury claims. Please get in touch with any questions.
