If you suffered an injury or illness through no fault of your own while you were in the workplace, you have every right to file for compensation against an employer without the worry of being fired for doing so. Employers have a duty of care to ensure you are kept safe from injury or illness while you are at work. If an employer is in “breach” of their duty, as an injured party, you are entitled to file a claim for compensation against the person or organisation that employs you.
Should your employer decide to fire you because you are considering or are about to lodge a compensation claim against them, or they make your life so difficult that you are forced to resign from your job, you employer would be strengthening your case against them. In short, your compensation claim against them would be a lot more likely to succeed, As such, it would not be in an employer’s interest to sack you because you intend of filing a work-related personal injury claim against them.
What is My Employer’s Duty of Care Towards Me?
UK legislation under the “Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations Act 1999, states that all employers must ensure that employees are kept safe from harm in the workplace. An employers’ duty of care is outlined as follows:
- They must set in place all reasonable measures to ensure you are safe from harm while you are in the workplace
- They must provide adequate training so you are able to carry out your work without the risk of being injured or suffering a work-related illness
- They must regularly carry out risk assessments so that machinery, equipment and working procedures are safe and to ensure there is a minimal risk attached
Should your employer fail in their duty of care towards you and you sustain an injury or develop an illness while carrying out your job, you have every right to file a compensation claim against them.
What Are My Responsibilities as an Employee?
As an employee, you also have a responsibility to behave in an acceptable manner in the workplace. If you have an accident at work that leaves you injured through reckless acts, you could be held responsible through your own negligent behaviour and the same can be said if it can be proved that you ignored any Health and Safety regulations. As such, if you file for compensation and it is found that the accident was your fault, your claim would be unsuccessful.
Is there a way I can get free legal advice for my injury at work from a expert online or through a free phone number?
The short answer to this question is yes if you click on this link https://www.legalexpert.co.uk/how-to-claim/accident-claims/accident-at-work-claim/ it offers legal advice through an online chat or also there’s a free phone number and its open seven days a week till late.
Employee Injury At Work Advice
Would My Work-related Claim for Compensation be Kept Private?
Under UK law, businesses and companies must have an accident report book where all incidents are recorded. As such, if you suffered an injury or illness in the workplace, the accident would be officially noted in the Accident Report Book. Once you have decided to file for compensation against your employer, the solicitor handling your case would either notify your employer or their insurers of your intentions. The next step would be for your accident to be fully investigated by your employer’s insurers who would gather as much information as possible about the incident and your injuries/illness.
Based on this information, your employer’s insurers would come to a decision on who is liable. It is worth noting that all employers must have sufficient insurance to cover any eventual claims that are filed against them which includes any legal fees that arise from a personal injury claim.
Your employer must also report any serious work accidents, dangerous incidents and health-related issues that arise in the workplace to RIDDOR and the Health and Safety Executive. On top of this, the Department of Work and Pensions must be informed of all work-related personal injury claims. Should your claim be successful, an employer’s insurers would have to refund all benefits you received.
In short, when you are involved in a work-related accident that leaves you injured, the incident would be reported to all the necessary authorities.
Who Pays My Work-related Personal Injury Compensation Claim?
Employers in the UK must have adequate insurance cover in place to meet legal requirements. As such, successful personal injury claims are settled by your employer’s insurers who would deal with your personal injury claim right from the outset. Your employer does not have to be involved in the process once they have been informed of an impending claim.
What is the Time Limit Associated With a Work-related Personal Injury Claim?
There is a time limit of 3 years associated with work-related personal injury claims but it is important to start a claim as soon as possible to avoid running out of time. It is also worth noting that if your employer’s company ceases trading, you may still be able to file a claim against them by filing an application for their business to be put back on the Register of Companies.
Can I Get Help Filing a Work-related Personal Injury Claim?
Work-related personal injury claims can be complex, more especially if an employer makes it harder for you to remain in your job because you decided to file for compensation following an accident that left you injured through no fault of your own. The same can be said if you developed a work-related illness and filed for compensation. The guide published by LegalExpert.co.uk provides a lot of useful information on how being dismissed from the workplace because you filed a work-related personal injury claim against your employer, could be seen as grounds for “unfair dismissal”.
Proving your employer’s negligence caused you to be injured while at work can take up a lot of time because it is essential that you have all the necessary proof and evidence that the accident occurred due to an employers’ negligence. This includes having as many witness statements as possible and that you follow the necessary legal steps required when filing a work-related personal injury claim against an employer.
For more information regarding Health and Safety regulations in the workplace, please visit the following website www.hse.gov.uk.