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What Level of Compensation Could I Get For an Eye Injury at Work?

What the Most Common Accident at Work Eye Injuries?

You can damage an eye in an accident at work in many ways with some of the most commonly reported incidents being detailed below:

A scratched cornea – it is all too easy to damage your eye by rubbing it should a foreign object have entered your eye. It is also easy to suffer a scratched cornea by accidentally poking your eye with tools/equipment you may be using. If you suspect you have scratched your cornea in whatever incident and you start to experience sensitivity to light and the affected eye becomes red and sore, you should seek medical attention without delay so that a correct diagnosis can be made and to avoid infection which could lead to your sight being negatively impacted
A foreign body penetrates an eye – should something have penetrated your eye, again it is essential that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. A metal or sharp object entering your eye could result in permanent damage being done to your eye and your vision
Chemicals in an eye – if your job entails handling chemicals and other toxic substances and some splash into your eye or eyes, you must seek medical attention as a matter of urgency to avoid irreversible damage being done
Swelling of an eye or eyes – if you accidentally damage your eye with a tool you were using in the course of your work or equipment you use which results in swelling and bruising around the affected eye, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible to establish that no internal damage has occurred to your retina
Inflammation of an iris – should your eye injury result in inflammation of your iris, this can lead to long-term damage to your vision
Fracture to an eye – should you have suffered a serious fracture to your eye, you must seek medical attention as a matter of urgency because this type of eye injury can lead to the loss of sight in the affected eye

How Much Compensation Could I Receive For An Eye Injury at Work?

The level of compensation you may be awarded should your eye injury claim be upheld, would depend on the level of damage you sustained to your eye and how your future working life as well as your overall health and well-being have been negatively impacted by your injury. All accident at work claims are different and as such, the amount you may receive could be higher or lower that the eye injury compensation awarded to someone else who sustained similar damage to an eye. With this said, the Judicial College guidelines for eye injuries are detailed below:

Minor injuries to the eye (transient eye injuries) where recovery would be made within weeks, you may be awarded between £1,760 and £3,150
Minor injuries to the eye due to a direct strike, exposure to liquids or smoke which results in your vision being temporarily impacted, you may be awarded between £3,150 and £6,960
Minor injuries to the eye which results in permanent damage to your vision which includes a sensitivity to lights and/or double vision, you may receive between £7,270 and £16,720
Severe injuries to the eye which results in a degree of loss of vision in a single eye, you may be awarded between £18,880 and £31,320
Eye injuries that result in the loss of vision in one eye, you may receive between £39,270 and £43,710
Eye injuries that result in the total loss of sight in one eye where psychiatric issues are evident, you may be awarded between £43,710 and £52,360
Eye injuries that result in the loss of vision in one eye and with impaired sight in the other eye, you may be awarded between £50,970 and £143,270
Eye injuries that result in total loss of vision in both eyes, you may receive up to £214,210

As previously mentioned, each accident at work claim is assessed as being unique when it comes to calculating the amount of compensation that you may be awarded. As such, the figures provided amount are given as ballpark amounts of compensation you may be awarded in a successful eye injury claim against your employer.

How to Start an Eye Injury Claim Against an Employer

In order for your eye injury claim against an employer to be upheld, you would need to provide as much evidence of the accident at work that left you injured as possible. A solicitor who specialises in personal injury claims would offer essential advice on what proof would be required for your claim to be valid. This would typically include providing the following:

Photos or CCTV (if available) of where the accident at work happened
Photos of your eye injury, preferably prior to receiving any treatment
Evidence that you were not provided with the correct personal protective equipment to carry out a job
Witness statements together with their contact details
Any evidence that “procedures” were ignored or were lacking in the workplace
The report of the accident as officially logged either in the workplace Accident Report Book or by some other means which could be in an letter to the employer or a personal email to the employer detailing the accident and the injuries sustained

The more proof you have of a workplace accident, the stronger your case against a negligent employer would be.

What Can Be Included in an Eye Injury at Work Claim?

You would be awarded both “general damages” and “special damages” in a successful eye injury at work claim whether your employer accepts liability or disputes your claim which means that your case would go to court and be heard by a judge.

The general damages you would be awarded are based on the severity of your eye injury and how it impacts your future life both working and personal.

The special damages you would be awarded would be based on the “actual” out of pocket expenses you had to pay out because of your eye injury and this includes all your travel and medical expenses as well as any other costs you incurred. You would need to provide proof of your expenses in form of receipts which would be used to calculate the level of eye injury compensation you receive in special damages.

Should I Sue My Employer for an Eye Injury Sustained at Work?

The severity of the eye injury you sustained in a workplace accident could put you out of action and unable to work for a period of time. If your injury is so severe that you are unable to work again, it would mean you are unable to bring in a much needed weekly or monthly wage putting you under even more pressure. As such, seeking compensation from an employer would alleviate many future financial worries which you may otherwise have to cope with on top of the devastating and life-changing eye injury you sustained in an accident at work which occurred through no fault of your own.

Employers in the United Kingdom must carry liability insurance which must meet the legally required cover which is set at £5 million. This insurance is set in place to cover any accidents in the workplace that leave employees and other people injured, whether their injuries are minor or a lot more severe. As such, it is your employer’s insurance provider who would settle your eye injury claim whether this is in an out of court settlement or through the courts should your employer dispute liability for the injuries you sustained.

It is also worth noting that settlements are reached for 95% of personal injury claims that are filed with liability insurance providers preferring to reach a compensation agreement without the need of going through the courts.

What are My Workers Rights Following an Eye Injury Accident at Work?

You have specific “rights” in the workplace which includes when you are involved in a workplace accident that leaves you with an eye injury. Your rights are as follows:

That your job is safe even if you seek compensation from your employer
That your right to be compensated for the injuries you sustained in the workplace is respected

If your employer objects to you filing an accident at work claim to seek eye injury compensation, and makes your working life difficult by threatening you with redundancy or the sack, you should contact a lawyer who specialises in employment law because the chances are that you would be entitled to file further legal action against your employer on top of an eye injury claim.

What Are My Employer’s Responsibilities in the Workplace?

Apart from the legal obligation of having the correct level of liability insurance cover, your employer must also abide by all the laws and legislation that are set in place to keep employees safe from injury and harm in the workplace. This entails setting up all “reasonable” measures to reduce the risk of an accident occurring. Your employer must abide by the following in order to do so:

Provide all employees and other workers with adequate training and ongoing training so they can carry out their jobs safely
Machinery, equipment and tools must be correctly maintained in good working order and serviced as per a manufacturer’s guidelines
Carry out regular risk assessments in the working environment whether onsite or off site and to identify hazards and risks before setting place all reasonable measures to reduce the risk of harm and injury to employees, other workers and people visiting a workplace
Provide adequate and appropriate personal protective equipment which must be correctly stored, maintained and replaced when necessary
Provide detailed working practices and procedures to all employees and other workers

Should your employer fail in any of the above and you sustain an eye injury at work, they could be held responsible and as such they would be liable for the accident. In short, you would have the right to seek compensation for the eye injury you sustained through their negligence.

Are There Any Benefits to Working With a Solicitor on an Eye Injury at Work Claim?

A solicitor boasts vast experience when it comes to handling personal injury claims for employees taking all the worry of understanding what is often a complex legal process out of the equation. Other benefits and advantages that an accident at work lawyer would offer you, includes the following:

An initial, free, no obligation consultation which allows a solicitor to assess whether your eye injury against an employer is valid and whether you stand a very good chance of winning your case
You would be provided with essential advice on the sort of evidence required to strengthen your eye injury at work claim
A firm of lawyers has access to legal libraries which they can refer to when handling your eye injury claim
To work on your claim having signed a No Win No Fee agreement which means there would be no fee to pay for the solicitor to begin investigating your eye injury at work claim
Correspond with your employer and their liability insurance provider ensuring that all pre-action protocols are respected
Begin an investigation if your employer denies liability for the eye injury you sustained while in their employment with an end goal being to get them to admit responsibility
Arrange for you to be examined by an independent eye specialist/consultant who would provide a detailed medical report on the injury you sustained. This report would be crucial when it comes to negotiating your eye injury compensation
Arrange for you to receive specialist treatment with an end goal being to help you through your eye injury recovery process
To negotiate a fair settlement for the injuries you sustained through no fault of your own while at work
To arrange treatment, therapies and rehabilitation should your eye injury be such they are life-changing
To negotiate interim payments should your eye injury compensation settlement take a long time to receive

Another great benefit of having an accident at work lawyer work on your eye injury claim, is that they would arrange for you to receive specialist treatment and aftercare in the private health sector.

Is There a Time Limit to Making an Eye Injury at Work Claim Against My Employer?

You would have to adhere to the strict 3 year statutory time limit that is associated with all personal injury claims. The time limit starts from the date of the workplace accident that left you injured. However, should the workplace incident that left you with an eye injury have happened prior to your 18^th birthday, the time limit would only start from the date of you turn 18 years of age.

Can I Lose My Job Because I File an Eye Injury Claim Against My Employer?

You cannot be fired just because you seek compensation for an eye injury you sustained through no fault of your own while you were at work. If you are threatened with the sack because you intend on filing a personal injury claim, your employer would be acting illegally because they would be in breach of your “employee rights” which is to seek compensation for any injury you sustained in an accident at work without the fear of losing your job.

Would a Solicitor Work on a No Win No Fee Basis on My Eye Injury at Work Claim?

A lawyer would offer an initial consultation which allows them the chance to assess your eye injury claim. This consultation is free of charge and once it is established that your employer could be held liable for the injuries you sustained in a workplace accident, they would agree to work with you by signing a No Win No Fee agreement. This means you would not have to pay an upfront fee or any ongoing payments to the solicitor as your eye injury claim progresses.

Conditional Fee Agreements set out the Terms and Conditions of the contract between a firm of solicitors and you. The agreement also lays out the “success fee” you would only have to pay should you win your claim against your employer and the percentage that was agreed, is taken out of the eye injury compensation you are awarded. Should you lose your eye injury claim against your employer, there would be nothing to pay at all.

Informative Links:

To find out more about the treatment of serious eye injuries, please follow the link below:

More about serious eye injury treatments

If you would like to know more about the law regarding personal protective equipment (PPE), please click on the link below:

More about the law on personal protective equipment in the workplace

What Compensation Could I Receive When Struck By a Moving Object at Work? – Compensation Amounts Calculation

The Statistics Involving Workers Being Struck by a Moving Object

The statistics that cover being struck by a moving object in the workplace account for around 700 employees being injured in this manner with around 100 of the incidents causing major damage and injuries to the workers involved. The types of incidents that leave a employee injured whether their injuries slight or more severe are as follows:

One third of injuries sustained by workers are caused by items falling on them – an example being objects falling from storage racks
One quarter of injuries sustained by employees are as a result of using hand tools with knives being high on the list
A third of injuries sustained by workers are caused by collisions with moving vehicles – an example being moving pallet trucks, forklift trucks and other vehicles commonly used in a working environment

If you were involved in a workplace accident that involved being struck by a moving object, you could be entitled to file a personal injury claim against your employer, providing your case meets the specific criteria required.

Your Employer’s Responsibility in the Workplace

Your employer has a legal duty to ensure you are kept safe from injury and harm while in their employment. Failure to do so could result in them being deemed liable for any injuries you sustain if you are struck by a moving object at work. An essential factor when it comes to an employer’s responsibility in the workplace, is to carry out frequent and detailed risk assessments of the environment you work in and to place a lot of focus on any hazards that may involved being struck by a moving object.

With this said, it is worth noting that you could be struck by something at any time whether it’s a moving forklift, falling object or suffering a knife wound should you work in an environment that involves using hand knives. In short, it would be your employer’s responsibility to set in place all “reasonable” measures to ensure you are less likely to be struck by a moving object at work.

Your employer must abide by the Health and Safety Executive regulations at all times and all employees are bound to respect these “rules” as well. The methods to reduce the risk of being struck by a moving object at work, includes the following:

To ensure that all items/object that are stored at height whether on shelving or other means, are stacked correctly and that the shelving is stable, namely that it would not be easily disturbed which could result in objects falling from a height that could end up injuring an employee who is working below
Heavier items/objects must be stacked at lower levels and the lighter ones higher up
Special consideration must be placed on how items/objects are stacked, handled and moved to reduce the risk of injury to employees
Gas cylinders and other taller self-standing articles must be stored securely to ensure they are stable
Hand tools such as knives must be correctly and safely stored. Knives must be sheathed when they are not being used
Employees who regularly use hand knives in the course of their daily work, must be provided with the correct personal protective clothing/equipment depending on the jobs they are tasked to regularly do
Hand tools must be correctly maintained and kept in top condition to prevent employees having to use undue force when using them
Pallet trucks, racks, trolleys and other moving vehicles should only be used on “designated routes” and away from other employees whenever possible. Anyone pushing or pulling a trolley must have good visibility
Risk assessments must be carried out in areas where hazards and dangers are known to be more an issue – examples being where hoist hooks are used, or items are ejected from equipment/machines, or where kegs and barrels are rolled

Should an employer fail in any of the above, they could be deemed liable for the injuries you sustained by being struck by a moving object at work. In short, you could have the right to seek compensation by filing a personal injury claim against your employer.

What Can I Include in My Struck By a Moving Object at Work Claim?

Accident at work claims are divided into two parts when it comes to calculating how much you may receive when your case is upheld whether by a judge or in an “out of court” settlement. The two parts are known as “general damages” and “special damages”.

The way general damages are calculated are a little more complicated than the way special damages are worked out. The reason being that general damages are awarded for the injuries you sustained and how your life and well-being have been impacted by the injuries you sustained when struck by a moving object at work. In short, if you have suffered catastrophic, life-changing injuries, the compensation you may be awarded would be far greater than if you suffered less severe injuries.

Special damages are much easier to calculate as they are based on the “actual” expenses, costs and other out-of-pocket expenses you had to deal with as a result of having been injured in an accident at work. As such, when calculating the compensation for being struck by a moving object at work, a court or your employer’s insurance provider would need proof of all your expenses in order to work out how much you may receive in special damages which is why it is essential that you can provide evidence in the way of receipts of all your out of pocket expenses.

Who Pays the Compensation on a Successful Struck by Moving Object Claim?

If you were in an accident that left you injured because you were struck by a moving object at work, you could be entitled to seek compensation but only if your claim meets specific criteria which is that the incident occurred through employer negligence and it happened in the last 3 years.

If you want to make a personal injury claim against an employer, the best thing to do is to contact a lawyer who specialises in this type of work-related injury claim. The solicitor would investigate your claim to establish whether it is valid and to assess whether you stand a good chance of winning a level of compensation you deserve.

With this said, the solicitor would agree to sign a No Win No Fee agreement with you and once this is done, they would communicate either with your employer directly to begin with, or with your employer’s insurance provider. All employers in the United Kingdom are obliged by law to hold liability insurance for such an eventuality. As such, it would be your employers insurer who would handle your claim and who would agree a settlement whether your case goes to court or is settled beforehand, which is referred to as being “settled out of court”.

What are My Workers Rights If I Am Struck By a Moving Object at Work?

As previously mentioned, your worker’s rights are protected and this includes following an incident that leaves you injured when you are struck by a moving object at work. Your rights are detailed as follows:

You have the right to seek compensation for the workplace injuries you sustained
That your job and position within a company/business is safe should you make a personal injury claim against your employer

There are many laws and government legislation that are set in place to protect employees, all of which both an employer and worker must respect and adhere to. If you are struck by a moving object at work due to employer negligence, you have the right to seek compensation without fear of being treated unfairly or discriminated against.

Should an employer treat you detrimentally or threaten you in any way because you seek compensation for injuries you suffered as a result of having been struck by a moving object, you should get in touch with a solicitor who would advise you on whether you could take further legal action out against your employer, this includes filing a detrimental claim.

Can My Employer Fire Me For Filing a Struck by a Moving Object Claim Against Them?

An employer cannot sack you because you seek compensation from them for injuries you suffered in the workplace. If you were struck by a moving object at work and your injuries were such that you were unable to work whether for a short time or longer, you have the right to file a personal injury claim and to be awarded the compensation you sought.

Should your employer threaten to fire you or to make you redundant, they would be breaking the law and as such, you should seek legal advice from an employment lawyer before doing anything which includes resigning from your job because you are put under duress.

Is There a Time Limit to Making a Struck by Moving Object Claim?

If you are considering making a struck by moving object claim against your employer and you are certain that your case meets all the required criteria, it is best to begin filing a claim as soon as possible. The reason being that there is a statutory 3 year time limit associated with all personal injury claims.

Although 3 years from the date you were injured at work, may seem like long enough to wait a while, gathering all the necessary evidence can be a long drawn out process. With this said, should the incident that left you injured have happened prior to your 18^th birthday, the 3 year time limit would only commence when you turn 18 years of age.

What Are the Benefits to Working With a Solicitor on a Struck by Moving Object Claim?

Working with a solicitor on a struck by moving object claim offers many benefits and advantages, some of which are listed below:

A lawyer would be able to tell you whether you have a valid claim against your employer and would do so in a no obligation, initial consultation which is normally free of charge
Once a solicitor confirms your case against an employer is strong, they would typically agree to sign a No Win No Fee agreement with you. This means not having to pay a retainer or any ongoing fees
The amount you would pay a No Win No Fee lawyer is set out in the Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) you signed which is referred to as a “success fee” because you only have to pay it when you win your claim and the amount is deducted from the money you receive in a final settlement
Lawyers have access to legal libraries which they can reference when defending your claim in court
A solicitor would ensure you are examined by specialists and consultants who would provide essential medical reports detailing the extent of your injuries and how your life has been impacted which includes whether you would be able to work again
A solicitor would also ensure you receive a fair and acceptable level of compensation should your employer’s insurance provider offer to settle you struck by a moving object claim, “out of court”
Should your claim be complex and therefore a final settlement would take time to agree, a solicitor would ensure that you receive interim payments until the final settlement is received

Having the expertise of a No Win No Fee solicitor working on your struck by moving object at work claim, can help speed up what can be a complex legal process. With this said, the sooner a claim is filed, the better because it can take time to gather all the evidence required to prove your case.

Would a Solicitor Work on a No Win No Fee Basis on My Struck By a Moving Object at Work Claim?

As previously mentioned, solicitor who specialises in accident at work claims would initially need to establish you have a valid before agreeing to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. Once they are satisfied that you have a strong claim against a negligent employer, they would offer to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement which in short, means you would not have to worry about finding the funds to pay for the legal representation you receive from the outset of your case right through to when your claim is settled.

With this said, you would need to provide as much evidence as possible which includes all reports of the workplace incident that left you injured and all medical reports you may have initially received. The more details surrounding the circumstances that led up to the accident together with where and when the incident occurred, the stronger your case against an employer would be. You would also need to gather witness statements and their contact details together with information about your employer’s insurance provider.

A lawyer would then deal with all aspects of your struck by moving object at work claim by contacting both your employer and their liability insurance provider. There are time limits associated with all correspondence between you, the claimant and the defendant which in this instance is your employer. If the insurance provider fails to respond to your lawyer in a timely manner, it may be necessary to file court proceedings. However, the majority of accident at work claims are dealt with by an insurance provider before this becomes necessary. As such, your lawyer would negotiate with the insurer providing your struck by moving object at work claim is not disputed by your employer.

Informative Links

If you would like to know more about the Health and Safety Executive regulations regarding struck by moving objects at work, the following link provides essential reading:

Struck by something at work

To find out more about your employer’s responsibilities in the workplace, the following link provides information on the laws and legislation that must be adhered to:

An employer’s legal duty in the workplace

The following link provides useful information on the law relating to personal protective equipment in the workplace:

Personal protective equipment PPE in the workplace