An employer may have the best precautions in place to reduce the risk of injury and harm to employees in the workplace but accidents do still happen. It may be that a workplace accident occurs due to the error of a work colleague or because someone forgot to erect hazards signs following a spillage. Whatever the cause, if you were involved in an accident at work and you sustained any sort of injury through no fault of your own, you could be entitled to seek compensation from your employer. To find out more about the positive and negatives for claiming for an accident at work, please read on.
The Positives to Claiming Compensation for an Accident at Work
There are many positives to claiming compensation for an accident at work that leaves you with injuries, whether the injury you suffered was slight or a lot more severe, some of which are listed below.
Financial worries would no longer be an issue:
- Suffering any sort of injury in the workplace could mean not being able to work whether for a short period of time or much longer. Not being able to bring in a wage can put you under a lot of pressure financially and paying monthly bills like a mortgage, rent and other necessary living expenses could become a real problem. Seeking compensation for injuries in the workplace, would help solve any financial worries you may have to deal with allowing you to concentrate on recovering from you injuries
Paying for specialist treatment would no longer be a worry:
- The accident at work you were involved in could have left you with severe injuries that require specialist treatment and therapy whether the injuries you sustained were physical or psychological. Claiming for an accident at work and being represented by a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, could mean having access to specialists and consultants which you would not have to worry about paying for. This type of specialist treatment could be crucial to your recovery and could even speed up the process considerably
Travel expenses to receive treatment for your injuries would no longer be a concern:
- Travelling to and from a hospital or other medical facilities to receive the treatment and therapy you require to aid your recovery can be a worry because these costs can quickly add up. Seeking compensation following an accident at work, takes all the worry of how to pay for your travel expenses off the table whether you have to travel by car, train, bus, taxi or by other means. The reason being that you would be compensated for all your travel expenses which would be factored into the “special damages” you are awarded on a successful accident at work claim
You would be awarded general and special damages when claiming compensation for an accident at work:
- You would receive both general damages and special damages in a successful accident at work claim. General damages are harder to calculate because they are based on the extent of your injuries and how your ability to work as well as how your overall health and well-being are impacted by the damage you sustained in an accident at work. Special damages, on the other hand, are easier to calculate as they are based on “actual” costs and expenses that you incur as a direct result of having been involved in a workplace accident that left you injured which as previously mentioned would be factored into the compensation you receive
Receiving interim payments prior to a final settlement could make your life much easier:
- Should your workplace injuries be such that you require long-term, ongoing treatment and therapy or because your accident at work claim is so complex that it could take several years to reach a settlement, having a solicitor represent you and handle your claim could ensure that you receive interim payments before a final settlement is agreed by the parties concerned. This can make your life a lot easier taking all the worries of how to pay bills, your rent, mortgage and other living expenses off the table allowing you to place your focus on recovering from the injuries you sustained in an accident at work
Your worker’s rights are highly protected if you are involved in an accident at work:
- Worker’s rights are protected in the UK which also covers you should you be injured in a workplace accident that occurred through no fault of your own. An employer cannot prevent you from seeking compensation for the pain and suffering as well as any out of pocket expenses you have to cover as a direct result of being injured in the workplace. If your employer objects to you making an accident at work claim, they would be breaking the law and they could face further legal action being taken out against them. As such, you should always seek further legal advice from a solicitor who is an expert in employment law before you do anything else
Your employer cannot sack you for claiming compensation for an accident at work:
- Your employer cannot legally fire you because you seek compensation for injuries you sustained in the workplace. If they do threaten you with the sack or redundancy, you could take out further legal action against them. An employer must have another “valid” reason for showing you the door following an accident at work that left you with injuries whether minor or more severe
Your employer has a legal duty to keep you safe from injury and harm in the workplace:
- All UK employers have to abide by the laws and regulations that the government has set in place to keep workers safe from harm and injury. This means, that your employer must adhere to all the Health and Safety Executive regulations and other legislation. If your employer fails to do so because they have ignored the law, you have the right to seek compensation should you be injured in an accident at work as a consequence of their negligence. As such, you should seek legal advice on how best to proceed
Your employer is legally obliged to have liability insurance in place:
- Employers in the UK must by law, have valid liability insurance in place which provides the legal minimum required cover o £5 million. The policy should be clearly displayed in the workplace for everyone to see. When you file an accident at work claim, it is your employer’s approved insurance provider who handles your case and it is the insurance provider who would pay the amount of compensation you are awarded. It is noteworthy that should an employer fails to have liability insurance or the policy is provided by an insurance company that is not “recognised”, the enforcing authority has the power to levy hefty fines on your employer which could be as much as £2,500 a day
A solicitor with experience in handling accident at work claims, would ensure you are awarded the correct level of compensation:
- A firm of solicitors that has vast experience in representing employees when making an accident at work claim against an employer, would work hard to ensure that you are awarded the level of compensation the injuries you suffered merit, bearing in mind that the negotiations would be done between your employer’s insurance providers and the solicitor because the majority of personal injury claims (95%) are settled before they are heard by a judge. This is referred to as being “settled out of court” or a “Part 36 offer” which is proposed through your employer’s insurance providers directly with the firm of solicitors that handles your accident at work claim
95% of personal injury claims, which includes those that are work-related are settled out of court:
- As previously mentioned, should a solicitor believe that you have a strong claim against an employer, it typically means that your case would not be disputed. In short, your employer’s insurance provider would choose to settle your claim before it goes before a judge by proposing a Part 36 offer which can speed up the process considerably
Working with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis provides many benefits and advantages:
- Working with a solicitor having signed a No Win No Fee agreement with them offers you many advantages and benefits with the primary one being that you would not have to find the funds to pay for legal representation when you need it the most and you only pay the agreed “success fee” when your claim is upheld. Another advantage is that your claim would be assessed free of charge during an initial consultation whether the discussion takes place over the phone or in a face-to-face meeting, depending on the complexity of your case
The Negatives of Claiming Compensation For an Accident at Work
The Negatives of Claiming Compensation For an Accident at Work
- A solicitor would need to thoroughly assess your claim before agreeing to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. If it is found that you do not qualify for a solicitor to provide you with a No Win No Fee service, they would typically provide you with a reason why this is so. It could be that you cannot provide sufficient evidence to “prove” your claim, or it could be that the statutory time limit associated with a personal injury claim has run out or is too close to running out. In short, the time left would not be enough for a solicitor to gather all the evidence required to prove your claim and to ensure that no key points of an accident work claim are omitted
Gathering all the evidence needed can be complicated and time consuming:
- For an accident at work claim to be upheld, you would need to provide extensive proof that the injuries you suffered were because of employer negligence or due to the error/mistake of a work colleague. With this said, even if you are partly responsible for the accident happening and the injuries you suffered, you may still be entitled to receive compensation because your employer could be deemed partly responsible. If this is the case, the amount you receive would reflect the amount of liability you are deemed to have had in sustaining your injuries. This is referred to as “contributory liability”. An example being that if a court finds you are 25% responsible for the injuries you sustained, the amount you are awarded would be 25% less than if you suffered your injuries through no fault of your own, but rather due to the negligence of a third party, namely your employer. The evidence needed is as follows:
- A record of the accident as detailed in the accident report book or through any other official means
- The report of your injuries as sent to RIDDOR should the injuries you suffered be “reportable”
- A medical report detailing your injuries provided by a medical professional
- Witness statements together with their contact details
- CCTV footage of the incident should this be available
- Photos of your injuries – preferably prior to any treatment
- Photos of the site of the accident
Complex accident at work claims can take years to settle:
- When it comes to extremely complex accident at work claims, it can take several years for a settlement to be reached by the parties concerned. The reason could be that the injuries you sustained were so severe that you require ongoing treatment and therapy. Another reason could be that your injuries are catastrophic and therefore life-changing, in which case you would be awarded interim payments before receiving a final settlement for the injuries you sustained in a workplace accident. The interim payments would be negotiated on your behalf by an experienced accident at work solicitor with an end goal being to make life as easy as possible for you
There is a strict 3 year time limit associated with accident at work claims:
- There is a very strict 3 year personal injury claim time limit that must be adhered to. Failure to file a claim before the statutory time limit runs out, could mean you lose out on being awarded any compensation for the injuries you sustained in a workplace accident. This includes if you have valid evidence that the accident could have been awarded should your employer have set in place all reasonable and necessary steps to keep you safe from harm while you are in their employment. Even if there are just a few months left on the statutory time limit, a solicitor may not want to take on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis simply because there would not be enough time to gather all the proof required when filing an accident at work claim against a negligent employer
Appealing a court ruling if your accident at work claim is unsuccessful is a long-drawn out and complicated legal process:
- Should you lose your accident at work claim, filing an appeal against a court ruling is a long-drawn out and complicated legal procedure. The steps required before being able to appeal are best left up to an experienced solicitor because if you don’t pass the first test, a judge would not agree to hear your appeal. As such, it is best to discuss whether or not to appeal a claim with an experienced accident at work lawyer who would be in the best position to let you know your chances of success when appealing an accident at work decision
You may not be awarded the level of compensation you had hoped to receive:
- If you are disappointed with an outcome of your accident at work claim because you feel you deserved more in the way of compensation than you were awarded, you should discuss your concerns with your solicitor who may suggest that you lodge an appeal against a court ruling
It would be fair to say that the positives outweigh the negatives for claiming compensation for an accident at work. Responsible employers would always ensure that employees are kept safe from harm and injury in the workplace, but accidents do still happen. Seeking compensation for injuries sustained through no fault of your own is a justified method to being taken care of in a responsible way when you suffer an injury in an accident at work that occurred through no fault of your own.
Informative Links
To find out more about unfair and constructive dismissal claims if you feel you have been treated unfairly by your employer because you sought compensation for an injury sustained in the workplace, please click on the link below:
More about unfair and constructive dismissal
If you would like more data on your worker’s rights, the following link provides essential reading on the topic:
More about your rights in the workplace