Accidents at work that result in broken bones are commonplace and this includes broken toes. If you were involved in a work-related accident that left you with this type of foot injury, you may not be able to work for a period of time which can lead to financial worries. If the incident that left you with a broken toe occurred in the last 3 years and you believe your employer may be responsible, you could be entitled to file a broken toe claim against them and be compensated for all your out-of-pocket expenses as well as the pain and suffering you had to endure.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Broken Toe Injuries in the Workplace?
You can sustain a broken toe in a variety of ways in the workplace whether you stub a toe or a heavy item falls on your foot and you were not provided with correct footwear to carry out a specific job you were tasked to do. As a result, you suffer a crushed on broken toe. Other common workplace accidents that often result in sustaining a broken toe include the following:
- Falling from a ladder while stocking shelves
- Coming into contact with a moving vehicle and example having a foot run over by a forklift truck in a loading bay
Whatever the accident, should you not be able to work because of your injuries and you feel that the incident occurred through no fault of your own, you should discuss your injuries with a solicitor who specialises in accident at work claims. They would offer essential advice on whether you have a case and whether your employer could be held liable for the injuries you sustained in the workplace.
What You Should Do Following an Accident at Work that Leaves You With a Broken Toe
There is a procedure you should follow if you sustain a broken toe in the workplace, even if you are not thinking of filing for compensation from your employer at the time the incident occurred. The things you should do are as follows:
- Seek medical attention as quickly as possible even if you believe your injuries are not that serious
- Take photos of where the accident occurred
- Take photos of your injury
- Report the incident to the person in charge – if you cannot do this yourself, ask a work colleague to do this for you
- Make sure the accident is recorded in the accident report book, if there is no book, write down all the details of the accident and your injuries. Keep a copy for your own records and send the original to your employer so there is a record of the incident that left you with a broken toe at work
- Get witness statements
- Get witness contact details
- Get an official medical report of your broken toe injuries
You should also contact a solicitor who works on accident at work claims who would offer essential advice on how best to proceed should you want to file for compensation from a negligent employer.
Your Employer’s Responsibility Towards You in the Workplace
There are specific laws in the UK that all employers must abide by. These are set in place to protect workers and employees from being injured and harmed in the workplace. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 as well as the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 must be adhered to at all times to reduce and prevent workers being injured while carrying out their daily job.
Your employer must also carry out the following:
- Risk assessments must be done on a frequent basis with an end goal being to identify risks and dangers in the workplace before setting in measures to reduce/prevent workers from being injured and/or harmed in the workplace
- To provide adequate personal protective equipment to all employees when necessary
- To maintain equipment and machinery so it is in good working order
- To maintain and replace PPE when necessary
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How is the Compensation for a Broken Toe Calculated?
The compensation you may be awarded in a successful broken toe claim against a negligent employer would depend on the complexity and the severity of your injuries. If a toe is severely broken and the bone is crushed, you may find that your injury negatively impacts your daily life and this would be factored into the amount you are awarded in compensation. When it comes to calculating the amount of compensation you could receive, there are specific things that are factored in which are listed below:
- General damages are awarded to compensate the pain, suffering as well as mental and physical anguish you had to endure as a direct result of your broken toe injury
- Special damages are awarded to compensate your out-of-pocket expenses you had to cope with which includes medical costs, travel expenses to and from hospital or other medical facility to receive treatments. It also covers care costs should you require help around the home during your broken toe recovery time
The Amount of Compensation You May Receive in a Successful Broken Toe Claim
As previously mentioned, the amount you could receive in a successful broken toe claim would depend on several things. However, as a rough guide, the figures provided below offer an idea of a ballpark amount that may be awarded:
- A broken toe that makes it hard to wear shoes – you may be awarded anything from £4,500 to £47,575 depending on the complexity of the injury and whether you would require ongoing, specialist treatment. Do not forget you cal also claim things extra like loss of earnings.
If you are unsure on how best to proceed with a broken toe claim against your employer, a solicitor who specialises in accident at work claims would offer essential advice on what you would need to prove that your employer was negligent in their duty to keep you safe at work which resulted in you injuring a toe.
What is the Time Limit to Filing a Broken Toe Claim Against an Employer?
As with the majority of work-related personal injury claims, you have 3 years in which to file a claim against an employer should you think they were liable for your broken toe injury. The time begins from the date you sustained your workplace injury, but if you were under the age of 18 at the time the workplace accident occurred, the 3 year broken toe time limit would only begin from the day you turn 18 years of age.
With this said, it is best to seek legal advice sooner rather than later because it can take a long time to gather all the evidence needed to prove a broken toe claim. It can also take quite a while for an employer’s insurers to respond to any communication they receive that relates to your accident at work. The best course of action to take is to speak to a solicitor who once they have assessed your case, would typically offer to work on your broken toe claim on a No Win No Fee basis which means they take over all communication between an employer’s insurance representative.
What is the Advantage of Making a Broken Toe Claim?
There are many advantages to filing a broken toe claim against a negligent employer more especially if you have incurred a lot of out-of-pocket expenses as a direct result of having suffered a broken toe in a workplace accident. Should you have not been able to work even for a shorter period of time, it can put you under a lot of financial pressure and unable to pay monthly bills. The amount of compensation you could receive in a successful broken toe claim would go a long way in helping out financially and would also compensate you for the pain and suffering you had to endure through no fault of your own.
It is also worth noting that in the UK, employers are duty bound to keep you safe from harm in the workplace. They are also legally required to have valid employer’s liability insurance in place so that should an employee or other person visiting the workplace be involved in an accident that leaves them with an injury, the insurance would cover the cost of compensating a person for the damages they sustained through the fault of a third party.
How Long Does it Take for Broken Toe Compensation to be Paid Out?
When it comes to the time it may take for you to receive compensation in a successful broken toe claim, it depends on the complexity of a claim and whether an employer chooses to dispute the fact they are liable for the accident occurring and the injuries you sustained.
With this said, if your broken toe claim is straightforward, it can take anything from 6 to 9 months for a settlement to be agreed and paid out either by a court or an employer’s insurance company. More complex claims can take a lot longer more especially if you require ongoing treatment for the injuries you sustained, in which case a solicitor would do their best to negotiate an interim payment so that you are not put under financial pressure during the time your claim is in negotiation.
Can I Be Sacked for Making a Broken Toe Claim Against an Employer?
You cannot be fired because you decide to file for compensation against your employer because you feel the accident that left you with a broken toe could have been avoided. If an employer shows you the door or makes your working life uncomfortable so you decide to leave, you could be entitled to file an unfair dismissal claim against them. The reason being that unless an employer has another “good” reason for firing you other than the fact you choose to file a broken toe claim against them, you cannot be sacked or treated unfairly for doing so.
Would a Specialist Solicitor Work on My Broken Toe Claim on a No Win No Fee Basis?
Most solicitors would offer to work on your broken toe claim on a No Win No Fee basis once they have assessed whether you have a strong case against a negligent employer. In order for them to start work on your claim, you would sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which sets out the Terms and Conditions and the “success fee” you would only have to pay for the legal representation you receive from the amount you are awarded in a successful broken toe claim. Having entered into a CFA with you, the solicitor accepts the risk of your claim not being successful and as such, if this is the case, you would have nothing to pay at all.