Care Worker Injury Claims – How Much Compensation Can You Claim?

It’s fair to say that those working as carers can face many different challenges every day. If these challenges or risks are not managed correctly, there is a chance that the carer could be injured at work. Importantly, if you work as a carer in a fixed location or you visit clients or patients in their homes, your employer has a duty to ensure that you are as safe as possible. If they fail to do so andyou are injured as a result, you could be eligible to make a care worker injury claim for compensation.

To help you understand your options, we offer a no-obligation assessment of your case during a free initial consultation. This is where a specialist advisor will review what happened, answer your questions and explain your chances of being compensated. If your carer injury claim is strong enough, you could be partnered with a solicitor from our team who, if they accept your case, will provide a No Win No Fee service.

To check if you could make a care worker injury claim, please call our team on 0800 6524 881 today. If you’d like to know more about when carers can claim for an accident at work before contacting us, please read on.

Am I Eligible To Make A Care Worker Injury Compensation Claim?

For our solicitors to take on a care worker injury claim, there must be a reasonable chance of compensation being paid. This generally means that you’ll need to prove:

• Your employer owed you a duty of care;
• Your injury occurred because of an accident or incident resulting from employer negligence; and
• The accident directly caused your injury.

If these criteria apply, you may have grounds to begin a claim. Of course, you’ll need to prove your case if you’re to receive a payout so we’ll look at what evidence can be used later in this guide.

Common Causes Of Care Worker Injury Claims

Care workers can face various hazards in the workplace, and some injuries may result from employer negligence. Examples of common causes include:

• Injuries from moving clients without proper training in safe lifting techniques.
• Slips, trips and falls in care homes due to trip hazards, slippery floors, or inadequate lighting.
• Sharps injuries resulting from inadequate sharps disposal procedures.
• Occupational diseases from exposure to hazardous substances when proper PPE is not provided.
• Injuries suffered while preparing drinks or meals due to poorly maintained equipment.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of other ways in which carers could be injured at work so please don’t worry if your accident is not described here.

Common Injuries Sustained By Carers

Carer injury claims can be based on any type of injury (other than the most minor) including:

Again, please feel free to discuss a carer injury claim with one of our specialists even if your injury has not been listed here.

Evidence To Support A Care Worker Injury Claim

There is no doubt that if you have compelling evidence to support a care worker injury claim, your chances of a) winning the case and b) being compensated fairly will improve.

The following list contains some of the evidence you could use to strengthen your claim:

• Any correspondence with your employer about the accident along with a copy of an accident report form.
• X-rays, MRI scans, doctor’s notes and other medical records that prove your injuries.
• Photographs of any hazards that caused your accident plus pictures of any injuries that are visible.
• Details of anybody else who saw what happened so that witness statements can be gathered if needed.
• Video footage from CCTV cameras, bodycams or other recording devices.

Importantly, you do not need to have all of this information to speak to us about your claim. If your carer injury claim is accepted, your solicitor will work with you to determine the evidence you already have and anything else they’ll need to try and obtain on your behalf.

How Much Compensation For A Care Worker Injury Could I Claim?

If a care worker’s accident at work claim is successful, they will receive compensation. This payout will typically consist of two types of damages:

• General damages. Compensation for pain, discomfort, suffering and loss of amenity. Importantly, this covers physical injuries as well as psychological suffering. Loss of amenity means you could be compensated for hobbies and social or family activities disrupted by your injuries.
• Special damages. Compensation for financial losses caused by your injuries. Special damages could be paid to cover rehabilitation costs, loss of earnings, travel costs and other related expenses.

Importantly, your solicitor may ask you to attend an independent medical assessment so that they have a full understanding of how you’ve suffered. You should attend this appointment as the report that follows can be a useful tool to prove how much compensation you could be entitled to.

Carer Accident Compensation Calculator

The compensation calculator below provides compensation ranges from guidelines provided by the Judicial College for a range of different injuries. As you’ll see, injuries are graded by severity. In basic terms, this means that a carer who has suffered a long-term work-related back injury would typically receive more compensation than a carer who broke a finger at work (and has fully recovered).

Please bear in mind that the figures shown are not guaranteed as each care worker injury claim is unique.

If you contact our advice line and your claim is accepted, your solicitor will provide an accurate compensation estimate once your case has been fully appraised.

Care Worker Injury Claim Time Limits

There is usually a 3-year time limit when making a personal injury claim, so it’s important to work out when your time limit begins to try and avoid missing out on being compensated. For carer injury claims, the time limit usually starts from:

• The date that you had an accident at work; or
• Less commonly, the date of knowledge, for example, if it only became clear afterwards that a back injury (such as RSI) was significant and linked to your work or your employer’s negligence.

In our experience, carers should start a compensation claim as soon as possible because it’s usually a lot easier to find evidence and recall the facts about what happened in the days and weeks after being injured at work.

That said, if you have put off starting a carer injury claim and would like to check if you still have time to take action, please get in touch with one of our advisors who’ll provide free guidance about your options.

Do I Need A Solicitor To File A Carer Injury Claim?

There’s no legal requirement to use a solicitor to file a carer injury claim. However, even if you think you have a strong case, your employer’s insurance provider will deal with your claim on their behalf. This means that elements of your claim could be contested to try and reduce how much compensation you’re awarded.

Therefore, it might be wise to take on legal representation so that you have a specialist on your side who can try to counter any objections raised. If you are represented by a solicitor from our team, some of the ways that they could help include:

• Collating evidence to build your case and collecting any additional information needed.
• Ensuring that your claim complies with the pre-action protocol for personal injury claims.
• Fighting hard to prove how you have suffered and that your employer was to blame.
• Sending you updates about the case on a regular basis.
• Trying to negotiate a fair settlement if the claim is won.

As all care worker injury claims are managed on a No Win No Fee basis, once you’ve signed a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you won’t need to pay for your solicitor’s work upfront. In fact, the only time you will pay for their services is if you receive a compensation payout for your suffering.

Starting The Care Worker Injury Claims Process

If you work as a carer and believe your employer should compensate you for an accident at work, please contact our team on 0800 6524 881 today.

You’ll receive free legal advice during your initial consultation and we could partner you with one of our solicitors if your case is strong enough. Remember, our solicitors offer a No Win No Fee agreement for all care worker injury claims taken on.