Any injury to the eye can be painful and have a significant impact on your life. While many eye injuries are temporary, more serious cases can lead to ongoing vision problems or even complete blindness. 
Importantly, if you’ve suffered an eye injury in a road traffic collision, an accident at work, or another incident due to somebody else’s negligence, you may be eligible to make an eye injury claim for compensation.
If you believe you should be compensated for an eye injury, call our team for a free initial consultation. There’s no obligation to continue, but you’ll receive legal advice about your options after your case has been reviewed. If your claim seems strong enough, we’ll connect you with one of our personal injury solicitors. They’ll represent you on a No Win No Fee basis in the event your eye injury claim is taken on.
To discuss your eye injury right away, please call 0800 6524 881 today. Otherwise, please read on to find out more about your options.
Table of contents
- Am I Eligible To Make An Eye Injury Compensation Claim?
- Common Causes Of Eye Injury Claims
- Common Types Of Eye Injuries
- How Much Compensation Will I Get For An Eye Injury?
- Evidence To Support An Eye Injury Claim
- Time Limits For Claiming Eye Injury Compensation
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Starting The Eye Injury Claims Process
Am I Eligible To Make An Eye Injury Compensation Claim?
Our personal injury solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, so they’ll usually only take on eye injury claims if they believe there is a good chance of being compensated. Before agreeing to represent you, they’ll look at whether:
- The defendant had a legal duty of care towards you; and
- Their negligence caused an accident or an incident to happen; and
- You injured an eye or both eyes as a result.
Proving a duty of care existed is quite straightforward using legislation like the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 if you’ve suffered an eye injury at work. Therefore, you needn’t spend too long researching this, as it’s something your solicitor will check at the start of your consultation.
Common Causes Of Eye Injury Claims
Our personal injury solicitors can help claim for most types of eye injuries caused by somebody else’s negligence. Some of the more common causes of eye injury claims include:
- Workplace accidents. For example, you could claim compensation for a work injury if chemicals or fumes damaged your eyes at work because you weren’t supplied with safety goggles by your employer. Your claim could also be based on a lack of training and unsafe working conditions.
- Road traffic accidents. Here, you could claim compensation if glass fragments scratched your cornea following a car crash caused by another road user.
- Public place accidents. An example here might be if you suffer a black eye after being assaulted in a pub because of a lack of security staff.
- Sporting injuries. While you might accept a level of risk when playing some sports, if your eye is injured because of an unsafe pitch, poor coaching, damaged equipment or inadequate supervision, you could be entitled to compensation.
- Medical negligence. This includes avoidable harm from treatment errors, such as mistakes during cataract or laser eye surgery, or a missed eye infection that leads to sight damage.
If your eye injury was caused by any other type of incident, please let us know, and we’ll assess your chances of being compensated for free.
Common Types Of Eye Injuries
The eye injuries you can claim for typically include damage to the eyeball itself, the eye socket, and the ligaments and muscles around the eye. Some of the more common injuries our solicitors can deal with include:
- Corneal abrasions.
- Orbital (eye socket) fractures.
- Detached retinas.
- Chemical burns.
- Surface haemorrhage (bleeding in the eye).
- Black eyes.
- Foreign object injuries.
Some of the injuries listed above could cause temporary or permanent vision problems, including blindness if severe enough or not treated properly.
How Much Compensation Will I Get For An Eye Injury?
There’s no fixed payout for an eye injury because every case is different. Your compensation will mainly depend on how serious the injury is and how it has affected your life.
You could be awarded damages to cover things like:
- Physical pain and suffering.
- Loss of amenity, e.g. how your eye injury has impacted your social life and hobbies.
- Psychological harm, such as distress or depression.
- Lost earnings.
- Medical expenses.
- Care costs to cover the time somebody else spent supporting you while your eye was injured.
- Travel expenses.
- Future loss of earnings if your eye injury impacts your ability to work or progress in your job.
- Home modifications that make it easier for you to get around if you’ve suffered some form of permanent vision loss.
If you’d like to find out if a personal injury solicitor could help you to claim eye injury compensation, please call today.
Average Eye Injury Settlement Amounts
The following amounts are based on compensation guidelines (advised by the Judicial College) when calculating the value of an eye injury for general damages. Importantly, you could receive less or more than the examples shown if your claim is successful.
- £2,690 to £4,820 compensation for transient, minor eye injuries with full recovery expected within weeks.
- £4,820 to £10,660 for minor injuries, such as a direct strike to the eye or exposure to smoke or liquids causing short-term pain and temporary vision issues.
- £11,120 to £25,600 for relatively minor injuries with some permanent vision problems, such as light sensitivity or double vision.
- £60,130 to £66,920 compensation for loss of sight in one eye, with the higher figure often associated with additional scarring.
- £66,920 to £80,210 for the total loss of one eye, with compensation generally varying based on age, cosmetic impact and psychological effects.
- £78,040 to £129,330, where there’s a loss of sight in one eye plus reduced vision in the other, depending on the expected deterioration of the remaining eye.
- Compensation for total blindness in both eyes might be anywhere up to £327,940.
During the claims process, an independent medical assessment will be obtained so that your solicitor can fully understand your prognosis. Once that report is received, your solicitor will be able to offer a personalised compensation estimate.
Evidence To Support An Eye Injury Claim
If you make an eye injury claim, it will almost inevitably end up with the defendant’s insurance company. Usually, they will defend the claim from the outset and try to avoid paying compensation unless they have to. Therefore, your solicitor will present a strong case backed by evidence to prove their client is liable.
The types of evidence for an eye injury claim they might use include:
- Accident scene photographs. Where possible, these should include what caused the accident that led to your eye injury before it gets repaired, removed or replaced.
- Witness details. In cases where liability is not clear, your solicitor might collect witness statements to back up your version of events.
- Accident report forms. These make it difficult for the defendant to deny that the accident occurred. Therefore, you should always report the accident where possible.
- Medical evidence. Your medical records can be obtained from the hospital or GP surgery where your eye injury was treated to help confirm the doctor’s diagnosis.
- CCTV or dashcam recordings. If the accident was captured on camera, footage of the accident can make it much easier to prove how you were injured.
- Financial evidence. Receipts, wage slips and bank statements can be used to help prove how your eye injury has affected you financially.
- Before and after photos. Photos (or videos) showing your condition before and after the eye injury can illustrate the injury more vividly.
- Diary. A diary where you record details of the impact of your eye injury on your daily life, including pain levels and any challenges faced during your recovery.
As part of our free initial consultation, we’ll review any evidence you already have, so please share it with us when you get in touch.
Time Limits For Claiming Eye Injury Compensation
Personal injury claims are usually subject to a 3-year time limit. Mostly, an eye injury claim will start from the date of the injury.
If a child under the age of 18 has suffered an eye injury, a litigation friend could claim compensation on their behalf, or, if not, they would have until their 21st birthday to make their own claim.
Where the injured person lacks mental capacity, the 3-year time limit does not run. A litigation friend can pursue the eye injury claim on their behalf, and the usual limitation period only begins if, and when, they regain capacity.
In our experience, it’s easier to gather evidence and to have your eye/s examined independently if you begin the claims process earlier rather than later. Additionally, if you start early, there’s a chance your solicitor could request an interim payment so that you could get private medical care, if it would improve your chances of a full recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below, we’ve answered some questions people commonly ask about eye injury compensation claims.
How do I know if somebody else was at fault for my injury?
You’ll need to show that somebody failed to take reasonable care and that this caused your eye injury. Examples include not being given eye protection at work, unsafe conditions in a public place, careless driving, or avoidable medical errors. Essentially, if your injury was preventable, fault is likely. A solicitor can review the facts and confirm this quickly.
Can I claim compensation if I was partly responsible for my eye injury?
Yes, you could still claim compensation for an eye injury even if you were partly responsible for the accident that caused it. However, the amount of compensation you receive may be reduced to reflect your share of responsibility. This is known as “contributory negligence,” and is explained further here.
Will making a claim affect my job?
It shouldn’t do, because your employer should not treat you differently for making a genuine eye injury claim. It’s also usually dealt with through their insurance, so it won’t come out of their wages or company budget. Most sensible employers expect staff might claim if they’ve been hurt at work because of negligence.
Can I claim for my child’s eye injury?
Yes, a parent or responsible adult can claim on behalf of a child as their litigation friend. There’s no time limit to start the claim while the child is under 18. If no claim is made earlier, the child can pursue their own eye injury claim from age 18 up to their 21st birthday.
Do I need a solicitor or can I deal with the insurer myself?
You can deal with the insurer on your own, but you might find it harder to prove fault and value your eye injury correctly. A specialist No Win No Fee solicitor can handle the evidence, medical reports and negotiations for you, which usually leads to a stronger claim and a fairer payout.
How long does an eye injury claim take to settle?
Straightforward claims can settle in a few months, especially if liability is accepted quickly. More serious injuries, or cases where the insurer disputes fault or the extent of the damage to your vision, can take a year or longer while medical evidence is gathered.
Do eye injury claims go to court?
Usually not. Most eye injury claims settle through negotiation with the insurer. You’d usually only go to court if there’s a serious dispute about who was at fault or how much the claim is worth.
Starting The Eye Injury Claims Process
If you’d like to find out if you’re eligible to claim eye injury compensation, please call our advice centre on 0800 6524 881 today. Your claim will be assessed by a specially trained advisor who’ll explain your legal options for free.
If your claim is accepted, your solicitor will handle everything for you and act on a No Win No Fee basis. This way, if the claim fails, you won’t have to pay legal fees. If the claim is won, an agreed percentage of any compensation would be deducted as a success fee to cover the cost of your solicitor’s work.
To learn more about the eye injury claims process, please connect with an advisor using our live chat service.