If you’ve been injured from a fall at your workplace through no fault of your own, you might be eligible to make a fall at work claim for compensation. This might be to help you cope with short-term injuries such as strains and sprains or more serious complications that could have an impact on your family and social life as well as your ability to work.
However serious your injury is, in this guide to fall-at-work claims, we’ll explain when you might be eligible to claim compensation and how the process works if you are.
To discuss making a claim right away, please call our team on 0800 6524 881 today. Otherwise, please read on to find out more about the fall-at-work claims process.
Table of contents
- Am I Eligible To Make A Fall At Work Compensation Claim?
- Examples Of Employer Negligence You Could Claim Compensation For
- Common Injuries Sustained From Falls At Work
- How Much Compensation For A Fall At Work Could I Claim?
- Evidence To Support A Fall At Work Claim
- Time Limits For Claiming Fall At Work Compensation
- Starting The Fall At Work Claims Process
Am I Eligible To Make A Fall At Work Compensation Claim?
Whilst at work, your employer has a duty of care to try and keep you as safe as possible. Therefore, you could be compensated for your injuries in a fall at work claim if they were caused by your employer’s negligence.
Before one of our personal injury solicitors can accept taking a claim on, they’ll want to check that you have a fair chance of success. To do this they’ll try to verify that:
- Your employer breached their duty of care by being negligent; and
- An accident occurred where you fell at work as a result of their negligence; and
- You were injured by your fall.
When making a fall-at-work compensation claim, the duty of care will be established by legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. After that has been confirmed, your solicitor will move on to proving how your accident occurred and who was to blame. To help with this task, we’ll explain what evidence you could provide later on.
How Employers Can Reduce Falls At Work
An employer’s duty of care towards their employees and workers essentially means they are responsible for putting in place reasonable safety measures in order to protect you from any type of accident including falls at work.
Providing adequate protection from falling in the workplace may involve some or all of the following:
- Regular maintenance and repair of the premises, equipment and furniture, particularly broken flooring, torn carpets and broken chairs.
- Ensuring that all walking spaces are clear of all obstacles that might cause you to fall including trailing wires.
- Installing anti-skid flooring or handrails for additional protection on sloping surfaces or in places with a higher risk of injury from slipping at work.
- Ensuring ladders, scaffolding and other height-related tools are sturdy and secure.
- Providing proper anti-skid footwear to employees working outdoors on frozen or otherwise slippery surfaces.
If you fall and get injured at work because your employer failed to put proper protective measures in place, you may be eligible to claim compensation for your injuries from your employer.
All employers are legally required to have Employers’ Liability insurance so essentially when you file a fall at work claim, you will be dealing with your employer’s insurance company. You will not be dealing with your employer directly.
Examples Of Employer Negligence You Could Claim Compensation For
In this section, we’ve provided some examples of negligence that might lead to compensation if you fell at work as a result. They include:
- Where you fell down a flight of stairs because a handrail was loose or missing.
- If you tripped over an unsecured electric cable in an office accident.
- Where you fell off a ladder because it was damaged and was no longer fit for purpose.
- If you tripped on a large pothole in the company car park.
- If you fell and hurt yourself after you slipped on water at work caused by a leak or spillage that was not cleaned correctly.
- Where you tripped and fell in a warehouse accident because of uneven or damaged flooring.
- If you fell down a cellar in a pub that had been left unattended and there weren’t any warning signs.
We can’t list every possible accident at work that could lead to a fall so don’t worry if yours isn’t listed, we could still help you to claim. For free advice about your options, please call one of our specialists today.
Common Injuries Sustained From Falls At Work
It’s possible to claim compensation for any injury following a fall at work if your employer was responsible in some way. Some of the most common injuries claimed for include:
- Broken wrists.
- Broken nose.
- Broken legs.
- Concussions and other head and brain injuries.
- A back injury at work.
- Cuts, bruises and lacerations.
- Soft tissue injuries.
- Broken ankles.
- Broken foot.
- Workplace knee injuries.
- Neck injuries at work.
- Ligament, tendon and muscle injuries.
If you’d like us to check whether you could be compensated following a fall at work, please get in touch for a free case review.
How Much Compensation For A Fall At Work Could I Claim?
How much compensation you might get for a fall-at-work claim will vary from one person to the next. Settlements are typically based on:
- General damages. This is compensation to cover the pain and suffering (including mental harm) caused by your accident. It also covers loss of amenity where you can claim for any impact on your hobbies, social or family life.
- Special damages. Here your claim will focus on any financial losses such as travel expenses, care costs, medical expenses and lost earnings.
The amount you might be awarded as general damages is based on the severity of your injuries. To help prove how seriously you were injured following your fall, an independent medical assessment will usually be needed as part of the fall-at-work claims process. Our solicitors can usually book these appointments locally with a medical expert so you won’t need to travel too far.
Evidence To Support A Fall At Work Claim
Even if your employer is apologetic at the time of your accident at work, you should be prepared to collect evidence. That’s because the fall at work claim will probably be dealt with by the company’s insurance company. They’ll probably deny liability automatically unless you’ve got evidence to prove a) how the accident happened, b) how your employer was negligent and c) the injuries you sustained.
The types of evidence you could use include:
- Accident report forms. You should always report a fall at work to your employer. By law, they’ll need to record details about the incident in an accident report book (or similar). Your copy could be used to prove when and where the accident took place.
- Photographic evidence. If you can, it’s a good idea to take pictures at the scene of your accident. Ideally, these should capture the root cause of why you fell at work and be taken before any repairs are made.
- Security camera footage. You are entitled to request a copy of any CCTV camera recordings that captured your accident. Bear in mind, though, that data is usually deleted quite quickly so you should act swiftly.
- Medical records. To ensure your injuries are diagnosed and treated properly, you should attend A&E or a minor injuries unit. Later on, if you decide to claim compensation, your medical records could be obtained to help prove how you suffered.
- Witness details. If anybody else was present when you fell at work, you should give your solicitor their contact details. If necessary, they might be asked to provide a statement of what they saw at a later date.
It may also be useful to write a diary of events to make it easier to remember how you’ve been affected by your fall. This could include a list of expenses incurred because of your injuries and the dates of any events you’ve missed while injured.
If you call our team for a free assessment of your claim, they’ll consider any evidence you’ve gathered during your call.
Time Limits For Claiming Fall At Work Compensation
If you decide to take action after being injured at work, you’ll have a 3-year time limit. In claims relating to falls in the workplace, this will usually begin on the date of your accident. It’s best to begin your claim as soon as you can to make it easier to secure evidence to support your case.
The time it will take for your claim to be finalised will vary. Where liability is admitted at the start of your claim, you might be compensated in a matter of a few months or so if you’ve fully recovered from your injuries. For more complex cases, claims can take more than a year. However, if you’re suffering financially because of your injuries, your solicitor might be able to secure interim payments from your employer before your claim is finalised.
Will I Be Fired For Claiming Compensation From My Employer?
It’s important to point out that you should not face any problems at work for making a genuine compensation claim against your employer. Your rights after an accident at work mean it is illegal to be disciplined, fired, demoted or treated differently as a result of your claim.
If you were to be singled out because you’ve taken action, your employer could face a separate claim for unfair or constructive dismissal. Please get in touch if you wish to discuss this in further detail.
Starting The Fall At Work Claims Process
If your fall at work claim is accepted by one of our solicitors, they’ll represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. That means they’ll begin working for you without being paid anything upfront. If your case is won, they’ll deduct a specified percentage of your settlement amount as a success fee to cover their costs and time. So that you have everything in writing, you’ll both sign a Conditional Fee Agreement before your claim begins.
The easiest way to check if one of our solicitors could help you is to call our specialist advisors on 0800 6524 881. During your call, we’ll review your case for free and explain your options.
Please feel free to use our live chat service if you’ve got any extra questions about a fall-at-work compensation claim.