If you’re injured at work, you may be entitled to claim compensation for your suffering in addition to any sick pay you receive. This might be the case if your workplace injury was in some way caused by your employer’s negligence. During this guide, we’ll look at the types of accidents that could lead to a compensation payout and explain how the claims process works. We’ll also look at potential compensation amounts for workplace accident claims.

If you do want to claim, you don’t need to go it alone. Our team can help by offering an initial consultation along with free legal advice. If it looks like you should be compensated for an injury at work, we’ll ask one of our personal injury solicitors to review your claim. Importantly, they won’t ask for any legal fees to be paid upfront as they’ll represent you on a No Win No Fee basis if your claim proceeds.

To see if you could get paid for an injury at work, please speak to one of our specialists on 0800 6524 881 today. Alternatively, please read on to learn more before calling.

Am I Eligible To Get Paid For An Injury At Work?

Employers are legally obliged to try and protect their staff whilst working. This ‘duty of care’ stems from the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which you may have heard of.

One of our personal injury solicitors may agree to try and secure compensation on your behalf if:

• Your employer was negligent in some way; and
• An accident at work happened as a result; and
• You were injured at work or made ill because of the accident.

As you can see, the criteria above mean you can only make a claim for accidents your employer could’ve prevented. If you were injured in an accident that simply couldn’t have been foreseen, a personal injury claim would not succeed.

What Type Of Injuries Could I Get Paid For?

You are entitled to get paid for essentially any type of injury that is caused by your employer’s negligence or mistake. Typically workplace injuries are caused by one-time events or repeated exposures at work.

One-time events could include but are not limited to:

• Slip and fall accidents.
• Falling from height.
• Getting hurt by an object falling from height.
• Burn injuries from accidental contact with hazardous chemicals.
• Faulty equipment.
• Accident while operating dangerous machinery.
• Getting crushed by a heavy vehicle.
• Needle stick injuries.

Whether we’ve listed your injury here or not, you could get paid compensation if the injury was caused by your employer’s negligence. Please call our team if you’d like to verify if you are eligible to claim.

A Note On Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)

While employers need to try and prevent accidents from occurring, they also need to consider the risks to staff health caused by carrying out the same task over and over again. These can lead to RSI which can have a negative impact on both short-term and long-term health.

Examples of repetitive strain and similar injuries that you could be compensated for include:

• Back pain from continuous lifting of heavy items without proper support;
• Carpal tunnel syndrome from repeatedly performing the same tasks for several hours every day;
• Tinnitus or hearing loss from being exposed to loud noises continuously;
• Respiratory diseases from exposure to low levels of toxic fumes;
• Tennis elbow from using the arm and elbow repeatedly to perform the same tasks for extended periods.
• Vibration White Finger (VWF) caused by use of vibration tools.

Why Would Your Employer Need To Compensate You For A Workplace Injury?

As explained above, your employer needs to take steps to try and reduce the risk of injury in the workplace. This means that they should:

• Carry out regular risk assessments and try to remove any potential dangers identified.
• Produce a safety policy and ensure staff have access to it.
• Train staff on how to do their jobs safely.
• Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where risks can’t be managed in other ways.
• Ensure all workplace equipment is well maintained and fit for purpose.
• Allow regular rest breaks and not overwork staff.
• Consider providing specialist tools to reduce the risk to staff.

If these employer responsibilities were not adhered to and caused you to have an accident, you could get paid compensation for any injuries sustained as a result.

Common Types Of Workplace Accidents

Here is a list of common workplace accidents causing injuries that our solicitors could help you get paid compensation for:

Again, you could be entitled to get paid for any type of injury at work if your employer’s negligence caused the accident that caused it.

What Could You Be Paid For A Work Injury?

Any personal injury claim could be used to cover any suffering you’ve endured (general damages) and any expenses (special damages) you’ve incurred. It’s important, therefore, to consider exactly how you’ve been affected by your injuries before suing your employer for being hurt at work.

If your claim is won, you could be awarded compensation to cover:

• Any physical pain you’ve endured or are still dealing with.
• Distress, depression, anxiety or other forms of mental harm.
• Loss of enjoyment of your usual hobbies and social activities.
• Physiotherapy, treatment and other medical expenses.
• The cost of a carer if needed.
• Travel expenses – for example hospital parking fees.
• The cost of buying replacement clothes or other items damaged during your accident.
• Aids or home adaptations to help you deal with any ongoing disability.
• Lost income and future losses if your earning capacity is affected by your injuries.

Importantly, when calculating loss of earnings you should take into account any sick pay your employer paid including Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).

If you work with one of our personal injury solicitors, they’ll assess your claim in detail so that they fully understand how you’ve suffered. They’ll then use that information to try and make sure that you are compensated fairly.

How Much Will I Get Paid For An Injury At Work?

Your solicitor and your employer’s insurance provider will usually base any settlement amount on guideline figures from the Judicial College. Before they do, they’ll need an independent medical expert to confirm your prognosis. Your solicitor will therefore arrange a medical assessment as part of the claims process for you.

Once your injuries have been examined, the specialist will write a report to say what injuries you’ve suffered and how they’ve affected you. This report will be used to determine how much compensation you’ll be paid if the claim is won.

Some example figures from the Judicial College’s latest guidelines are included in the compensation calculator below:

What To Do If You’re Injured At Work

There are several steps you can take if you’re injured at work to help ensure you get paid compensation. These may be important because you’re contractually obliged to do them or they could help you to provide evidence if you decide to seek compensation for any injuries. The steps include:

• Report your accident. You should tell a supervisor about your accident as soon as possible. The accident report form could later be used to prove that the accident occurred.
• Take photographs. It’s a fairly good idea to take pictures of the accident scene to try and show what caused you to be injured. If you can, do this quickly before anything is fixed or removed.
• Get medical assistance. You should have any injuries assessed at a hospital or GP surgery. Not only will this lead to a proper diagnosis and treatment, but you could also use the medical notes to prove the extent of your suffering.
• Speak to colleagues. Ask anybody else who saw your accident take place to give you their contact details. Where required, your solicitor could ask them to provide a witness statement of what they saw.
• Ask for security camera footage. If your employer has CCTV cameras, ask for any relevant footage to be forwarded to you. This can be a great way of proving how you were injured at work.

Time Limits For Injury At Work Claims

There is a 3-year time limit to claim for an injury at work. This will start from either of the following:

• The date your accident at work occurred.
• When a medical professional diagnosed your condition (more likely in RSI claims).

Because of the amount of work needed for workplace accident claims, we believe it’s best to start the process as soon as you possibly can.

How To Get Paid Compensation For An Injury At Work

We hope this guide has answered the question, “I was injured at work – do I get paid?”. If you’d now like to speak with us about claiming, please call 0800 6524 881 today.

As well as providing free legal advice about your claim, we could partner you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors if your claim is strong enough. Not having to pay legal fees upfront will usually make the process much easier and less stressful.

If you need any more information about getting paid for an injury at work, please connect to our free live chat service.