Welding is a highly-skilled job that has various risks associated with it. So long as safety measures are adhered to, welders should be relatively safe at work. However, welding accidents do happen and they can lead to quite serious injuries. If your employer’s negligence has led to a welding injury, there may be grounds to start a compensation claim against them. Our guide about welding injury claims will explain your options and show how much compensation for welding injuries might be paid.

To make the claims process easier for you, we offer a no-obligation telephone consultation. A claims advisor will explain everything to you and offer free advice. If they suspect that you should be compensated after reviewing what happened, they’ll partner you with a personal injury solicitor from our team. You won’t need to pay for their work unless compensation is awarded as all accepted claims are dealt with on a No Win No Fee basis.

To speak to us right away, please call 0800 6524 881. To learn more about welding injury compensation claims before calling, please continue reading.

Am I Eligible To Make A Welding Injury Claim?

Generally, to be eligible to make a welding injury claim, you’ll need to prove that:

• Your employer breached their duty of care towards your safety at work; and
• That led to a welding-related incident or accident; and
• You were injured or made ill as a result of that incident.

If your claim is accepted, your solicitor will do all they can to try and help you to secure the maximum amount of compensation possible. You can improve your chances of winning your claim by providing supporting evidence. We’ll explain this in more detail shortly.

Duty Of Care Towards Welders

Laws such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 mean that employers have a legal duty to try and keep staff safe while they’re at work. That means where companies employ welders, they must:

• Conduct regular risk assessments of the workplace.
• Ensure welders have received the correct level of training and this is refreshed regularly.
• Inspect and maintain all welding equipment so it is safe to use and fit for purpose.
• Ensure working areas are well-ventilated to reduce the risks associated with welding fumes.
• Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as fireproof gloves, welding helmets, safety goggles and leather hoods.
• Check that the working area is free of flammable materials before welding commences.

These are just some of the requirements that employers should consider to try and keep welders safe at work. If you believe your employer failed to prevent an accident at work and you were subsequently injured while welding, please call our team today to see how we could help.

Common Welding Injuries In The Workplace

Some of the most common reasons people make welding injury claims include:

• Burns. Welding involves high temperatures, fiery sparks, and red-hot metal, all of which make burn injuries some of the most common injuries that welders experience.
• Eye injuries. Exposure to the intense light emitted during welding can cause arc eye or flash burns, which are painful and can lead to temporary eye injuries and potentially permanent loss of sight.
• Respiratory issues. Inhaling welding fumes and gases can lead to respiratory problems, such as metal fume fever, lung damage, or conditions like COPD, asthma and chronic bronchitis.
• Hearing loss. Welding generates loud noises, and prolonged exposure without adequate hearing protection can lead to hearing loss or tinnitus.
• Electric shocks. Welding equipment operates at high voltage, and improper handling or faulty equipment can result in electric shocks at work, which can cause serious injuries or even be fatal.
• Electric arc burns. Contact with the electric arc itself can cause severe burns to the skin and underlying tissues.
• Musculoskeletal injuries. Welding often involves repetitive movements and awkward postures, which can lead to strains, sprains, or overuse injuries in the muscles, joints, and tendon injuries at work.
• Toxic exposures. Welding fumes contain hazardous substances like manganese, chromium, and nickel, which can be toxic when inhaled or come into contact with the skin.

This list doesn’t include every possible welding injury that could occur. Therefore, even if we haven’t described your injury here please feel free to call.

Evidence To Support A Welding Injury Claim

When making a welding injury claim, it’s important to gather and provide relevant evidence to support your case.

Evidence that can help support a claim includes:

• Accident reports. If the welding accident happened at your workplace, make sure an accident report was filed. Obtain a copy of this report, as it can provide vital details about the incident, including time, date, location, and any safety issues or negligence that may have contributed to the accident.
• Medical records. Your medical records will be requested from the hospital that treated your welding injuries to help prove how much suffering you’ve endured.
• Witness statements. Anybody else who saw your accident happen might be asked to describe their version of events by your solicitor.
• Photographs. Pictures of your visible injuries can be used in conjunction with medical records to prove your welding injuries. Pictures of the cause of the accident can also help.
• CCTV footage. If there’s any CCTV footage of your accident, you are entitled to ask for a copy.
• Financial records. Wage slips, receipts and bank statements can help if you wish to claim back any costs linked to the welding accident and your injuries.

If your welding injury claim proceeds, your solicitor will go through any evidence you’ve already collected and try to obtain anything else that’s needed.

How Much Compensation For A Welding Injury?

The amount of compensation you might receive in a successful claim depends on various factors including the type and severity of the welding injury. We’ve therefore provided a calculator below for working out compensation amounts for different injuries that might typically be seen in a welding accident.

The settlement amounts displayed are based on the Judicial College guidelines and refer to general damages only. However, further compensation for special damages might also be awarded to cover:

• Medical treatment costs including private plastic surgery.
• Care costs.
• Travel expenses.
• The cost of replacing damaged personal items.
• Lost income and future losses in longer-term cases.
• Changing the layout of your home to make it more accessible if you’ve been left disabled as a result of the accident.

If you’re unsure of what general damages and special damages in personal injury claims are, please see the page here.

Don’t worry too much about what you’re entitled to as your solicitor will go through everything in fine detail to try and make sure you don’t miss out on any compensation you might be entitled to.

Welding Injury Claim Time Limits

Generally, you will need to begin your welding injury claim within 3 years of the date of the accident, or from when your injury had been diagnosed. This is the legal time limit for personal injury claims in the UK. If you leave it too late, there might not be enough time to collect evidence or the claim could become statute-barred.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to seek legal advice about your claim as early as possible. If your claim is taken on and your employer accepts liability for the accident and your injuries, you could be paid interim compensation payments before the claim is settled in full. These can help with the cost of medical treatment, care costs or if you’re struggling because of lost earnings.

Generally, welding compensation claims can take around 6 to 9 months to be settled. That said, more complex cases or claims that are disputed may take longer.

Can I Claim Compensation For An Old Welding-Related Injury?

Some industrial injuries and illnesses such as those affecting your lungs, hearing or eyesight can take years to develop. Although there is a 3-year time limit for welding injury claims, in these cases it may not start until the date your condition was diagnosed by a doctor. That means we could help you to claim against a company you no longer work for if they were responsible for your suffering.

Please call today if you’d like to discuss your options and to find out how we could help you.

Will I Be Sacked If I Sue My Employer?

There should be no negative consequences if you make a legitimate welding injury claim as that would be illegal. You cannot be fired, disciplined or picked on because you’ve made an honest compensation claim. If that were to happen, a separate claim for unfair or constructive dismissal might be possible.

Starting The Welding Injury Compensation Claims Process

If you’ve been affected by a welding injury caused by your employer’s negligence, please call 0800 6524 881 for a free consultation. We’ll assess whether you’ve got grounds to claim and a specialist will answer any questions you might have.

If there are grounds to claim and one of our personal injury solicitors offers to help, they’ll provide a No Win No Fee service. That means they’ll take on all of the financial risks associated with claiming and you’ll only have to pay for their work if you’re paid compensation.

To find out more about welding injury claims, please call or feel free to use our online chat service.