Read our free 10 point guide to why injuries at work happen and the process of starting a claim for compensation.
The workplace is supposed to be a safe place for you to be, and your employer has a statutory duty of care to look after your health and safety. This means that they have a legal responsibility to make sure that you are kept safe when you are at work and when you are performing tasks associated with your job. In practice, this means that your employer must think about the kinds of risks and hazards involved in your job and make sure that they take all reasonable steps to avoid or mitigate anything that might lead to accidents or injuries. Examples of things your employer might do to avoid accidents might be putting up guard rails in areas where you might fall from a height or making sure that all equipment is serviced regularly to avoid any accidents that might be caused from faulty machinery. Mitigating accidents or injuries means that they take steps to minimise the effects and damage.
Examples of your employer mitigating the consequences of any accidents might be providing a well-stocked first aid kit and providing hard hats for use on a construction site. If you suffer an accident or injury at work and your employer has not taken all reasonable steps to protect you, you may be eligible for compensation.
Many people worry about starting a work injury compensation claim, but we are here to help you through the process. If you have been injured as a result of an accident at work, call us on 0121 565 4317 or fill in our online claims form to arrange your free, no obligation consultation. Our expert team of personal injury claims solicitors are here to set your mind at rest. We will listen to the details of your case and make sure that we understand the specifics of your unique situation. We will then give you the best possible advice based on our years of experience. We will explain the likelihood of your work injury compensation claim being successful, the amount of compensation you can expect and the funding options that are available to you. Our reassuring claims experts will be here to answer any questions you may have at any point throughout the process of starting your work injury compensation claim.
What Kinds Of Accidents Or Injuries Can I Make A Work Injury Compensation Claim For?
Any accident that occurs at your workplace or as a result of the job you have been asked to do counts as a workplace injury. Because your employer has a statutory duty of care to protect your wellbeing, it can be much easier to demonstrate liability (the legal term for proving who was at fault for your accident or injury) in a work injury compensation claim than in other forms of personal injury claim.
The range of accidents you can make a work injury compensation claim for is very wide. Common examples include:
- Lifting Injuries
- Slips, Trips Or Falls At The Workplace
- Injuries From Falling Objects
- Forklift Injuries
- Injuries Caused By A Lack Of Training
- Injuries Caused By Faulty Or Missing Equipment
- Burns and Scalds
- Contact With Hazardous Or Noxious Substances
- Repetitive Strain Injuries
- Falls From A Height
This list is not intended to be exhaustive. There are many other work injury compensation claims that people make every day within the UK. If you have suffered an accident or injury at work and think that you might be able to make a work injury compensation claim, call us on 0121 565 4317 or fill in our online claims. Our expert team of personal injury claims solicitors will be able to advise you further on how best to begin your claim.
How Do I Know Whether I Can Make A Work Injury Compensation Claim Or Not?
The easiest way to think about whether something counts as a workplace accident or injury is to consider whether your employer had control or influence over the location, the environment, the equipment or the people who were present. If you were on work premises, your employer had control over the location and the environment, so it is likely that they would be liable for any slip, trip or fall caused by poor maintenance or carelessness or negligence on the part of other people. If you were using equipment supplied to you by your employer at a site owned by a client, your employer might still be liable for your accident or injury if it was due to your equipment being faulty or not fit for purpose. In contrast, your employer does not have control over the car you drive, your route to work or the speed at which you drive, so any accidents on your daily commute to or from work are not considered workplace accidents. Compensation claims for road traffic accidents on the way to or from work would be covered under the usual mechanisms for dealing with personal injuries as the result of a road traffic accident.
The only real difference between a work injury compensation claim and any other personal injury compensation claim is that in a work injury compensation claim you know exactly who is to blame, your employer, and it can be much easier to prove that they had a duty of care and therefore should have taken preventative action to safeguard you and their other employees. If you have any doubts or concerns, or if you are ready to discuss your options for making a work injury compensation claim, call us on 0121 565 4317 click on our work claims form to arrange your free, no obligation consultation. This will enable you to explain your unique circumstances and allows us to know that we are giving you the best possible advice.
What If I Can’t Afford To Make A Work Injury Accident Claim?
We understand that the period following an accident or injury at work can be a stressful and financially difficult time. We believe that justice for your work injury should not be dependent on your being able to make large, up front payments for expert legal advice. This is why we offer our services on a no win no fee basis to the majority of our clients. A no win no fee agreement allows us to act on your behalf without you having to pay anything up front. It also removes the risk and worry that comes from wondering how you might pay the legal fees if we are unable to get you the compensation you deserve. If we do not win your claim, you won’t have to pay anything. This means that you will never be left worse off because you made a work injury compensation claim.
The no win no fee agreement also means you don’t need to worry that your legal fees may exceed the amount of compensation you are awarded. With the traditional payment model for legal services, the costs associated with making your claim could quickly exceed the amount of compensation you are awarded, which doesn’t fit our idea of justice at all. Our no win no fee agreements cap our fees at a percentage of your compensation payout. This means that you can relax, knowing that you will always receive the lion’s share of the compensation you are awarded.
We are able to offer a no win no fee agreement to the vast majority of our clients, though there are some unusual cases where this is not possible, for example in cases of medical negligence. If you would like to find out whether your work injury compensation claim is eligible for our no win no fee agreement or if you have any other questions, call us on 0121 565 4317 or fill in our online claims form.
What If I Can’t What Is The Process For Starting A Compensation Claim For A Work Accident?Afford To Make An Accident Claim?
Making a work injury compensation claim follows the same pattern as making any personal injury compensation claim. Once you have signed a no win no fee agreement with us, we are able to act on your behalf. This means that we can:
- Notify your employer and their insurance company that you are making a work injury compensation claim following your accident or injury at work.
- Ask your employer to accept liability for your accident or injury. This is the legal term for them accepting the blame for what happened and is the basis of your work injury compensation claim.
- Gather evidence to support your claim that your employer did not take sufficient care to protect your health and safety and that they should, therefore, accept liability.
- Negotiate on your behalf to agree the compensation amount once liability has been agreed. It is important to know that, although we conduct these negotiations for you, we are doing them on your behalf and you remain in control at all times. We will let you know each time the other side makes an offer of compensation, even if our advice is going to be that you should refuse it. We will give you our expert opinion based on our years of experience working on work injury compensation claims as to whether the offer of compensation is fair or not. Although we will give you our advice and recommendations, the final decision is, and will always be, yours as to whether to accept or reject any offer of compensation.
If you think that you might be able to make a work injury compensation claim, call us now on 0121 565 4317 or claim online. Our expert team of personal injury claims solicitors are waiting for your call.
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