Make An Office Accident Claim
If you’ve suffered an injury in an office accident, we can help you claim compensation
£70 million in compensation
Make An Office Accident Claim
If you’ve suffered an injury in an office accident, we can help you claim compensation
What Is Classed As An Office Accident?
An office accident is any incident which sees someone either suffer an injury or a near miss and that happens in an office-based working environment.
Although working from home has become more common, many people still work in offices.
While these spaces are considered less hazardous than the likes of a construction site, they still come with their own potential risks and hazards, something we explain in detail below.
An accident of this nature can happen in any type of office setting, from a small, shared office (such as hot desk offices) to larger offices that may be spread over a number of floors and may hold hundreds of people.
Let’s take a look at how accidents in offices can happen.
How Do Accidents Happen In Offices?
There are several ways an office accident could occur. For example:
- You may have injured your back after moving heavy boxes or files because you were not given any manual handling training, or you were asked to do this job and it wasn’t part of your usual duties.
- You may have suffered an ankle injury in a fall at work because a cable laid across your office floor wasn’t taped down or highlighted by warning signs.
- Carpets, tiles or other types of flooring like vinyl could be loose or upturned, creating a trip hazard
- Poor lighting on stairwells where there aren’t any windows can create the risk of people falling
- Potholes and trip hazards in car parks can lead to people tripping and falling over
- Faulty sockets and electrical wiring can see people suffer nasty electric shocks. The same applies for faulty electrical equipment. By law, electrical equipment should be tested each year to certify it’s safe. This is known as a PAT test.
- Heavy items falling from shelves could hit people, inflicting injury
- Spillages that haven’t been cleared up in the likes of kitchen areas could cause people to slip and fall.
- Wires that haven’t been properly secured or tucked away can also create trip hazards in office environments.
Not all accidents in the office at work will form the basis of a valid office accident claim. If you would like to check whether you might be eligible to claim compensation for an accident at work, why not call an advisor today?
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When Can You Make An Office Accident Claim?
To make an office accident claim, you must meet certain criteria. They are:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time of the accident.
- They breached that duty, such as not ensuring wires were properly secured away
- As a consequence of the breach, you were left injured.
This is the criteria for all personal injury claims.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the central piece of workplace health and safety legislation covering offices. It establishes the duty of care your employer owes to prevent you from becoming injured at work. This duty requires them to take reasonable and practicable steps, including carrying out regular risk assessments and addressing any hazards that pose a risk of injury, as well as providing adequate training, and ensuring employees are given necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
If there has been a breach of this duty which has led to you experiencing harm in an office accident, a claim could potentially be made.
There is also another thing you must comply with, and that’s the time limit, which we discuss below.
What Time Limits Apply To Office Accident Claims?
According to the Limitation Act 1980, all personal injury claims have a 3-year time limit. This means you must start legal proceedings within three years from the office accident date.
There are a few other exceptions to the 3-year limitation period, however, so please get in touch if you’d like to check how long you have left to claim. An advisor can also help you understand whether you’re eligible to begin an office accident claim.
Compensation Payouts And Settlement Amounts In Office Accident Claims
Each office accident claim is unique which means compensation levels can vary from case to case. Generally though, a settlement awarded following a successful case can comprise up to two heads of loss. The primary head is known as general damages, compensating for the suffering and pain caused by your injuries.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) lists a set of guideline compensation brackets that correspond to different injuries. Solicitors can use these, alongside medical evidence, to help them value general damages.
You can find some of the JCG figures in the table below. However, the figures displayed here are for guidance only. They come from the 17th edition of the JCG, published in 2024
| Type Of Injury | Severity | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Injuries and financial losses | Up to £500k plus | |
| Head | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Head | Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Neck | Severe | In the region of £181,020 |
| Back | Severe | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Shoulder | Severe | £23,430 to £58,610 |
| Leg | Very Serious | £66,920 to £109,290 |
| Hip | Moderate | £32,450 to £47,810 |
| Wrist | Loss of function | £58,110 to £73,050 |
| Arm | Severe | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Elbow | Severely Disabling | £47,810 to £66,920 |
Can I Claim Back Financial Losses?
The second head of loss, called special damages, compensates for the financial losses linked to your injuries. For example:
- Care costs if you need support at home from someone else
- The cost of medical treatment, such as physiotherapy, as well as any private medical treatment you could receive, such as surgery.
- Travel costs relating to appointments to do with your injuries.
- Lost income (including future lost earnings).
- The cost of adapting your home if your injuries are serious enough to warrant a change.
To find out how much compensation you could receive in a successful office accident claim, why not speak to us today? We can offer you a free valuation of your potential payout.
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on providing the best service
possible for our clients.
We pride ourselves on providing the best service possible for our clients.
How Can I Prove My Office Accident Claim?
You should provide as much evidence as possible to demonstrate that your employer was at fault for the office accident, and that this caused you to sustain an injury. The types of evidence that could be collected to support an office accident claim include:
- A copy of your accident report form to confirm the date, location and time of your accident.
- The contact details of anybody who saw your accident so witness statements can be collected at a later date.
- Details of any medical appointments or treatment you received as a result of your injuries.
- Photographs of the injuries and your accident.
- Video recordings such as CCTV footage if the accident was caught on camera.
If your case is handled by one of our accident at work solicitors, they’ll use any evidence you’ve supplied to build a strong case and will help to obtain anything else that could substantiate your claim.
For more information on what to do after an accident at work please call an advisor on the number above.
How JF Law Can Help You
Here at JF Law, we pride ourselves on securing the best results possible for our clients.
Our solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, which allows you to access a quality service without having to pay any upfront fees. Having this representation also sees you get help and support with:
- Ensuring the claim is filed within the allowed time limits.
- Collecting any evidence required to support your case.
- Sending you regular updates about how the case is progressing.
- Aim to secure a fair settlement amount.
When working on a No Win No Fee basis, they can offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This typically means no fees are required for the solicitor’s work when your case begins, as it proceeds, or if it is unsuccessful.
Should the claim have a positive outcome, a success fee will be deducted from your compensation as a legally capped percentage.
Why not contact us today to see if you could make an office accident claim on this basis? To get in touch, you can:
- Phone 0151 375 9916 to speak to a specialist advisor.
- Chat online with one of our specialists.
- Complete the form on our “Contact Us” page.
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