Can You Claim If Injured By A Breach Of Health And Safety At Work?
In this guide, we discuss when you could potentially be eligible to make a personal injury claim following a breach of health and safety at work. Employers have a duty of care placed on them to prevent injury to employees at work and while they perform their tasks. However, a health and safety breach isn’t always necessarily valid grounds to begin a claim against your employer. There are certain criteria that need to be met in order to proceed which we will discuss further in our guide. You can also find information on the evidence you could collect to prove your case.
Additionally, we will look further at the legislation that outlines an employer’s duty of care and the steps they can take to prevent you from becoming injured in an accident at work. We also provide examples of how a workplace accident could occur and the injuries that could be sustained.
Furthermore, we discuss personal injury settlements, including what they can comprise and how they are calculated.
Finally, our guide explores the benefits of working with one of our personal injury solicitors on a No Win No Fee basis.
Please continue reading for more information on accident at work claims. Alternatively, you can get in touch with an advisor if you have any questions. To reach them, you can:
- Call 0151 375 9916
- Chat online via the live chat function below.
- Use our “Contact Us” page to make an enquiry.
Browse Our Guide
- Can You Claim If Injured By A Breach Of Health And Safety At Work?
- Examples Of Health And Safety Breaches Leading To An Accident At Work
- Proving Liability After A Breach Of Health And Safety At Work
- Examples Of Potential Compensation For A Workplace Accident Claim
- Why Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Learn More About Health And Safety Breaches At Work
Can You Claim If Injured By A Breach Of Health And Safety At Work?
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is a central piece of workplace health and safety legislation that places a duty of care on employers to take reasonable and practicable steps to prevent their employees from becoming harmed at work. Examples of some of the steps they need to take to uphold this duty include:
- Conduct risk assessments of the workplace regularly and try to reduce the risk of injury posed by any problems identified.
- Have up-to-date health and safety procedures and policies and ensure staff are aware of them.
- Issue Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to staff where required.
- Ensure all equipment, tools, and machinery are properly maintained and safe to use.
- Provide adequate training to employees so they are able to perform their tasks safely.
Failure to do so could constitute a breach of health and safety at work. However, it is not always possible to seek compensation if this happens. In order to begin a personal injury claim for an accident at work, you must prove the following occurred:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care when and where the accident happened; and
- A breach of that duty occurred; and
- This led to an accident in which you sustained harm, either physical, psychological, or both.
To discuss your specific case and learn more about eligibility, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Examples Of Health And Safety Breaches Leading To An Accident At Work
There are many ways in which a breach of health and safety at work could lead to an accident at work and subsequent injury. Here are some examples:
- You had a fall at work because you weren’t given a safety harness when working from a height.
- Where you sustained a back injury after being instructed to carry out manual handling tasks without any training on proper lifting techniques.
- If you sustained a head injury after slipping on a wet floor that had no warning signs or hadn’t been cleaned up in an adequate time frame.
- You suffered chemical burns because your employer failed to provide you with PPE, such as gloves, when working with hazardous substances.
To discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to begin a personal injury claim, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Proving Liability After A Breach Of Health And Safety At Work
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim following a breach of health and safety at work that caused you to sustain harm in an accident, you should gather evidence to support your case.
Here are some examples of the types of evidence you could use to support a work injury claim:
- CCTV footage of the accident.
- Information about anyone who saw the accident so that a witness statement can be collected from them.
- Photographs of any visible injuries and the accident scene.
- Your copy of the accident report form as this could show the date, time, and location of the incident.
If you have an eligible case, you might benefit from instructing an accident at work solicitor from our panel. They are experienced in handling claims of this nature and could assist you in building a strong body of evidence to substantiate your claim. To find out whether you’re eligible to have them begin work on your case and help you seek compensation, call an advisor today.
Examples Of Potential Compensation For A Workplace Accident Claim
Personal injury compensation payouts can comprise up to two heads of loss with each compensating for the different ways you have been affected by your injuries. Firstly, compensation for the suffering and pain you have experienced due to your injuries, psychological, physical, or both, is awarded under general damages.
To help them calculate this head of loss, solicitors can refer to the guideline compensation brackets corresponding with different injuries listed within the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). They can also use a medical report produced from an independent medical assessment, which can be arranged on your behalf as part of the claims process.
The table below contains figures from the JCG. Use the figures as a guide only as settlements can vary.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity Level | Guideline Award Bracket | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arm Amputation | Loss Of One Arm (ii) | £109,650 to £130,930 | An above the elbow amputation of one arm. |
| Leg | Severe (i) | £96,250 to £135,920 | Injuries may not involve amputation but are still extremely severe, such as an extensive degloving of the leg. |
| Leg | Less Serious (i) | £17,960 to £27,760 | Serious soft tissue injuries or fractures that haven't recovered completely. |
| Neck | Severe (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | In this category, the claimant will sustain damage to the cervical discs or serious fractures. |
| Back | Severe (ii) | £74,160 to £88,430 | Cases in this bracket have special features, such as nerve root damage with associated loss of sensation, impaired bowel and bladder function and impaired mobility. |
| Back | Moderate (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | An example of an injury in this bracket is a traumatic spondylolisthesis that causes continuous pain and it is likely that spinal fusion surgery will be required. |
| Ankle | Very Severe | £50,060 to £69,700 | A bilateral ankle fracture causing joint degeneration at a young age. |
| Other Arm Injury | Substantial and Permanent Disability | £39,170 to £59,860 | Injuries, such as serious fractures to both or one forearm causing a permanent and significant residual disability. |
| Pelvis | Moderate (i) | £26,590 to £39,170 | A significant pelvis or hip injury with no major permanent disability. |
| Knee | Moderate (i) | £14,840 to £26,190 | Where the claimant has torn their meniscus, torn cartilage or dislocated the knee. |
Claiming For Special Damages
Special damages are the second head of loss compensating for the financial costs and losses incurred due to your injuries. For example, you may be entitled to compensation to cover:
- Medical expenses, such as for physiotherapy or private remedial surgery.
- Travel expenses.
- Lost earnings.
- Care costs at home.
- The cost of making changes at home.
Any costs you claim back will need to be proved. You can do this with receipts and payslips.
For more information on how accident at work compensation is awarded, please speak with an advisor using the number at the top of the page.
Why Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
There are many advantages to instructing a solicitor to help you seek compensation. For example, they can:
- Manage the claim from start to finish.
- Send correspondence relating to your claim on your behalf.
- Help you collect the evidence needed to prove how your accident happened and the injuries you sustained.
- Contact you regularly with updates about the progress of your claim.
- Value your settlement.
Our solicitors offer similar services on a No Win No Fee basis. This means they can send you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), the terms of which typically mean you won’t need to cover any fees for your solicitor’s services upfront, during the claim, or if the claim fails.
Should you have a successful claim and receive compensation for your injuries, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from this. This is taken as a percentage that is legally capped.
To see if one of our solicitors could help you on a No Win No Fee basis, you can:
- Call on 0151 375 9916.
- Complete our “Contact Us” page.
- Connect to our live chat service for free legal advice.
Learn More About Health And Safety Breaches At Work
We’ve added a few more of our guides below which you might also find useful:
- Information about your rights after an accident at work.
- Advice on claiming for a manual handling accident at work.
- Details about claiming for an eye injury following a workplace accident.
Additionally, we’ve linked to some further useful resources below:
- HSE advice on preventing slips, trips, and falls in the workplace.
- A government guide about health and safety using farm vehicles and machinery.
- NHS guidance on first aid.
If you have any further questions about claiming for injuries caused by a breach of health and safety at work, please feel free to call an advisor using the number above.