By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 7th August 2023. Welcome to our accident at work caused by tiredness guide. Tiredness or fatigue at work can lead to serious injury. If you are hurt because of a heavy workload or long hours working on night shifts, you may be entitled to file a claim for compensation for the pain and suffering you endured through no fault of your own.
Tiredness in the workplace is now taken very seriously because of fatigue. Workplace statistics show that many injuries are caused when you are not functioning at your best. You may have to work long hours without enough breaks, or it could be that you work night shifts which means your sleep pattern is negatively impacted, leaving you tired and drained.
When you are tired, you are more at risk of having an accident at work because your concentration is affected, and the more tired you are, the more risk there is of you being injured at work.
If you have suffered a fatigue-related accident in the last 3 years and would like to know if you can file a personal injury claim against an employer or a third party who may be responsible for your injuries, please click on the Select A Section below. This can help you claim after an accident at work caused by tiredness.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Fatigue And Tiredness In The Workplace
- What Is Fatigue Or Tiredness In The Workplace
- Which Industries Are More Susceptible To Accidents Caused By Tiredness?
- What Risk Factors Could Lead To A Tiredness Or Fatigue Accident At Work?
- Which Fatigue Could Cause Injuries At Work?
- Stress Leading To Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- What Duty Of Care Does An Employer Have To Prevent Fatigue Or Over Tiredness?
- Eligibility For Making A Workplace Fatigue Claim
- What Can The Symptoms Of Tiredness Or Fatigue At Work Include?
- What Can My Tiredness Or Fatigue Claim Include?
- Calculating Settlements In Claims For Tiredness
- Injury At Work Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Useful Links
A Guide To Fatigue And Tiredness In The Workplace
Before we explain how to claim, let’s look at fatigue and tiredness in great detail. Health and Safety Executive statistics show that a high percentage of workplace accidents are caused by tiredness and fatigue.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is now recognised as a medical condition and must be taken seriously by employers and employees. There are specific industries where employees are more at risk of suffering a fatigue-related accident, whether a slight cut, a general accident injury or a more severe head injury.
Tiredness or fatigue accident at work
All employers, by law, must ensure their staff are protected from injury and, more especially, those in high-risk industries where a tiredness or fatigue accident at work is more commonplace.
Other notes
There are over 3.5 million shift workers throughout the country working across a variety of industries. Working long hours in healthcare, transport, the oil and gas industry puts a shift worker at risk of fatigue and ill health. Fatigue is not just feeling a little “tired”. It is a serious condition that must be considered a “hazard” in the workplace. As such, employers must risk assessing the possibility that employees may suffer from fatigue.
If you work long hours, take on a lot of overtime, work nights, or your employer has not set in place well-planned rotas, it could affect your working performance more than you may first realise. Fatigue affects your mental capacity regarding judgment, too, which could lead to a fatigue-related accident in the workplace.
If you suffered a fatigue-related accident at work and need to know how a personal injury lawyer can help you understand the process of filing a personal injury claim, at Legal Expert, we have years of experience working on successful fatigue compensation claims for clients in the past. Please continue reading to find out more about claiming after an accident at work due to tiredness.
What Is Fatigue Or Tiredness In The Workplace
The estimation is that accidents from stress and fatigue in the workplace cost the UK anything from £115 to £240 million a year, with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) calculating that around 20% of road traffic accidents involve travel related to work.
There are over 3.5 million shift workers in the UK working across many industries. Accidents that occur due to fatigue are typically a result of poor shift rotas and shifts that are too long. Studies strongly suggest that a person’s mental and physical performance deteriorate when they work long hours without sufficient rest time. In short, the effects of fatigue in the workplace can result in a lack of concentration, slower reactions and less awareness, which can lead to serious accidents caused by tiredness. Other examples associated with tiredness/fatigue include the following:
- A lack of attention
- Absent-mindedness
- A reduced coordination
- Not being able to assess risks correctly
- Reduced productivity
Which Industries Are More Susceptible To Accidents Caused By Tiredness?
There are several industries where tiredness and fatigue are contributing factors to accidents in the workplace. And if you know how to claim, you could base your claim on any of these sectors. These industries are below:
- Emergency services
- Transport – this includes truck drivers and company drivers
- Healthcare
- Oil industry
- Gas industry
- Chemical industry
- Manufacturing
- Utilities
- Retail
- Entertainment
All too often, chronic fatigue syndrome can occur when a person has to work badly organised shift rotas and when shifts are longer than they should be. If you have to work long hours without enough rest time or the chance to take as many breaks as you should, fatigue soon sets in, which puts you are risk of being injured in a work accident. Jobs that entail monotonous routines that are machine-paced or where long hours with heavy workloads are the norm put people at risk of suffering stress and fatigue in the workplace.
We can assess your claim before offering valuable legal advice on a No Win No Fee basis taking all the financial pressure off the table to get your claim started.
What Risk Factors Could Lead To A Tiredness Or Fatigue Accident At Work?
Certain risk factors can lead to accidents caused by tiredness in the workplace. As such, tiredness and fatigue must be carefully and correctly managed like any other work-related hazard. Other key fatigue-related risk factors that must be taken into account in a workplace include the following:
- Higher fatigue-related accidents occur during night shifts, especially when you have to work longer hours without the necessary breaks and at the end of a rota.
- Under UK law, employers have a duty to manage all risks associated with tiredness and fatigue, even when you request to work overtime or extra hours. The same can be said if you ask for a preferred shift due to social reasons. It is worth noting that even if an employer adheres to the Working Time Regulations as set out by UK legislation, it is not enough to manage any risks due to fatigue.
- An employer should risk assessing any changes to your working hours, and the key considerations they must take into account must adhere to HSE principles, and this includes using the Executive’s “fatigue risk index.”
Other risk factors
- An employer must also discuss working hours and shift rotas with employees and assess whether an employee’s preference may cause them to suffer fatigue during a shift.
- Employers must also set a policy where limits on working hours are set, including any overtime and swapping of shifts. This adds needed safeguards against fatigue. Employers must also keep a close eye on a policy to ensure it is respected and enforce it when necessary.
- If overtime is requested constantly and employees swap shifts too often, it may be a clear indication that staffing levels need to be looked at and that not enough resources are available
- Shift schedules must be carefully planned, including a person’s workload, the type of work they undertake, the length of a shift, the number of breaks during a shift and the amount of rest time between shifts.
- Employers must accept that “sleep disturbances” may result in fatigue and “sleep debt” and that anyone working night shifts is more at risk.
These are just some of the risks that could result in an accident at work caused by tiredness.
Which Fatigue Could cause injuries At Work?
Accident at work statistics
Injuries commonly associated with a tiredness or fatigue accident at work can be slight to very severe. You may suffer a slight cut or a much more severe laceration. Burns and scalds are commonplace in fatigue-related injuries in the workplace, thanks to not assessing risks properly. Other common injuries due to fatigue at work include the following:
- Serious head injuries
- Severe back injuries
- Depression
- Long-term sleep issues
Stress Leading To Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Although chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is not well understood, studies show that it’s typically characterised by extreme tiredness and fatigue. In short, it is a debilitating disorder that can be hard to shake even when you rest up for long periods of time. The condition is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and is a “systemic exertion intolerance disease”. A tiredness or fatigue accident at work could be when you suffer from this disorder.
However, research suggests that stress can play a role that includes anxiety due to work overload, long shifts and, in particular, working night shifts, which disturb your normal sleep pattern. CFS is a medical disorder most common in women between the ages of 40 and 50 years old.
What Duty Of Care Does An Employer Have To Prevent Fatigue Or Over Tiredness?
Under UK law, employers must protect all employees, whether permanent staff or temporary. Fatigue and tiredness must be manageable like any other identifiable hazard in the workplace. Failure on the part of an employer to ensure staff remain safe could mean they show negligence in their duty towards them.
UK legislation, namely The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, clearly states that employers must protect staff from injury, including preventing and managing fatigue in the workplace. In short, managing fatigue in the workplace is an employer’s duty of care.
Under UK law, employers must protect all employees, whether permanent staff or temporary. Fatigue and tiredness must be manageable like any other identifiable hazard in the workplace and failure on an employer to ensure staff remain safe. Failure to do so could mean an employer showing negligence in their duty, thus causing a tiredness or fatigue accident at work.
Under UK legislation, namely The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must protect staff from injury, including preventing and managing fatigue in the workplace. In short, managing fatigue in the workplace is an employer’s duty of care.
Other points
Employers in high-risk industries have a particular duty of care to protect their employees in the workplace and must continually carry out risk assessments when it comes to fatigue. This means checking the following:
- Working hours
- Heavy workloads
- Nature of the work
With shift work, employers must factor in every aspect of your job which could put you at risk, and this includes the following:
- Shift rotas/timing
- The number of breaks taken during a shift
- And the length of shifts influencing long working hours
Further notes
Employers must consider how much overtime you can do and how much shift-swapping is done. If both appear too high, then employers must consider improving staffing levels as well as allocation. With this said, employees too must respect the Working Time Regulations 1998, which are detailed below:
- Employees must not work over 48-hours a week (including an opt-out)
- Staff must not work more than 6-hours without taking a 15, 30 or 45-minute break – this depends on the hours they work
- Adult staff can have 11-hours off time in between their working hours/shifts
- Staff can have 1 day off a week (7 days) and no less
- People who work at night should not work more than 8-hours a day (24 hours)
The regulations for drivers are different, and they are below:
- Drivers have a limit of 9 “driving” hours a day
- They can work up to 56-hours a week
- And drivers must take a 45-minute break having completed 4.5 hours driving (this can divide into 2 rest periods)
Speak to our advisors if you have any questions about claiming after an accident at work due to tiredness.
Eligibility For Making A Workplace Fatigue Claim
Anyone who suffers an injury due to a tiredness or fatigue accident at work in the last 3 years due to a mistake of a third party or through the negligence of an employer, whether the injury was slight or more severe, could be entitled to file for compensation for the pain and suffering endured through no fault of their own. If you feel this is the case for you, a personal injury lawyer can establish whether this is so.
To speak to a personal injury solicitor, call us today to explain what fatigue and safety in the workplace entails. We can advise you whether you have a strong case to file a personal injury claim against a third party or employer. We offer a no-obligation, free, initial consultation, which allows us to establish who could be liable for your pain and suffering.
What Can The Symptoms Of Tiredness Or Fatigue At Work Include?
If you routinely have a heavy workload or work long hours at night, you may be more at risk of suffering extreme tiredness and fatigue, which puts you in danger of being hurt in the workplace. Common symptoms relating to “burn-out”, tiredness and fatigue are as follows:
- Chronic stress
- Emotional exhaustion
- Physical exhaustion
- Detachment
- Cynicism
- A feeling of ineffectiveness
- Feelings of not achieving anything
Fatigue and extreme tiredness in the workplace often relate to stress and prevent you from effectively carrying out your day-to-day tasks in the workplace. More importantly, it puts you at a much greater risk of suffering an accident in the workplace. Hence, if they survive, the victim could claim for their accident at work due to tiredness.
What Can My Tiredness Or Fatigue Claim Include?
If you’re in a tiredness or fatigue accident at work and need to know more about how to make a claim, the list below provides information on the sort of out of pocket expenses that you could include in tiredness at work claim:
- General damages
- Travel expenses
- Medical costs
- Loss of income
- Loss of anticipated income
- Care claim
Calculating Settlements In Claims For Tiredness
Compensation for tiredness or fatigue accident at work claims can vary from case to case because the circumstances surrounding an incident play an important part in establishing liability. The nature of an injury/illness would be taken into account. The personal injury claims calculator below offers ballpark amounts that were awarded to people who filed tiredness compensation claims in the past, and the amounts are based on the Judicial College compensation guidelines:
| Injury | Severity | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paralysis | Severe – debilitating | £324,600 to £403,990 | Injuries involving paralysis tetraplegia |
| Head/Brain Injury | Very Severe | £282,010 to £403,990 | Awarded when 24 / 7 care is needed |
| Head/Brain Injury | Severe | £219,070 to £282,010 | Long-term serious injuries that take time to fully recover, if at all |
| Head/Brain Injury | Moderate | £43,060 – £219,070 | Medium-term injuries which cause discomfort, and potentially restrict lifestyle |
| Head/Brain Injury | Minor | £2,210 to £12,770 | Cuts, bruises and soft tissue damage that heal quickly. |
| Back injuries | Slight to very severe | A few hundred pounds to £160,980 | Less severe injuries where recovery is achieved within 3 months to extremely severe injuries that result in damage to the spine |
| Arm injuries | Slight to very severe | £6,610 to £130,930 | minor fractures between elbow and wrist to very severe permanent injuries |
| Chronic pain | moderate to very severe | £28,030 to £84,010 | Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) |
| Chronic pain | moderate to very severe | £21,070 to £62,990 | Other pain disorders |
Injury At Work Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you are eligible to seek compensation because you suffered an injury due to fatigue at work, you may wish to instruct a solicitor to work on your claim. One of our accident at work solicitors could support your case, provided it’s valid and has a chance of success. They typically provide their services under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
When your accident at work solicitor uses this type of agreement, they usually won’t charge you an upfront fee for their work on your case. There also won’t be any ongoing fees for their services. You also won’t be charged for their services if you are not awarded compensation following an unsuccessful claim.
However, if the outcome of your case is positive, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation. The amount that can be taken as this fee is subject to a legal cap.
To find out if you are eligible to claim for severe tiredness at work, get in touch with an advisor from our team. They can assess your case for free and if it seems like you have valid grounds for a claim, they could connect you with one of our solicitors.
To speak to an advisor:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Fill in our ‘claim online’ form for a call back.
- Use our live webchat.
Useful Links
The following link offers valuable advice on how to make a personal injury at work claim:
The following link takes you to the Health and Safety website, which provides information about accidents in the workplace statistics:
Health and Safety at work statistics
The following link takes you to the NHS website, where you will find essential information on chronic fatigue syndrome:
NHS – Chronic fatigue syndrome
Below, you can find a list of guides which may tell you more about accident at work claims:
- Discover more answers to your queries on our accident at work FAQs page
- Can I claim compensation if I’ve left the company?
- Can you lose your job if you claim against your employer?
- I hurt myself at work, can I make a claim?
- What to do if you cut off your finger at work
- I suffered a burn injury at work, how much could I claim in compensation?
- How to claim compensation for industrial dermatitis
- I was injured at work – what are my rights?
- Is my employer liable for an accident at work?
- What should I do if I hurt myself at work?
- Who pays my medical bills if I’m injured at work?
- Can I make a claim if injured in my probation period?
- Who pays damages in an accident at work claim?
- I slipped on water at work, can I make a claim?
- Does my employer pay my medical bills if I’m injured at work?
- Can you still claim compensation f you didn’t take time off work?
- Do you have to be an employee to make a workplace injury claim?
- I am a new employee, can I make a claim?
- How do you prove an accident at work claim?
- Do you need to be an employee to make a workplace accident claim?
- What happens if you do not report an injury or accident?
- Can I make a claim if I’m an agency worker?
- I was dismissed after an accident at work, what should I do?
- If I was partly at fault for an accident can I still make a claim?
- I am self-employed and had an accident at work, can I make a claim?
- I had an accident at work due to no safety boots – can I make a claim?
- Can an apprentice make an accident at work claim?
- I suffered a head injury due to no helmet – can I make a claim?
- Can I claim if injured because of no safety goggles?
- What is the time limit for an accident at work claim?
- What are my employers’ responsibilities after an accident at work?
- Will suing my employer create problems?
- How to make a claim for inadequate tools and equipment
- What is the maximum weight I can lift at work?
- I had an accident at work, what are my rights?
- Who has the overall responsibility for recording injuries at work?
- How long after an injury at work can I make a claim?
- I fell down the stair at work, can I make a claim?
- Learn more about accident at work claims here
Thank you for reading our accident at work caused by tiredness guide.
