After A Work Related Injury, Who Pays Your Damages?
If you experience a work-related injury, who pays your compensation? This guide aims to answer that question thoroughly.
Should you have suffered a work-related injury, you may have found the experience distressing. Your injuries may have caused you pain and suffering and negatively impacted your quality of life. Moreover, if you had to take time off work to recover from your injuries, you may have suffered a loss of income as a result. In extreme circumstances, your injuries may have meant you had to change jobs or leave the workplace altogether.
After a work-related injury who pays your damages guide
However, if you have been injured in an accident at work that wasn’t your fault, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Your compensation claim will normally be against your employer. However, you may claim against a third party if they are responsible for your injuries in some circumstances.
Begin Your Compensation Claim Today
Legal Expert can help you if you wish to make an injury claim for an accident at work. We can connect you with a skilled personal injury solicitor to handle your claim. We offer a free legal consultation to anyone looking to claim injury compensation. An advisor will be able to answer any questions you have about making a compensation claim for free.
So please reach out today to speak with an advisor:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804.
- Use our online claims form to write to us.
- Use our live chat for instant answers.
Select A Section
- Can I Make An Injury At Work Claim?
- What Is A Work-Related Injury?
- How Common Is A Work-Related Injury?
- What Duty Of Care Do Employers Have To Prevent Accidents And Injuries?
- What Is The Purpose Of Employers’ Liability Insurance?
- Should Your Employer Have Public Liability Insurance?
- What Are My Rights After Suffering A Work-Related Injury?
- Work-Related Injury: Who Pays? Calculating Your Settlement
- Are There Different Types Of Special Damages?
- After A Work-Related Injury, Who Pays Your No Win No Fee Claim?
- Talk To Us
- Useful Resources
Can I Make An Injury At Work Claim?
If you would like to make a work related injury claim, you’ll first need to determine your eligibility. As per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer has a duty of care to ensure that you are safe in the workplace so far as it’s reasonably possible for them to do so. If this duty is breached and you are injured, you may have valid grounds to make an accident at work claim.
However, in order to make a successful claim for an injury at work, you must be able to provide evidence that highlights your employer’s negligence as well as any injuries you have suffered. Therefore, consider gathering the following:
- The contact details of any colleagues who witnessed your accident and who would be willing to give a statement confirming what happened
- An entry from your workplace accident book, if you recorded the incident at the time
- If there is CCTV in your workplace, you can request the footage
- Your medical records, which will indicate the extent of your injuries and how they were caused
- A note from an independent medical expert, who can assess you and decide if your injuries were caused as a result of your employer’s negligence
Additionally, you will need to ensure that you submit your claim within the limitation period. As outlined in the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit to take action is usually three years from the date you were injured. However, an exception may be granted in special circumstances.
A work injury solicitor could assist you during the claims process and help gather evidence on your behalf. They’ll also ensure your claim is submitted in a timely manner. Speak to our advisors if you would like to be connected with one of our expert accident at work solicitors.
What Is A Work-Related Injury?
If a worker experiences an accident at work, they may suffer a work-related injury. Often, an injury at work will happen because of unsafe conditions in the workplace. Employers have a legal duty of care to provide safe working environments for employees. This means that employers are responsible (to an extent) for preventing work-related injuries from taking place.
Here are some examples of accidents at work that can happen:
- An office employee can trip on a piece of loose carpeting. As a result, the employee suffers a knee injury. Had the employer repaired the hazardous flooring within a reasonable timeframe of being made aware of it, they could have prevented the accident.
- Or a wooden beam hits a construction worker on the head and they’re not wearing an effective hardhat. Consequently, the worker suffers a traumatic head injury. Providing the worker with the correct, necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) could have prevented the accident.
- Or a chef suffers a burn injury to their hand because of faulty cooking equipment in a restaurant kitchen. If the restaurant management had gotten new kitchen equipment as they had advised they would several months ago, they could have prevented the accident.
As you can see, implementing proper health and safety standards at work can help prevent injuries. Workplaces that fail to implement proper standards of health and safety are risking accidents in the workplace.
After a work-related injury, who pays depends on who is at fault. If your employer is at fault, you could claim. If you’re at fault for your own injuries, you may not be able to claim because you have a responsibility to protect your own safety too.
How Common Is A Work-Related Injury?
In the United Kingdom, there is legislation to protect workers from workplace accidents. Unfortunately, every year people experience a work-related injury. A significant number of these injuries at work are serious. Here are some key statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for 2019/20. (The HSE is an agency that encourages, regulates and enforces health and safety in the workplace.)
- There are currently 1.6 million people in Great Britain who suffer from a work-related illness.
- 693,000 individuals were injured at work, according to the Labour Force Survey.
- What’s more, 65,427 injuries were reported to the Health and Safety Executive under RIDDOR.
- 142 workers suffered fatal accidents at work in 2020/21.
- And in 2019, 2,369 people died of mesothelioma caused by previous exposure to asbestos.
As the numbers above suggest, employers should take health and safety in the workplace seriously. We will now look at legislation that protects workers from accidents at work.
What Duty Of Care Do Employers Have To Prevent Accidents And Injuries?
As we have mentioned, employers have a duty of care towards their employees. This is set out in legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This means that employers are responsible for protecting the health and safety of employees at work.
What should employers do to uphold their duty of care?
- Firstly, the employer should provide workers with a safe and hygienic environment in which to work.
- Secondly, the employer could conduct regular risk assessments to identify health and safety hazards at work.
- Thirdly, employers should take steps to remove the health and safety hazards or the employer should minimise the risk the hazards pose.
- And the employer could provide their employees with adequate training to do their jobs safely.
If an employer neglects their duty of care towards their staff, this can cause an accident at work. If this accident results in an injury, your employer could be liable. So they would be the defendant if you make your claim.
Many people use a personal injury lawyer to handle their compensation claim. A skilled lawyer can assess the claim in-depth to ensure the claimant receives the right amount of compensation. What’s more, the lawyer can negotiate with the defendant if they believe an offer of compensation is too low.
To make a successful compensation claim for an accident at work, your lawyer will have to prove the following:
- First of all, your employer owed you a duty of care.
- And that your employer breached their duty of care resulting in an incident.
- Finally, your injuries were caused by the incident.
Therefore, you may present medical evidence such as a doctor’s report to prove this is the case.
You may be wondering, after a work-related injury, who pays compensation. The section below has the answers, but if you need free legal advice, why not call?
What Is The Purpose Of Employer’s Liability Insurance?
If an employee claims compensation for an injury at work, does the employer pay their compensation? Usually, the employer’s insurer will pay the compensation payout. This means that the financial burden is on the insurer, not the employer. So please don’t worry about your employer suffering a financial hardship if you make a personal injury claim.
Under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, employers are legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. It aims to cover the cost of personal injury claims that are made against an organisation by employees. Therefore, if you claim compensation for a work-related injury, the insurance company could pay the damages.
Should Your Employer Have Public Liability Insurance?
Many people worry that making a compensation claim against their employer will bring the organisation into financial difficulty. For example, employees who work for a small business may worry that their employer won’t pay for the compensation payout.
However, because your workplace is likely to be required to have employers’ liability insurance, the insurer may pay your damages.
Employers aren’t required by law to have public liability insurance, but they may choose to have it, especially if they are a customer-facing company. Public liability insurance would cover them for claims made by customers, for example.
What Are My Rights After Suffering A Work-Related Injury?
If you have experienced an injury at work, you may worry about affecting your personal finances. For example, if you were injured at work, do you still get paid? You can look at your employment contract to see if your employer provides work-related sick pay and benefits. Even if your employer doesn’t offer sick pay, you may be eligible to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Furthermore, if you make a successful compensation claim, you could receive reimbursement for any income lost whilst you were too unwell to work.
Many workers worry that if they may be disciplined or fired for making a personal injury claim. However, if your employer fires you for making an honest compensation claim against them, this would constitute unfair dismissal. Likewise, unfair treatment would be discrimination. Therefore you could potentially take your employer to an employment tribunal if they did this.
Most reputable employers follow the law and deal with personal injury claims professionally. What’s more, our personal injury solicitors conduct the claim with professionalism and sensitivity. This is to maintain good relations between you and your employer.
Work-Related Injury: Who Pays? Calculating Your Settlement
Have you recently been injured in an accident at work that was not your fault? Then you may be eligible to make a compensation claim for your injuries. You can use the compensation table below to estimate approximately how much compensation you could claim.
| Category Of Injury | Severity | Possible Compensation | Injury Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hip Injury | Moderate (i) | £24,950 to £36,770 | There are brackets above and below this degree of injury. The victim could have suffered a significant pelvic injury. They should not suffer permanent disability. |
| Hip Injury | Severe (ii) | £58,100 to £73,580 | The claimant may have suffered injuries to the hips or pelvis. Injuries are more severe than the moderate brackets and may include impotence as well as fractures. |
| Hip Injury | Severe (i) | £73,580 to £122,860 | Extensive fractures of the pelvis or hips. This could be accompanied by dislocations in the lower back. Injuries may also affect bladder function and sexual function. |
| Brain Injury | Less severe | £14,380 to £40,410 | Compensation awarded to this person will be based on factors such as how severe the injury was, how the person is affected by continuing symptoms, whether this person has some degree of permanent disability and if their personality has been changed. |
| Brain Injury | Moderate Brain Damage (i) | £140,870 to £205,580 | Factors such as those highlighted above may be present as well as others. This person could have some degree of dependency on other people. Compensation could take this factor into account. |
| Brain Injury | Moderately Severe | £205,580 to £264,650 | This bracket will take the above factors into account. It will also look at what degree of insight this person has, how long they are expected to live, what physical limitations they have and how dependent on others they are. |
| Brain Injury | Very Severe | £264,650 to £379,100 | At the top of this bracket, the person may display some ability to understand and follow basic instructions. They may be able to open their eyes and have a pattern of sleep and being awake. There will be little evidence of the person having a meaningful response to their surroundings. |
| Knee Injury | Moderate (i) | £13,920 to £24,580 | Moderate knee injuries include torn meniscus injuries as well as tears to other cartilage or dislocations of the knee. |
| Knee Injury | Severe (i) | £65,440 to £90,290 | More severe forms of knee injury. There could be the risk of developing osteoarthritis at some point in the future. |
| Wrist Injury | (b) | £22,990 to £36,770 | This may lead to the affected wrist being permanently disabled though there’s still some movement. |
The compensation amounts in the table above are based on those in the Judicial College compensation guidelines. If you choose to use the services of a personal injury solicitor, they may use these guidelines and your medical report to value your compensation claim.
We have only included general damages in this table. This table does not include special damages, as these can vary greatly depending on the case at hand.
Are There Different Types Of Special Damages?
If your claim is successful, you can receive up to two heads of claim. You could receive general damages. This is compensation for the harmful effects of your injuries caused by the incident that wasn’t your fault.
Moreover, you may also receive special damages. Special damages reimburse you for any financial losses you incurred due to your injuries.
Here are some examples of special damages that you may receive:
- Loss of income (if you took unpaid leave from work, for example).
- Medical treatment costs reimbursement, such as funds to pay for physiotherapy if the NHS wasn’t able to cover it.
- Travel costs reimbursement, such as hospital parking.
- Funds to pay for any mobility equipment you may need if your injuries necessitated this.
- Funds to pay for any home adaptations you may need, again, if your injuries necessitated this.
- If you are now dependant on a carer, you could claim for these costs.
After A Work-Related Injury, Who Pays Your No Win No Fee Claim?
You may choose to have your claim handled on a No Win No Fee basis. A No Win No Fee claim means that the solicitor will start work on the claim without charging an upfront or hourly fee for their work. Instead, your solicitor will charge you a success fee on the condition that your claim is successful. In the event that the solicitor does not win your claim, you will not have to pay a success fee. You will sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (the formal term for No Win No Fee agreement) to formalise this.
Many people prefer to make a No Win No Fee claim because there is no upfront solicitor’s fee to pay. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about finding the funds to pay for your solicitor’s services upfront. Instead, your solicitor would deduct the fee from the compensation payout if your claim is successful. This fee is capped by law for your benefit.
What’s more, if you make a No Win No Fee claim, there is a far lower risk of making a financial loss regarding hiring a solicitor. This is because you will have to pay a success fee only if you win your claim. Call Legal Expert today to see if your solicitor can be funded by a No Win No Fee claims option.
Talk To Us
Legal Expert could help you claim compensation for a work-related injury. We can connect you with a personal injury solicitor with solid experience to handle your claim. And you may be able to fund your solicitor using a No Win No Fee claims option.
To see if you can begin your accident at work claim, please reach out to Legal Expert today:
- Use the claim online form on our website so we can get back to you whenever is best for you.
- Or, you can call us on 0800 073 8804 to speak to an advisor.
- Another option is to ask us questions directly via the chat widget on your screen.
Legal Expert can connect you to a skilled lawyer if you are owed compensation.
Useful Resources
Thank you for reading our guide exploring the question ‘after a work-related injury, who pays if you claim?’
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?
- Injured due to tiredness or fatigue – can I claim?
- 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?
- 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
There is plenty of advice about worker’s rights online. Please feel free to read these informative external guides to learn more.
Check if you’re entitled to Statutory Sick Pay.
A Citizen’s Advice guide to getting money when you’re off sick.
A government guide to employment tribunals.
We appreciate you reading our guide answering the question, ‘after a work-related injury who pays your damages?’ If you wish to learn more about claiming after an accident at work, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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