Last Updates 1st July 2025. 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.
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.
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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.
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Select A Section
- Who Pays For Work Related Injuries?
- Should Your Employer Have Public Liability Insurance?
- 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 Are My Rights After Suffering A Work-Related Injury?
- What Compensation Could Be Paid Out For A Work Related Injury
- 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
Who Pays For Work Related Injuries?
Typically it is the employer who pays for work related injuries, however they will not be paying this directly from their own funds. It is a legal requirement for anyone who employs other people to have an employers’ liability insurance or “EL” policy. The EL insurance must cover at least £5 million and be from an authorised insurer. We must emphasise that having such insurance is required by law as per the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, with the potential for fines to be imposed every day the employer does not have the right insurance.
The purpose of these policies is to cover any potential claims made by employees following accidents in the workplace and not leave the company at a disadvantage due to using the company accounts to pay compensation.
The main takeaway from this is that no personal injury claim will cause a financial burden to the company as the insurance provider will cover the cost of the payout.
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.
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 at work 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 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.
What Compensation Could Be Paid Out For A Work Related Injury
The compensation that could be paid out for a work related injury comes under two separate heads of claim, these are:
- General damages which covers the compensation for your injuries as well as any psychological effects.
- Special damages refer to the financial harm caused by those injuries. We’ll examine this in more detail in the next section.
General damages payouts are calculated by examining your medical evidence alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Solicitors use the JCG publication, a document from the Judicial College containing compensation brackets for various injuries, to help determine potential compensation figures to bring to the defendant’s representatives. We have used a selection of JCG figures in the table here, except for the first row.
Compensation Table
Please be aware that this table is intended to act as guidance only.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Guideline Payout Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries with Special Damages | Very Serious | Up to £1,000,000 + |
| Brain Injury | Very Severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderate (b)(i) | £183,190 to £267,340 | |
| Hip Injury | Severe (a)(i) | £95,680 to £159,770 |
| Moderate (i) | £32,450 to £47,810 | |
| Knee Injury | Severe (a)(i) | £85,100 to £117,410 |
| Moderate (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 | |
| Chest Injuries | Damage to Chest and Lungs (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 |
| Relatively Simple Injuries (d) | £15,370 to £21,920 | |
| Scarring to Other Parts of The Body | No Significant Internal Injury | In the region of £10,550 |
The information given here should be used as general guidance only. To learn more about claiming in your particular circumstances, or to inquire further about who pays for work related injuries, speak to a member of our team using the contact information given below.
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:
- Contact us by completing a callback form
- 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?
- Injured due to tiredness or fatigue – can I claim?
There is plenty of advice about workers’ 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.
