Last Updated 11th November 2024. In this guide, we discuss when you may be able to make an accident at work claim if you have been hit by heavy boxes at work. Your employer owes you a duty of care with regard to your health, safety and well-being. If they breach this duty, leading to a workplace accident in which you suffer harm, you might be able to seek compensation provided you meet the eligibility criteria. We discuss this criteria, as well as the duty of care your employer owes you, in more detail throughout our guide.
Additionally, we provide examples of how an accident involving heavy boxes could occur in the workplace and the subsequent injuries that could be sustained.
Injuries suffered in an accident at work can vary in severity and type. They can impact your life in different ways, including physically, psychologically, and/or financially. If you are eligible to make a claim and succeed, you could receive a personal injury compensation payout which aims to address the different ways you have been affected by your injuries. Later in our guide, we discuss how settlements are calculated and what they could include.
Furthermore, we explain the evidence you could gather to support your case and how our No Win No Fee solicitors can help you.
If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor for free advice. They are available 24/7 and can offer further guidance on accident at work claims. You can get in touch using the contact details provided below:
- Call 0800 073 8804.
- Fill out our ‘Claim Online‘ form.
- Use our live chat box to message an advisor.
Jump To A Section
- How To Claim If Hit By Heavy Boxes At Work
- How Could You Be Injured If Hit By Heavy Boxes At Work?
- Evidence For Proving Employer Liability
- What Could You Claim If Hit By Heavy Boxes At Work?
- Begin A No Win No Fee Claim For An Accident At Work
- Learn More About Claims For Workplace Accidents
How To Claim If Hit By Heavy Boxes At Work
If you’ve been hit by heavy boxes at work, you might be wondering if you can make a compensation claim. The first step in establishing whether or not you could claim compensation is finding out whether negligence occurred.
But what is negligence? For the purposes of making a hit by heavy boxes at work claim, negligence means that:
- You were owed a duty of care
- This duty of care was breached
- You suffered harm as a result
You’re owed a duty of care by your employer when you are working under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWSA). This means that they need to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that you are safe while carrying out your duties.
For example, this might include undertaking risk assessments to make sure that a shelf isn’t holding more than the recommended maximum weight. If your employer knows that a shelf is holding more weight than is safe, and this shelf then collapses and injures you, you could potentially make an accident at work claim.
Contact our team today to learn more about when you could potentially make an accident at work compensation claim.
How Could You Be Injured If Hit By Heavy Boxes At Work?
Below, we have provided examples of how you could be hit by heavy boxes at work and the injuries you could suffer as a result:
- No risk assessments: You work in a retail shop and are asked to lift heavy boxes of stock up to the stockroom. However, your employer has failed to fix the loose carpet that is on the stairs despite being aware of the trip hazard. Consequently, you trip over the carpet, the boxes fall onto you, and you fall down the stairs causing you to sustain a spinal cord injury.
- Poor maintenance: An employee in a warehouse has been asked to use a faulty forklift truck to move some heavy boxes. The forks on the truck turn out to be defective. Therefore, as your colleague is lifting the objects, the objects fall suddenly. They land on you, leading to you suffering from a broken leg and crush injuries to the chest.
- Inadequate training: You are given no manual handling training as a supermarket employee. As a result, you use the wrong lifting techniques when moving stock and sustain a moderate back injury.
To discuss your specific circumstances, please contact an advisor. They can assess your particular case and help you understand whether you’re eligible to seek accident at work compensation.
Evidence For Proving Employer Liability
In order to prove an accident at work claim, you must gather evidence to show your employer failed to uphold their duty of care, and you sustained an injury as a result. As such, you could benefit from collecting the following:
- CCTV footage that shows the accident happening.
- A copy of your accident report from the workplace accident book.
- A personal diary where you have noted the physical and psychological impact of your injuries.
- Copies of your medical records. For example, a copy of an X-ray that shows a broken bone, or doctor notes detailing the treatment you have received.
- Contact information from possible witnesses to your accident.
Since evidence is important in helping to strengthen a personal injury claim, you might find it beneficial to instruct a solicitor to assist you. Our experienced solicitors can help you build your case and ensure it is submitted within the relevant time limit. If you get in touch with an advisor, they may connect you with one of our solicitors if they find you have a valid claim.
What Could You Claim If Hit By Heavy Boxes At Work?
If you make a successful personal injury claim after being hit by heavy boxes at work, you could receive a payout consisting of up of two heads of loss. The primary head of loss – general damages – compensates for the physical and psychological pain and suffering you have experienced due to your injuries.
General damages can be calculated using findings from an independent medical assessment which can be arranged for you as part of the claims process. It will give an in-depth insight into the way your injuries will affect you in the future. This report can be used alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG sets out a list of guideline compensation brackets for varying types of injuries.
Injuries Table
A selection of figures from the JCG have been included in the table below. Please only use these as a guide, however, as each payout will vary depending on the unique circumstances of each claim.
| Injury | Severity | Award Brackets - Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages, Including The Cost Of Home Adjustments And Lost Earnings | Severe | Up to £500,000+ |
| Brain | Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Moderate | £183,190 to £267,340 | |
| Back | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 | |
| Leg | Severe (ii) | £66,920 to £109,290 |
| Less Serious (i) | £21,920 to £33,880 | |
| Neck | Severe (ii) | £80,240 to £159,770 |
| Moderate (ii) | £16,770 to £30,500 | |
| Foot | Serious | £30,500 to £47,840 |
Examples Of Other Forms Of Compensation
The secondary head of loss – special damages – compensates for the expenses you have incurred due to your injuries. For example:
- Loss of earnings. For example, if you have had to take time off work due to your injuries, and you lose income, you could seek reimbursement of this loss under special damages.
- Medical costs, such as fees for prescriptions.
- Travel costs, such as taxis to and from medical appointments.
You must provide evidence of any financial losses, such as payslips, invoices, bank statements, and receipts.
For further guidance on accident at work compensation payouts, including how they are calculated and what they could include to address the effects of your injuries, please call an advisor on the number above.
Begin A No Win No Fee Claim For An Accident At Work
If you have been hit by heavy boxes at work, and are eligible to begin a personal injury claim, you might wish to seek legal representation. If so, you could benefit from working with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors who could offer their helpful services under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This typically means you do not have to pay any fees for the solicitor’s work before or during your case. Additionally, you do not have to pay any fees for their work if your claim is unsuccessful.
If your claim is successful, your solicitor can take a success fee from your compensation. The maximum percentage they can take is capped by law to ensure you get the majority of the compensation you’re awarded.
Contact Us
If you would like further guidance on seeking compensation after being hit by heavy boxes at work with a solicitor offering No Win No Fee terms, please contact an advisor. After assessing your initial case, and finding you have valid grounds to proceed, they can connect you with one of our expert accident at work solicitors to represent you and begin working on your case.
For more information, you can:
- Call on 0800 073 8804.
- Enter your details in our ‘Claim Online‘ form.
- Use our live chat box to message an advisor.
Learn More About Claims For Workplace Accidents
Please find more of our guides relating to accident at work claims below:
- See what you can do if your employer denies liability for your accident at work.
- Learn what the accident at work claims time limit is to understand how long you have to initiate legal proceedings.
- Discover whether you could make a claim after faulty machinery at work caused you to become injured.
Additionally, you can find some external resources below:
- Helpful information on claiming Statutory Sick Pay from GOV.UK.
- Guidance on broken bones from the NHS.
- Information on managing risks at work from the Health and Safety Executive.
We hope this guide on how to claim personal injury compensation if you have been hit by heavy boxes at work has helped. If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor using the number above.
