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Can I Claim Compensation If I Am Self-Employed And Had An Accident At Work?
By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 25th September 2024. As much of health and safety law revolves around the duty of care owed by employers to their employees, you may be wondering if you can claim compensation for an accident if you work for yourself. To that end, we have made this self-employed accident at work guide.
The good news is self employed persons can claim compensation if they can show another party failed to keep them safe. We’ll cover all aspects of making a self-employed injury at work claim, including eligibility, how to prove liability and how compensation is calculated in these instances.
If you are eligible to make a self-employed injury at work claim, our solicitors could offer you their services on a No Win No Fee basis.
If you had an accident at work and would like to find out if you are eligible to claim, please get in touch with an advisor from our team. In addition to a free eligibility assessment, they can answer any questions you may have.
To speak to an advisor:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online for a callback.
- Ask a question in our live chat.
Select A Section:
- I’m Self-Employed And Had An Accident At Work – Can I Claim?
- Self-Employed Injury At Work Claim Examples
- What To Do If You’ve Been Injured As A Self-Employed Person
- Compensation Payouts For An Injury At Work When Self-Employed
- How Legal Expert Can Help You If Injured While Self Employed In An Accident At Work
I’m Self-Employed And Had An Accident At Work – Can I Claim?
If you are self-employed and were injured at work, you may consider seeking compensation. However, in order to make a valid accident at work claim, you must be able to demonstrate that any injuries you sustained were caused by another party’s negligent actions.
When you enter the premises of another workplace, you are owed a duty of care by the controller of that space. For example, if you are a self-employed joiner and you are brought onto a building site, you are owed a duty of care by the contractor in charge of that of the building site.
If the party owing you this duty were to breach it, resulting in an accident in which you are injured, you may have grounds to make a valid claim.
It should be noted that if you are self employed, an accident at work claim must be started within the time limit. Continue reading for more information. Alternatively, contact an advisor from our team to learn more.
What Legal Rights Do The Self Employed Have After An Injury At Work?
Self-employed people have different legal rights than contracted workers. Because they are their own bosses, employment law usually does not cover them.
This means that you might miss out on certain benefits that contracted workers might get, like Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). This can make suffering an injury at work even more financially strenuous than usual.
However, if you are self-employed, your health and safety rights are still protected, as are your rights against discrimination.
This means, as we’ve mentioned above, you may have the right to claim for an accident at work while self-employed if you can prove that negligence occurred.
We understand that it can be hard to know whether or not you can make a self-employed accident at work claim, so our advisors are here to help. When you get in touch, they can discuss your legal rights with you and whether or not you are entitled to compensation. Contact us today to learn more.
Self-Employed Injury At Work Claim Examples
There are several ways you could suffer an injury at work as a self-employed person. For example:
- You are brought in to do some electric work in a barbershop. Due to trailing wires and leads on the premises, you suffer a fractured or broken bone after a slip, trip and fall because of poor housekeeping.
- You are brought in to fix some wiring issues in an office. However, when you sit on a chair, it gives way and you fall and suffer a pelvic fracture and head injury. The person in control of the premises was aware of the fault with the chair but failed to take any measures to remove the hazard.
It’s important to remember that you can make a claim for minor injuries as well as serious injuries. However, it may not always be possible to make a self-employed injury at work claim. To be eligible to do so, you need to prove you suffered harm due to a breach of duty of care.
To find out whether you could claim compensation for a self-employed accident at work, call our team on the number above.
What To Do If You’ve Been Injured As A Self-Employed Person
If you were injured at work while self-employed, as we mentioned in the previous section, it’s important to collect evidence to support your accident at work claim. Without any proof of your employer’s negligence or your injuries, self-employed claims are unlikely to be eligible for compensation.
Therefore, considering gathering evidence, such as:
- Accident reports – you should report the accident as soon as you’re able to. This can serve as vital evidence and also confirms that the accident actually happened.
- Medical records – if you visited a hospital or GP practice regarding an injury you sustained, this will be on your medical record. You are legally able to request your medical records.
- Medical report – a diagnosis from an independent medical expert can prove the extent of any injuries you have sustained.
- Photographic evidence – as well as taking photographs of your injuries, you should photograph the scene of the accident and any hazards that may have caused your injury.
- CCTV footage – if where you were working had CCTV footage, you can request the footage of your accident.
Have you had an injury at work while self-employed? Our expert personal injury solicitors have years of experience. Using their expertise, they can cover all bases of your claim and help you collect evidence to support your claim.
Self-Employed Injury Claim Time Limits
When making a self-employed injury claim, you’ll need to ensure you take action within the limitation period to avoid the risk of your claim being statute-barred. As outlined in the Limitation Act 1980, you typically have three years from the date of the accident to start a personal injury claim.
However, if a young person is self employed and has an accident at work, they have three years from their 18th birthday to begin a claim. Additionally, if someone is injured at work but lacks the mental capacity to make their own claim, the time limit is suspended unless they ever regain the required mental capacity.
In the circumstances mentioned above, a litigation friend can act on behalf of a claimant whilst the time limit is suspended. For example, a parent, relative or solicitor. They must not have conflicting interests with the claimant and should be able to make decisions about the case that are fair and competent.
Please get in touch if you have any questions about the time limits that might apply to your case. Our advisors are available 24/7 and can help you free of charge.
Compensation Payouts For An Injury At Work When Self-Employed
To be able to receive compensation at all for an accident at work as a self-employed person, you would need to prove that your injury was the result of third-party negligence.
If negligence has caused you to suffer an injury at work when self-employed, you may want an idea of what compensation you could receive. Your compensation amount could be made up of general damages and special damages. General damages relate to the suffering and pain caused by the injury. Special damages, on the other hand, solely relate to the financial losses caused by the injury.
The Judicial College Guidelines can give you a clearer idea of your potential compensation amount. The below figures relate to past general damages compensation that has been awarded in England and Wales for certain injuries.
These figures have been taken from the latest guidelines, published in 2022. However, please remember that there are no guarantees regarding what compensation you could receive as every claim is different.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries with Special Damages | Severe | Up to £500,000+ |
| Back Injury | Severe (i) | £111,150 - £196,450 |
| Leg Injury | (b) (ii) Very Serious | £66,920 - £109,290 |
| Knee Injury | Severe (ii) | £63,610 - £85,100 |
| Ankle Injury | Very Severe | £61,090 - £85,070 |
| Arm Injury | Less Severe | £23,430 - £47,810 |
| Elbow Injury | Less Severe | £19,100 - £39,070 |
| Neck Injury | Moderate (ii) | £16,770 - £30,500 |
| Foot Injury | Modest | Up to £16,770 |
Special damages is entirely dependent on the amount of any related financial losses you have suffered due to your injury. For example, you may have lost out on earnings due to being unable to work or needed to pay for domestic healthcare. You would need evidence to prove the value of what you are trying to claim. This could include providing receipts, bank statements and invoices.
If you’re self-employed and have been injured at work due to negligence, you can find out more information about the claims process by calling us for free. Our advisors can give you a compensation estimate that relates to your injury and connect you with a specialised solicitor who could help you build a compensation case.
How Legal Expert Can Help You If Injured While Self-Employed In An Accident At Work
To find out if you could make a self-employed accident at work claim call our advisors today for a free assessment of your case. If they find that you have an eligible personal injury claim for an accident at work while self-employed they could offer to connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Our No Win No Fee solicitors provide their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), this means you don’t pay any upfront fees for their work, nor do you pay for this work to continue. If your claim does not succeed, then you won’t pay any fees at all for their services.
If your claim does succeed, then your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. They take this as a percentage that has a restriction placed on it as per the law. The legal cap ensures that you are awarded the most of your settlement for your injuries and how they have affected you.
Contact Our Team
If you’re self-employed and had an injury at work, contact our team of advisors today. They can offer a free evaluation, through which they can identify whether your claim could be valid, and may be able to connect you with a solicitor.
For more information:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat feature
Further Resources On Claiming For An Injury At Work
In addition to guides on claiming for a self-employed injury at work, we have other accident at work claims guides:
- Find out if you could claim after you fell down the stairs at work and how to secure a settlement.
- Learn how to make a scaffolding accident claim and what compensation you could receive.
- Discover what steps you can take to claim after defective work equipment caused you an injury.
- You can learn more answers to popular queries by reading our accident at work FAQs guide
Additionally, you can find some helpful external resources:
- Advice on what the law says about self-employed workers from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Information on first aid from the NHS.
- Guidance on self-employed employment rights from GOV.UK.
Thank you for reading our guide on when you could claim for a self-employed accident at work. If you have any other questions, please get in touch using the number above.
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