By Cat Way. Last Updated 7th October 2024. Your employer has a responsibility to take care of your health and safety at work to a reasonable standard. If they do not do so, and you fall ill or become injured as a result of their negligence, you could consider making a claim for compensation. If you have been injured at work, searching for ‘injured at work lawyer near me’ may be something you are considering. But do you really need to search for a ‘work injury lawyer near me’ to find one that could be appropriate for your claim?
This guide has been created to answer that question and many more about making a claim for compensation for an accident at work.
Below, we talk about finding an appropriate solicitor to help you make an injury claim and explain whether there is any need for you to use search terms such as ‘injured at work lawyer near me’ and ‘good injury lawyers near me’. They may not necessarily be the most appropriate ones for your needs.
We also explain how you can check your eligibility to make a claim and how much compensation you could look to receive for a number of work-related injuries.
If you have any questions after reading this guide, or you would like our help with starting an accident at work claim, we’d be happy to speak to you. You can get in touch with us at 0800 073 8804 at any time. You can also get in touch with our advisors online by using our 24/7 live chat service or our online contact page. To learn more about claiming personal injury compensation, read on.
Select A Section
- What Is An Injury At Work Lawyer?
- Could I Claim With An Injured At Work Lawyer Near Me?
- Can An Injury At Work Lawyer Help Me Gather Evidence?
- What Work Injuries Could I Claim For With An Injured At Work Lawyer Near Me?
- What Compensation Payouts Can An Injured At Work Lawyer Help Me Claim?
- Can I Work With An Injured At Work Lawyer Near Me On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Essential Resources On Working With Lawyers Near Me
What Is An Injury At Work Lawyer?
An injury at work lawyer is a legal professional that specialises or has experience in handling personal injury claims for workplace accidents. In some cases, you might be wondering ‘Do I need to instruct a work injury lawyer near me?’, but this is not necessarily the case.
Some people may assume if they’re injured at work, searching for ‘personal injury lawyers near me’ could be the best place to start. However, this could restrict your search more than you’d need to.
Technology has improved greatly over the years. As electronic communications and telephone systems have improved and computers have become more accessible, many personal injury claims are handled largely by letter, e-mail, and telephone. This has led to claimants having much more choice when it comes to choosing a personal injury lawyer to help them with a claim.
As such, you could focus on choosing a lawyer that has experience handling claims similar to your own so they can guide you through the different stages of the claims process.
Our work injury lawyers could help if you’re eligible to pursue compensation. Call our team to learn more.
Could I Claim For An Accident At Work With An Injured At Work Lawyer Near Me?
You might be wondering ‘When could I claim with a work injury lawyer near me?’. As mentioned, you don’t necessarily have to choose a lawyer close to you. Instead, you can choose one that has experience handling claims similar to your own, such as one of our expert accident at work lawyers.
In order to be eligible to instruct one of our lawyers, you need to demonstrate you have met the personal injury claims eligibility criteria by showing:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and place of the accident. Employers owe a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to take reasonable and practicable steps to prevent you from becoming injured in the workplace.
- They breached this duty of care.
- You suffered an injury, physical and/or psychological, as a result.
The points above form the basis of negligence in tort law. Negligence needs to be proven for you to have valid grounds to seek personal injury compensation.
Time Limit For Claiming With An Injury At Work Lawyer
Having explained that you do not need to go with an injured at work lawyer ‘near me’ in order to seek compensation, we need to talk about the time limits for accident at work claims.
In most cases, the Limitation Act 1980 stipulates that any personal injury claim will need to be made within 3 years of the accident. However, exceptions to this can be made in the following circumstances:
- Minors: those under the age of 18 cannot claim until they reach adulthood. At which point, they will have 3 years to make their claim.
- Those lacking sufficient mental capacity: anyone without the mental capacity to claim for themselves will have the time limit paused altogether.
In cases like these, the court may appoint a parent, guardian or other suitable adult to be a litigation friend for the injured person. This means that the appointed adult would pursue the claim on the injured person’s behalf.
To learn about how a job injury lawyer from Legal Expert could help you, to inquire further about the time limits, talk to our advisors today.
Can An Injury At Work Lawyer Help Me Gather Evidence?
Collecting evidence is an important step in the personal injury claims process, but you may not know where to start. Evidence can help support a number of different areas within your claim, including the types of injuries you suffered, how your accident occurred, and how your injuries will affect your life going forward. It can also be useful in establishing who is liable for your injuries.
Working with personal injury lawyers on your claim can come with many benefits, one of which is that they can help you gather evidence. A work injury lawyer from our team could draw from their years of experience to help you collect evidence that is relevant to your claim in order to help you build a strong case. Some examples of this evidence could include:
- Witness statements: It can be helpful to collect the contact details of any witnesses, as this allows their statements to be taken later by a professional.
- Photographs: Taking photographs of your injuries and, if safe, the accident site can be helpful. This can help demonstrate both the severity of your injuries and how the accident occurred.
- Medical records: Your medical records provide official documentation of your injuries and the treatment you require for them.
- Accident book incident report: If any workplace has ten or more employees they must have an accident book on site. Filling this out creates a permanent record of what happened, and this report can be used as evidence later.
Get in touch with our team today to learn more about the potential benefits of choosing to work with a lawyer on your personal injury compensation claim. Or, read on to find out how much compensation you could get from a successful claim.
What Work Injuries Could I Claim For With An Injured At Work Lawyer Near Me?
Any workplace injury could lead to you making a compensation claim provided it is caused by your employers’ breach of duty. Injury claims could be made for both mental and physical injuries and could include:
- Back, neck or spinal injuries
- Broken bones
- Head injuries
- Burns
- Lacerations
- Electric shocks
This list is not exhaustive. If you’ve been injured or fallen ill and you believe your employer could be held responsible, one call to our team could set you on the path to the compensation you deserve. They can offer more information on making a compensation claim, and may be able to connect you with one of our personal injury lawyers.
What Compensation Payouts Can An Injured Lawyer At Work Near Me Help Me Claim?
You might be wondering how much compensation you could receive for a successful claim. When you sustain a personal injury, the compensation that you’re awarded could be made up of more than one figure. The settlement you may receive could comprise up to two heads of claim. These include:
- General damages – This amount is awarded to account for the pain and suffering caused by your physical and mental injuries.
- Special damages – Comprised of costs that occurred due to your injuries. For example, a loss of earnings or medical expenses.
The table in this section relates to general damages. Legal professionals use a few different resources when valuing how much your injuries should be worth in compensation. Not only will they look at the relevant medical evidence, but also a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The figures below have been taken from the 16th edition of the JCG, as this is the most up to date edition, published in 2022. As you can see, the JCG contains descriptions of injuries that could be caused by negligence. Accompanying each entry is a range of guide figures that help those valuing your claim arrive at the most appropriate amount for the harm you have sustained.
It’s vital to keep in mind that your claim can only be accurately valued once your individual circumstances have all been addressed and taken into account. So, please use this resource as a guide only. Please also note, that the top entry of this table has not been taken from the JCG.
If you’d like a bespoke estimate, reach out to our advisors. Then, if we think you have a valid claim, we could connect you to an injury lawyer near you – or one best-suited to your case.
| Type of injury | Guideline compensation bracket |
|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries With Special Damages | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Very Severe Brain Injury | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Severe Back Injuries | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Severe Psychological Damage | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Total Loss Of One Eye | £66,920 to £80,210 |
| Less serious leg injuries (i) | £21,920 to £33,880 |
| Less serious leg injury (ii) | £11,120 to £17,180 |
| Moderate knee injuries (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 |
| Serious toe injuries | £11,720 to £16,770 |
| Moderate hand injury | £6,910 to £16,200 |
What Are Special Damages In Claims For An Injury At Work?
Alongside general damages, you may also be entitled to special damages. Special damages address the financial losses you have suffered due to your injuries.
For example, you may need to take time off work to recover from your injuries. In this case, you could experience a loss of earnings. Under special damages, you could potentially claim back these lost earnings as part of your compensation claim.
Special damages could also help you recoup the cost of:
- Prescriptions and over-the-counter medications.
- Childcare.
- Domestic help, such as help with cooking or cleaning.
- Mobility aids and home adjustments.
- Essential travel.
One of the benefits of working with a workplace injury lawyer is that they can help you gather evidence to support a claim for special damages, which might include bank statements, invoices, and receipts.
To learn more about working with a lawyer for your injury at work claim, contact our team today. They can offer more information and can answer questions such as ‘Do I need to work with an injury lawyer near me?’ and ‘How much compensation could I potentially receive?’
Can I Work With An Injured At Work Lawyer Near Me On A No Win No Fee Basis?
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim, one of our specialist personal injury solicitors could help you. After discussing your accident at work claim, our advisors could connect you with one of our lawyers for work injury claims. If they agree to take on your case, they may offer you a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When working with a No Win No Fee lawyer, you won’t be required to pay any upfront or ongoing fees. Additionally, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be required to pay your lawyer for their services.
Alternatively, if your claim proves successful, your lawyer will take a success fee from the compensation awarded to you. The percentage your lawyer can take as a success fee is capped by the law.
To discuss your claim and be connected with an accident at work lawyer, you can contact our advisors by:
- Calling 0800 073 8804
- Using our contact form
- Using our 24/7 live chat service
Essential Resources On Working With Lawyers Near Me
Below, we’ve included some more guides on working with “lawyers near me” that you may find useful:
- Here is a general guide on workplace accident claims and how a personal injury solicitor could help you get the compensation you deserve.
- If you would like to know who could pay your medical bills after an accident at work, this guide could be useful.
- One of the most common types of accident at work, this guide shows how slips, trips and falls at work could lead to personal injury claims.
- Employer’s Responsibilities – Health and Safety responsibilities of employers towards their employees are detailed on the HSE website.
- Compensation For Work Injuries – You can find out more about what compensation could be claimed for workplace injuries.
- Statutory Sick Pay – You may have to go on SSP if you are off work for some time. This page on the government website explains more.
- Learn if a whiplash claim can be refused through our helpful whiplash injury claim guide.
If you would like to speak to an adviser about queries you may have such as “injury lawyers near me”, then you can speak to one by contacting Legal Expert today. You can reach us using the contact details highlighted above.
