By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 18th September 2024. If you have been injured following a breach of health and safety regulations by your employer, you might be interested in making an accident at work claim or learning more about health and safety breach claims. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect you from harm. If you can prove that your injuries were sustained as a result of your employer’s negligence, you may have grounds for an eligible personal injury claim.
Within this guide, we’ll discuss when and how long you have to start a personal injury claim. Furthermore, we will consider the types of evidence that you could collect to help prove liability in your claim. We’ll also explore different types of health and safety breaches in the workplace that could lead to an accident. Finally, we will discuss how one of our solicitors could represent you in your case with a No Win No Fee agreement.
Here’s our quick explainer video on what Health and Safety Breach Accident’s are and how you can claim compensation:
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Select A Section
- What Is A Health And Safety Breach?
- Health And Safety Breach Examples
- Health And Safety Breaches – Evidence To Support A Claim For Injuries
- Breach Of Health And Safety – Calculating Compensation
- No Win No Fee Health And Safety Breach Accident Claims
- Helpful Links And Resources
What Is A Health And Safety Breach?
A health and safety breach occurs when those responsible fail to comply with health and safety legislation and other health and safety regulations. There are a number of pieces of legislation in place for different environments to ensure the health and safety of both workers and those visiting public spaces.
For example, while you are at work, your employer owes you a duty of care to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure your health and safety. This is outlined under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), which is the main piece of health and safety legislation in place for workers.
Another example of health and safety legislation is the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA). This legislation outlines the duty of care for those in control of public spaces and states that they must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of those visiting said public spaces.
If you are injured because either of these parties breaches health and safety legislation, you may be able to make a personal injury claim. Contact our team of advisors today to learn more about health and safety breach claims.
Health And Safety Breach Examples
Below, we have provided some health and safety breach examples to show how an employer failing their legal duty of care can result in an accident.
If your specific circumstances aren’t covered here don’t worry, you very well could still be eligible to claim. Examples can include:
- Inadequate training resulted in staff overloading a warehouse crane. The cable snapped, causing the heavy objects to fall. One of these objects hit you and badly crushed your leg.
- A failure to carry out maintenance inspections meant a faulty ladder was not spotted. You were instructed to use this ladder on site regardless. The ladder gave way, and you fell from a considerable height.
- Poor lighting in a storage area caused you trip and fall, badly damaging your ankle.
To find out more about claiming compensation in your particular circumstances, get in touch with our advisors today.
Health And Safety Breaches – Evidence To Support A Claim For Injuries
When claiming compensation for the breach of the duty of care owed to you, you need evidence to support your claim. In other words, you need to be able to prove that your injuries were caused by a failure to uphold acceptable standards such as those set out in HASAWA.
Regardless of where the incident occurs, you’ll need as much evidence as possible. For example:
- Accident book – If you’re injured at work due to a health and safety breach, then you can fill out the accident book. Having an accident is a legal requirement if your organisation employs 10 or more people.
- Video evidence – For instance, CCTV footage.
- Medical evidence – Test results, medical records, and X-rays are all examples of medical proof. They can also help in valuing your claim.
- Contact information for witnesses – If you can collect the details of any eyewitnesses, they could provide a statement about what they saw.
- Photographs – Both of any physical injuries, and of the hazards that caused them.
To find out more about gathering evidence to support claims for health and safety breaches, get in touch with our advisors today. This is not a complete list, and there will be other examples they can tell you about.
Breach Of Health And Safety – Calculating Compensation
Health and safety breach claims can result in significant payouts if they succeed. This compensation can be awarded under two heads of loss, general and special damages. These heads of loss award for physical and psychological harm, and financial losses, respectively.
Those assigned the task of calculating a possible compensation figure for general damages can refer to your medical documents in conjunction with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This detailed publication lists compensation guidelines for various different injuries, a relevant selection of which we have provided here.
Compensation Table
We emphasise that the first entry is not a JCG figure, and that this information has been provided for guidance purposes only.
| Injury type | Severity | Settlement band |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries and special damages | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain injury | Moderately severe | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Brain injury | Minor | £2,690 to £15,580 |
| Injury to the back | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Injury to the knee | Severe (i) | £85,100 to £117,410 |
| Injury to the knee | Moderate (ii) | Up to £16,770 |
| Injury to the ankle | Very severe | £61,090 to £85,070 |
| Injury to the ankle | Severe | £38,210 to £61,090 |
| Hand injuries | Serious | £35,390 to £75,550 |
| Hernia | Continuing pain | £18,180 to £29,490 |
Special Damages In A Breach of Health and Safety At Work
As we explained above, special damages payments can be awarded for financial losses stemming from your injuries. This head of loss awards for both immediate and future losses, as well as ongoing costs. What this means is special damages payments are often significantly higher than those under general damages.
There are several costs that can be incurred from health and safety breaches, examples can include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Out-of-pocket medical bills.
- Transport costs.
- Care needs.
Hold onto any supporting documentation, such as your pay slips and care invoices, as proof of the losses you incurred.
The information in this section is intended as a guide only. To get a more personalised idea of what your potential claim could be worth, contact our team today.
No Win No Fee Health And Safety Breach Accident Claims
No Win No Fee means that you can hire a solicitor to represent your claim for the consequences of a health and safety breach accident without having to pay any costs upfront or while your claim is ongoing. With a No Win No Fee claim, you only pay a success fee to your solicitor when your claim is successful. Being able to make a claim using No Win No Fee means that your personal injury solicitor will assume all the risk in working with you on your claim. When you do come to pay for your solicitor’s services, you will already have your settlement and be able to easily manage the fees.
For more information on health and safety breaches examples to understand whether you’re eligible to claim under a No Win No Fee agreement, call our team.
Health And Safety Solicitor – Contact Legal Expert For Health And Safety Legal Advice
You can get free legal advice from our friendly advisors at any time after being injured at work. They work around the clock and can answer your questions about health and safety legal requirements. Furthermore, they can determine your eligibility to claim at no extra cost to you via a free consultation.
After an accident at work that was caused by your employer’s negligence, you could be owed injury compensation. Let our health and safety solicitors help you with an accident at work claim.
Contact Us
Below are a few ways you can get in touch with us:
- Call our dedicated team on 0800 073 8804
- Complete a contact form and we’ll be in touch
- Pop up to an advisor at any time using our free online chat function
Helpful Links And Resources
- I Had An Accident At Work, What Are My Rights? – Have you suffered an accident due to health and safety breaches at work? If so, read our guide to getting the compensation you deserve.
- I Am Self Employed And Had An Accident At Work, Can I Claim? – How much can I claim for a health and safety breach in work leading to an accident when I’m self-employed? Find out in our guide.
- Forklift Truck Accident Claims – Find out how much you could be able to claim if you were injured in a forklift accident in the workplace.
- Consequences Of A Breach In Health And Safety – Find out more about the consequences of a breach in health and safety processes and procedures in this guide from the Health and Safety Executive.
- Get in touch with HSE – Contact details for the Health and Safety Executive.
- Time Limit In Personal Injury Claims – See our guide exploring how long you have to put forward your personal injury claim.
- Learn more about claiming for whiplash with a pre existing condition by reading our helpful guide.
We hope you have found our guide on health and safety breach claims helpful. If you have any questions, please call our team on the number above. They can provide further guidance on the steps you can take following a breach of health and safety.
