In this guide, we’ll be looking at the process of claiming for an eye injury at work. If you’ve been in an accident at work which left you with an eye injury, then you may be able to claim, provided it was caused by a breach of duty of care.
Eye injury at work claims guide
This guide will explain the duty of care that an employer owes to their employees and how it can be broken, causing an accident at work that caused injuries. We’ll also look at how these kinds of claims are valued and the different kinds of damages that could make up a settlement.
Please continue reading to learn more about claiming. You can also get in touch with our team of advisors, who might be able to connect you with an accident at work lawyer if you have a valid case. You can reach us by:
- Calling us at 0800 073 8805.
- Speaking with someone using the live chat feature on this page
- Starting your claim online
Choose A Section
- Can You Claim For An Eye Injury At Work? – A Guide
- When Are You Eligible To Claim For An Eye Injury At Work?
- Top Tips When Making A Work Injury Claim
- Eye Injury At Work – What Could You Receive For An Accident At Work Claim?
- Why Make A No Win No Fee Accident At Work Claim?
- Learn More About How To Make A Work Injury Claim
Can You Claim For An Eye Injury At Work? – A Guide
Eye injuries. at work can have a huge impact on the quality of your life. They can vary in severity from irritation within the eye to permanent loss of vision. If you’ve been injured at work, then you might be interested in finding out more about the claims process.
If you can prove that your eye injury was caused by employer negligence, then you may be able to make a claim. This guide will outline how to claim for an eye injury at work to receive the compensation you deserve.
Not all eye injuries in the workplace will entitle you to compensation. For example, the injury may have been caused by your own actions, or your employer may have fulfilled the duty of care they owed you, and an accident occurred anyway. Without negligence being present, you’d be unable to claim.
If you have any questions about making a claim, contact us using the information above.
When Are You Eligible To Claim For An Eye Injury At Work?
Employers automatically have a duty of care towards their employees. This means that they need to take reasonable steps to ensure the workplace, equipment, and facilities are safe.
This is outlined in The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, meaning that the duty of care is a legal requirement. If it’s breached and you’re injured as a result, you may be able to claim compensation.
There are a number of ways that an employer can fulfil their duty of care, including by providing training, maintaining good housekeeping and providing appropriate protective equipment. Below, we have included an example of how this duty could be breached, causing an injury.
For example, an employer may have failed to train employees correctly on how to mix dangerous chemicals, resulting in a member of staff splashing chemicals in their eyes. causing impaired vision and pain. In this case, the duty of care has been breached by an employer as they failed to provide the training required to mix dangerous chemicals.
If you’d like guidance on the process of making an eye injury at work claim or an assessment of your case, get in touch with a member of our team today.
Top Tips When Making A Work Injury Claim
After you have an accident at work, you might be uncertain about what you should do. As part of the work injury claims process, it’s important to seek medical attention for your injuries. This is to fully understand the exact nature of the injury and the recovery you’ll have to undergo. As well as this, it’s also important as it generates medical records that could support your compensation claim.
In order to prove that your employer has broken their duty of care, which led to your injury, it’s important to gather evidence to support your claim. A lawyer could help you with this.
There are many different types of evidence that you can look for when searching for evidence to support your claim. Below is a short list of proof you could collect:
- A copy of the accident at work report from the accident book. An accident at work book is a legal requirement for workplaces that employ 10 or more people
- Medical reports
- The contact details of any witnesses
- A diary of your symptoms
Without any evidence to support that your employers showed negligence, it’s unlikely that your claim will succeed. This is one of the reasons why it could benefit you to work with a solicitor, as they have the experience and knowledge needed to help this process.
How Long Do I Have To Claim?
The general time limit to claim for starting an accident at work is three years. This can either begin from the date of the incident or the date you realised your injuries were caused by negligence. It doesn’t matter how long your work injury claim takes; you just need to have begun the process. The claims time limit is outlined clearly in The Limitation Act 1980.
Some exceptions can apply to this time limit, however. If you’d like to see how long you have to claim, speak with an advisor today.
Eye Injury At Work – What Could You Receive For An Accident At Work Claim?
General damages are one of the potential heads of claim that could be awarded after an accident at work. These seek to compensate you for the pain and suffering that your injuries have caused you to experience.
Solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines to help them when valuing this head of a claim. This document simply outlines guideline compensation brackets, which correspond to different injuries.
Whilst have used these figures in this document to create the table that you can use below. Please note that the figures we’ve used are just guidelines and are not guaranteed.
| Type of injury | Severity | Compensation Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blindness and Deafness | Total Blindness and Deafness | In the region of £403,990 | Completely deaf and blind, ranked among the most devastating of injuries. |
| Blindness | Total Blindness | In the region of £268,720 | Completely blind in both eyes. |
| Eye Injuries | Loss of Sight in One Eye With Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (i) | £95,990 - £179,770 | There is serious risk of further infection in the remaining eye. |
| Eye Injuries | Loss of Sight in One Eye With Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (ii) | £63, 950 - £105,990 | There is substantially reduced vision in the remaining eye and may be some additional problems. |
| Eye Injuries | Total Loss of One Eye | £54,830 - £65,710 | The amount awarded will depend on factors such as the psychological impact and cosmetic affect. |
| Eye Injuries | Complete Loss of Vision in One Eye | £49,270 - £54,830 | Scarring in one eye, but not serious enough to merit a higher compensation bracket. |
| Eye Injuries | Loss of Vision in One Eye | £23,680 - £39,340 | Serious but not complete loss of vision in one eye. Can, but doesn't have to be constant. Upper bracket includes permanent sensitivity to light. |
| Eye Injuries | Impairment of Vision in One Eye | £9,110 - £20,980 | Minor impairment of vision in one or both eyes that cannot be recovered from. Includes some cases of permanent sensitivity to light. |
| Eye Injuries | Minor | £3,950 - £8,730 | Exposure to fumes, including smoke, or contact with liquids causing the vision to be temporarily interfered with. |
| Eye Injuries | Transient injuries | £2,200 - £3,950 | Complete recovery is expected in a few weeks. |
Special Damages When Claiming For An Accident At The Workplace
If you make a successful eye injury at work claim, your settlement could also include special damages. This is another head of claim that aims to reimburse you for any extra costs that you may have incurred after the injury.
Below we’ve listed some of the types of special damages that you could claim for:
- Loss of earnings
- Cost of medication
- Cost of care
- Cost any changes you have made to your home to aid your recovery
Working with a solicitor could be beneficial as they will be able to ensure that all aspects of your claim are covered. This is important as you can’t go back and claim for something else once your case is settled. To see if you could work with one of our injury at work solicitors on your claim, get in touch with our team of advisors today.
Why Make A No Win No Fee Accident At Work Claim?
No Win No Fee could allow you access to workplace injury solicitors for an eye injury at work claim without any upfront or ongoing costs. One of our solicitors could offer you a kind of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement.
Working under this kind of agreement means that you won’t have to pay any fees to your solicitor during the claiming process. But in the case that your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t have to pay any fees to your solicitor at all.
You’ll have to pay a success fee to your lawyer in the event of a successful claim. This is usually a relatively small percentage of your overall compensation amount. This percentage is subject to a legal cap and will be deducted from your settlement before it reaches you.
Get Free Legal Advice To See If You Can Claim For An Accident At Work
You can contact us at any time for a free consultation about your eye injury at work claim. Our work accident solicitors have years of expertise in this field, and if your claim is valid, they could offer to represent you.
You can find out more by contacting us using the information below:
- Call us on 0800 073 8805
- Enter your details through our website
- Chat with one of us through our live feature on our website
Learn More About How To Make A Work Injury Claim
Below, we have included some links to guides that you could find useful:
- Injury at work claims calculator
- Personal injury claims for stress at work
- Claiming for an injury at work while self-employed
We’ve also included links to some external resources:
- NHS guide on black eyes
- Government guide on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
- Statistics on workplace accidents from the Health and Safety Executive
If you have any questions about claiming for an eye injury at work caused by negligence, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Writer Louis Pine
Publisher Fern Strauss