How Long Does A Work Injury Claim Take?

After sustaining an injury in an accident at work, you may be wondering ‘how long does a work injury claim take?’. This guide will explore the time limits for starting a personal injury claim.

A guide on ‘how long does a work injury claim take?’

Employers owe their employees a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to remove or reduce the risks any hazards pose in the workplace. However, there may be instances where an employer fails to uphold their duty of care, causing you to sustain harm in an accident.

This guide will explore examples of how accidents at work can happen as a result of your employer’s negligence. Additionally, we will explore the steps you could take following an accident.

An injury sustained at work could have an impact on your quality of life as well as your financial situation. This guide will explore what your settlement could comprise and the evidence you can provide to seek compensation.

Additionally, we will discuss the benefits of a No Win No Fee agreement. This allows you to fund legal representation without paying an upfront fee. We will provide more information on this option later on in our guide.

Our advisors are available to contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can contact them by:

Calling the number at the top of the page
Speaking with an advisor via the live chat function below
Filling out our contact form with your query about starting your claim

Choose A Section

How Long Does A Work Injury Claim Take?
Compensation Payouts For Work Accident Claims
How Could Accidents At Work Happen?
Evidence That Could Support Your Personal Injury Claim
No Win No Fee Agreements And Work Injury Claims
How Long Does A Work Injury Claim Take? – Further Information

You might be entitled to work injury compensation if you suffered an accident at work that was caused by your employers negligence.

However, you may be wondering ‘how long does a work injury claim take?’. The time it takes for a claim to settle can vary depending on several factors, such as whether liability is admitted or whether further evidence is needed to support your claim.

Additionally, there is a work claim time limit to make a claim, as outlined by the Limitation Act 1980. Generally, the time limit is 3 years from the data of the accident or the date you connected your injuries with negligence. However, there are exceptions that may be applied to your specific circumstances.

For example:

If the injured person is under the age of 18, the time limit won’t start until they turn 18 if no one has made a claim on their behalf before the date of their 18th birthday.
If the injured person has a reduced mental capacity, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. However, if their mental capacity is recovered, they will have three years starting from the date they recover.

In circumstances when someone is not able to put forward their own claim, the courts may appoint a litigation friend to start the claim on someone’s behalf.

If you’re unsure about whether you’re eligible to claim and have enough time to do so, call our team. They can provide further guidance.

Work Accident Statistics

Employees can self-report to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) about accidents and injuries at work. These reports are then collated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to provide helpful accidents at work statistics.

As such, it was found that around 441,000 working people sustained a non-fatal injury at work as per self-reports made to the LFS.

The reports also show that out of these injuries, 102,000 working people had to take more than a week off from work.

Compensation Payouts For Work Accident Claims

Settlements following a successful claim can comprise general damages. These provide compensation for the impact your injuries have had on your quality of life. This includes the physical harm, mental suffering and loss of amenity.

There are several resources that legal professionals may use to help them calculate general damages. For instance, they can use medical evidence alongside a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG contains guideline compensation brackets that relate to different injuries. The most recent edition of the guidelines was published in April 2022.

We have used figures from this edition to create the following table. However, they should only be used as a guideline.

Injury	Severity/Notes	Amount
Deafness/Tinnitus	(b) This bracket includes cases of complete deafness.	£90,750 - £109,650
Deafness/Tinnitus	(d) Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (i) - There is severe tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL.)	£29,710 - £45,540
Knee Injuries	Severe (a) (i) - This bracket includes a serious knee injury that causes joint disruption as well as other issues.	£69,730 - £96,210
Knee Injuries	Moderate (b) (i) - Injuries include a knee dislocation, torn cartilage or meniscus. This can result in minor instability, wasting and weakness as well as other future issues.	£14,840 - £26,190
Back Injuries	Severe (a) (iii) - The person suffers from disc lesions or fractures. These can lead to chronic conditions where there remain disabilities despite treatment.	£38,780 - £69,730
Back Injuries	Minor (c) (i) - A full recovery from injuries within two to five years without surgery.	£7,890 - £12,510
Asthma	(a) Severe - There is permanent disabling asthma resulting in several issues such as prolonged and regular coughing, disturbance of sleep and restricted employment prospects.	£43,060 - £65,740
Asthma	(d) Asthma-like symptoms that are relatively mild resulting from exposure to a harmful vapour.	£10,640 - £19,200
Wrist Injuries	(a) The person has lost complete function of the wrist.	£47,620 - £59,860
Wrist Injuries	(d) The person suffers from a fracture or soft tissue injury, and recovery takes longer than 12 months.	£6,080 - £10,350

Your settlement may also comprise special damages. These take into account any financial losses caused by your injury. This can be anything from travel expenses to loss of earnings. Be sure to keep a physical record of these finances, as you may not be reimbursed for any costs without them.

For more information on how much compensation you can claim for an injury at work, call our team.

How Could Accidents At Work Happen?

Employers are legally required to do all they reasonably can to keep you safe at work. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 outlines the steps employers can take to remove or reduce workplace injury risks. If they do not do this, they could be breaching their duty of care to you, which could result in you becoming harmed.

Below are some scenarios of how a workplace accident could happen.

Your employer has failed to do the required maintenance checks on factory machinery, e.g. conveyor belts. This could result in a person getting their hand crushed due to faulty machinery.
Your employer is aware of a leak from the ceiling but has failed to do anything about it. A puddle of water forms from this leak, causing you to slip and sustain a back injury.
There are loose wires scattering the work floor that your employer has failed to tidy or properly secure down. This can result in a person tripping over these wires and sustaining a foot injury.

It is important to remember that not all accidents can lead to a workplace accident claim. To be successful, you must prove that your employer breached their duty of care, which resulted in you becoming harmed.

For more information on whether you’re eligible to claim and how long a work injury claim can take to settle, contact our advisors.

Evidence That Could Help Support Your Personal Injury Claim

If you have suffered an injury at work due to your employer breaching their duty of care, there are steps you can take to help you strengthen your claim. These include:

Seek appropriate medical care – This could be going to A&E or booking an appointment with your GP. You could request a copy of your medical records to help aid you in your claim.
Gather relevant evidence – This could include CCTV footage, medical records and witness contact details.
Fill out an accident report book – If your workplace has over 10 employees, there should be an accident report book on site. Filling this out could help your claim as it provides crucial details about the accident’s date, nature and result.
Receive legal advice – After an accident, you may be wondering how long a work injury claim can take to settle. Getting some legal advice could help you. A solicitor could also help you gather relevant evidence.

Contact our advisors for more information.

No Win No Fee Agreements And Work Injury Claims

If you are considering hiring legal representation to help you pursue a work accident claim, a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee service, may benefit you. As per the agreement:

You do not need to pay your solicitor upfront for their services.
During the process of your claim, there are no fees to pay.
If your case doesn’t succeed, you do not have to pay for your solicitor’s services.
If your case is successful, you will pay a small success fee from your compensation. This fee is legally capped.

This is an agreement our solicitors can offer. For more information, use the contact details below.

Ask Us “How Long Does A Work Injury Claim Take?”

If you are still wondering how long a work injury claim can take, contact our advisors. They can provide free legal advice and further clarification on anything of which you’re still unsure.

Additionally, they could assign one of our solicitors to your case, provided it’s valid and has a chance of success.

You can get in touch by:

Calling the number at the top of the page
Speaking with an advisor via the live chat function below
Filling out our contact form with your query about starting your claim

How Long Does A Work Injury Claim Take? – Further Information

Please find below some additional links that may help you.

Other Injury At Work Claims Guides

We hope this guide has answered your question ‘how long does a work injury claim take?’. However, if you have any other questions, call our team.