How to Make a Successful Work Injury Claim - Injury At Work Claims Expert

You might be able to make a work injury claim for compensation if you’ve been injured in a workplace accident as the result of negligence. In this guide, we explain how to claim workers’ compensation.

Work injury claim guide

You cannot file for compensation unless you were owed a duty of care, that this duty was breached and you experienced an injury as a result. We explore what a duty of care is and what legislation is in place to protect workers.

Also, we look at examples of how injuries could occur when the duty of care is breached. Included within this guide are a small number of potential workplace accidents that could occur due to employer negligence.

The claims process could seem easier with an injury at work solicitor. We explore No Win No Fee arrangements and why one might be beneficial for your work injury claim.

In addition, we provide examples of work injury compensation payouts. However, we cannot tell you how much your claim could be worth. This is because there are too many variables. The best way to find out your potential compensation value is to talk to our advisors. They can provide a more accurate estimate of what you could claim.

To get in touch:

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Choose A Section

What Are Work Injuries?
Compensation Amounts For A Work Injury Claim
How Do Injuries Happen At Work?
Evidence For A Work Injury Claim
How Can A No Win No Fee Lawyer Help You?
Further Information About A Work Injury Claim

What Are Work Injuries?

Workplace injuries could be prevented when employers take reasonable steps to reduce risks to employees. If your employer fails to take reasonably practical steps and you are injured as a direct result, then they have breached the duty of care they owe you. You might be entitled to compensation.

There is a time limit for personal injury claims under the Limitation Act 1980, however. This is typically three years, but some exceptions apply

Exceptions include:

If you were under the age of 18 at the time of the injury. You will have three years after you turn 18 to begin a claim. Before this, a litigation friend can claim on your behalf and the time limit is suspended.
If you lack the mental capacity to claim yourself at the time of the injury. The time limit is suspended while you can’t claim yourself, and a litigation friend can do so for you. If you recover, then the three-year time limit for claiming starts again.

Our advisors can let you know whether you’re within the time limit for making a work injury claim. Speak with an advisor today for more information.

Current Work Injury Statistics

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there were 51,211 non-fatal employee injuries in Great Britain in 2020/21. These were reported to the HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

Injuries were caused by:

1,860 contact with moving machinery
5,117 struck by moving, flying or falling objects
1,079 struck by a moving vehicle
9.314 handling, lifting or carrying
16,698 slips, trips and falls on the same level
4,143 falls from a height

Compensation Amounts For A Work Injury Claim

You might wonder, ‘how much compensation could I get for an injury at work?’. There is no definitive answer because different factors will make up your award. Even if a colleague was involved in the same accident, their range of injuries and post-injury needs may be different to yours.

If you want to know how injury compensation is calculated, you should know that as part of the claims process you could be invited to an independent medical assessment. This is to get a fuller picture of the extent of your injuries, their prognosis and any further needs you may experience as a result.

Work injury claims could be made up of two heads; general damages and special damages. Further detail of each head is discussed below.

General Damages

The head of your injury claim that compensates for the pain and discomfort caused by your physical injury along with any connected emotional distress is called general damages. To help assign value to your injuries for your accident at work claim, legal professionals use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

Injuries are listed alongside their potential compensation brackets in this publication. The 16th edition was released in April 2022 and that is where the examples in the table below come from:

Injury	Potential Compensation	Notes
Loss of sight in one eye with reduced vision in other (i)	£95,990 to £179,770	Serious risk of deterioration in remaining eye beyond sympathetic ophthalmia.
Severe neck injuries (iii)	£45,470 to £55,990	Chronic conditions and significant permanent disability from fractures, dislocations, severe soft tissue damage or ruptured tendons.
Moderate brain injury (iii)	£43,060 to £90,720	Limited dependence on others but concentration and memory are impacted with a small risk of epilepsy.
Arm injuries resulting in permanent and substantial disablement	£39,170 to £59,860	Permanent residual disability, either functional or cosmetic from serious forearm fractures.
Moderately severe general psychiatric damage	£19,070 to £54,830	Significant problems coping with life but with an optimistic prognosis.
Multiple facial bone fractures	£14,900 to £23,950	Permanent deformity.
Less serious leg injuries (iii)	Up to £11,840	Soft tissue injuries or simple fracture to tibia or fibula.
Significant facial scarring	£9,110 to £30,090	Diminished psychological reaction from facial scarring where it is visible but reduced by plastic surgery.
Moderate shoulder injuries	£7,890 to £12,770	Limited movement and discomfort with about two years of symptoms from frozen shoulder. Also, non-permanent soft tissue injuries with more than minimal symptoms lasting past two years.
Chest injuries (e)	£5,320 to £12,590	Non-serious residual damage from toxic fume/smoke inhalation.

Special Damages

As part of your work injury claim, you might be able to recover costs incurred due to the injury. This would come under the special damages head. Evidence, such as receipts, is needed to claim under this head.

Examples of special damages:

Loss of earnings.
Cosmetic devices and procedures.
Medical expenses.

Contact our advisors for an estimate of what you could claim. They could also advise on what you could claim under special damages.

How Do Injuries Happen At Work?

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) your employer owes you a duty of care. They must take reasonably practical steps to reduce workplace risks as part of the duty of care. Failure to do so could result in a work injury claim.

Your employer must:

Provide free relevant training.
Supply personal protective equipment (PPE) where needed.
Carry out required equipment checks.

Workplace injuries could include:

Burns and scalds. These could occur by not providing heatproof gloves. PPE requires checks to make sure they have not worn thin prior to use to prevent injuries.
Laceration injuries. If you are a slicer, you need to be provided with training, otherwise, cuts and or more serious injuries such as amputations could occur.
Slips, trips and falls on the same level. These could result in broken bones and soft tissue injuries. Severe head injuries could also occur as a result. To prevent injuries, walkways should be kept free of clutter.

Our advisors can answer your questions about the duty of care owed by your employer and how you could claim if a breach resulted in your injuries.

Evidence For A Work Injury Claim

In order to make a valid claim, you must be able to prove that you were owed a duty of care. You must also prove this was breached, and that this directly resulted in you being injured. Actions you take following an accident could help strengthen your accident at work claim.

Following an injury you could:

Seek medical attention. Medical notes could be submitted, as could X-rays or scans, or any other medical records about your injury.
Note witness contact details. At a later date, they could be contacted for a statement.
Request CCTV footage. It is within your rights to request CCTV footage of yourself.
Ask for legal advice. The work injury damages claim process could feel easier with the help of a personal injury solicitor.

You can get free legal advice from our advisors. If you have a valid claim, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.

How Can A No Win No Fee Lawyer Help You?

If you make a back injury at work claim in the UK you might be offered a No Win No Fee arrangement. This could also be referred to as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Hiring a solicitor in the usual way could be expensive, making legal representation inaccessible. However, a No Win No Fee injury at work claim opens up legal representation by minimising costs.

Under a No Win No Fee arrangement, there are no upfront solicitors fees. A success fee will be taken from the award of successful claims instead. This is legally capped. If your claim fails, there’s no success fee due.

Make Your Work Injury Claim Today

Contact our advisors to find out more about how to claim injury compensation. They can talk you through the work injury claim process. You can discuss what evidence you could submit to strengthen your claim.

In addition, they can advise you of what you could use as proof of special damages, along with an estimate of your general damages. If your claim seems eligible, they might pass you onto our panel of personal injury solicitors.

Fill in the work accident claim form online
Use the live chat feature
Call us on the number at the top of the screen

Further Information About A Work Injury Claim

The following links might prove helpful:

Other Injury At Work Claims Guides

If you have more questions about making a work injury claim, get in touch.

Writer Danielle Blythe

Publisher Fern Strauss