Tel: 020 8520 1021. Email: david.dolties@cch-solicitors.com
Tel: 020 8520 1021.
Email: david.dolties@cch-solicitors.com
Thankfully serious work accidents are on the decrease, mostly due to the important work of the Health and Safety Executive, however, 148 people still lost their lives last year at work, with nearly 80,000 other people suffering injury and facing the prospect of making an injury at work claim. The financial cost to businesses is 27 million lost working days and £13.8 billion a year.
No one should have to be at risk whilst they are working however, we do have to recognise that sometimes things do go wrong. When they do go wrong, and your employer is responsible, you should be able to make a work accident claim.
Most people who have had an accident at work will want to make a claim for compensation, but may be worried about the repercussions of claiming against their employer. Although it may not seem like it, this is a common scenario for many employers who have insurance policies in place for this sort of situation. Your employer is not allowed to treat you any differently if you are claiming against them and they are certainly not allowed to dismiss or demote you either and there are laws in place to protect you against this sort of treatment.
In taking steps to help prevent an injury at work claim, employers owe their employees a duty of care to:
Any breach of these common law duties amounts to negligence and would mean that you would be able to make a work accident claim.
There is in additional a statutory requirement for employers, which is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, along with the accompanying regulations:
Depending on how your accident happened, one or more of these regulations may have been breached.
You will normally have 3 years from the date of your accident to make a claim for compensation, however this sometimes does differ.
If your accident left you unconscious or in a coma for a period of time, the time limit stops until you have regained capacity. In addition, if you lost a loved one because of a fatal accident at work, the 3 year period will start from the date of their death, rather than the date of the accident.
However, to protect your right to make a compensation claim, you should check with a solicitor, who can take steps to secure your right to claim if the time limit is nearly up.
Your claim will probably start in a new online portal system which was introduced recently to speed up the claims process, however it may not stay in this system. You should be prepared that your compensation claim may take some time to complete, but rest assured that we will provide you with regular updates throughout and we’ll always be there to answer any questions you have along the way.
Choosing the right solicitor is important. You should trust them to get you the best settlement possible. In addition, you should look for a firm who specialises in work accidents and personal injury claims as they will have the specialist knowledge and experience needed in this type of complex injury.
You can find out more about the process on our personal injury claims process page
We have many years of experience in this type of claim, so contact us now for a free review of your claim. You can call us on 020 8520 1021 if you are using a mobile phone. Alternatively complete our Free Enquiry Form online and one of our team will be happy to help with your injury at work claim.
Cartwright Cunningham Haselgrove & Co is a long-established firm. In 2022 we were proud to announce the acquisition of local personal injury specialists Romain Coleman Solicitors who were established in 1964.
