Have You Been Injured In An Accident At Work in Scotland? Contact Free Legal Justice Now To Get The Financial Compensation You Deserve.
You have a right to feel safe when you are at work. Whether you work in the construction sector, in the restaurant industry, in an office job, or as a cashier in a superstore, your employer has a legal duty make sure your place of work is safe and secure. If you have suffered any injuries because you were involved in an accident at work, you most likely have a valid accident at work claim. Contact Free Legal Justice immediately to get free legal advice on Scotland accident at work claims, and get one step closer to receiving the financial compensation you deserve.
Some occupations bring much more risk of an accident at work, simply because of the nature of the daily tasks that employees are expected to carry out. For this reason, there are specific health and safety laws and procedures in place which have been designed to keep workers safe in their place of work. This includes the requirement that an employer conducts continuous risk assessments and provides sufficient health and safety training to staff members.
Unfortunately, not all employers take the necessary steps to protect their staff members from harm. This can result in all kinds of accidents at work, which can cause many classes of injuries to employees. Injuries caused by accidents at work can influence your ability to work, and in severe cases can result in permanent injury or even fatalities.
Different Types Of Accident At Work Claims
Accidents at work can arise in a number of different working environments, but are particularly prevalent in the construction industry, the manufacturing and agricultural industries. Our legal team has resolved numerous accident at work claims in Scotland, including claims for accidents at work such as:
- Falls from a height
Falling from a great height at your place of work can extremely dangerous. A fall from any height can cause serious or even life-changing injuries, and the entire experience can have a huge impact on an employee’s physical and mental wellbeing.
Injuries in the workplace are often caused by someone falling through a roof, falling because of faulty equipment such as a harness or ladder. Heavy or sharp objects themselves can also fall from a height and injure employees that they land upon.
If you are an employee that has suffered from this type of injury, Free Legal Justice is here for you. We know how hard it can be to recover and adjust from this traumatic experience. The physical injuries don’t just affect your health and personal life- your injuries could also have a large financial impact on you and your family.
- Injuries Caused By Dangerous Machinery
If an employee operates dangerous machinery without the proper safety training and sufficient protective gear, or tries to use equipment that has not been properly maintained and inspected, this can be very dangerous. Employers must ensure that the equipment at work is safe to use and that their employees know how to use it properly and carefully.
Extremely serious accidents at work are often the result of an employer’s failure to maintain and safeguard equipment. Equipment will include any machinery, appliances, apparatus, tools or installations at work. It can even extend to equipment and items for personal usage in the workplace, as well as any equipment that is used away from the work premises. When we say ‘use’, this refers to any activity that involves includes starting, stopping, programming, setting, moving, repairing, maintaining, servicing, altering, and cleaning the equipment.
- Repetitive Sprain And Manual Handling
Upper limb conditions, also known as repetitive strain injuries, are work-related disorders that can affect the fingers, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and necks of employees. They are most commonly suffered by those who use computers or carry out repetitive lifting work and can cause stiffness, pain, tingling or numbness.
Manual handling refers to any workplace task that requires an employee to lift, move or support a load. The rules regulating health and safety describe manual handing as the “Transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or by bodily force.” Manual handling injuries don’t necessarily have to be linked to a hefty load – they can be caused by any work involving the handling of items, even very light items. Employees in specific industries known to be at risk of this kind of injury include care workers, manufacturing staff, agricultural and construction workers. Ultimately though, an employee in any place of work is at risk of a manual handling injury.
- Work-related Diseases And Illness
Work-related diseases can be caused by physical, biological or chemical aspects. For example, someone working in metal industries or in other very loud workplaces may contract occupational deafness. Asthma may be caused due to consistent exposure to different chemical agents, animals or wood dust. Terminal illnesses may also be contracted through exposure to asbestos and electromagnetic radiation.
If You Have Been Injured In An Accident At Work That Was Not Your Fault, You Might Be Entitled To Financial Compensation. Contact Free Legal Justice for free legal advice on how to make your Scotland accident at work claim.
How To Make Accident At Work Claims
Being involved in any form of accident at work is a very serious matter. At Free Legal Justice, we understand that any accident, whether minor or serious, is a stressful and traumatic experience for all parties involved. We are here to help you get through this upsetting time, to help you on the journey to recovery and ultimately get you the justice you deserve. When dealing with accident at work claims, it is important that the right procedures are followed and that proper steps are taken to deal with the incident.
You should always get help from a legal professional specialising in accident at work claims. Making a personal injury claim can often seem like a daunting task, but the team at Free Legal Justice is here to support you every step of the way. Our Scotland accident at work claims team is happy to offer every potential client the chance to have their case evaluated before they decide to proceed with a claim. As a victim of an accident at work, we want to give each employee a voice, and the chance to discuss their case fully and freely with a legal professional that specialises in compensation claims. Our skilled team will deal with your case sensitively and discreetly, and will protect your privacy and security throughout the entire process. Free Legal Justice is here to listen to you and provide you with free legal advice on the merits of your accident at work claim, with no obligations on your part.
Free Legal Justice has been handling accident claims for a long time. We recognise that accidents at work, whether minor or serious, can affect people in different ways, and we therefore make sure to treat every case individually, giving it the special attention and respect it deserves. The Free Legal Justice team deals with every client on a personal basis, giving 100 percent effort to make sure that our clients receive the maximum financial compensation they deserve.
Why Is My Employer Liable For An Accident At Work?
While you go about your daily job, the last thing you would expect is to be involved in an accident at work caused by your employer’s negligence. Some jobs do carry more risk of an accident at work, purely because of the nature of the daily tasks that employees are involved in. No matter your industry however, your employer has a duty to make sure that all employees are safe and secure in the workplace. For this reason specific health and safety laws and procedures have been put in place, designed to help keep employees safe while they are at their place of work.
Amongst other things, this means that your employer needs to ensure the safety of:
- the physical area or site of your place of work, including maintaining emergency fire exits and escape routes;
- the work systems and standard processes in place at work;
- the plant and equipment at your place of work, including testing any electrical equipment that people might use or be exposed to at the place of work;
- the health and safety practices, including first aid and emergency plans; and
- the protective equipment at your place of work. This includes ensuring that sufficient and reasonable amounts of protective equipment, first aid supplies, and protective uniforms are available to employees.
This is not a fixed list. Your employer has many responsibilities when it comes to ensuring health and safety in the workplace, and will receive a hefty fine if they are found to be non-compliant. Unfortunately, not all employers take safety seriously and many do still fail to take the necessary measures to protect their employees from accidents at work. This can result in employees suffering from all kinds of injuries at work. Injuries caused by accidents at work can have far-reaching effects, for the employee, the employees family, the business, and those who witnesses or were involved in the accident.
In the eyes of the law, your employer is ultimately responsible for any harm that you may suffer at your place of work as a result of someone else’s negligence, whether the accident was caused by someone’s positive act or their failure to act. Whether your accident was caused by a negligent mistake of another employee or a seemingly innocent joke played by one of your co-workers, at the end of the day it is your employer that is responsible for your safety at work. If you are worried about the potential financial implications that your accident at work claim may have on your employer, or about the status of your employment relationship once you have made a claim, you need not worry any longer.
What If My Colleague Caused The Accident At Work?
A claim based on injuries which have been sustained as a result of a mistake made by a colleague, or a fellow employee’s careless actions, can also be pursued as an accident at work claim against the employer. You don’t have to worry that a fellow employee will be required to pay out of their own pocket for an accident at work claim that you make, even if they were the ones that actually caused the incident. This is because of a principle called vicarious liability, which makes sure that all employers are liable for the actions of their employees. This rule can even extend to a situation where you were injured at work as a result of a prank by a work colleague during the course of their employment.
If your accident was caused by a colleague’s actions or negligence, your employer is still ultimately responsible for keeping you from any harm in the workplace. This concern should not prevent you from making a compensation claim for an accident at work. Almost every employer in the United Kingdom, by law, is required to take out extensive employers’ liability insurance. This insurance helps ensure that an employer is able to pay compensation to faultless employees for any accidents at work that result in illness or injury, without it affecting the firm financially.
It is also important to remember that even if you have suffered an injury at work in an accident that you played a part in causing, you may still be successful in claiming compensation for the injuries that you have suffered. Where a court finds you partly responsible for the accident, along with your employer, then you can still win your case but your accident compensation will be reduced to reflect your own level of liability.
Are There Time Limits To Making Accident At Work Clams?
In Scotland there is a standard 3 year time limit for making accident at work claims. The calculation of the 3 year time period starts on the date that the accident at work happened, alternatively from the date that your injuries were diagnosed. If you have not made a claim within 3 years of either of these dates, then it is possible that you will be prevented from making a case and you may not be entitled to a claim for compensation.
As usual, there are some exceptions to the three year time bar rule. In fatal cases, the 3 year time limit calculation will start from the date of death of the employee. If the employee dies while in the process of dealing with their accident at work case, the time period begins from the date of their death to allow their family time to continue with the compensation claim. Dealing with fatal accident at work claims can be complicated and become upsetting for family members, so it is always recommended that you consult a legal professional to help you through this difficult and stressful time and get you the compensation you deserve, with as little stress for you.
How Much Can I Claim For My Accident At Work Claim?
As with any personal injury claim, the amount of compensation that will be awarded for injuries sustained in an accident at work will vary from one to the next, and will depend completely on factors such as the severity of the victim’s injuries, the length of time needed to recover from injuries, and any complicating factors surrounding the injuries. Free Legal Justice has been handling all sorts of accident at work claims in Scotland for many years. We are therefore familiar with the general compensation amounts awarded for different types and severities of injuries. Your appointed accident at work claim solicitor in Scotland will be able to give you an estimated value of your compensation claim once they have carefully been through the details of your accident and medical report.
We set out a general guideline of amounts that have been awarded as compensation for various levels of physical injuries in the table below.
| Compensation Amounts For Personal Injuries Sustained In Accident at work Claims | ||
| Severity of Injury | Detail of Injury | Examples of Average Compensation Awarded |
| Head Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | Victims are unresponsive as a result of severe brain damage and may be in a vegetative state | Between £240 000 and £345 000 |
| Moderately severe | Severe disability due to brain damage, loss of feeling in limbs, personality change and/or a mental disability | Between £180 000 and £240 000 |
| Moderate | Memory impacted; reduced ability to work; can include change in personality and increased risk of epilepsy | Between £36 000 and £185 000 |
| Mild | Minimal or no brain damage but might still have long term effects | Between £13 000 and £36 000 |
| Facial Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | Facial disfigurement; severe scarring or burns | Between £25 400 and £83 000 |
| Moderate to severe | Simple fractures to multiple fractures and breaks in the facial area | Between £7 500 and £41 000 |
| Mild | Less severe scarring to minor scars | Between £1400 and £11 700 |
| Eye Injuries | ||
| The most severe | Completely blind and deaf | Around £340 000 |
| Extremely severe | Partial to substantial loss of sight in one or both eyes | Between £45 000 and £230 000 |
| Moderately severe | Restricted vision or loss of sight in one eye | Between £7700 and £46 000 |
| Mild | Temporary loss of vision due to smoke, liquids or other substances; Struck/hit in the eye | Between £1800 and £7500 |
| Temporary | Full recovery takes a few weeks | Between £1800 and £3300 |
| Nose Injuries | ||
| Severe | Severe/multiple fractures to the nose resulting in permanent damage | Between £9000 and £19500 |
| Severely Moderate | Severe injuries capable of recovery after surgery | Between £3370 and £4350 |
| Moderate | Injuries not requiring surgery | Between £2000 and £26990 |
| Mild | Simple non-displaced fractures with full recovery | Between £1400 and £2160 |
| Ear Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | Complete loss of hearing | Between £77 000 and £93 000 |
| Moderately severe | Complete hearing loss in one of the ears | Between £26000 and £38 000 |
| Mild | Hearing loss in one or both ears; tinnitus | Up to £38 800 |
| Shoulder Injuries | ||
| Severe | Paralysis, limb numbness, restriction in movement because of the injury in the neck and shoulder | Between £10 500 and £42 000 |
| Moderate | Semi-permanent damage; damage that restricts movement in arm and elbow | Between £6 700 and £10 800 |
| Mild | Damage to soft tissue that should recover within the year or slightly longer | Up to £6 700 |
| Back Injuries | ||
| Severe | Severe injury to the upper or lower back; paralysis or any relating issues to organs in the lower parts of the body | Between £33 000 and £137 000 |
| Moderate | Covering a wide range of back injuries such as compression of the lumbar vertebrae, ligament or soft tissue damage, any constant pain and/or any discomfort | Between £10 500 and £33 000 |
| Mild | Strains and sprains, soft tissue injuries, a slipped disc, muscle pain | Up to £10 670 |
| Arm Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | Amputation of both arms, the amputation of a single arm, or partial amputation of one or both arms | Between £82 000 and £255 900 |
| Severe | For major restriction and disability present in one or both the arms | Between £33 400 and £111 600 |
| Less severe | Restriction in movement and/or disability in the arms with substantial recovery | Between £16 000 and £33 400 |
| Simple | Between £5200 and £15 000 | |
| Hand Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | Amputation of one or both hands; loss of use of hands | Between £120 000 and £171 900 |
| Very severe | Total or effective loss of one hand from crushing and then amputation; partial amputation | Between £52800 and £77 400 |
| Moderately severe | Finger amputations, crush injuries to the hand, penetrating wounds, deep lacerations | Between £24 700 and £52 800 |
| Less severe | Crushing injuries leaving some impaired function | Between £12 340 and £24 700 |
| Leg Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | Amputation of one or both legs (full or partial amputation) | Between £83 500 and £240 500 |
| Moderately severe | Injuries to the leg which has caused lifelong restriction in movement and disability | Between £23 600 and £82 100 |
| Less severe | From simple leg fractures, breaks or soft tissue damage which has affected the muscle to leg fractures with an incomplete recovery | Up to £23 600 |
| Knee Injuries | ||
| Severe | Disability because of a knee injury, major damage to muscles, muscle wastage and soft tissue damage. Disability because of a knee injury, major damage to muscles, muscle wastage and soft tissue damage | Between £22 300 and £82 000 |
| Moderate | Minor disability because of the knee injury, damage to the muscle, cartilage, soft tissue, that causes pain and suffering | Up to £22 300 |
| Ankle Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | The most severe ankle injuries that may cause deformity, degeneration of joints, and potentially amputation | Between £42 500 and £59 400 |
| Moderately severe | Fractures, extensive treatment, disability because of ankle injury | Between £11 700 and £42 700 |
| Mild | Ankle fractures, ankle sprains | Up to £11 730 |
| Foot Injuries | ||
| Extremely severe | Amputation of one or both feet | Between £71 600 and £171 900 |
| Moderately severe | Severe injury to one or both feet that causes restriction, fractures or disability | Between £11 700 and £59 700 |
| Mild | Covering injury to a foot with high chance of recovery | Up to £11 700 |
Your designated accident at work claims solicitor in Scotland will only be able to give you an estimated value of your claim once you have provided us with the details and medical reports of the injuries that you suffered. The different amounts of compensation mentioned in the table above are to be used as a broad guideline to compensation only, and must not be seen in any way to be fixed compensation amounts available to victims of accidents at work. Free Legal Justice assesses the value of all potential accident at work claims in Scotland in completely free, confidential consultations.
What Should I Do If I Have Been In An Accident At Work?
In the immediate aftermath of an accident at work, you may face shock and trauma and it can be difficult to remember what procedures to follow to make sure the situation is dealt with properly. If your injuries are serious, the most important thing to do initially is to seek emergency medical attention. In the rush and hysteria of an accident at work, it is often difficult for victims to collect all the evidence and details about the accident for use in a compensation claim at a later stage.
We are mindful of these difficulties, and the Free Legal Justice team is here to help you as far as possible to collect all the information and details necessary to institute your accident at work claim. As a guide, if you are involved in an accident at work, you should try, to whatever extent possible, to take the following steps to deal with the situation:
Fill in the accident at work report book
When an accident at work occurs, it is important to formally record the details of the incident in your own words (including for example the time, place, your contact details and a description of the accident) in the official accident at work book. If possible, we recommend that you get a copy of the page with your accident report on it, as this will be used in support of your accident at work claim.
Obtain CCTV footage of the accident at work
Depending on where the accident at work happened, your employer may have CCTV camera footage available that was actively recording when the accident happened. It is a good idea to request a copy of all CCTV footage of the accident at work, as this will be helpful in proving how and why the incident happened, as well as the cause of the accident.
Collect witness accounts
Unless you work from home or alone, it’s likely that one of your co-workers will have seen the accident at work happen. It could be beneficial to your accident at work claim if you can obtain witness statements from these individuals as proof of what happened.
Take photos
If you are able to, it is a good idea to take photographs of the scene and cause of your accident, as well of the injuries you have suffered as a result of the accident. You can also make notes about your accident at work as soon as possible – you can even include drawings if they’ll help show what happened.
What Will Happen To My Job If I Make An Accident At Work Claim?
Employees often feel nervous about making a claim against their employer. This is perfectly understandable, as you might have a good relationship with your boss or you might be worried about the financial implications of your claim. You might also worry that you will be treated differently, or even have your contract terminated if you proceed with an accident at work claim.
Making an injury at work compensation claim should not affect your job. If you were to lose your job simply because you instituted a claim for the injuries that you have suffered, then you would most likely have a valid basis for a case of unfair dismissal. Quite simply, it’s illegal for you to be fired or disciplined for making a claim against the company you work for. But in the unlikely event that you do lose your job, you’ll be able to take legal action against your employer.
Remember, you have a legal right to compensation for the harm that has been wrongfully caused. In addition, by making a compensation claim for physical harm that you have suffered in the workplace, you might also decrease the chances of the one of your colleagues being injured in the same manner in future, as it’s probable your employer will make adequate safety modifications to avoid the same type of accident happening again.
If you are treated differently because you are pursuing a legitimate claim, speak to the Free Legal Justice team immediately.
Why Choose Free Legal Justice To Start My Accident At Work Claim?
Free Legal Justice has an entire panel of specialised personal injury solicitors who resolve countless accident at work claims in Scotland each year. Free Legal Justice offers all our clients with valid accident at work claims the option of pursuing their claim on a No Win No Fee agreement. Under a No Win No Fee agreement, if your case is unsuccessful, you won’t have to pay a thing to Free Legal Justice for the work that the team has done on your case. For many clients, this means that they will have full access to the justice they deserve, and the opportunity to make a claim for rightful compensation against their employer, without any risk.
The dedicated Free Legal Justice team in Scotland works around the clock – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help our clients get the justice and financial compensation that they deserve.
If you choose to make your claim with the help of Free Legal Justice on a No Win No Fee agreement, you can be assured that:
- You will receive free legal advice from one of our expert solicitors in Scotland as to how best to proceed with your injury at work claim;
- A member of the Free Legal Justice Team will be available to discuss your claim 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or to answer any questions that you might have regarding your injury at work claim;
- If you are fruitless in your injury at work claim, we will not charge you any legal fees for the work that we have done on your case;
- You won’t pay legal fees from your own pocket;
- We will use our best efforts to help you recover the maximum amount of compensation in the shortest possible time for the injuries you have suffered as an innocent victim of an accident in the workplace; and
- Our team in Scotland will manage your injury at work claim efficiently, keep you updated on its progress, and will make the entire compensation claim process less stress-free and less admin-heavy than if you had tried to make the claim by yourself.
Contact Free Legal Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly road accident claims handlers on 0800 567 7074. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly accident claims handlers in Scotland now, so that we can start your claim without delay.
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