Work Accident Compensation Claims

Work Accident Compensation Claims Explained?

Workplaces are supposed to be safe and it is your employer’s responsibility to make sure that yours is as safe as it can be. If you have suffered any kind of accident or injury in the workplace and it was the result of someone else’s carelessness or negligence, you are able to ask for compensation. A work accident compensation claim is the process by which you can do that.

There are a wide variety of different types of accidents you can have at work and your injuries can vary dramatically as well. Common examples can include:

• Lifting accidents, leading to back or spine injuries
• Falling from a height or a falling object can lead to head or spinal injuries
• A poorly-maintained workplace can cause cuts and abrasions
• Slips, trips or falls can cause sprains or strains

At Free Legal Justice, we know that your work accident will have been very distressing and stressful. The damage sustained during a work accident is very painful and can take a considerable period to heal. There can also be financial stresses added to this, if you need to take time off work to recover from your work accident. Our expert team of personal injury claims solicitors want to help.

Many of our clients worry that making a compensation claim for their work accident will be stressful, time-consuming or difficult. With our help, it doesn’t need to be any of these things. Our work accident claims specialists have years of experience helping people just like you to get the compensation they deserve.

If you are considering making a work accident compensation claim, we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call us on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317 or claim online today. We offer a free, no obligation consultation, so call or message now to see how we can help.

What Steps Should You Take Following Your Work Accident To Make A Compensation Claim?

The most important thing to do after your work accident is to make sure that you are safe from further harm or injury and that you are getting the first aid or medical assistance you require. Once you have made sure that this is the case, there are some steps that you can take, if you feel that this is possible for you, which can help to provide additional evidence to support your work accident compensation claim.

One of the simplest things that you can do to support your work accident compensation claim is to write down everything you remember about your work accident. This includes the period leading up to the work accident, anything that you believe may have contributed to your work accident and the aftermath, as well as the event itself. Writing it down as soon as possible after your work accident means that you can be sure that you won’t forget any relevant details and that your account will be as complete as possible.

Witnesses To Your Work Accident 

If there were witnesses to your work accident, it is also extremely useful if you make sure that you have their names and contact details. You are welcome to ask them to write down everything they can remember about the circumstances surrounding your work accident, but this is not essential as our dedicated team can easily do this for you if we ae able to locate your witnesses.

Photographs and videos also provide very strong corroborating evidence for your work accident claim. If you are in a position to take pictures or videos of the area in which your work accident happened and if it is safe to do so, it can be very helpful for your case to be able to provide these.

Although these are some things that you can do following your work accident, to help support your work accident compensation claim, we are still fully able to help you even if you are not able to do any of these things. Our expert team of personal injury claims solicitors are specialists in making these kinds of claims, and we can arrange for the collection of any evidence needed to support your work accident claim. Call us on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317 or claim online now to discuss your work accident claim and see how we can help.

How Much Compensation Is Awarded For Work Accidents Claims?

Compensation claims are highly variable and are designed to compensate you for the losses you personally have suffered. This means that it is incredibly difficult to give you an accurate estimate of the amount of compensation you can expect without knowing the specifics of your work accident. There are a few common factors in compensation claims, however.

Compensation claims can be thought of in two parts. The first part is to compensate you (as far as this is possible) for the pain and suffering that you have endured. This is done via guidelines produced by the Judicial College (a governing body) which set ranges of payments that should be expected for each specific injury. These ranges can be very broad, making it hard to know where in this range your personal experience is likely to fall. Our years of experience allow us to give you a more accurate estimation, based on the precise nature of your injuries.

Special Damages For Work Injury Compensation Claims

The second part of your compensation claim is there to compensate you for any expenses or costs you have suffered associated with your work accident. The aim here is that you should never be left financially or materially worse off following your work accident than you would have been had the work accident not happened. This can be a much larger payment than the first part of your compensation, as it can include the loss of earnings you may experience if you need to take off work to recover. It can also include modifications to your home or vehicle, if very serious injuries mean that you need these to resume your normal life. You are also able to request the money you need to access rehabilitation and any medical assistance that is not easily available on the NHS, such as physiotherapy if there are long waiting lists in your area.

It can be difficult to be sure that you are claiming the right amount of compensation for your work accident, and many of our clients are initially offered compensation payments that are far too low for the specifics of their case. Our expert team of experienced personal injury claims solicitors work hard to get you the full payments you deserve to help you get your life back on track after your work accident.

How Can Our Work Accident Compensation Claims Solicitors Help?

Making a work accident claim can seem daunting, and many of our clients are worried that they might struggle with the paperwork or that it will be very time-consuming. At Free Legal Justice, we want to take the stress and worry out of making a work accident compensation claim. We are available 24 hours per day, seven days a week, meaning that you can always get in touch with us if you need us. Whether you prefer to call us on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317 or to apply online and have us call you back for free at a time of your choosing, we are here to help.

Our highly trained teams take the time to listen to what has happened to you and ensure that we fully understand the details of your work accident. Over the course of a short conversation, we will ask about the circumstances surrounding your work accident (including who you believe was to blame), the exact nature of your injuries and also the ways in which has impacted your life. This means that we can give you accurate, personalised advice from work accident claims specialists.

Our Work Accident Solicitors Do All The Work!

Working with our expert team of personal injury claims solicitors means that we will be able to take over the vast majority of the admin and paperwork. We know that the time following a work accident can be stressful, so we complete almost all of the forms for you.

Free Legal Justice are here to take the stress out of your work accident claim, allowing you to dedicate that time and energy to your recovery.

No Win No Fee Work Accident Claims

We want you to have access to the expert legal advice you need to have the best chance with your work accident compensation claim, without needing to put yourself at financial risk or making any up front payments. This is why we offer our services on a no win no fee basis to most of our clients.

Working on a no win no fee basis means that we are able to act on your behalf, without you having to pay anything up front. We are only paid once you have received the compensation you deserve for your work accident. Our fees are set as a percentage of your compensation payment, meaning that you will never be left with legal fees that cost more than you receive. You will always be left better off as a result of successful claim.

Not All Claims Are No Win No Fee

For a very few clients, we may be unable to offer a no win no fee agreement. In the unfortunate event that your work accident falls into this category, we will inform you of this straight away and will discuss possible alternative funding options to give you a cost-effective way to get the help you need to get the compensation you deserve.

If you are thinking about making a work accident compensation claim, we want to help you. Call us on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317 or claim online now and let our dedicated team of expert personal injury claims solicitors help you get the compensation you deserve.

What If My Boss Doesn’t Want Me To Make A Work Accident Compensation Claim?

Many of our clients are worried that making a compensation claim for their work accident will lead to them losing their job. We understand this concern, but it is important to understand that this would be illegal. Your employer is not permitted to punish you in any way for making a work accident compensation claim. This includes changing your job role in a way that disadvantages you, not considering you for opportunities you would otherwise have had or firing you directly.

Very few employers would even want to punish an employee for making a compensation claim following a work accident. Almost all employers understand that you need the compensation award to help you get your life back on track, and want to support you in that as far as is practical.

Making A Work Injury Claim Helps Keep The Workplace Safe!

Many people who have suffered a work accident just like yours find that making a work accident compensation claim actually encourages their employer to take safety matters much more seriously. This can lead to a variety of safety measures being implemented at their workplaces which improves conditions and safety for themselves and for all of their colleagues and co-workers.

You may also be worried that your company cannot afford to make a compensation payment and that the company will fail as a result. This would mean that you could still lose your job. Fortunately, this cannot happen. All employers are required to have Employers Liability Insurance, which covers them for all compensation payments for accidents at work. Your work accident compensation claim would be paid out by the insurance company, ensuring that the company is not at any short-term risk as a result of your claim.

Call us on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317 or claim online to begin your work accident compensation claim now. Our team of expert personal injury claims solicitors are available 24/7 to ensure that you get the help you need, when you need it.

How Do Work Accident Compensation Claims Work?

Making a compensation claim follows the same process for all kinds of personal injury claims, including work accident claims

Your first step will be to make sure that you have the legal advice and support you will need. Our dedicated personal injury claims solicitors have years of experience making work accident claims just like yours. You can get in touch by calling us on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317 or claiming online and we will get back to you at a time that suits you.

Working on your behalf, we write to the person responsible for your work accident (this person is often known as the respondent). In this letter, we explain that you are claiming compensation for your injuries and that you believe that they were at fault. We ask them to accept responsibility (the legal term for this is accepting liability) for what happened and give them a deadline by which to inform us if they disagree.

What Happens If My WorkPlace Claim Has Liability Is Rejected?

If the other party refuses to accept liability, we will attempt to prove that you are correct. We will seek out evidence and supporting testimony and we will make the strongest case we can. For accidents at work, it is usually very easy to demonstrate that your employer did not take sufficient steps to protect you.

What Happens If My Work Place Accept Liability And Fault For My Accident?

When liability has been agreed, we are then able to begin negotiations to agree the compensation amount that you will agree. The other side will often put forward a ‘lowball’ offer, which is far less than you are entitled to, in the hope that you will either accept it, or that you will reduce your expectations of the amount you are likely to accept. Our years of experience mean that we are able to identify these kinds of techniques and make sure that you don’t fall for them. Although we will offer you guidance, we will always follow your lead. We will notify you of every offer that is made (even those we think you should reject) and the final decision over whether to accept or reject any offer will always be yours.

Will I Have To Go Court To Make A Work Accident Compensation Claim?

Almost all of our cases are resolved without needing to go to court, as the other person accepts liability and we find a compensation amount that both sides think is fair. In a very few cases, however, it might be necessary to ask a judge to decide, if we are unable to form an agreement.

Once your compensation has been agreed, we will deduct our fee from the amount that you receive. Until this point, you won’t have needed to pay a penny. Our fees are always a minor share of your compensation payment, leaving you with the vast majority to give you the financial support you need.

How To Begin Making A Work Accident Compensation Claim

The idea of making a work accident compensation claim can seem overwhelming, especially if the period after your work accident is stressful and difficult. Our team of expert personal injury claims solicitors are here to help, making sure that you are confident in your decision to begin your claim.

The first step in making your work accident compensation claim is to call us on 0800 567 7074 (free from landlines) or 0121 565 4317 (charges at a local rate, or included in your free minutes from a mobile) or claim online and we will call you back at a time that is convenient to you. Our expert team of work accident specialists are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week to ensure that you can get the help you need.

We Listen To Our Clients

We want to make sure that we fully understand what has happened to you. This means that we will listen to all of the details of your work accident, including the ways that your work accident has impacted your life, the full extent of your injuries and all of the circumstances surrounding your work accident, including who you believe was to blame. This information is essential if we are to give you accurate estimates of the amount of compensation that you are likely to receive, as well as the likelihood of winning your case.

How Long Does It Take To Make A Work Accident Compensation Claim?

How long a work accident compensation claim takes to complete depends on the nature of the case itself. We understand that you want your claim resolved as quickly as possible, and we work tirelessly to get you the compensation you need to put your work accident behind you.

Cases that are resolved quickly tend to take only a few weeks or months. Cases that are resolved quickly are usually very straightforward, where the other person accepts liability and where they are also keen to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. Claims for less serious injuries also tend to be resolved more quickly, as the payments are smaller and it is less worth the effort of insurance companies fighting over every penny.

Complicated work accident claims include those which involve multiple people who are all partially responsible for what happened, as well as those with very serious injuries. Cases like that will usually take far longer to be resolved than those which are straightforward. If the claim has to decided in court, the delays can increase further.

Does My Work Accident Have To Have Been Recorded In The Accident Book?

All companies are required to have an accident book, in which to record the details of any accidents or near misses that occur on the premises or as a result of business activities. All incidents, such as your work accident, should be recorded as soon as possible after they occur, although there is some allowance for the fact that looking after the welfare of staff should always take priority. Using the accident book correctly ensures that a company has an accurate history of their health and safety record.

Although all accidents or injuries must be recorded in the accident book, sometimes this doesn’t happen. This might be because it has been overlooked, either because the person responsible for completing the accident book report is unsure as to what happened and so is waiting until they have a better understanding, or they are preoccupied taking care of the person who has been hurt. Very occasionally, an employer may attempt to deny liability by deliberately not recording an accident or injury in the accident book.

My Work Accident Was Not Recorded In The Accident Book.. Now What?

Although the accident book can be useful in supporting your work accident compensation claim, it is not essential. If your work accident was not recorded in the accident book, we may need to offer additional evidence to support your claim, such as witness statements or photos and videos. However we prove what happened, we can still get you the compensation you deserve.

If you find that your work accident is missing from the accident book, it is important that you email your manager or a member of HR and ask them to make sure that it is recorded appropriately. If this was only an oversight, they will quickly fix the situation. If your employer is attempting to act dishonestly, however, you will be able to show your emails as evidence, and they will need to explain to the court why they failed to keep their records in the way they are legally required to.

What Are The Requirements For Making A Work Accident Compensation Claim?

Following a work accident, many people just like you are left unsure as to whether they should make a work accident compensation claim. There are a few conditions that are required before you are entitled to make a compensation claim, but they are very simple and most people will be able to claim.

The first thing to note is that you must have sustained an actual injury as a result of your work accident. This injury does not need to have been exclusively physical, as psychological damage is also recognised as important. You cannot make a work accident compensation claim for near misses, however, or if you have an accident but are not injured in any way.

The second aspect to consider is who you believe is to blame for what happened to you. If you want to make a work accident compensation claim, you will need to claim against a person or organisation. You will need to show that they had some kind of responsibility for your welfare. In the case of an accident or injury at work, your employer has this kind of legal responsibility. As a result, you are almost always able to make a compensation claim for accidents that occurred in the workplace.

Who Was To Blame For Your Work Accident Claim?

The person or organisation that you are claiming against must also have been able to predict something along the lines of what happened to you. This does not mean that you have to prove that they did anticipate it, but a reasonable person who was taking their role seriously in terms of health and safety should be able to foresee the danger.

The last thing to check is whether they have taken sufficient steps to remove the risk, or to minimise the consequences if this is impossible. Even if some safety measures were taken, you may still be able to claim if these were not sufficient.

Contact Our Work Accident Compensation Claims Team Today

If you have suffered a work accident and someone else was to blame, whether through their negligence or carelessness, you are entitled to compensation. If you are considering making a work accident compensation claim, don’t delay. Call us now on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317 or claim online to discover how we can help you to get the compensation you deserve.

Useful Links

Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
This link gives you information about UK’s legislation of the workplace

Health and safety regulation
This PDF link will give you information about UK’s regulations on health and safety