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Injuries at work - personal injury compensation claims advice

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Clear Answers' solicitors provide expert advice and thousands of claimants write to us each year thanking us for our legal services and our attention to their personal needs. Roger Adams, one of our clients says, "Legal service was fantastic from start to finish... they were really thorough and determined in pursuing the best settlement they could get for me."

HSE reporting on injuries at work for 12 months to end March 2011

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) this week announced that the decrease in non-fatal injuries at work had continued during the latest 12-month period to end March 2011. Figures show that 115,379 non-fatal injuries to employees were reported during the period. However, during the same period, fatalities rose by 16% to 171 from a record low of 147 in the previous 12-month period.

The campaign group Families Against Corporate Killers expressed concern that this worrying trend may simply be a sign that many non-fatal accidents went unreported as employees were concerned about job security.
More about HSE reporting on injuries at work for 12 months to end March 2011

More injury at work news stories

Compensation claim advice for personal injuries in workplace accidents

If you have been unfortunate enough to have suffered a personal injury at work, contact Clear Answers' personal injury solicitors on 0800 783 9019. Our solicitors have been a leading force in securing injury at work compensation for over 90 years.

We have acted on behalf of injured people in every industry and manufacturing sector. Over the years have led the way within the legal sector and made it easier for injured people to obtain the personal injury accident compensation that they deserve.

Clear Answers' lawyers, Thompsons Solicitors, form the most experienced personal injury firm in the UK and possess a depth of knowledge and expertise in all personal injury compensation claims, particularly injury at work compensation claims, that is unrivalled.

Making a personal injury compensation claim
Injuries at work - the Law
Injury at work caused by a colleague's mistake
Injury at work compensation claims - our clients stories
Successful injury at work cases we have dealt with
Injury at work - useful website links
Compensation claim for injuries at work

Making a personal injury compensation claim

If an accident happens and you sustain an injury at work, wherever possible always complete the workplace accident report in your own words. If possible take photographs and ask for the names and home addresses of witnesses to your accident at work. Keep a record of any doctors visited and treatments received and keep receipts for any injury related expenses. For more details visit our section on gathering information and evidence.

It is always important to obtain prompt specialist advice from an accident claim solicitor, someone who specialises in personal injury compensation claims and injury at work compensation claims.

Strict time limits apply for making a personal injury compensation claim, so please seek expert legal advice as soon as you think you may have a valid claim for compensation.

Clear Answers' specialist personal injury lawyers will be able to advise you whether an injury at work compensation claim is possible and can give guidance and assistance on how a personal injury compensation claim can be pursued. Visit our information and advice section for more details.

In addition to this Clear Answers' accident solicitors operate on a cost free basis. Our personal injury lawyers recover their legal fees from the person responsible for your injury at work, ensuring that the entire compensation claims procedure is cost-free for you.

Contact 0800 783 9019 and speak to one of our accident advice solicitors who will be able to advise you as to whether or not you have a valid personal injury compensation claim.

Their specialist injury at work lawyers will be happy to talk you through the compensation claims process in plain English, as well as answering any questions or queries you may have. Alternatively, fill out one of our injured at work online compensation claim forms and one of our representatives will contact you as soon as possible.

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Injuries at work - the Law

An employer has a duty of care to its employees and has to safeguard them against being injured at work under the law of negligence. In addition to this, all employees have legal rights due to various regulations that are in place. They protect everyone in the workplace including employees, contractors and visitors, from the risk of personal injury. These regulations include:

Work equipment for the "tools of the trade"

We can explain why this law puts automatic liability on an employer for equipment that is faulty which injures you, even where no one could reasonably foresee the equipment failing and causing you injury. That is a much higher duty than the law of negligence which is all about "foreseeability". A good personal injury lawyer will use that law to enforce your rights in a work compensation claim.

The Workplace Regulations

Personal injuries, especially injuries at work can come from many sources; therefore these regulations take into account the condition and safety of the workplace and cover a broad spectrum of eventualities. This includes, slips, trips and falls at work, your workstation, doors, windows, gates and all the parts that make up the workplace.

Manual Handling Regulations

Manual handling accidents are a common source of injuries at work. This set of regulations take into account all forms of lifting and manual handling accidents and injuries at work.

If a task at work involves manual handling and in addition carries with it the risk of injury, it is the employer's legal duty to carry out a risk assessment and find an alternative way to perform the task with no risk or less risk of injury. This applies to one-off lifts as well as repeated every day lifting.

If an employer does not carry out this duty and an injury at work is sustained as a result of a manual handling accident, then it is possible to make an injury at work compensation claim.

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act

The Corporate Manslaughter Act came into force in April 2008 and will apply to accidents at work where gross management failures can be proved. For more details on this important change to the law, please go to our news story about the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act Receives Royal Assent

Other laws to protect workers include:

Personal and Protective Equipment Regulations - This refers to all cases where protective equipment (gloves, goggles, etc.) is required.
Construction Sites - There are detailed provisions designed to protect those who sustain injuries at work in the building trade.
There is also a separate set of regulations for anyone who falls from a height at work called the Work At Height Regulations
Display Screen Equipment - This set of regulations deals with matters such as the layout for workstations, computers etc
Chemicals and other Substances - This takes into account the control of substances hazardous to health regulations
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 -
These Regulations deal with work equipment, its suitability, use, maintenance, inspection and training etc

We can advise on whether a chemical involved in a workplace accident is listed by law and whether your employer should simply not expose you to it at all or, if it is permitted, what measures should be taken to prevent injury.

We have won, arguably, the most important recent case in this area of law in which the Court of Appeal accepted an employee should not be exposed to a hazardous substance when a safer one was available, even where the employer did not know it could cause injury. If your personal injury is through long-term exposure to a substance, you will find advice and details of this case in our Industrial Disease section.

In addition, there are many other regulations dealing with specific industries such as shipbuilding and ship repair, foundries and a variety of more unusual workplaces.

Regulations are now set out in such a way that employers are obliged to avoid risks entirely if this is possible; if this is not the case they are expected to minimise the risk of injury at work to the lowest possible level.

In order to succeed in a claim for accident compensation if you have suffered an injury at work, you have to firstly prove what it was that happened, secondly that this occurred as a result of the employers negligence or breach of statutory duty and thirdly that your injuries and losses have occurred as a direct result of this work related accident.

It is also important to remember that even if you have suffered an injury at work in an accident that was partly your own fault, you may still be successful in a claim. However, your accident compensation would be reduced accordingly to reflect your own level of responsibility.

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Injury at work caused by a colleague's mistake

An injury at work sustained in an accident that has happened as a result of a mistake made by a work colleague can also be pursued. You do not need to worry that they may be made to pay. This principle is called vicarious liability and makes the employer liable for the negligence of their employees. This principle can also apply if you are injured at work as a result of a prank by a work colleague during the course of their employment.

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Injury at work compensation claims - our clients stories

Injury at work whilst using a crane

Our solicitors represented a client who sustained an injury at work whilst using a crane. The client had previously raised concerns about the safety of the machinery although his warnings went unheeded by his employers. The client was injured when a piece of metal fell from the crane cutting him on his leg. We were able to recover £3,500 for the client in damages. The client said of his compensation success: "I am very pleased with the outcome and also with your services. All the best in the future and I thank you again."

Slipping in a pool of oil at his place of work

Our client was injured after slipping in a pool of oil at his place of work. The client suffered damage to his hand, as well as cuts and bruises to his face and one of his legs. Our solicitors were able to obtain £1,750 in compensation.

The client comments: "Thanks for all your help with the successful claim. I would definitely recommend you to other people who require solicitors. I look forward to receiving the compensation. Once again thanks very much."

Tripping accident at work

Another client who suffered a tripping accident after a waste paper basket had been left lying in a corridor. The client fell heavily damaging her knee in the process and had decreased mobility for over three months.

Clear Answers' personal injury solicitors recovered £1,127 in compensation. The client says: "Thank you for the cheque for £1,127. I would also like to thank you and your staff for the excellent service I have received."

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Successful injury at work cases we have dealt with

Clear Answers' specialist solicitors, Thompsons Solicitors, has extensive experience in dealing with all types of injury at work accidents, with very many satisfied clients. Please go to our Injury at Work Compensation Claims That We Have Dealt With section to read just a few examples of our successful personal injury compensation claims, or click on one of the examples below.

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Compensation claim for injuries at work

Have you or a member of your family suffered a personal injury at work through no fault of your own. If so contact Clear Answers accident at work solicitors on 0800 783 9019 and speak to one of our accident advice solicitors or alternatively fill out an online compensation claim form. One of our representatives will contact you as soon as possible to discuss whether you have a valid personal injury compensation claim.

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Work accident compensation lawyers