You have suffered a workplace injury as a result of an accident that should never have happened. The injury you sustained has forced you to take a sustained period of time off to rest, recuperate and recover. What should you do next?
In his blog we will look to answer some of the common questions that can dissuade people from claiming. We will also provide some tips on how to bring a workplace injury claim forward effectively.
Do I have the right to claim for compensation for my workplace injury?
Claiming for compensation following an workplace injury, can be a daunting prospect. Many questions enter your mind, such as can my boss fire me for it, will I get treated differently if I return to work or do I actually have the right to claim for compensation?
First of all, providing there is enough evidence to prove that your employer has negligently caused your accident, then of course you have a right to claim compensation for your workplace injury, and you should.
Making a claim against a negligent employer can serve a far greater purpose than receiving compensation to cover the losses sustained by your injury. The most important thing it does is hold your employer accountable and ensures that a similar accident to yours does not occur again.
A workplace injury is usually caused by a slip, trip, fall or through lifting heavy objects or faulty equipment. We have been serving personal injury clients for more than 24 years and in that time have dealt with people who have suffered injuries to their back, neck, spinal cord, limbs and much more. In the most serious cases, this has led to people being forced to end their working life, so it is only fair that they have the right to be compensated for your workplace injury, to ensure you are prepared for this.
Can my boss fire me for claiming for a workplace injury?
To answer in short, no. Your employer has a duty of care for each and every one of their employees. As part of this they are required by law to take out insurance to cover such claims. What this means is that they know the risks and more importantly they know that they have this duty of care. If they decide to ignore this and flaunt the rules by failing to ensure their employees are protected sufficiently from the risk of injury, then they are bound by law to face the consequences.
An injured employee should never feel like they cannot claim for compensation. It is your entitlement to do so when your ability to work has either been threatened or removed by the negligence of the people you work for.
You should also feel comfortable to claim for your workplace injury with out the worry of being treated any different by your employer upon your return to work, if you are able to of course. You are not the person in the wrong and you certainly didn’t ask to suffer an workplace injury. Most employers recognise this and are reasonable in such situations believe it or not.
What should I do next then?
So you are reassured that you can make a claim and that you are protected from being dismissed by your boss for claiming compensation for your workplace injury. Let’s take a look at what you should next.
Keep your medical notes from the accident
This information can be crucial to securing the success of your workplace injury claim. It proves your injury in no uncertain terms and many personal injury claims can often fall short due to a lack of medical evidence. This evidence shows that you suffered an injury which merits the time off that you were forced to take. This is especially useful if you have submitted this claim a couple of years after the initial incident.
You should also retain the receipt of any medication or treatment you required to prove you financial losses because of the accident. The more evidence that you have, the easier it becomes to prove your case.
Get details of witnesses
Witness statements can go a long way to securing the status and legitimacy of your claim. If you know that one of your work colleagues was in on that day and saw the accident that caused you to suffer your injury, then reach out to them and get them to make a statement on your behalf.
Hire a Personal Injury Solicitor
It is always advisable to acquire legal representation for such a claim. In our experience, most claims of this nature do not make it to the court room, thanks largely to our expertise in dealing with these types of claim.
In the instance it does, legal representation is a must. Your employer will be represented by an insurance lawyer who are highly trained in defending these sort of cases. Having a solicitor of your own simply evens up the balance of chance for success. A personal injury solicitor has years of training and education on how to deal with defendant lawyers and get the right result from a workplace injury claim.
If you would like further advice about an accident at work claim or any other matter, feel free to contact us by calling 0800 61 43 61 of visit our accidents at work page and fill in our claim now of request a call back form and one of our advisers will call you.
Example workplace injury claims
Mr Eddy Lee
Mr Lee injured his lower back after he was made to lift a three seater sofa at work without assistance. His symptoms related to the accident would be expected to last for two years. We were able to secure him £28,500 in compensation.
Miss Lily Savage
Miss Savage suffered a burn injury to her foot. She was working in a kitchen when the chef, who was carrying a pan of hot oil, spilled some on her foot. This resulted in her suffering scarring and blistering following her burns.
The chef had been acting against the health and safety regulations by moving hot oil across the kitchen and we were able to secure a settlement of £1,625 for Miss Savage.
Mr Bearman
Our client, Mr Bearman, was working as a furniture salesman and suffered his injury when he was asked to move furniture displays without any safety footwear and a colleague dropped a heavy sofa on his foot.
The injury required treatment and unfortunately Mr Bearman, who is diabetic, suffered an infection that would lead to the loss of one of his toes.
With our support, Mr Bearman received a settlement of £12,750 for his accident at work claim.
To read more about what our clients say, visit our successful claims page.