Accidents at work aren't uncommon; in fact over a million people have accidents at work each year. For the most part, these are only minor incidents and no further action needs to be taken, but sometimes things are more serious and an injury claim needs to be made. Essentially, if you have an accident at work that was due to the negligence of your employer or someone else you could have valid grounds to make a claim.
One of the main reasons why people can shy away from making an injury claim against their employer is that they fear for the job and being treated unfairly at work. However, this is incorrect and should your employer treat you unfairly or dismiss you for making a claim against them, you could make separate claims for unfair treatment or dismissal if this were the case. Furthermore, if your claim is successful, your employer doesn't pay the compensation, it's their insurance firm who does. Therefore, they won't personally take a massive financial hit but they would see their insurance premiums increase, just like if you have a car crash.
There are a number of situations that can lead to personal injury claims in the workplace. One of the most common is causing an injury due to lack of training. If your employer asks you to carry at a task and you haven't been given the required training to carry out the task safely then you could make a claim. Other situations where successful accident at work claims have been made include tripping over exposed cables or slipping on a wet floor that wasn't signalled by a wet floor sign.
If you want to claim for an accident at work you will need to obtain the services of a personal injury solicitor so that they can manage the case. A solicitor will also be able to advise you on the likelihood of your claim being successful and how much compensation you could receive. In the meantime, you can always use a Compensation Calculator to gain a rough compensation estimate based on your injuries and their severity.
Once you are ready to proceed with your claim, your solicitor will write a letter to your employer and notify them of your intention to make a claim for compensation. They will then have three months in which to respond to this initial contact and either accept or reject your claim.
