Can I Make a Claim After I Was Injured at Work?

It is a sad fact that, no matter what precautions are or should be put in place, accidents at work do happen. Accidents at work result in injuries from simple ankle sprains to severe burns, paralysis, and even death. If you are injured at work in an accident and it was not your fault, you may be entitled to legal compensation. The work accident claim for compensation can provide money to help pay for treatment, and to pay for managing your health condition that resulted from the workplace injury. Here’s what you need to know about your legal rights following a workplace accident.

In the UK employers are responsible for the safety of their employees. This is a legal responsibility and it means that all businesses must conform to health and safety regulations, and they must also hold insurance. If you are injured at work and you believe the accident was due to your employer not meeting these responsibilities then you can receive compensation through a legal work accident case. You may also be able to claim if you were partly responsible for your accident, but when your employer was at most fault.

Types of workplace accident that result in workplace accident claims include slips, trips, and falls in the workplace, injury as the result of dangerous procedures in the workplace, defective machinery or poorly maintained machinery, exposure to toxic substances, injury from falling objects, falls from height, assault or violence, accidents while operating forklifts or cranes, or accident arising out of lack of training. If you are injured at work you may suffer head injuries, burns or scalds, spinal injury, broken bones, loss of sight, amputations, or fatal injuries depending on the accident and its severity.

In order to make an accident at work claim claim you need to be able to prove that the injury was caused by negligence on the part of your employer. Sometimes it can be difficult to prove negligence in court, even if the accident appears straightforward. This is the reason to work with a professional personal injury solicitor in order to properly navigate the legal waters. You need to make sure you have all the correct evidence and that you are presenting it in the correct way. Be aware that there is a standard time limit for making claims in the UK. You have three years from the date of your accident to make a work accident claim. If you do not make your claim within this time period you may find that you are not eligible to make it. Consult a solicitor if you are unsure about this or any aspect of the legal proceedings. The three-year period starts either at the date of the accident or the date at which you realized that your injuries were linked to the workplace accident. Claims related to asbestos are covered in the second example. The length of the claim varies depending on many factors and could be many years or a few weeks. Make sure you get professional legal advice before starting your work accident claim.

Louise Carr is a freelance writer. She specializes in legal and business issues including accident at work claim procedure and personal injury cases.