Employer Negligence
Employers must provide a safe working environment for their employees. If your employer fails to meet the required safety standard and you suffer an accident as a result of their negligence, you might be able to make a claim against them. Contact our expert personal injury lawyers today to claim the compensation you deserve.
What you Should Do if You Are Involved in an Accident
The Royal Society for the Protection of Accidents has reported that as many as 246,000 reportable workplace injuries occurred last year and 29.3 million working days were lost due to workplace accidents and injuries.
Unfortunately, although lots of legislation has been introduced to protect the safety of workers, accidents and injuries still occur.
If you are involved in an accident in the workplace, you should report it to your employer. According to the RIDDOR law, workplace accidents that are categorised as ‘reportable’ must be reported, and a record must be made of the details of the incident.
‘Reportable’ injuries include more severe injuries such as fractures, severe burns, amputation of a limb and crush injuries that cause internal organ damage.
You should also seek medical attention for your injury. This allows a doctor to assess the seriousness of your injuries and allows a record of the injuries to be added to your medical records. This can provide important evidence if you decide to make a claim against your employer.
Can You Make a Claim?
To be able to make a claim against your employer, you need to be able to satisfy both aspects of this test:
- You must have suffered an injury. Merely being at risk of suffering an injury is not enough to be able to make a personal injury claim.
- Your injury must be the result of your employer’s negligence.
Personal injury claims must be made within three years of the injury. There are several exceptions to this strict time limit, such as in cases of industrial diseases which develop many years after exposure to dangerous substances, such as mesothelioma.
You can make a claim for any workplace injury that meets this test. The most common workplace injury claims include:
- Slips, trips and falls over unattended items;
- Slips, trips and falls due to unsafe flooring or unattended spillages;
- Falls from height;
- Accidents due to faulty machinery;
- Accidents caused by unsafe equipment.
How Much Can Be Claimed?
The level of compensation that can be claimed will vary in every case. As a general rule, the more serious the injury is, the higher the compensation award will be.
Many different factors can contribute to the compensation amount, such as: long lasting mobility problems, impact the injury had on the individual’s ability to work, the pain suffered as a result of the injury and the length of time taken to recover from the injury.
Some people suffered trauma and mental distress alongside their physical injury. It may also be possible to claim for the mental anguished caused by your injury.
Accident at Work Lawyer Sheffield
Suffering an accident at work can be an incredibly stressful and upsetting time for you and your family. It is right that you should be compensated for the pain and suffering caused by your employer’s negligence.
The first step in making a claim for an accident you have suffered at work is to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer. Our expert team can assess your case and inform you whether you have a claim to pursue.
Call us on 01144 938 199^. To make an online enquiry please complete our claim form.