By Danielle Griffin. Last Updated 20th June 2023. If your employer breached their duty of care, and this caused you to become injured, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim. In this guide, we provide information on workplace negligence and how to make a workplace accident claim.
We also take a look at the duty of care you are owed by your employer while you are working. Additionally, this guide provides a few examples of how workplace injuries could occur. We also look at examples of evidence you could submit to strengthen your claim.
If you have an eligible claim, you may like to have a solicitor to represent you in your case. To conclude this guide, we discuss the benefits of working with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
If you have any questions about negligence in the workplace and when you might be able to claim compensation, plhttpease contact one of the advisors from our team. The advice they give is free.
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Can I sue my employer for negligence?
Select A Section
- Negligence At Work – What Are Some Examples?
- Employer Negligence And Duty Of Care
- Can I Sue My Employer If I Was Injured Due To Negligence At Work
- What Grounds Could I Have To Sue My Employer?
- Can I Sue My Employer For Emotional Distress in the UK?
- Could I Sue If My Employers Negligence Caused Me To Be Assaulted Or Abused?
- Time Limit For Making A Work Injury Claim
- Another Employee Caused My Injury, Could I Sue My Employer?
- How To Claim Compensation For Injuries Caused By An Employers Negligence
- Physical Harm And Emotional Distress Compensation UK
- Suing Your Employer – No Win No Fee Solicitors
Negligence At Work – What Are Some Examples?
To help you understand whether you may have grounds to start a compensation claim for employer negligence, it’s worth considering some examples that could occur in workplaces. Employers owe their staff a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect their safety. There are many ways an employer may neglect this duty, such as failing to tackle a safety issue that they could have realistically foreseen. More specific examples can include the following:
- An employer fails to provide relevant health and safety training.
- Hazards in the workplace are present, such as broken tiles, slippery flooring or loose cables across walkways, and those responsible for managing the work environment fail to take action to address these issues.
- A work machine is not maintained to the manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Someone uses machinery or equipment which they’ve never been properly trained to use.
- Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) has not been provided to staff using certain equipment or while working in an environment that requires it.
- A piece of equipment or machinery has been reported faulty, but repairs have not been carried out quickly or before it is used again.
These are just some of the potential scenarios that could lead to a compensation claim for negligence in the workplace.
If you’re wondering, “can I sue my employer for negligence at work?” then you can contact our team today for free legal advice on potentially making a work injury claim.
Employer Negligence And Duty Of Care
Under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, all employers have a duty of care to keep you safe and protect your wellbeing while at work. The rules are enforced by the government’s health and safety executive (HSE), who provide employers with lots of tools and resources to help them protect their staff.
The duty of care employers has towards staff means they should:
- Perform regular risk assessments. When risks are identified, the employer needs to make changes to reduce them.
- Provide a safe working environment and maintain safety levels.
- Allow regular breaks and provide relaxation areas. This should somewhere away from the normal workplace and quite where possible.
- Ensure staff can communicate any concerns. This could either be through supervisors, the HR department or staff reps.
- Define the employee’s work duties clearly.
- Provide training. The training should be adequate and refreshed regularly.
- Make sure staff aren’t working too many hours.
- Consult with employees on health and safety matters. This could be through staff meetings, notice boards or other communication such as emails.
Suing An Employer For A Breach Of Duty Of Care
If any of the above doesn’t happen, then the employer may be in breach of their duty of care, which means you could sue an employer for negligence if you suffer an injury because of it. Hopefully, this answers the question of “could I sue my employer for negligence?”
We’ll cover the type of evidence you’ll require to prove your claim later on, but one key piece of advice following a workplace accident is to report it. Ensure that it’s recorded in an accident book (a legal requirement). If it isn’t, email a supervisor or manager as soon as possible with details of your accident.
Can I Sue My Employer If I Was Injured Due To Negligence At Work?
Not every instance of being injured in the workplace will lead to a successful claim. There are certain eligibility criteria a claimant must meet.
To have a valid claim for workplace negligence, or employer negligence, a claimant would need to demonstrate that the employer breached their duty of care to them under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Furthermore, they would need to prove the breach caused their injuries.
If the following examples of a breach of duty of care caused you to be injured, you could potentially claim:
- Inadequate PPE
- Lack of safety training
- Improperly maintained equipment
- Slip, trip or fall hazards that aren’t removed or signposted
These are just a few examples. To find out if you’re eligible to claim, you can get in touch with our advisors for a free consultation at any time.
What evidence can help to prove an employer negligence claim?
In order to make a claim, you will need to provide evidence of the negligence that occurred. You could collect various forms of evidence to help you. For example:
- Photographs of the accident scene and your injuries
- CCTV footage of the accident
- Witness contact details
- Medical evidence of your injuries and how they impact you
- Workplace injury report such as in the workplace accident book
If you get in touch, one of our advisors could explain what evidence will work best for your specific case.
What Grounds Could I Have To Sue My Employer?
To be able to sue your employer using a personal injury solicitor, you’ll need to have sufficient grounds to do so. As mentioned earlier, these grounds require you to demonstrate that they were negligent somehow and that negligence led to a workplace accident in which you were injured.
There are, of course, other reasons to sue your employer, such as wrongful termination, sexual harassment and employment discrimination against a protected class. If you want to sue your employer a lawyer could help you make these types of claims too.
In the coming sections of this guide, we’ll explain how you can prove negligence and what evidence you’ll need to support your claim. Furthermore, we’ll explain what evidence can be used to prove the accident happened and the injuries you sustained. All of this helps as you think, “could I sue my employer for negligence?”
Can I Sue My Employer For Emotional Distress in the UK?
If you’re looking into suing your employer for negligence, you may assume that you can only do so if the negligence relates to physical injuries. This isn’t the case. If you want to sue for negligence, you could also do so for any psychological injuries caused.
Psychological injuries can include anxiety, depression and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). For example, you could suffer from anxiety because you’re being bullied by another employee at work. If you can show that your employer could have taken active steps to prevent this from occurring or escalating, you may be able to sue them for negligence.
As explained above, your employer has a duty of care to all their staff to ensure, within reason, that the work facilities and environment are safe for employees. If their actions or inaction can be proven to be negligent, you could receive compensation if you’ve suffered emotional distress as a result.
To learn more about this, please contact our team for free using the details above.
Could I Sue If My Employers Negligence Caused Me To Be Assaulted Or Abused?
There is no reason why any worker should be assaulted or abused at work. There could be a criminal investigation launched against the other employee for their actions and a personal injury claim.
If you’re assaulted or abused at work, you might ask whether you can sue the employer for negligence or whether it’s a claim against the member of staff involved. Obviously, if the business owner has deliberately set out to harm you, there could be a negligence claim.
If the abuse or assault was by a colleague or supervisor, then a claim against the employer may still be possible. This could be the case if it can be shown that the employer knew what the colleague was doing but didn’t stop it. It would be a good idea to see if anybody else witnessed what was happening and ask them whether they reported it to management. This statement could be used to show the employer was negligent because of their lack of action.
Time Limit For Making A Work Injury Claim
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim, you must start legal proceedings within the time limits set out in the Limitation Act 1980. This is typically 3 years from the date of the incident that caused your injuries.
However, in certain circumstances, there are limitation period exceptions. These include:
- Those who lack the mental capacity to begin legal proceedings for themselves. In these cases, the time limit is indefinitely suspended. During this time, a litigation friend could be appointed to act on their behalf. Should the injured party regain the capacity to make their own claim, they will have 3 years from the date of recovery to start the legal process if a claim wasn’t made for them already.
- Those under the age of 18. These parties have the time limit paused until they turn 18. From their 18th birthday, they will have until their 21st birthday to start a claim. However, a litigation friend could start the process on their behalf before their 18th birthday.
If you would like to know whether you are within the time limit to start a personal injury claim, please get in touch with one of our advisors. They can also give you free advice about negligence at work.
Another Employee Caused My Injury, Could I Sue My Employer?
There are times when you can sue an employer for injured at work negligence, even if it was a colleague who caused the accident to happen. This might where a colleague acted deliberately, made a mistake or was not competent in completing the task.
A claim might be possible if it can be shown that the employer was negligent because:
- They hadn’t trained the colleague on how to complete the task, which led to your injury.
- It was known to the employer that the colleague was working negligently, but they turned a blind eye.
- The colleague was using faulty or unmaintained equipment, which caused the injury.
How To Claim Compensation For Injuries Caused By An Employers Negligence
If you sue an employer for negligence, you must take steps to resolve the situation directly. This means following the companies own complaints or grievance procedure if there is one. You may need to advise management, HR or occupational health of details about your accident, the cause and what you’d like done about it.
If that’s failed, then it’s important, as mentioned above, to try and gather evidence to support your claim.
Once you have gathered photographic evidence, witness statements, accident reports and medical records, call Accident Claims UK today. We’ll assess your claim for free and without obligation. If you ask, “could I sue my employer for negligence,” and we think you have a valid claim, we could help you begin a No Win No Fee compensation claim.
Physical Harm And Emotional Distress Compensation UK
If someone successfully makes a personal injury or stress at work claim, they could be awarded general damages and special damages.
General damages could compensate the claimant for the pain and suffering they’ve experienced due to their injuries. For example, they could compensate for the pain and suffering caused by a physical injury, or for psychological harm.
Every claim is unique and in some cases, a claimant could sue for emotional distress caused by the physical injuries they’ve sustained as well as the physical suffering they’ve experienced.
How Much Would I Receive In Personal Injury Or Emotional Distress Compensation In The UK?
Legal professionals must carefully assess all the evidence for an injury at work or stress at work claim, and examine the impact on the claimant’s life. To work out how much general damages compensation a claimant could be awarded, they could look at the Judicial College Guidelines. This publication sets out guidance on general damages payouts for claims in England and Wales. The table below contains figures from this publication.
General Damages Calculator
| Injury | Notes | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Back Injury | Severe (i) – Serious damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots that lead to serious consequences and immense pain. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back injury | Minor (ii) – A minor back injury, such as a disc prolapse, sprain or strain that fully recovers within 1-2 years without needing surgery. | £4,350 to £7,890 |
| Hand injury | Serious Damage to Both Hands – This will result in a cosmetic disability that is permanent with the hands function suffering a significant loss. | £55,820 to £84,570 |
| Neck injury | Severe (iii) – Ruptured tendons, fractures or dislocations that lead to a significant and permanent disability with chronic conditions. | £45,470 to £55,990 |
| Neck injury | Moderate (ii) – A wrenching-type or soft tissue injury that seriously limits the necks movement and causes discomfort with recurring pain. | £13,740 to £24,990 |
| Ankle injury | Severe – The injury will require an extensive treatment period or time in plaster. This will result in ankle instability with a limited ability to walk. | £31,310 to £50,060 |
| Ankle injury | Modest – Ligamentous injuries, sprains or undisplaced fractures. Whether a full recovery has been made will affect how much is awarded. | Up to £13,740 |
| Toe injury | Severe – Crush injuries that have resulted in one or two toes needing to be amputated. This will result in a permanent disability with pain and discomfort. | £13,740 to £21,070 |
| Toe injury | Moderate – Fractures, laceration or the exacerbation of a pre-existing condition. | Up to £9,600 |
| Wrist injury | Recovery from a soft tissue injury or fracture has taken longer than a year. | £6,080 to £10,350 |
Other Damages
As well as this, a claimant who successfully makes a personal injury or stress at work claim could receive special damages. These could compensate a claimant for the financial detriment caused to them because of the injury/illness. Some examples of special damages could include loss of income, medical expenses and travel costs.
To find out more about what damages could make up your payout, why not call our team?
Suing Your Employer – No Win No Fee Solicitors
You may be able to sue your employer if you have been injured due to their negligence at work. You can contact our advisors today, who could help you determine whether you may be eligible for compensation. If they believe you may, they could connect you with our experienced solicitors who could represent you in your claim.
Our solicitors have years of experience handling various personal injury claims that have been caused by workplace negligence. They may also offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement. There are many benefits to making a claim with this type of arrangement, such as:
- Not typically having to pay any upfront or ongoing fees to your solicitor.
- If the claim fails, you won’t have to pay your solicitor for their services.
- Alternatively, you will pay your solicitor a success fee if they succeed with your claim. A success fee is a legally capped percentage taken from your compensation award.
Do not hesitate to contact one of our advisors today if you have any questions about suing your employer for a workplace injury with a No Win No Fee agreement. We can be contacted by:
- Telephone: Call free on 0800 073 8801 and speak directly to a specialist claims advisor.
- Email: Send a message to office@accidentclaims.co.uk
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- Claim Online: Fill in this easy online form, and we’ll call you back when it’s convenient.
We hope that this guide has been useful for you. If you would like to speak to an advisor about claiming for negligence at work, then you can contact Accident Claims. Our team is available 24/7 and would be more than happy to address any questions you may have about injured at work negligence.
