By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 25th May 2023. Assessing the potential amount of a trip at work compensation claim will be examined in this guide. We will discuss the criteria of eligibility that must be met to make a personal injury compensation claim for an accident at work.
The central piece of legislation governing workplace safety is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). Section 2 outlines every employer’s duty of care to take reasonably practical steps to ensure their employee’s safety. If an employer breaches their duty of care, they could be liable for harm that is suffered in an avoidable accident.
Therefore, your employers failure to adhere to health and safety legalisation could lead to accidents causing injuries that are preventable. This could in turn make you eligible to make a compensation claim.
In this guide, we will discuss the various injuries that could be caused by a trip and fall and who could be liable. Also, we will explore guideline compensation brackets for injuries that could be caused by trip at work. Furthermore, we will give advice on using a No Win No Fee solicitor to pursue your claim.
Please contact a member of our team to find out more. We have specialist advisors available 24/7 to offer free legal advice.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Contact us via our website
- Use the live chat feature on the page.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Trip At Work Compensation Claims
- What Injuries Can Tripping Cause?
- Identifying Hazards In The Workplace
- How Many People Suffer From Trips At Work?
- What Are The Average Payouts For Trip At Work Compensation Claims
- How Do Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor Work?
A Guide To Trip At Work Compensation Claims
Hazards on the floor cause trips and falls in the workplace. This could include a torn carpet or tangled wires running across a walkway. It is your employer’s duty to ensure that your work environment meets a required level of safety.
Therefore a trip could be caused by a breach of this duty if an employee reports a hazard, such as a torn carpet, to the employer, who then does not repair it in due time or provide any signage to mark the hazard. An employee then trips on the carpet and falls, fracturing their wrist.
Trips may lead to injuries of various severity, which could have a range of impacts on your life. The Health and Safety Executive provides a brief guide to preventing slips and trips at work. Read on to find out how to claim compensation for your injuries. Additionally, contact us to discuss your claim.
What Injuries Can Tripping Cause?
There are various ways someone could be injured in a trip accident. For example, putting out your arms when falling could result in arm, wrist and hand injuries. As the HSE highlights, slipping and tripping can also initiate other accidents attributed to other causes, such as falls from a height or accidents involving machinery.
Different types of injuries that slips, trips and falls could cause include:
- Fractures
- Dislocated joints
- Sprains
- Soft tissue injuries
- Head injury
- Fatal injuries
If you have been injured in an accident at work caused by employer negligence, contact our advisors to find out if you could be eligible to claim trip at work compensation.
Identifying Hazards In The Workplace
Under The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers are required to carry out risk assessments to identify and minimise, as far as is reasonably possible, any risks to the health and safety of their employees. There should also be signage available in the workplace to mark hazards that cannot be immediately removed.
Some potential slip, trip and fall hazards in the workplace include:
- Work equipment is incorrectly stored and obstructing a walkway.
- An unmarked torn carpet.
- A leaking sink creates a slippery floor. There are no warning signs.
- Tangled wires are running across a walkway.
Discuss trip at work compensation with our advisors today by getting in touch.
Preventing Trips In The Workplace
The HSE outlines some of the causes and prevention of slips and trips. Obstructions in walkways and uneven surfaces can cause trips at work. Therefore, to prevent these accidents, employers could:
- Check walkways are suitable and clear of obstructions.
- Ensure employees are trained on good housekeeping
- Ensure maintenance and repairs are carried out as quickly as possible.
How Many People Suffer From Trips At Work?
The HSE statistics page compiles accident at work figures reported by employers under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). In the year 2020/21, there were:
- 51,211 total non-fatal employee injuries reported under RIDDOR
- Slips, trips or falls on the same level caused 16,698 of these.
- Also, slips, trips or falls on the same level caused 3 fatal accidents involving employees.
Therefore, these statistics show that slips, trips and falls on the same level caused the most non-fatal accidents throughout the year. Although there is no way to distinguish whether any were caused by negligence it shows how prevalent these accidents are.
If you have suffered an injury due to your employer’s negligence and would like to enquire about making a trip at work compensation claim, don’t hesitate to call our advisors today for free legal advice.
Why Do Trips At Work Occur?
As we have mentioned, to be eligible to make a trip at work claim, you must prove that negligence occurred.
Some examples of how you could suffer a slip and trip at work include:
- Inadequate lighting – For example, if your employer hasn’t ensured that there is adequate lighting in a stairwell at your workplace, this could cause you to trip at work due to being unable to see, and you could suffer a leg injury.
- Untidy work floor – If your employer hasn’t ensured that the work floor is clear of any hazards, this could cause you to trip. For example, you could trip over some loose wires that weren’t tidied away, and suffer an ankle injury.
- Failure to make repairs – If there is broken or missing floor tile in the workplace, this could pose a hazard. Your employer should aim to repair these issues within a timely manner. Before they are repaired, such hazards should be clearly signposted or cordoned off. A failure to do so could cause you to trip and suffer a knee injury
- Lack of PPE – In some cases, it may be identified that PPE could help to reduce the risks of a slip or trip accident, such as safety boots. Should this not be provided where there is an identified need for them, this could lead to an accident.
Contact our advisors today to see if you could be eligible to make a claim for trip at work compensation. Our team are available 24/7 to offer you free advice.
What Are The Average Payouts For Trip At Work Compensation Claims
There are two categories of compensation awarded for personal injury claims, general and special damages.
Firstly, we will discuss general damages, which account for the psychological and physical pain and suffering caused by the injury. It also considers the impact these injuries have on your quality of life.
We have provided a table below using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), updated in April 2022. It provides a list of injuries, with varying severity alongside guideline compensation brackets.
Moreover, solicitors use this document to assist them in valuing general damages.
Injury | Details | Compensation Bracket | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Very Severe Injury Resulting from Brain Damage | The person will demonstrate little to no evidence of meaningful response to their environment or language function. There will also be double incontinence and a need for nursing care full-time. | £282,010 to £403,990 | |||
Moderate Injury Resulting from Brain Damage (i) | There will be no prospect of employment for the person. They will suffer a moderate to severe intellectual deficit, personality change and an effect on their senses. | £150,110 to £219,070 | |||
Less Severe Injury Resulting from Brain Damage | A good recovery will have been made. However, the person may not have experienced a restoration of all normal functions. Therefore some problems may persist. | £15,320 to £43,060 | |||
Severe Leg Injury (ii) | These injuries will cause permanent problems with mobility. Therefore the person will require mobility aids. | £54,830 to £87,890 | |||
Wrist Injury (a) | The person will have completely lost the function of the wrist. | £47,620 to £59,860 | |||
Wrist Injury (b) | The injury will have caused the person significant permanent disability. However, some useful movement remains. | £24,500 to £39,170 | |||
Wrist Injury (e) | The person will suffer an uncomplicated Colles’ fracture. | In the region of £7,430 | |||
Arm Injury (b) | The injury will cause permanent substantial disablement. For example, the person may have seriously fractured one or both forearms. | £39,170 to £59,860 | |||
Severe Ankle Injury | Injuries will require an extensive period of treatment and will leave the person with a significant residual disability. | £31,310 to £50,060 | |||
Moderate Ankle Injury | The person will suffer moderate ankle injuries such as fractures or ligamentous tears, which lead to disabilities, for example, difficulty walking for a long time. | £13,740 to £26,590 |
These figures are a guide. It is difficult to determine an average payout for trip at work compensation claims as the unique details of each case determine the amount of compensation awarded.
Secondly, special damages compensate for the past and future financial losses caused by the injury. For example, travel expenses, loss of earnings, care not covered by the NHS and housing alterations. It is crucial to know that you must provide evidence of any special damages, such as tickets, payslips, bank records and invoices.
Contact our team of advisors if you would like more information regarding trip at work compensation amounts relating to your claim.
How Do Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor Work?
A No Win No Fee solicitor, operating under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), offer all the benefits of working with a legal professional without paying for their service’s upfront.
Additionally, if your claim is successful, a solicitor will take a legally capped percentage from the compensation, known as a ‘success fee’. This could further incentivise a solicitor to help you make a successful claim.
If the personal injury claim fails then you do not pay for the solicitor’s service.
Please don’t hesitate to begin your trip at work compensation claim today by getting in contact with our team. You must start your claim within the relevant time limits laid out by the Limitation Act 1980; this states that you generally have three years from the date of the accident or from the date you connected negligence to your injuries. There are some exceptions to this. Find out more by contacting our advisors, who are on hand to provide you with legal advice.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Contact us via our website
- Use the live chat feature on the page.
Related Trip And Slip Accident Claims Guides
More informative pages from our site:
- Head here to learn more about making an accident at work claim
- Click here to see more questions and answers with our accident at work FAQs
- Is it possible to sue your employer for negligence?
- How to make an inadequate personal protective equipment claim
- I fell through a roof at work, what can I claim?
- Will I get paid if I’m injured at work?
- Can an employee claim if they did not report an injury?
- Can I claim for a back injury at work from lifting?
- I slipped on water at work – can I make a claim?
- What are examples of payouts in fork lift truck accident claims
Some external sources to take a look at:
Thank you for reading this guide to claiming trip at work compensation.