A Guide To Making A Trailing Cable Hazard Injury Claim

Last Updated 27th November 2025. Your trust is typically instilled in your employers ability to keep your workplace safe. However if an employer fails to ensure your safety and you suffer a trailing cable hazard as a result, this can feel like a complete breach of trust. Accidents from trailing cables can result in wide-ranging injuries, from bruises and cuts, to broken bones and severe brain damage. If you’ve experienced something similar, you may be giving some thought to claiming compensation for a trailing cable hazard injury. Fortunately, our team is here to help you.

At UK Law, we understand that the thought of starting an accident at work claim can seem daunting. Thankfully, our team is here to help you. Following an eligibility assessment, you could be connected with one of the specialist No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel to start your claim. With decades of combined experience, our panel of solicitors are experts in securing successful settlements for people just like you.

Your Need To Know Questions Answered

• What hazard is a trailing cable? A trailing cable poses an elevated safety risk, leading to trips, falls and workers being exposed to electric shock hazards.
• How could an employer help to minimise a trailing cable hazard? An employer could physically secure and cover any loose wires, switch to cordless equipment where necessary and promote good housekeeping.
• What evidence will I need? Evidence that could help your claim could include a copy of an accident report form, your medical records and witness contact details.
• What injuries could result from trailing cable accidents? Common injuries could include head injuries, back injuries, foot and ankle injuries and lacerations.
• Am I eligible to claim? Yes, you could be eligible to claim if you can demonstrate that your employer’s negligence directly resulted in your injuries.

To see if you oculd claim for trupping over a trailing wire, you can contact our advisors.

Select A Section

1. Am I Eligible To Claim For An Injury Caused By A Trailing Cable?
2. What Injuries Could A Trailing Cable Hazard Cause?
3. How To Claim For Injuries Caused By A Trailing Cable Hazard
4. Compensation For Accidents At Work
5. Contact A No Win No Fee Solicitor

Am I Eligible To Claim For An Injury Caused By A Trailing Cable?

If you sustain injuries when tripping over a trailing cable hazard, you might be eligible to claim compensation. While you are at work, your employer owes you a duty of care. This means that they must take all reasonable and practicable steps to ensure your health, safety and welfare in the workplace as per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA).

Your employer is expected to adhere to relevant health and safety laws to help uphold this duty. In the case of trailing lead hazards, they will have to conduct a risk assessment in areas where cables may be used. From there, they will need to take steps to reduce the risk of injury. This could include removing the cables, ensuring they are secured to the floor, and signposting the hazard.

 

If your employer fails to do this and you suffer an injury as a result, you might be entitled to make an accident at work claim.

Please get in touch with our advisory team if you have any questions about this eligibility criteria or to see whether you may have a valid personal injury claim.

 

What Injuries Could A Trailing Cable Hazard Cause?

Many different scenarios could involve trailing cables and cause an injury. For example:

• A person suffers a head injury by falling over a trailing cable and hitting their head on the floor.
• Getting tangled in wires leads to a person tripping and falling down the stairs. This leads to a severe back injury, including extensive spinal cord and soft tissue damage.
• Falling over wires while holding a fragile object causes a person to suffer scarring from cuts and lacerations when the object smashes.
• A person gets their foot trapped in a tangle of wires, leading to them getting a broken ankle when they fall awkwardly. Alternatively, a trip over trailing wires could cause a broken wrist if the person puts out a hand to break their fall.

To discuss injuries caused by trailing leads, hazards in the workplace or accident at work claims in general, just give us a call.

How To Claim For Injuries Caused By A Trailing Cable Hazard

If a trailing cable hazard caused your injuries, you might be able to make a personal injury claim and seek compensation. Proving that employer negligence caused your injuries is vital to any workplace injury claim.

Evidence you could submit includes:

• Medical records.
• Photographs of the trailing wires and your injuries.
• Work accident log book.

As well as helping to gather evidence, a specialist work injury solicitor could ensure that your claim is filed within the personal injury claims time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 typically gives claimants three years to begin their work accident claim. Certain exceptions apply, however. These include:

• If you were aged under 18 at the time of the injury. A litigation friend could start a claim on your behalf prior to your 18th birthday. If a claim is not started on your behalf, however, you will be given three years after your 18th birthday to start a claim yourself. While you’re under 18, the time limit is frozen.
• If you lack the mental capacity to claim following your trailing cable hazard accident. If this is the case, you will be given three years in the event that you regain the capacity to start your work injury claim. No time limit applies while you cannot pursue your own claim, and a litigation friend can claim on your behalf.

Our work injury claims team can help you start your personal injury claim today. Get in touch for free legal advice.

Compensation For Accidents At Work

If you make a successful claim for injuries caused by a trailing cable hazard, then the amount of compensation you can receive will depend on several factors. These include:

• How many injuries you are claiming for.
• The types of injuries you have.
• How serious they are deemed to be.

You will be awarded general damages for a successful personal injury claim and possibly special damages as these are the two heads of loss in compensation claims. General damages accounts for physical pain and emotional suffering experienced as a result of your injuries.

The table below contains compensation guidance brackets from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Those who assign a value to your claim may use the JCG as a reference, as it provides guideline compensation amounts for different injuries and illnesses. Please note that the top entry is not a JCG figure.

Injury	Severity	Amount
Multiple Severe Injuries And Financial Damages	Serious	Up to £1,000,000+
Head	Very Severe	£344,150 to £493,000
Head	Less Severe	£18,700 to £52,550
Knee	Severe (ii)	£63,610 to £85,100
Pelvis and Hips	Severe (iii)	£47,810 to £64,070
Arm	Less Severe Injury	£23,430 to £47,810
Leg	Fractures From Which an Incomplete Recovery is Made or Serious Soft Tissue Injuries	£21,920 to £33,880
Bodily Scarring	A Number of Noticeable Laceration Scars or One Single Disfiguring Scar	£9,560 to £27,740
Shoulder	Serious	£15,580 to £23,430
Back	Minor (i)	£9,630 to £15,260
Wrist	d)	£7,420 to £12,630

Special damages are the second head of claim that your compensation could cover. This covers financial expenses or losses caused by your injuries. Examples could be the cost of home care provisions or loss of earnings.

You can get more advice on what compensation you could receive if you have a successful claim after a tripping accident by contacting our advisors today.

Contact A No Win No Fee Solicitor

You may decide to hire a No Win No Fee solicitor for your work injury claim. They may offer to provide their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement.

This type of arrangement means your solicitor will not charge upfront in order for them to start work on your claim. If your claim is not successful, your solicitor will generally not ask you to pay for their services. If your work injury claim succeeds, however, a legally capped percentage of your award will be taken as a success fee.

Contact our work accident claims team for free legal advice. If your trailing cable hazard claim seems like it has a good chance at being successful, you could be connected with our panel of No Win No Fee work accident solicitors.

To discuss your compensation claim for tripping over a trailing lead:

• Call 020 3870 4868.
• Start your claim online.
• Use the live chat.

Resources On Workplace Trips And Falls

For additional reading and resources, check out the links below:

• HSE – Workers’ Rights
• NHS – First Aid
• NHS – When To Go To A&E

Further articles from UK Law:

• • Scaffolding Injuries

 

If you have questions about claiming after a trailing cable hazard has caused injuries, speak with an advisor today.