How Much Compensation Could I Get From An Accident At Work Claim?

By Stephen Moreau. Last Updated 6th February 2024. This is a guide on accident at work compensation claims. If you suffered an injury while at work, you may wish to know about injured at work pay. You may also like to know whether there is a manual handling weight limit for the UK, as well as what steps you could take to help support a compensation claim.

A worker lying on the floor injured after being hit by a falling object

You may not be entitled to work-related injury sick pay in the UK. However, if you can prove that employer negligence caused your injuries, you may be eligible to claim compensation for any financial losses you have suffered as a result of your injury.

You may also wish to see accidents at work compensation examples. Additionally, we look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor can help you get compensation for your injuries.

Get In Touch With Our Team

If you have been injured in any form of accident at work for which someone else was responsible and require help or advice, you can get in contact with our team by dialing 020 3870 4868 or by using our online contact form.

Services And Information

  1. Compensation For An Accident At Work
  2. When Could You Make An Accident At Work Claim?
  3. Proving A Personal Injury Claim
  4. How Much Time Do I Have To Make An Injury At Work Claim?
  5. No Win No Fee Workplace Injury Claims
  6. Other Information

Compensation For An Accident At Work

If you make a successful work injury compensation claim, your settlement may consist of general and special damages. Any physical and mental injuries you suffered in a workplace accident, such as a broken arm or anxiety, could be compensated with general damages.

Below, we have created a table with bracketed accident at work compensation examples. Many legal professionals will use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when valuing various claims. Therefore, we have used the amounts listed in the most recent edition of the JCG, published in April 2022, when creating this table.

It is important to note that compensation for an accident at work will vary depending on the specific factors to your claim. Therefore, you should only use this table as a guide. Also note that the first entry is not based on the JCG, but is instead an estimated figure for claims involving multiple injuries.

Type Of InjuryComments Amount
Multiple Serious Injuries With Special DamagesA work accident claim could potentially cover multiple serious injuries you've sustained as well as any related special damages you're eligible to claim too, such as loss of earnings.Up to £500,000+
Brain Damage - Moderately Severe The injury will result in a very serious disability with a related need for constant care. The disabilities may be physical and cognitive. £219,070 to £282,010
Brain Damage -Moderate (ii)There will be a modest to moderate intellectual deficit. The claimant may be unable to work and there will be a risk of epilepsy. £90,720 to £150,110
Facial Disfigurement - Very Severe ScarringSevere scarring affecting those whose age ranges from teenagers to the early thirties. Claimant is left with cosmetic disfigurement and a severe psychological reaction.£29,780 to £97,330
Leg Injury - Severe (iv) ModerateThis may involve serious crush injuries or multiple fractures to one leg.£27,760 to £39,200
Arm Injury - Less Severe The claimant may have sustained a disability, but a substantial level of recovery is either expected or has taken place.£19,200 to £39,170
Back Injury - Moderate (ii)This could include soft tissue injuries, disturbed muscles and ligaments and prolapsed discs.£12,510 to £27,760
Skeletal Injuries (b)Multiple facial fractures which lead to some degree of permanent facial deformity.£14,900 to £23,950
Neck Injury - Moderate (iii)The injury may have exacerbated an existing condition. Bracket could also include soft tissue injuries.£7,890 to £13,740
Shoulder Injury - Moderate Such injuries may include a frozen shoulder causing a limited range of movement. Symptoms may persist for up to two years. Other soft tissue injuries may last for two years or longer with minimal symptoms.£7,890 to £12,770

Compensation For An Accident At The Workplace – Special Damages

Special damages are awarded to put you in the same financial position you were in before your accident at the workplace. This head of claim covers any monetary losses or out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of your injuries.

When you claim for an injury at work, special damages may be awarded for the following:

  • A loss of earnings resulting from time off work to recover from your injuries
  • Prescription fees for any medication needed to cope with your injuries
  • Travel expenses, such as those incurred from travelling to and from hospital appointments for your injuries

You will need to provide evidence that can demonstrate you have suffered financial harm. For example:

  • A pay slip can prove a loss of earnings
  • A receipt of your prescription can prove prescription costs
  • Train or bus tickets, or a receipt for petrol or gas, can prove travel expenses

Get in touch at any time for free no obligation advice about claiming compensation for a work accident. Our advisors are available around the clock to answer your questions.

When Could You Make An Accident At Work Claim?

If you have been injured in an accident at work, then you may have grounds to claim against your employer if they breached their duty of care. 

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe all their staff a duty of care. As part of this duty, employers should take reasonable steps to protect their staff from harm while they are working.

What steps an employer should follow will depend on the type of work that takes place. The measures an employer may need to carry out could include providing adequate training for carrying out certain tasks or using certain equipment.

Carrying out risk assessments and dealing with hazards in the work environment could also make up part of an employer’s duty of care. Providing suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) may be another responsibility depending on the type of work that is carried out.

If you can prove that the injuries you suffered were directly caused by your employer breaching their duty of care, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim.

For more advice on your eligibility to start an accident at work claim, please contact our advisors for free today.

An injured construction worker in a white hard hat lays on the floor

Proving A Personal Injury Claim

In the previous section, we discussed some types of evidence you may gather to support your workplace injury claim. For example, taking photographic evidence and obtaining the contact details of any witnesses willing to make a statement on your behalf.

However, when suing your employer, you’ll want to gather as much evidence as possible to support your claim. Let’s take a look at other examples of evidence you might consider obtaining:

  • Copies of a report in your workplace accident book – An accident book is a legal requirement in the UK if there are more than 10 employees in the workplace. Completing a form can provide evidence of an accident occurring and any injuries sustained. A colleague may complete this for you if you are unable to.
  • Gather CCTV footage where possible – You have a legal right to request CCTV footage of yourself. Footage can show your accident happening as well as what caused your accident, so it is useful if you can obtain it.
  • Gather any medical evidence – It would be in your best interest to seek medical help. Any records made by a doctor or hospital can be used as key evidence in your claim.

A solicitor from our panel could also help you by organising a medical assessment to determine the extent of your injuries. Any notes from a medical professional may then be used to support your workplace injury claim.

Get in touch for free using our online chat to see if our panel of solicitors could help you. They could help work out what you might be owed in compensation following an accident at work.

How Much Time Do I Have To Make An Injury At Work Claim?

In general, the personal injury claims time limit for most injury at work claims will be three years from either the date on which the accident took place. However, this may not always be the case. Whilst most cases will observe this three-year limitation period, there are instances where you may have longer in which to claim.

There are many industrial illnesses, diseases or work-related conditions which develop very slowly over a long period of time without the person affected being aware of its development. Whilst the effects of a back injury at work may be immediately apparent, conditions such as hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noises over a long period of time may not be. In these cases, the three year period begins at the date on which you were diagnosed.

People are unable to make a personal injury claim on their own behalf until they reach the age of 18. Those affected may be able to use a litigation friend to claim on their behalf. If the claim has not been made before the injured party’s eighteenth birthday, they then have three years to make a claim.

Also, if someone is involved in a serious accident, it may leave them unable to claim or make decisions on their own behalf. If this is the case, they would also need a litigation friend to claim on their behalf. The claim can be made at any time unless the claimant makes a recovery. After which point, they would have the same 3 years.

No Win No Fee Workplace Injury Claims

If you are interested in making a workplace injury claim, a solicitor from our panel may be able to help. There are many benefits that come with instructing a solicitor on your claim; one such benefit is that they can help you collect evidence. A solicitor can talk to witnesses and take their statements, help you request CCTV footage, and collate other kinds of helpful evidence.

One benefit of working with a solicitor from our panel is that they work on a No Win No Fee basis. When you instruct one of our solicitors, they’ll offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Under a CFA, you don’t need to pay a fee in order for your solicitor to start working on your claim. Plus, if your claim fails, you won’t be asked to pay for their services throughout the claims process.

If you make a successful claim, then your solicitor will take a success fee. This is taken as a small percentage, which you and your solicitor will agree upon before starting. It’s also capped by law, which helps to make sure that you keep the larger share of what you receive.

Contact Our Team

Get in touch today to find out how a solicitor from our panel could help you. One of our advisors can value your claim for free, and connect you with a solicitor. To get started:

Other Information

In addition to the information which we have provided in this guide, you can also use the resources below to learn more about what to do if involved in or injured by an accident at work.

  • Statutory Sick Pay – Information from the UK Government about how much statutory sick pay is, when you are entitled to claim it and how long it may be claimed for.
  • Expenses And Benefits – Information from the UK Government for employers who have an employee injured in the workplace.
  • RIDDOR – If an accident at work involves specific conditions or injuries it must be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. See here.

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