Accident at Work Claim Time Limit
Welcome to our guide looking at the accident at work claim time limit. Have you been injured in an accident at work? Do you feel that your employer’s negligence was to blame for your injuries? If you’ve been injured at work due to your employer’s failings, the time limit for claiming is an important thing to be aware of. In many cases, your claim will be statute-barred after this time limit elapses. This means that it will be difficult for you to pursue compensation.
When you’re injured in an accident at work, the recovery process can be very frustrating. This is particularly the case if your accident was caused by your employer’s negligence. Injuries sustained in accidents at work can cause pain, suffering and financial strain. A claim for compensation can help mitigate some of these effects following an accident. However, it’s important that you make a claim within the time limit in order to be able to receive compensation.
This guide has been written to help you understand this limitation period and any exceptions that could apply. If you have any questions at any point, then reach out to our team of advisors. They will be happy to answer your questions. In addition, they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel who can work on a No Win No Fee basis.
Get In Touch With Our Team
If you still have questions about the time limit on accident at work claims after reading this guide, our team of advisors are on hand to help. They can also take details of your claim and, if it has a good chance of success, may be able to connect you with a personal injury lawyer from our panel. There are a number of ways you can reach us:
- Call us on 020 3870 4868
- Chat to us using the live chat feature
- Claim online through our website
Services And Information
- Everything You Need To Know About Accident At Work Claim Time Limits
- What Is An Accident At Work Claim Time Limit?
- How Much Time Do I Have To Claim For An Accident At Work?
- Common Workplace Accidents
- Common Workplace Injuries
- Accident At Work Compensation Calculator
- Eligibility To Make An Accident At Work Claim
- Time Limits On Accidents At Work Injuring Under 18s
- Fatal Accident At Work Claim Time Limits
- Could You Claim If Injured At Work After Three Years?
- I Suffered An Accident In The Workplace, What Should I Do?
- Can Accident At Work Claims Be Handled On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Other Information
- FAQs About Accident At Work Claims
Everything You Need To Know About Accident At Work Claim Time Limits
There’s a time limit to making a claim for an accident at work in which you’ve been injured because of your employer’s negligence. If you fail to make a claim within this time limit, your claim could become statute-barred. However, there are some exceptions to this time limit.
In this guide, we will look at the time limit that applied to claims made for accidents at work. In addition, we will look at some workplace accidents and injuries that employees could claim compensation for. We will also look at what compensation could be awarded to you for your injuries.
Finally, we will look at No Win No Fee agreements and what they entail. We will explain how a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you in seeking the services of a solicitor. To conclude, we will answer some commonly asked questions about accident at work claims and provide you with some useful links.
What Is An Accident At Work Claim Time Limit?
The Limitation Act 1980 states that if you’ve had an accident at work, the claim time limit is 3 years. The 3-year time limit will generally start from the date of the accident.
However, there are some exceptions to this time limit. For instance, some injuries may not be noticed immediately. If, for example, you suffer hearing loss because you weren’t provided with proper personal protective equipment (PPE), this may take some time to become evident. In these cases, you would be able to claim from the date you became aware that your injuries were the result of negligence.
If you have any questions at all, please get in touch with us on the number at the top of this page.
What Are Accident At Work Claims?
If you’re injured at work because of your employer’s negligence, you may be able to claim compensation for your injuries. When you make a claim, you are attempting to prove that the accident and subsequent injuries were caused by a breach of duty of care owed to you. If you can successfully do this, then you may receive a compensation settlement.
Even if you were partially to blame for your workplace accident, you could still make a claim. However, the compensation you receive would be reduced accordingly. So if it was decided that you were 50% to blame for the accident, you would receive 50% of the compensation that your injuries would usually attract.
How Much Time Do I Have To Claim For An Accident At Work?
As mentioned before, if you’ve suffered an accident at work, then the claim time limit is generally 3 years. The limitation period usually starts from the date of the accident. However, we’ve listed below some ways that this 3-year time limit can be altered in certain circumstances.
General Accident Claims
In most instances of being injured in an accident at work because of your employer’s negligence, the claim time limit is 3 years from the date of the accident. However, sometimes your injury is only detected or diagnosed at a later date. This is known as the date of knowledge. The three-year limitation period will run from this date.
It can be difficult to prove your date of knowledge in the process of claiming. It’s important that you obtain evidence such as medical records to show when you became aware that your injuries were caused by employer negligence.
Child Accident Claims
If you’re injured in an accident at work because of employer negligence while you are under 18, the 3-year time limit is suspended until your 18th birthday. Whilst you cannot legally pursue your own claim before this date, someone can act on your behalf. This person is known as a litigation friend and can be a parent, guardian, friend or legal representative. Following a successful claim, the compensation will be paid into a legally secured bank account. The child claimant will receive the full amount on their 18th birthday.
The 3-year time limit will resume on the claimant’s 18th birthday. They can then file their own personal injury claim if it hasn’t already been done on their behalf.
Claiming on Behalf of Someone with a Reduced Mental Capacity
Some workplace accidents may leave the claimant with a reduced mental capacity. Alternatively, they may already have reduced mental capacity at the time they are injured. If this is the case, then the 3-year time limit is suspended unless they regain the capacity to make a claim. Otherwise, a litigation friend can pursue their claim for them.
Common Workplace Accidents
There are a number of accidents that can occur in the workplace. Some workplaces may pose different risks than others due to the use of heavy machinery or other specialist equipment. Examples of accidents that could occur in the workplace include:
- Slips, trips and falls
- Being struck by a moving or falling object
- Falls from a height
- Handling, lifting, and carrying
If you’re injured in an accident at work in one of the ways listed above, then the injuries will usually be apparent immediately. This means that the standard 3-year time limit from the date of the accident will normally apply.
Below is a graph displaying the most common forms of workplace accidents from 2019/20.
Common Workplace Injuries
In order to make a claim for a workplace accident, it’s not enough to show that you were involved in an accident that was not your fault. You also need to show that you were injured as a result. Some injuries that are sustained in workplace accidents are relatively minor. Others are more severe and can have a big impact on the injured person’s quality of life. Some examples of injuries that could be sustained in an accident at work might include:
- Cuts
- Bruises
- Dislocations
- Breaks or fractures
- Lacerations
- Crush injuries
The severity of these injuries and your recovery time from them will dictate how much compensation you could be owed.
If you have any questions regarding whether or not your workplace accident would make you eligible to receive compensation, then get in touch with our advisors today. The more we know about your circumstances, the more accurate we can be with our assessment of your claim. If you’re approaching the end of your accident at work claim time limit, then there is no time to waste.
Accident At Work Compensation Calculator
A compensation amount could be made up of two heads of claim. These are known as general damages and special damages. General damages are awarded to address the pain and suffering caused by the injury you’ve sustained.
This figure is calculated with the help of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG contains a list of guideline compensation amounts that could be awarded for a variety of injuries. Alongside these guidelines, the lawyer handling your claim will usually refer to a report obtained from a medical expert. This expert would conduct an assessment, arranged for you by your lawyer, to firstly prove that the injuries were caused by the accident, and secondly, to help them value your claim.
Special damages reimburse you for any financial losses or outgoings caused by your injuries. This is calculated on a case-by-case basis and can include things such as loss of earnings, the cost of treatment and transport to and from hospital appointments.
Below, we’ve listed some example figures taken from the latest version of the JCG.
| Injury | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate post-traumatic stress disorder | In these cases the injured person will have largely recovered and any continuing effects will not be grossly disabling | £7,680 to £21,730 |
| Total deafness | The lower end of the bracket is appropriate for cases where there is no speech deficit or tinnitus. The higher end is appropriate for cases involving both of these | £85,170 to £102,890 |
| Chest injuries | Damage to chest and lung(s) causing some continuing disability | £29,280 to £51,460 |
| Minor back injuries (ii) | Where a full recovery takes place without surgery between three months and two years. | £2,300 to £7,410 |
| Moderate pelvis and hip injuries | Significant injury to the pelvis or hip but not any permanent disability is not major and any future risk not great | £24,950 to £36,770 |
| Elbow injury | Severely disabling elbow injury | £36,770 to £51,460 |
| Severe neck injury (ii) | Injuries, usually involving serious fractures or damage to discs in the cervical spine, which give rise to disabilities which are considerably severe | £61,710 to £122,860 |
| Serious shoulder injury | Dislocation of the shoulder and damage to the lower part of the brachial plexus causing pain in shoulder and neck | £11,980 to £18,020 |
| Wrist injury | Injuries which result in a complete loss of function | £44,690 to £56,180 |
If you’d like a more accurate valuation of your case, please get in touch with our specialist advisers.
Eligibility To Make An Accident At Work Claim
For you to be eligible to make a claim for an accident at work, you need to be able to show that the accident has caused you to be injured. If you weren’t injured, you aren’t able to make a claim. It doesn’t matter whether the accident caused you inconvenience or annoyance; if you cannot demonstrate that you’ve suffered injuries as a direct result of the accident, you will not be able to claim compensation.
In addition, your accident cannot be solely due to your own negligence. You cannot claim compensation for an accident that was not caused by a breach of your employer’s duty of care. However, if you were only partially to blame, then you could still receive a partial payout. This is provided that your employer’s negligence also contributed to your accident. You would need to prove who was responsible for your injury and in what measure during court proceedings.
In most cases, you will also have 3 years from the date of the accident. If you try to claim after this, your case will likely be statute-barred. You usually will not be able to claim if this is the case.
Time Limits On Accidents At Work Injuring Under 18s
The time limit to claim for an accident at work for children is suspended until their 18th birthday. For example, if a child aged 16 was injured at work, the three-year time limit would be suspended until they turned 18.
While they are still a minor, they’re unable to make a claim on their own behalf. However, a litigation friend can represent them up until this point.
Fatal Accident At Work Claim Time Limits
In some unfortunate cases, the claimant may die before a claim is made. In these cases, the representative of the individual’s estate will generally have 3 years from the date that they died to make a claim.
Could You Claim If Injured At Work After Three Years?
Following an accident at work, the claim time limit is generally 3 years. You wouldn’t be able to make a claim after the three-year time limit simply because, for example, you were unaware of the time limit or weren’t aware that you were eligible to claim.
In some scenarios that we have already touched upon, you would be able to make a claim after the three-year time limit elapses. This includes situations where you were only diagnosed with an industrial illness at a later date. It can also include cases where you were under 18 at the time of the accident or if you lacked the capacity to claim on your own behalf.
If you want to know if your circumstances allow you to claim after the 3-year time limit, then reach out to our expert advisors today. They will be happy to offer you free legal advice about the time limit on accident at work claims.
I Suffered An Accident In The Workplace, What Should I Do?
If you sustain an injury at work, there are a number of steps you should take. Every case is different, but we have listed some of the most common below:
- Seek medical care – Receiving treatment for your injury is important. This could be by visiting a hospital straight from the accident or arranging an appointment with a GP at a later date. Seeking medical attention will also provide evidence in the form of medical records. This could support your claim down the line.
- Gather evidence – Things that could substantiate your claim might include photographs, written witness statements, and medical records. The more evidence you gather, the better your chances of a successful personal injury case.
- Contact a solicitor – Seeking legal advice could be a very helpful step. Although there is no legal obligation to have a solicitor represent you in making a claim, the process of claiming can be quite daunting to those without legal training. Obtaining the support and advice of a solicitor could help the process run more smoothly and maximise your compensation award.
Can Accident At Work Claims Be Handled On A No Win No Fee Basis?
A No Win No Fee arrangement is a contract between you and your solicitor that sets out the conditions they need to fulfil before they receive payment. It means that you are not required to pay your lawyer before your claim begins or while it is ongoing. You also won’t be asked to cover their costs in the event that your claim is unsuccessful either.
If you are successful and awarded compensation, then your lawyer is paid via a small percentage taken from your settlement amount. This success fee is capped by law and means you will always receive the majority of the compensation awarded to you.
Our panel of lawyers have worked with many clients on a No Win No Fee basis in the past. If this is something you would be interested in, then please get in touch with our advisors today. If they feel your claim has a good chance of success, they may be able to connect you with a lawyer who can offer you a No Win No Fee agreement.
There are a number of ways you can reach us:
- Call us on 020 3870 4868
- Chat to us using the live chat feature
- Claim online through our website
Other Information
We’ve included some additional reading material on this subject. You may find it useful to have a look.
Visit this page for statistics regarding workplace accidents.
This page provides NHS advice on detecting a broken bone.
If you’d like more information on litigation friends, this page could be of use to you.
You may find our guide on making a claim following an accident at work to be of use.
If you’re wondering how much a slip, trip or fall could be worth in compensation, read our helpful guide.
Special damages can include loss of earnings. Read our guide on proving your loss of earnings to ensure you get the maximum amount of compensation you’re owed.
FAQs About Accident At Work Claims
We’ve taken the time to answer some questions that we’re often asked on this subject.
Do claims need to go to court?
It is possible for a claim to go to court. However, this usually only occurs if both parties are unable to reach an agreement regarding the settlement.
Do you need to meet with a solicitor?
There’s no legal obligation to have a solicitor act on your behalf in making a claim. However, the claims process can be daunting to navigate on your own. You may find that the help and advice of a solicitor make the process run more smoothly.
How long do injury claims take?
Injury claims vary a great deal. There is no single answer for this question. Simple cases could be concluded in a matter of months. More complex cases, or ones where liability is in dispute, could take years to resolve.
Could I get an early payout?
If it’s been agreed that you are owed compensation for your injuries, but it’s taking some time for the amount to be agreed upon, you may be entitled to an interim payment. This is where part of your compensation is paid to you before the case is fully settled.
Thank you for reading our guide on the accident at work claim time limit.
Written by IB
Checked by NC
