Who Pays For Your Medical Expenses After An Injury At Work?

This guide will provide information on seeking compensation for medical expenses after being injured at work.

There are instances when you might suffer an injury at work that requires you to seek medical treatment. Whilst some treatment may be covered by the NHS, there are instances where you may have to pay for treatment. This guide aims to help you understand whether you’re eligible to have these costs covered. 

medical expenses after being injured at work

A guide to seeking compensation for medical expenses after being injured at work

All employers owe their employees a duty of care and if they fail to uphold this duty causing you to sustain harm, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim. As part of the claims process, you may be able to claim back any financial losses incurred as a result of your injuries.

We have aimed to provide the information you need to put forward a strong claim. However, if you have any questions after reading, please don’t hesitate to get in touch using the details in the following section.

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Services And Information

  1. Who Pays Your Medical Expenses After Being Injured At Work?
  2. What Is An Injury At Work?
  3. Medical Expenses Examples
  4. Injury At Work Claim Calculator
  5. How Much Time Do You Have To Claim After An Injury At Work?
  6. No Win No Fee Injury At Work Claims
  7. Learn More About Who Pays Your Medical Expenses After Being Injured At Work

Who Pays Your Medical Expenses After Being Injured At Work?

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states that your employer has a duty of care to provide all employees with a safe working environment. This means that by law, they must take all reasonable steps to reduce the risk of employees sustaining harm at work. 

However, your employer might fail to uphold their duty of care causing you to sustain harm. Examples of how you could sustain an injury at work might include your employer:

  • Failing to ensure that the work environment is free from hazards. Your employer must ensure they carry out regular risk assessments to identify and address any hazards, such as trip hazards caused by wires in the office. If they fail to do so, it could result in you tripping over and sustaining a broken wrist.
  • Failing to provide proper training. Your employer must provide adequate training including on health and safety and training on how to carry out your role safely. If they fail to do so, you may sustain a puncture wound after using equipment you were not adequately trained to use. 

If you would like to find out whether you’re employer was liable for the accident that caused your injuries, please get in touch with our team. They can assess whether your case is valid and advise on the next steps you could take to seek compensation. Furthermore, they could help you understand who pays your medical expenses after you’re injured at work.

What Is An Injury At Work?

There are various ways you could be harmed at work. For instance, you could sustain an injury such as: 

Alternatively, you could develop a workplace illness such as:

  • Tendonitis
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Occupational asthma
  • Occupational dermatitis
  • Stress
  • Musculoskeletal disorders

According to Health and Safety At Work Summary Statistics For Great Britain 2021, there were 1.7 million workers suffering from work-related ill-health during 2020/21 as shown in self-reports made to the Labour Force Survey (LFS). This included both new and long-standing ill-health. Furthermore, according to self-reports, 441,000 workers sustained a non-fatal injury during the same period.

These figures give an insight into how many workers suffered from injuries and illnesses during 2020/21. However, it’s important to note that not all of these will have occurred as a result of employer negligence.

Both workplace illnesses and injuries could result in you making a personal injury claim provided they have occurred due to your employer breaching their duty of care. 

Medical Expenses Examples

After being injured at work, medical expenses could start to pile up. However, in some cases, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim. As part of the claims process, you could receive a payout that comprises special damages.

Special damages seek to compensate you for any financial losses incurred as a result of your injuries. This includes:

  • Private medical expenses: For example, you may have needed treatment that was unavailable on the NHS and you had to pay for private healthcare, such as counselling or a specific type of surgery.
  • Medical aids: This could include the cost of wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids or glasses.
  • Prescriptions: This could include prescriptions for medication needed to treat your injuries or illness.
  • Care costs: Your injury or illness may be severe enough that you require additional care while you recover. The cost of the care you required could be covered under special damages.
  • Home adaptations: In some cases, you may have sustained a life-changing injury that mean changes need to be made to your home to make it more accessible. For instance, you may need a stairlift fitting to help you move about your home more easily.

In order to claim these costs back, you must have evidence to prove these losses. This could include receipts or invoices.

For more information on the medical expenses you could claim back and who pays your medical expenses after you’re injured at work, call our team.

Injury At Work Claim Calculator

Following a successful injury at work claim, your payout may comprise two heads of claim called special damages and general damages. As mentioned, special damages cover the financial impact your injuries have had.

General damages make up the part of your compensation that accounts for the pain and suffering related to your injury. The value of your injuries is often calculated with the help of a publication known as the Judicial College Guidelines. The guidelines provide bracket compensation amounts that correspond to different injuries at varying levels of severity.

We have included some examples in the table below but you should only use the figures as a guide because other evidence will be used alongside the guidelines to accurately calculate the value of your injuries. For example, medical evidence or an independent medical report may be used to assess the severity of your injuries and future prognosis.

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Injury Details Amount
Minor Brain or Head Injury (e) Where there is no or minimal damage to the brain. £2,070 to £11,980
Paraplegia (b) The award given will depend on the presence and severity of pain as well as other factors. £205,580 to £266,740
Deafness/ Tinnitus (c) Where hearing has been completely lost in one ear. £29,380 to £42,730
Eye Injuries (d) Complete loss of one eye. £51,460 to £61,690
Severe Elbow Injuries (a) An elbow injury that’s severely disabling. £36,770 to £51,460
Modest Ankle Injuries (d) Injuries might include less serious fractures and sprains. Up to £12,900
Chest Injuries (g) Rib fractures or injuries to the soft tissues. Up to £3,710
Minor Neck Injuries (c) (iii) The person fully recovers within three months. Up to £2,300
Moderate Back Injuries (b) (ii) Injuries might include those that lead to ligament disturbance and soft tissue damage. £11,730 to £26,050
Moderate Shoulder Injuries (c) Injuries might include frozen shoulder that limits movement and causes ongoing discomfort for a period of time. £7,410 to £11,980

If you can’t see your injury listed in the table, please get in touch with our team as they can provide an accurate estimate of what your claim may be worth. They could also help you understand the process of seeking compensation for medical expenses after you’re injured at work.

How Much Time Do You Have To Claim After An Injury At Work?

As per the Limitation Act 1980, the general time limit to put forward your claim is three years from the date of the accident or the date you connected your injuries to negligence.

However, certain exceptions may apply such as for those under the age of 18 and anyone who has a reduced mental capacity.

For children, the time limit won’t start until their 18th birthday. However, during this time, someone could apply to act as a litigation friend and pursue the claim on their behalf. If no claim is made on behalf of the person, they will have three years from the day they turn 18.

For anyone who lacks the mental capacity to claim themselves, the time limit is suspended. Whilst the time limit is frozen, someone could apply to act as a litigation friend. In instances where the person recovers their mental capacity, the time limit will start from the date of recovery.

If you require any additional information on the personal injury claims time limit, please get in touch with our team.

No Win No Fee Injury At Work Claims

You may wish to seek advice from a solicitor who specialises in personal injury law to help you through the different stages of your claim, including gathering relevant evidence. If so, a solicitor from our panel could help you pursue your personal injury claim under a No Win No Fee agreement.

This Conditional Fee Agreement aims to provide you with a way to seek legal representation without paying a fee upfront to your solicitor.

Following a successful claim, payment will be deducted from your compensation in the form of a legally capped success fee. However, if your case fails, you won’t need to pay this success fee.

If this is an arrangement you would like to learn more about, our advisors could help. They could assign a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel to represent your case provided it has a chance of success.

Alternatively, if you’re not yet ready to take this step after an injury at work, they can provide further clarification on who pays your medical expenses after you’re injured at work.

Either way, an advisor can help. To get in touch, you can:

  • Call us on 020 3870 4868.
  • Use the live chat function in the bottom right corner.
  • Start your claim online through our website.

Learn More About Who Pays Your Medical Expenses After Being Injured At Work

Here is some additional material for you to read.

We hope this guide exploring who pays your medical expenses after you’re injured at work has helped. However, if you have any additional questions, please get in touch with our team on the number above.