Lifeguard Injury And Accident At Work – Can I Claim Compensation?

This article discusses claiming for a lifeguard injury after an accident at work. Were you harmed at work or in the course of performing your duties because of negligence? This informative guide can help.

Lifeguard injury

Lifeguard injury claims guide

A personal injury solicitor could help you claim compensation for the harm caused after an injury, both physical and psychological. However, you would need to show that you were injured as a direct result of negligence, which we will look at further in this guide.

Speak to our team for free legal advice about launching a claim if you were injured through no fault of your own. You can:

Select A Section

  1. Can I Claim For A Lifeguard Injury?
  2. Who Owes A Lifeguard A Duty Of Care?
  3. What Accidents Could Lifeguards Suffer?
  4. How Do You Prove A Lifeguard Injury Claim?
  5. Potential Payouts For A Lifeguard Injury
  6. Get Help From A No Win No Fee Solicitor

Can I Claim For A Lifeguard Injury?

In order to make a claim for a lifeguard injury caused by a breach of duty of care, you need to show that:

  • Your employer owed you a duty of care
  • This duty of care was breached
  • You suffered injury as a direct consequence

Injuries sustained as a lifeguard can impact your quality of life, and this is one of the factors that a claim will cover if successful. Furthermore, you could also be compensated for financial losses, which we will look at in closer detail further in this guide.

If you would like advice about claiming, or if you’d like to speak to someone about whether you have a valid claim, get in touch with a member of our team today. If they feel you have a valid case, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel.

Who Owes A Lifeguard A Duty Of Care?

The Health and Safety At Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) sets out the duty of care that employers owe to those who work for them. It states that employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to prevent injury to their workers.

Some of the things that they are expected to do include:

  • Maintaining good housekeeping
  • Providing training
  • Supplying employees with free, appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) that they need to do their role safely
  • Ensuring that equipment is safe for use and maintained to a good standard

If your employer breaches the duty of care that they owe you and this causes injury, then this is an example of negligence. You could be awarded compensation for this.

If you’d like to see whether you have a valid claim, speak with a member of our team today. If you are eligible to claim, they could provide you with a solicitor.

What Accidents Could Lifeguards Suffer?

Below, we have included examples of how a lifeguard could suffer an injury at work because of negligence:

  • One of the steps to the lifeguard seat is broken, and this has not been fixed despite the fact that the employer knows about it. As a result, they fall and sustain a fibula fracture and a broken ankle.
  • An employee should be given non-slip shoes to perform checks in certain areas of a leisure centre, but the footwear given is not suitable. As a result, they slip and fall and sustain a head injury.
  • An employee is not trained in moving a piece of equipment from the side of the pool to storage, but they are asked to do so anyway. Because of this lack of training, an accident occurs in which they sustain a leg injury and a fractured eye socket.

Even if you have been injured in a way we have not mentioned above, please speak with a member of our team as you could still have a valid claim.

How Do You Prove A Lifeguard Injury Claim?

After a lifeguard injury, there are various steps you can take to add strength to your case. For example:

  • The contact details of witnesses who are prepared to provide a statement to a personal injury solicitor later on about what happened. However, you could still claim even if there was no witness to the accident.
  • Photos or CCTV footage
  • Medical records

A personal injury solicitor can help you collect evidence as well as confirm that you’re within the time limit for claiming. Call our team for further information; if they feel your claim is valid. they could connect you with a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel.

Potential Payouts For A Lifeguard Injury

Two types of compensation could be awarded in a successful personal injury claim after a lifeguard injury. General damages is the head of a claim that compensates for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that your injuries caused. This includes psychiatric injuries as well as physical ones.

The Judicial College Guidelines is a publication that solicitors use to help them assign a value to claims. Although they do not represent guaranteed amounts, we have used these figures to create the table below that you can use as a guide.

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Area of Injury Award Bracket Definition
Head Moderately Severe – £219,070 to £282,010 Significant permanent disability that requires substantial dependence on professionals for basic needs
Neck In the region of
£148,330 		Cases of incomplete paraplegia, despite wearing a collar for 24-hours a day there remains a loss of movement
Hip/Pelvis Severe – £78,400 to £130,930 Fractures and dislocations of lower back joint causing intolerable pain and requiring fusion surgery. Bladder damage, deformity and substantial residual disabilities
Chest (B) £65,740 to £100,670 Traumatic injuries to the chest, resulting in permanent damage, long-term disability and impaired function with a possibility of reduction in life expectancy
Knee Severe – £69,730 to £96,210 Disrupted joint and serious ligament damage causing considerable pain and requiring long term treatment
Leg Very Serious – £54,830 to £87,890 Permanent mobility problems and the need for crutches or mobility aids for the rest of the person’s life. Multiple fractures that take years to heal and require extensive long-term treatment
Arm (b) Injuries Resulting in Permanent and Substantial Disablement
£39,170 to £59,860		 Fractures to one or both forearms leaving permanent residual disability of either cosmetic or functional nature
Wrist (b) £24,500 to £39,170 Significant permanent damage to the wrist but some useful movement remaining
Ankle Severe – £31,310 to £50,060 Injuries in this bracket require a prolonged period in plaster or the need for surgical pins but leave residual disabilities such as instability, sleep disturbance, scarring and impact on employment prospects
Foot Serious – £24,990 to £39,200 Continuous pain, the risk of future arthritis, prolonged treatment and the risk of fusion surgery

In addition to this, special damages can be awarded in successful claims. This head of claim compensates for financial losses and can include:

  • Loss of earnings or impact on future earning capacity
  • Prescription costs or the expense of medical procedures not available for free through the NHS
  • Domestic help at home as you recover

If you choose to get in touch with our team, they could help assess your claim and connect you with a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor.

Get Help From A No Win No Fee Solicitor

After a lifeguard injury, you may be considering a personal injury claim with the help of a lawyer. If so, a solicitor offering No Win No Fee agreements such as Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA) can take up your claim with usually no need for any upfront fees. Furthermore, you won’t generally be asked to pay upfront or as the claim progresses.

Should the case be unsuccessful, your solicitor generally won’t ask for payment for their services. A success fee will be deducted from your settlement in the event of a successful claim.

To find out how a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit your personal injury claim after a lifeguard injury, speak to our team today. After a brief and informal assessment of eligibility, they could connect you with a solicitor. Learn more by:

Learn More About Leisure Centre Accidents

As well as information about a specific claim for personal injury compensation as a lifeguard injury, we have included links to the following articles from our website:

We have also included the links below for your reference:

If you have any more questions about claiming for a lifeguard injury, speak with a member of our team today.

Writer FS

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