If you have been harmed whilst working and this was the fault of your employer or even a third party, you could be able to claim compensation for an injury at work. There are certain legal obligations that your employer or people you work for should follow, and you can expect to be kept reasonably safe whilst you work.
Accidents at work are common, with workers reporting 604,000 non-fatal injuries between 2023 and 2024. Not every every injury at work will result in a case for damages so this guide will cover the circumstances in which a claim could be made. We will also look at the types of workplace injury you could claim for and, importantly, how personal injury compensation is calculated after an accident at work.
While reading this guide, you can reach out to an advisor for free advice at any point by:
- Contacting us online using our contact form
- Calling us on 0800 408 7826
- Using the live chat on screen
Select a Section
- Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation For My Workplace Injury?
- Average Compensation Amounts
- Common Workplace Injuries You Can Claim For
- How To Make A Workplace Injury Compensation Claim
- How Long Will It Take To Get My Compensation?
- More Information
Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation For My Work Place Injury?
If you were injured at work and this was the fault of your employer, you will likely be able to claim compensation. Three criteria need to be met for a successful accident at work claim. These are:
- Your employer owed you a duty
- They breached this duty
- You were injured as a result
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer has a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure our health, safety and well-being at work. To meet this duty, it could include your employer:
- Providing personal protective equipment when necessary
- Minimising risk factors in the workplace, e.g. using a wet floor sign if the floor is wet
- Performing risk assessments and controlling or removing any risk of hazard.
- Providing training.
- Checking that machinery and equipment are safe and regularly maintained.
There are many other workplace rules and regulations, such as those regarding working at heights, working with hazardous substances, or working on construction sites. These include further steps and responsibilities that an employer may have to follow.
We offer a free case assessment, but if you think you were injured and it was your employer’s fault, you could have a case. Contact us to see if you can claim compensation after an injury at work.
Claiming As A Temporary Worker
Your employer has a duty of care to all of their employees, including temporary workers. So it does not matter if you are on a temporary contract or even a day worker; the relevant health and safety rules should still be followed.
Accounting For Split Liability
Sometimes, when a workplace incident occurs, the worker may be partially at fault. In this instance, you would still be able to claim compensation for your injury at work. The extent to which you were at fault may impact the level of compensation received.
Liability (fault) can be split in any proportion that adds up to 100%. So, if the accident were 25% your fault and 75% your employer’s, you would receive 75% of the compensation.
Average Compensation Amounts
There is no average compensation amount for an accident at work. This is because each injury is different and will have a unique impact on the individual. The amount of compensation that you can expect depends upon:
- What your injuries are.
- How severely you are injured.
- How many injuries you have suffered.
- What financial losses you have because of your injuries.
The table below provides the estimated levels of compensation that you can expect, provided by the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG contains a list of injuries that could be suffered and a compensation guidelein bracket for them. They are merely guidelines, and no compensation is ever guaranteed. Please note that the first row is not from the JCG.
| Part of Body | Severity | Note on Severity | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple injuries and damages | Very severe | Multiple injuries that have a serious impact physically and psychologically with financial losses. | Up to £1,000,000 + |
| Brain and Head | Very Severe | Significant injury with no (or very little) language function and the need for full time nursing care. | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Leg (Amputations) | Above-Knee Amputation of One Leg | Leg amputation with phantom pains, backache, and potential future degenerative changes. | £127,930 to £167,760 |
| Back | Severe | Includes extreme pain and disability. The claimant may also suffer damage to nerve roots and spinal cord. | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Moderate | May refer to a wide number of injuries where disability is less extreme than severe (iii). Includes instances of damage to an intervertebral disc leading to reduced mobility, or compression/crush fracture of lumbar vertebrae, leading to risk of pain/discomfort and osteoarthritis. | £33,880 to £47,320 | |
| Neck | Severe | Limited or no movement of neck despite wearing a collar 24 hours a day for several years. Claimant may also suffer from incomplete paraplegia or permanent spastic quadriparesis. | Around £181,020 |
| Moderate | Includes chronic conditions, often with injuries to soft tissue, as well as dislocations and fractures with acute symptoms in the immediate term. | £30,500 to £46,970 | |
| Shoulder | Severe | Claimant suffers severe disability, typically related to neck injuries, specifically injury to the brachial plexus. | £23,430 to £58,610 |
| Moderate | Non-permanent symptoms lasting around two years due to soft tissue injuries, as well as discomfort and lack of movement due to frozen shoulder causing issues for around two years. | £9,630 to £15,580 |
What You Can Claim For
When you claim compensation for injury at work, it can include damages that are covered by two categories, which are general and special damages.
General damages include:
- Physical injuries
- Reduced quality of life
- Psychological harm
- Pain and suffering
Special damages can include:
- Lost wages
- Medical costs
- Adaptations made to your home
- Travel expenses
- Damaged belongings
- Care costs
To recover special damages, they must have been caused by the accident, and you will need to provide supporting documents. For example, if you want to claim a loss of earnings, you could provide wage slips that show this loss.
Using Our Compensation Calculator For Your Claim
Personal injury claims are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, as discussed above. However, you can use our compensation calculator to provide an estimate of how much you could receive as compensation for your injury at work.
Simply fill in the details of your injuries and answer the questions asked to receive your estimated compensation. Whilst this is helpful, it will not provide an exact amount and it can also not account for all items of financial loss that could be present in a case.
For a far more accurate valuation of your case, you could instruct a personal injury solicitor to help you. The solicitors on our panel are experts at settling accident at work claims. You can call an advisor to see if you have an eligible claim, and then you can potentially be connected with a solicitor. They could help you with your claim for compensation after an injury at work.
Common Workplace Injuries You Can Claim For
Suffering an accident at work can be a traumatic experience. See below for examples of common workplace injuries and symptoms.
Back, Neck And Shoulder Injuries
An injury to your back, neck or shoulders could have serious and lasting consequences. 543,000 workers in Great Britain are suffering from a work-related Musculoskeletal disorder as of 2024, as recorded by the Health and Safety Executive (The national regulator for workplace health and safety in Great Britain). Such injuries include those to the back, neck and shoulder and can impact a person’s mobility and daily lifestyle.
Certain tasks could result in neck, shoulder or back injuries, such as lifting heavy objects, slipping on a spillage or falling from a height.
Arm And Hand Injuries
There are many ways you could injure your hand at work, with this being the fault of your employer. Some examples include:
- A power tool that is known to be defective is provided to a worker to use. The battery explodes, causing a significant hand injury.
- While carrying something through a factory floor, an employee slips over a spillage and lands heavily, breaking their wrist.
- There is a defective machine, and whilst attempting to fix this, an employee has their arm inside the machine. Another employee does not realise the machine is being fixed and activates it, crushing the first worker’s arm.
Leg And Foot Injuries
If you injure your leg or foot, you could claim compensation for this injury at work if this was the fault of your employer. A couple of examples are:
- When an employee is asked to lift something too heavy, they drop the item, which lands on their foot and breaks it.
- There is an oil leak from a machine that is known to be defective. The machine is not fixed, nor is the spillage cleaned up. A worker slips and falls backwards on their leg, causing a fracture.
Head Injuries
Head injuries can have serious repercussions on your health, especially if there is a risk of brain injury. Your employer must provide you with personal protective equipment, such as a helmet, where appropriate.
Common types of head injuries include:
- Concussions
- Brain damage
- Fractured skull.
You may also claim due to facial injuries, for example, a fractured jaw or facial scarring. These injuries can often result from falls from height, being struck by a moving object or slips and trips. Your employer must report an accident if you lose consciousness, no matter how long the person is unconscious.
If you have been injured at work and you think you may have a claim, we offer a free, no-obligation case assessment. Call now to see if you are eligible.
How To Make A Workplace Injury Compensation Claim
It may seem daunting to claim compensation for an injury at work, but our panel of solicitors can help you with any of the steps below.
Gather Evidence
You will need some evidence in order to show that the incident occurred and the impact that it had on you. This can include:
- Financial records (such as bank statements)
- Witness statements
- Medical records
- Accident reports (your employer should have a written record of the incident)
- Video or photographs (including CCTV footage of the incident)
Claim Within The Time Limits
You usually have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim. In some cases, it is three years from the diagnosis of a medical condition. There are some exceptions to this time limit, including those who lack mental capacity and those under the age of 18.
Find The Right Solicitor
Our panel of solicitors give specialist insight into the process of making a personal injury claim. They offer a wealth of knowledge and can benefit you by:
- Making sure all losses are added to your claim
- Explaining complicated legal jargon and processes
- Ensuring that your case meets any deadlines set by the court
- Processing all correspondence with the court
- Handling your evidence and making sure that documentation is correct
If you are eligible to claim, a solicitor from our panel could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a form of No Win No Fee agreement. With a CFA, you have certain benefits, including:
- Not paying your solicitor for their fees before your case starts
- No requirement to pay the ongoing fees of your solicitor
- If you are unsuccessful, then you are not required to pay your solicitor for their work
If you win your case, then a success fee is taken and paid to your solicitor. This is a percentage of the compensation and has a legal cap, so you keep the majority of any settlement or award.
How Long Will It Take To Get My Compensation?
Aside from the three year limitation period, we cannot predict a time scale of when you may receive compensation for injury at work. There are many factors to consider for your claim, such as:
- The complexity of your injuries
- How complex the legal issues involved are
- The amount and type of evidence
- The cooperativeness of your employer or their insurer to admit fault and settle the case
- The court schedule
Although we cannot provide you with this estimate, our panel of solicitors are dedicated to representing claims as efficiently as possible.
Get your free case assessment today by:
- Contact us online
- Call us on 0800 408 7826
- Use the live chat on screen to enquire further.
More Information
Here are some further guides that you may find helpful:
- Learn about manual handling injuries
- Read our advice on claims against the council
- See if we can help you make a road traffic accident claim
External resources:
- Visit the government’s webpage on Statutory Sick Pay
- Take a look at the Health and Safety Executive statistics on workplace injuries
- See the NHS first aid webpage for further advice on treating injuries
Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim compensation for injury at work.