Workplace injuries are an unfortunate reality for many in the UK, and frequent enough that they may be described as ‘common’; while not an everyday event for the average workplace, it is nonetheless true that over 600,000 workers suffer a non-fatal injury each year as reported via the Labour Force Survey.
If you are unfortunate enough to experience a workplace injury yourself, you would be well-served knowing the steps you ought to take in the aftermath. Some steps are necessary, and others represent undertakings you would have a legal right to pursue. Where, though, to start?
Immediate Steps to Take Following a Workplace Injury
Let’s start with the moment of injury itself. Every workplace should have its own guidance on what to do in the event of a workplace injury, and this guidance should have been delivered to you in the form of training at some point in your tenure. For the avoidance of doubt, tending to your injury is the most important immediate priority.
If you are well enough not to require further medical assistance, you may want to take this opportunity to gather eyewitness accounts of the accident you’ve suffered. If you aren’t able to do this at the moment of injury, a trusted colleague could do so on your behalf – or you could follow up after discharge in order to get the facts.
Your Legal Rights and Employer Responsibilities
The reason eyewitness testimony, CCTV and other evidence relating to your accident are so important is your employer’s duty of care to you as an employee, as well as their legal responsibilities to you with specific regard to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. If the accident you suffered was not your fault, then your workplace may hold some liability for your injury – whether through negligence in staff training, or failure to maintain a safe working environment.
Navigating the Workplace Injury Claims Process
In such cases, you have the opportunity to make a claim for damages. Workplace injury claims are civil processes, that make an argument for you being owed compensation; this compensation would cover the literal costs of injury and recovery, such as lost wages, fees for transport to and from hospital or primary care services, and other such incurred costs. Compensation could also be claimed for mental distress, and the potential life-limited consequences of the injury suffered.
Bring your evidence and eyewitness testimony to a consultation with a specialist, in order to see how strong a case you may have. Typically, you have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim. Most successful compensation claims are not the result of a lengthy court case, so you needn’t worry unnecessarily about protracted legal battles should your case be a viable one. Rather, most cases end in settlement after your solicitor sends a letter before action, detailing the claim and the damages you intend to seek.
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