A Solicitor's Guide to Work Related Injuries - By: Tim Bishop

Employers have an implied duty of care towards their employees and people working for them generally, such as contractors. This duty involves health and safety, including providing suitable equipment in a safe working environment. An employer cannot waive this responsibility.

Lifting injuries are one of the most common types of injury in the workplace and an employer should always ensure that the lifting is done in a safe manner. The Health and Safety Executive give a lot of guidance to employers and employees on how heavy loads should be lifted safety. One of the things which an employer must do is ensure that a person does not lift a heavy weight on his own and they must also provide every employee with a safe system of work.

Sometimes a person can be said to have contributed to his or her accident, by, for example, continuing with a task that he/she thought was not safe. However, the duty of care rests with the employer and the employee has to do something particularly outside of the line of his/her duty for the employer not to be at fault e.g. using the company van for an errand of his/her own.

It is advisable if you have a work related injury to seek legal advice from an experienced solicitor as soon as you can. Many solicitors will give a free first consultation either over the telephone or face to face. Many solicitors will take accident claim work on a conditional fee arrange basis, ie no win no fee. Anybody who thinks that they may have a claim should also check their insurance policies (car, household and contents) to see if they have any legal expenses insurance.

Compensation for a work accident is split into three headings. The first category of damages is for any physical injury. Compensation is determined according to the severity of the injury itself and the future earning prospects and quality of life of the person injured.

Damages are also available for out of pocket expenses e.g. lost earnings, care by a family member or outside employee, cost of travel to hospital by client or family member, prescriptions etc - i.e. anything which the injured person has to pay out for which they would not have had to pay but for the accident.

In larger claims compensation may be payable for future loss e.g. future lost earnings, future medical treatment etc.

Most relatively straightforward compensation claims settle within a year or two but if a person requires future medical treatment this may have to be delayed - as the outcome of the treatment received and whether or not it has been successful will affect the level of compensation.

Many victims of accidents at work suffer immediate financial hardship in addition to their injuries. Accidents are unplanned so people cannot budget for them. Statutory Sick Pay is often only a fraction of what people earn, and contractors, for example, will not receive company sick pay.

In the interim, an experienced accident claim solicitor may be able to claim a payment on account of damages - if the insurance company admits responsibility.

If finances are tight, some banks and other mortgage companies are prepared to offer a mortgage holiday, for example, for 6 months, until the injured person is able to return to work.

Anybody who thinks they may have a compensation claim for an accident at work should be aware that there is a very strict time limit of three years from the date of the accident to make a claim. Anyone who therefore thinks that they may have a claim should make sure that they consult a specialist accident claim solicitor as soon as they are able to. If the client is too unwell to make the visit to the solicitors themselves, some compensation solicitors will go to see them either in hospital or at home.

Alternatively some solicitors deal with accident at work claims nationwide on the basis of telephone letter and e-mail instructions only - without ever meeting the injured person face-to-face.

About the Author

Bonallack & Bishop are specialist personal injury solicitors with particular experience of work accident claims. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all major strategic decisions. He has grown the firm by 1000% in 12 years and has plans for continued expansion. Tim sees himself as a businessman who owns a law firm.

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