According to a report published by the Health and Safety Executive, more than one million employees and other people suffer injuries or develop work-related medical conditions in the workplace. Should you be involved in an accident at work and you suffer any sort of injury or you develop a medical condition that can be linked to the job you do, you have every right to seek compensation from an employer providing your claim meets specific criteria.
By law, your job cannot be put at risk because you seek compensation and the fact the you file an accident at work claim against an employer, cannot put future job prospects in jeopardy. To find out more, please read on.
Who Could Be Held Liable For My Accident at Work?
As previously mentioned, your case would have to meet certain criteria for a solicitor to take it on. One stipulation is that the accident and the injuries you sustained happened through the negligence of a third party, whether the incident occurred due to an error on the part of a work colleague or because your employer failed in their duty to keep you safe from harm while you were in their employment.
Your employer cannot legally fire you from your job just because you were injured in an accident at work which led to you filing for compensation. Your boss must have another reason for sacking you and must show that the decision was made for “good reason” and not because you file an accident at work claim against them.
With this said, if you sustained your injuries because you did not follow the health and safety regulations that an employer had in place, you could be held liable for the accident and as such, you may not be able to seek compensation because your case would not be upheld. However, it is always worth seeking legal advice from an experienced, reputable accident at work lawyer who would determine whether you are totally responsible for the injuries you sustained or whether your employer or work colleague could be held partly liable.
Am I Entitled To Compensation Following an Accident at Work?
Your employer must keep you safe from harm and injury while you are in their employment which is a legal requirement that all employers must abide by. Should your employer be in breach of their legal duty, and you sustain any sort of injury while you are at work carrying out your normal daily duties, then you have every right to seek compensation not only for your injuries, pain and suffering but also for all the out of pocket expenses you had to cope with.
Whether your injuries are minor or more severe, the best course of action following an accident at work is to make sure you follow the correct accident report procedure as laid out by your employer. Following this, you should seek legal advice from an accident at work lawyer who would advise you on how best to proceed with your claim.
Can I Lose My Job For Filing an Accident at Work Claim Against My Employer?
You should not be worried about losing your job because you choose to file an accident at work claim against your employer. As previously mentioned, your job is safe even if you seek compensation for the injuries you sustained. An employer cannot legally fire you for filing a claim providing you have met the criteria required to do so, which is that the incident occurred in the last 3 years and the accident happened through no fault of your own.
The ramifications of firing you for seeking compensation are such, that an employer may also find that you have every right to file an unfair dismissal against them as well. Under UK law, you have a statutory right to file an unfair dismissal claim against your employer should they decide to fire you for no other “good and valid reason” other than the fact you are seeking compensation for injuries you sustained in an accident at work.
Would My Accident at Work Claim Be Successful?
Whether an accident at work claim is successful or not, would depend on how much evidence you can provide showing that you sustained the injuries through not fault of your own but rather through the error of a work colleague or through employer negligence. The more proof you can gather, the better your chances are of being awarded a level of compensation that suits not only the injuries both physical and psychological as well as the out of pocket expenses you incurred. The evidence you can provide would be taken into account when establishing whether your claim against an employer is valid and would be factored into the compensation you are awarded either by a judge or in an out of court settlement.
What About My Future Employment Prospects?
If you are worried that filing an accident at work claim against your employer may adversely affect your future employment prospects, the law states that a potential employer cannot ask you whether you have ever filed for compensation against a past employer because it could be deemed as being “discriminatory”. As such, you should not have any fears in this regard.
Will My Accident at Work Claim Leave My Employer Out of Pocket?
Your employer must by law, have liability insurance in place which covers not only accident at work claims, but work-related health claims too. The policy should also provide cover for workplace accidents caused by your work colleagues. As such, it is your employer’s insurance providers who handle all personal injury claims and it is the insurance that pays out the compensation you are awarded in a successful case. Should an employer fail to have valid liability insurance in place, they could be given a hefty fine from the enforcing authority which can be £2,500 a day.
What is Employer Public Liability Insurance?
Public liability insurance covers your employer for all eventualities when it comes to all valid injury and health issue claims that are filed against them by employees and other people who visit a place of work. The insurance policy should be such that it covers members of the public who are involved in an accident at work that results in injury or harm. The insurance should also cover all accidents that result injury caused to others that are the fault of a work colleague. As such, when you receive compensation for injuries you sustained, it is the public liability insurance providers who negotiate a payment which should be handled by an experienced accident at work lawyer.
What Happens if My Employer Does Not Have Public Liability Insurance?
If your employer does not have valid liability insurance in place, the enforcing authority could fine them. All employers in the UK must have Liability (EL) insurance and the policy has to provide cover of at least £5 million. The insurance provider must also be “authorised”. The only time an employer would not be legally required to have EL is when they employ family members or someone based abroad.
An employer can be fined up to £2,500 a day for not having the correct liability insurance in place and could even receive a £1,000 for not displaying an EL certificate correctly or refusing to show it when requested.
Is It Worth Filing an Accident at Work Claim Against My Employer?
If you suffered at accident at work and had to take time off to recovery from your injuries, you have every right to seek compensation from your employer. All employers must by law keep staff safe in the workplace and must follow all Health and Safety Executive regulations and other laws. If your employer does not abide by the legislation, and you suffer an injury, your rights are protected when it comes to seeking compensation for an accident at work.
As long as you have proof that the incident was not your fault, you can file an accident at work claim and receive compensation without the fear of being treating unfairly or detrimentally. Should you be treated unfairly or detrimentally by an employer, you should discuss the case with an employment lawyer who would provide crucial advice on whether this would entitle you to file a detrimental claim against your employer too.
The compensation you are awarded in a successful accident at work claim would help pay for any services or goods that you may need which includes things like care costs and any alterations to your home should they be necessary. An employment law solicitor would negotiate the amount you receive, bearing in mind that around 95% of all personal injury claims are settled out of court.
Working with a Solicitor on a No Win No Fee Basis
An employment law solicitor would take on your case once they have satisfied themselves that you have a strong claim against a negligent or unscrupulous employer should it found that they treated you unfairly. A solicitor would assess your claim by providing an initial, no obligation consultation which is typically free of charge. The consultation can be carried out over the phone, but should your case be more complex, a solicitor would arrange to meet with you face to face. Either way, there would be no charge for the meeting.
While assessing your claim, a solicitor who works with you on a No Win No Fee basis, would ask how the accident occurred and would take into account the details provided in any medical reports you initially received from a doctor or other medical professional. It is important to have as much proof that the accident occurred at work by providing as much hard evidence as possible.
If needed, the solicitor would arrange for you to be examined by a specialist whose report would be invaluable when calculating the amount of compensation you may be awarded either by a judge or your employer’s insurance providers. All of this information is essential because it would be used to establish if your employer was liable for the injuries you sustained n an accident at work while in their employment.