I’ve Been Injured at Work

Workplace health and safety has been in the spotlight more than ever in the last few months, with employers under pressure to reduce Covid risks to their lowest possible level. Keeping workers safe is a key responsibility. And it’s one that most organisations take extremely seriously.

But accidents happen. However many risk assessments an employer has carried out, however much training they’ve given staff, there is always a chance that someone will get injured. And when that happens, the employee might consider bringing a claim. In fact, we’re often asked to give a view on a person’s prospects of winning compensation for something that happened to them at work. And, while there are lots of elements to that, the one big question is: whose fault was it?

Being injured isn’t enough. A successful personal injury claim hinges on someone breaching their duty of care towards you, and that breach causing you harm. Cases therefore involve a great deal of scrutiny of exactly what happened and who was to blame. They also depend on there being a financial loss worth pursuing. As personal injury solicitors, we’re experienced in putting an estimated value on claims based on the injuries sustained and other related losses. It means we can give a good indication of possible outcomes if the case is pursued.

Accidents at work sometimes have the additional complication that the injured employee is still employed by the person or organisation they’re looking to sue. Where it’s a minor injury, that ongoing relationship is sometimes seen as a reason to let it go. But that shouldn’t be the automatic position. There can be good reasons to bring an employer’s failings to light (and there are different ways of doing that, depending on what has happened and what you’re trying to achieve). And of course, if it’s a more serious injury, there will be many more reasons to pursue it, including to cover your care costs, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Our advice to anyone who has suffered an injury at the hands of someone else is to consider your options. Don’t launch into litigation, but don’t delay in seeking advice either. There are strict timescales for bringing personal injury claims. Leave it too long and you could find your options are lost.

To speak to us about anything we’ve touched on in this blog, contact us on 01264 353411 or email info@bsandi.co.uk.