Have you been injured at your workplace? This article helps you determine if you are entitled to file a personal injury claim and guide you through the first steps you need to take after the accident. Keep reading below to find out more!
If you’ve been injured in your workplace, find that you’re not the only one. In the UK, work-related injuries are pretty common. In fact, according to official data between the working years 2017/2018 and 2019/20, there was an average of 610,000 workers who were injured at work accidents annually. But workplace injuries should never be accepted and treated as a cost of doing business because it hurts people and their families.
Work-related injuries can be the worst. They occur when you expect the least and can interfere with all aspects of your life, including your finances, career, mental wellbeing, and more. Plus, they can be incredibly painful.
However, the good news is that if you get injured at your workplace, you’ll likely be entitled to claim workers’ compensation benefits. The law requires every employer to provide such compensation insurance coverage for their employees. And, while compensation may not actually help you with the pain you feel because of your injury, it can provide you with the financial support you need to recover faster and maintain your financial stability.
If you’ve suffered an accident in your workplace that resulted in an injury, keep reading below to find out if you can make a work accident claim and what are the first steps you need to take after the accident.
Are you entitled to make a work accident claim?
In the UK, some laws make employers and business owners legally responsible for their employees’ wellbeing and safety. If the employer fails to meet their responsibilities and their negligence has led to your accident and injury, you can claim compensation by filing a work accident claim.
However, certain circumstances determine whether or not your employer is liable to pay for work accident compensation. More precisely, you need to prove that your employer had a duty of care (the legal and moral obligation to ensure your safety and wellbeing) and that your employer’s negligence led to the accident that has caused your injury. What’s more, you may also likely need to prove that you were injured while performing a job-related duty.
Yet, keep in mind that workers’ compensation laws do not cover injuries that have occurred while the employee is intoxicated or using illegal drugs. Consequently, some employers have certain policies in place that require employees who have been involved in an accident at the workplace to submit to a drug test.
Types of work accident claims
There are several common types of accidents that, if they result in an injury, you are entitled to file a work accident claim, including:
- Slip, trip, or fall
- Poorly maintained protective and working equipment
- Noxious environment
- Falling objects
- Assault at work
- Improper or insufficient training
- Negligence of co-workers
How to make a personal injury claim for work injuries
Workplace injuries can happen to anyone at any moment. When it happens to you, if your employer is to blame, you need to ensure that you receive a fair payout, including lost wages, medical costs, and compensation for the trauma you have suffered.
Here are the steps to take after you suffered a work accident:
Seek medical help
The first thing you need to do after suffering an accident at your workplace is to seek medical help. Your first priority needs to be to get help to ensure that your injury is not life-threatening or could cause more damage than it already did. It is vital to see a medical specialist so that you get treatment as soon as possible.
What’s more, seeing a doctor after suffering a work injury is also essential to have a diagnosis filed and recorded. Your visit to the doctor will be your case’s proof of the financial costs for medication or other medical treatments such as physical or mental therapy.
Report the injury to your employer
As soon as you’re physically and mentally able to do it, the next step you need to take is to inform your employer of your injury and give details on how it happened.
It’s also recommended to submit a written or emailed notification to your employer besides the verbal report. This way, you will have definite proof of notifying your employer about your injury.
After being notified about the accident, your employer should ask you to complete an incident report in which you will have to explain the situation that has led to your accident in detail. If your employer doesn’t request you to complete the report, request the form yourself.
Seek legal help
As the experts from HowToClaim explain, “Workers’ compensation law insights can be almost impossible to understand without help from a legal professional. A personal injury attorney will help you determine whether or not you are entitled to and how to claim compensation for an accident at work.” You will be explained what your rights as an injured worker are, and you’ll be helped to gather all the proof that your case needs to be successful.
Make sure you share with your personal injury attorney any documentation, such as medical records, bills of medical treatments and medication, uncollected wages, etc. All these documents will play a vital role in your claim case.
Figure out your finances
Unfortunately, one of the ways in which a work-related injury affects you is by affecting your financial stability. An injury is a sudden event that requires you to pay pretty large amounts of money for medical treatments out of a sudden. What’s more, besides medical expenses, your injury can also cause you to take some time off work, change your job, or even stop working altogether.
Your compensation claim case, especially if your employer denies their fault, can take some time until you receive a payout. Therefore, you need to figure out how to handle your finances, such as medical expenses and living costs, until you are offered compensation. Use your emergency fund (if you own one), negotiate with your utility providers for a payment excuse, or ask your loved ones for financial support.
