You may be wondering when to report an accident at work. Our guide can help you understand when an accident should be reported and who is responsible. This guide can also help you understand when you’re eligible to make a workplace accident claim.
When to report an accident at work claims guide
Additionally, this guide will explore the duty of care your employer owes. You can also find out about the work-related injuries you could sustain if an employer breaches the duty of care they owed.
Furthermore, we will discuss the compensation for a workplace accident you could receive.
If you wish to hire a solicitor, you may find a No Win No Fee agreement beneficial. We will explore this in more detail throughout our guide.
Get in contact with one of our advisors today to see if you could be eligible for compensation. They operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To get in touch and you can:
- Contact us via the form on our website.
- Call the number at the top of the page.
- Speak with an advisor via the live chat function below.
Choose A Section
- When Should I Report An Accident At Work?
- Examples Of Work Accidents
- After I Report An Accident At Work, What Can I Do?
- Calculating Compensation For Various Work-Related Injuries
- Could I Hire A No Win No Fee Solicitor For My Claim?
- Extra Resources About When To Report An Accident At Work
When Should I Report An Accident At Work?
The best time to report an accident at work is as soon as it occurs. This can help ensure you get the medical attention you need while simultaneously bringing attention to the potential hazard that has caused you to sustain harm.
According to the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, workplaces with ten or more employees must have an accident book. Accidents should be recorded in the book to help employers identify patterns of accidents and injuries. This can allow employers to better manage risks in the workplace.
When considering when to report an accident at work, not all injuries need to be reported. However, your employer has a legal duty to report certain workplace injuries and incidents under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). The types of injuries that should be reported include:
- Death to workers and non-workers
- Specified injuries such as amputations and certain fractures.
There are circumstances when you could be eligible to make an accident at work claim if you were injured in the workplace. For example, if you can prove an employer breached the duty of care they owed you and caused you to sustain a personal injury, this is known as negligence. In these instances, you could make a claim.
Details About The Frequency Of Work Accidents
The Health and Safety Executive collates reports from employers made under RIDDOR into helpful workplace statistics. As per the statistics, there were 51,211 non-fatal injuries suffered by employees. The causes of these injuries varied but included:
- Slips, trips or falls on the same level
- Handling, lifting or carrying
- Struck by a moving object
- Acts of violence
- Falls from a height
Examples Of Work Accidents
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states that an employer has a duty of care to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the safety of their employees. Your employer could be liable for your injuries in the workplace if it is discovered that they breached their duty of care.
A duty of care, a breach of that duty and an injury resulting from this must be proven to establish that negligence occurred. There are several ways an employer could breach the duty of care they owe, such as:
- Risk assessments not being carried out
- Lack of maintenance leading to faulty equipment
- Lack of sufficient training
- Lack of necessary personal protective equipment.
Examples of accidents at work that could occur if an employer fails to uphold their duty can include:
- Slips, trips and falls: An employee slips on a wet floor that hasn’t been cleaned up or signposted. As a result, they sustain a broken hip.
- Handling and lifting: An employer fails to provide adequate manual handling training. As a result, an employee sustains a soft tissue injury to their back.
- Falls from a height: An employer fails to carry out regular risk assessments on the equipment. As a result, they fail to address a faulty ladder leading to an employee falling and breaking their leg.
After an accident at work, when to report might be a question you have. You should make someone aware of the accident as soon as possible.
For more information, get in touch on the number above.
After I Report An Accident At Work, What Can I Do?
After you report an accident at work, there are other steps you can take. For example, you can ensure you receive the appropriate medical attention you need. This can provide you with useful medical records that can help strengthen your claim.
Additionally, you could:
- Gather the contact information of anyone who saw the incident for a witness statement to be taken at a later date.
- Take photographs of the injury and the scene of the incident.
- Request a copy of any CCTV footage
- Seek legal advice.
To learn more about the steps you could take following an workplace accident, get in touch using the details provided above.
Calculating Compensation For Various Work-Related Injuries
The accident at work settlement you could receive can consist of general and special damages. Each of these heads of claim compensate for the different ways in which your injuries have affected your quality of life.
General damages provides compensation for the suffering you have experienced as a result of your injuries. Solicitors can use different resources in order to calculate the value of your injuries accurately, including medical evidence and the Judicial College Guidelines.
We have included the guideline figures from this document in the table below. However, you should only use them as a guide because your actual settlement can vary depending on the specific facts and circumstances of your particular claim.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neck Injury | Severe (a) (i) | Neck injury associated with incomplete paraplegia or injuries that result in permanent quadriparesis. | In the region of £148,330 |
| Ankle Injury | Very Severe (a) | A bilateral ankle fracture that causes joint degeneration at a young age is a case included in this bracket. | £50,060 to £69,700 |
| Foot Injury | (e) Serious | Injuries are less severe but still cause ongoing pain from traumatic arthritis. | £24,990 to £39,200 |
| Leg Injury | Severe (b) (iv) | Multiple or complex fractures or serious crushing injuries typically affecting one limb are included in this bracket. | £27,760 to £39,200 |
| Arm Injury | Less Severe (c) | Injuries that have caused a significant disability but have resulted in a substantial recovery. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Back Injury | Moderate (b) (ii) | Disturbance of ligaments and muscles resulting in backache are injuries included in this bracket. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Pelvis or Hip Injury | Moderate (b) (ii) | Cases involving a hip replacement or other surgery are included in this bracket. | £12,590 to £26,590 |
| Wrist Injury | Less Severe (c) | Injuries are less severe but result in permanent disabilities, e.g. persistent stiffness or pain. | £12,590 to £24,500 |
| Shoulder Injury | Serious (b) | A shoulder dislocation with lower brachial plexus damage that leads to pain and other symptoms. | £12,770 to £19,200 |
| Elbow Injury | Moderate or Minor (c) | Injuries such as lacerations, fractures and tennis elbow are included in this bracket. | Up to £12,590 |
You may also be entitled to special damages which compensates for monetary losses caused as a result of your injury. These can include:
- The cost of transportation, such as to medical appointments
- The cost of any paid care you required
- Any adaptations you had to make to your home to cater to your injury
- Any medication you may have had to pay for
- Any loss of earnings or future loss of earnings from not working during your recovery.
Could I Hire A No Win No Fee Solicitor For My Claim?
A No Win No Fee agreement, such as a Conditional Fee Agreement, is a way to fund the work of a solicitor. It means you generally don’t have to pay for their services if your claim is unsuccessful.
If your case is successful, your solicitor will take an amount of the compensation you are given. This is known as a success fee, which the law has capped.
The solicitors from our panel offer their services on this basis. To learn whether you’re eligible to have them work on your claim, get in touch using the details provided below.
Ask Us About Filing A Work Accident Claim
For more information on when to report an accident at work, you can get in touch with one of our advisors. They can answer any questions you might have after reading our guide.
To get in touch, you can:
- Contact us via the form on our website.
- Call the number at the top of the page.
- Speak with an advisor via the live chat function below.
Extra Resources About When To Report An Accident At Work
If you found this guide useful and want to read more about accident at work claims, there are more of our guides below:
- Accident at work reporting – What you need to know
- How long do accident at work claims take?
- What is the accident at work claim time limit?
We have also included some external resources that may benefit you:
- HSE – Employer’s Responsibilities
- HSE – First Aid At Work
- GOV- Compensation After An Accident Or Injury
Thank you for reading our guide on claiming for an accident at work and when to report them. If you require any other information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Writer Emily Marsh
Editor Meg MacAllister