Can I Sue a Recruitment Agency for An Accident at Work? – View Our Work Accident Guide

Accident At Work Claims AdviceIf you are an agency worker and suffer an injury in the workplace, you may ask yourself whether you would be entitled to seek compensation by filing an accident at work claim. However, deciding who would be held liable for the workplace injuries you suffered may prove challenging. As such, it is always better to seek legal advice from a personal injury solicitor who has the necessary expertise to determine who could be responsible for the workplace injuries you sustained.

To find out more on whether you would be able to sue a recruitment agency for injuries sustained in the workplace and what evidence would be required to support your claim, please read on.

What is an Agency Worker?

You would need to prove you are an agency worker which would include providing the following information:

  • That you entered into a contract with the recruitment agency
  • The recruitment agency is responsible for finding you temporary placements with different employers
  • The employer you work for as a “temp” controls the work that you do for them on a temporary basis
  • You are not self-employed

If any of the following criteria applies to your circumstances, you would not be classed as an “agency” worker:

  • The recruitment agency places you with an employer on a temporary basis, but you are classed as being “self-employed”
  • You entered into a Managed Service Contract with the recruitment agency

If the recruitment agency you are under contract to has “control” of the work you carry out,  the liability for a workplace accident that leaves you injured, would fall to the recruitment agency you have signed a contract with. However, for this to be the case, you would need to provide the following evidence:

  • The work environment you were sent to by the agency was unsafe for you to work in
  • The workplace accident that left you suffering from an injury occurred in the last three years which is the statutory time limit to filing accident at work claims

There are instances where the liability for injuries sustained by an agency worker could fall to both an employer and the recruitment agency. This is referred to in law as “vicarious liability”. If you are unsure whether it is the recruitment agency or the employer would could be deemed responsible for the workplace injuries you sustained as an agency worker, you should contact a solicitor at www.accidentclaims.co.uk who would offer you a no obligation, free, initial consultation so they can quickly determine who could be held responsible.

Is a Recruitment Agency Obliged to Hold Liability Insurance?

A recruitment agency is obliged by law to have valid liability insurance in place covering their own employees should they be injured at work or they develop a work-related health issue. However, a recruitment agency should also hold specific insurance which covers “vicarious liability”. Other insurance that a recruitment agency should have in place includes the following:

  • Standard contracts insurance cover
  • Non-standard contracts insurance cover

A well established recruitment agency would hold an insurance “package” that is designed to offer cover to people who  work for them as well as workers they place in temporary positions with various employers but there must be a clear distinction between the liability cover for agency workers and the people who work for the recruitment agency on a permanent basis.

What Does Vicarious Liability Mean?

If you are an agency worker who was placed in a temporary position with an employer by a recruitment agency and you suffer a workplace injury that both the employer and the agency could be held responsible for, this is referred to as vicarious liability. The reason being that a recruitment agency could be deemed to be your “employer” and as such, the agency could, to a certain extent, be held responsible for the injuries you suffered. If your case goes before a judge, it could be ruled that all “parties” involved are liable which in this instance would the employer you have been placed with on a temporary basis and the recruitment agency who placed you with the employer.

However, the recruitment agency could be held responsible for just the following:

  • Paying the defence costs

With this said, over recent years more and more non-standard contracts are drawn up which means that a recruitment agency could only be deemed partly negligent for any injuries you sustain while working for an employer they placed you with temporarily. This is because the agency you have signed a contract with, has a legal duty towards you which is especially true if you are a blue collar worker because you would be more at risk of suffering a serious injury in the workplace than a white collar worker.

Do I Have Workers Rights Following an Injury at Work?

As an agency worker, you have specific rights if you are involved in an accident at work and you suffer some kind of injury whether minor or a lot more severe. These rights are detailed below:

  • You have the right to file an accident at work claim and to seek compensation for the workplace injuries you sustained together with any out of pocket expenses you incurred as a direct result of your injuries

If a recruitment agency placed you with an employer on a temporary basis and you were involved in an accident at work that left you injured, you should contact a solicitor at www.accidentclaims.co.uk who would assist you in determining who could be held responsible for the workplace injury you suffered.

Is it Worth Suing a Recruitment Agency for an Injury at Work?

No matter what type of work you carry out and you have signed a contract with a recruitment agency, should you suffer an injury in the workplace, you have the right to seek compensation by filing an accident at work claim. As previously mentioned, a recruitment agency should hold the necessary insurance to cover this type of claim whether they could be held totally responsible or partly responsible for the workplace injuries you suffered through no fault of your own when working for an employer on a temporary basis.

Accident At Work Claims AdviceYou should discuss your claim with a solicitor who would establish who could be deemed liable and whether both the agency and the employer could be responsible for your injuries. Should this be the case, you may be able to sue both the employer and the recruitment agency you are under contract to. When it comes to who pays out accident at work compensation, it would be the liability insurance provider because they would deal with all aspects of your case from start to finish.

Can I Include My Losses and Damages in an Accident at Work Claim Against a Recruitment Agency?

If you are injured in the workplace as an agency worker who has been placed by a recruitment agency with an employer on a temporary basis, you would need to provide sufficient evidence that you were not responsible for the injuries you sustained. However, this type of accident at work claim can be complex because establishing who could be held liable can often prove challenging. As such, it is best to seek advice from a legal expert prior to doing anything.

Should a solicitor find that you have a strong case, you would be entitled to claim the following in your accident at work claim:

  • General damages for the injuries you suffered in the workplace through no fault of your own
  • Special damages for all your out of pocket expenses which must be directly linked to the workplace injuries you suffered

A solicitor with vast knowledge of agency worker injury claims would determine who could be deemed responsible and would offer essential legal advice on how best to pursue your case against either the recruitment agency, the employer or both. An accident at work lawyer would also provide essential advice on what special damages you could include in your accident at work claim.

What is the Time Limit to Filing an Accident at Work Claim Against a Recruitment Agency?

There is a strict 3 year deadline to filing accident at work claims. However, it is worth noting that this would begin at different times depending on the circumstances of the workplace accident that left you suffering with injuries. This is explained as follows:

  • You have 3 years from the date of the workplace accident in which, as an agency worker you were injured
  • You have 3 years from the date of your 18th birthday should you have been injured as a temporary worker prior to this date
  • You have 3 years from the date that a doctor or other medical professional diagnoses you as having developed some kind of health condition they directly link to the workplace you sustained as an agency worker who was placed with an employer by a recruitment agency on a temporary basis

As mentioned previously, because this type of accident at work claim tends to be more complex, it is best to begin an agency work claim for compensation sooner rather than later to avoid running out of time to do so. If you wait for too long, you may find that your case could be “time barred” even if you have sufficient evidence to support a case against the recruitment agency or the employer you were working for when you sustained your injuries.

What Advantage is There to Working With a Solicitor on Recruitment Agency Accident Claim?

Having suffered an injury as a temporary/agency worker, it is important that you focus on your recovery so that you can get back to work as soon as possible. As such, having legal representation from a personal injury solicitor allows to concentrate on your recovery while at the same time seeking the compensation you deserve without the worry of how to go about doing so. Agency worker compensation claims can be complicated because providing liability is often challenging. A solicitor has the necessary legal expertise to act on your behalf and offers many advantages some of which are detailed below:

  • Once a personal injury lawyer is happy that a third party could be held responsible for the workplace injuries you suffered as an agency worker, they would offer you legal representation on a No Win No Fee basis which means you can claim compensation without any financial risk to yourself
  • The solicitor would arrange for your injuries to be examined by an independent medical professional should this be necessary and the report produced would be used as a basis for calculating the amount of general damages you could be entitled to receive in a successful agency worker claim
  • Solicitors are able to access legal libraries and can reference past cases when investigating your claim against a negligent third party, whether it is the employer you were working for temporarily, or the recruitment agency, or both
  • The solicitor would keep you informed throughout the process and would let you know the level of compensation you may be entitled to receive
  • A personal injury solicitor is well aware of the pre-action protocols and statutory time limit associated with accident at work claims which must be respected

As mentioned previously, personal injury solicitors have the necessary legal expertise to handle this type of complex accident at work claim. They are aware of all the legal pitfalls that could end a case before it gets off the ground and know what sort of evidence is required to support a case against a recruitment agency and an employer you worked for on a temporary basis when the accident that left you injured occurred.

Would a No Win No Fee Solicitor Work on My Recruitment Agency Accident Claim?

Before pursuing an accident at work claim, it is always advisable to seek advice from a legal expert which is especially true if you were placed with an employer by an agency and suffered any sort of the injury during the time you worked there. The reason being that proving responsibility for the workplace injuries you suffered often proves more challenging. When you contact a personal injury solicitor, they would offer you a no obligation, initial consultation which is typically free of charge. This allows the solicitor the chance to assess whether your claim is valid and who could be deemed liable for the workplace injuries you suffered.

When an accident at work lawyer has determined you have a strong claim and they have established who could be held responsible for the injuries you sustained, they would offer you No Win No Fee terms when representing you. This allows you to seek the compensation you deserve without any financial risk to yourself because a No Win No Fee solicitor would not ask you to pay an upfront fee for them to begin investigating your claim.

A No Win No Fee agreement sets out the agreed “percentage” known as a success fee as well as the Terms and Conditions of the contract. The only time you would have to pay for the legal advice and representation a No Win No Fee solicitor provided, is when you are awarded the accident at work compensation you sought and the amount is taken out of the money you are awarded. Should you lose your case, there would be nothing to pay for the legal services a No Win No Fee solicitor provided because the success fee would be waived.

Accident At Work Claims Advice

Informative Links

If you would like more information regarding the law in the UK regarding liability insurance in the workplace, please follow the link provided below:

Compulsory liability insurance in the workplace

For more information about “vicarious liability” and how both an employer and a recruitment agency may be responsible for the workplace injuries you sustained as an agency worker, please click on the link below:

Vicarious liability

To find out more about employment status in the UK. please follow the link provided below:

Employment status explained