One of your worker’s rights is to seek compensation for a workplace injury especially if you have enough evidence of employer negligence. Employers in the United Kingdom are legally obliged to make sure that a work environment is safe and must respect all Health and Safety regulations and other laws that protect you and your fellow employees in the workplace. When an employer does not keep you safe at work and as a consequence you are injured in an incident that could have been avoided, you could seek compensation from an employer by filing an accident at work claim against them.
To find out whether you could sue an employer for negligence compensation for a work injury that could have been avoided, please read on.
- Does My Employer Have a Duty of Care Towards Employees in the Workplace?
- Can I Sue an Employer for Breaches in Health and Safety Regulations?
- How Do I Sue an Employer for Negligence After an Accident at Work?
- What are My Worker’s Rights When Injured at Work Through Employer Negligence?
- Can I Claim Damages and Losses in a Negligence Claim Against an Employer?
- Could I Be Fired if I File a Negligence Claim Against an Employer?
- What Advantages Would a No Win No Fee Lawyer Offer Me if I Make a Negligence Claim?
- Do I Have the Right to Seek Legal Help in a Negligence Claim Against an Employer?
- Informative Links
Does My Employer Have a Duty of Care Towards Employees in the Workplace?
Your employer has a legal duty to ensure that you are kept safe when you are in the workplace. This is referred to as an employers “duty of care” towards you and your fellow employees. This duty of care involves the following:
- Taking all “reasonable” steps to reduce the risk of a workplace accident from happening
- To ensure that your well-being is taken into consideration when you are in the workplace
Although it should not be considered as a legal duty, your employer should do their best to ensure that no harm or injury comes to you whilst you are carrying out jobs they task you to do during the course of a working period. Not only does this improve employee productivity but is also helps all workers whether permanent or temporary, feel safe in the workplace and this leads to better worker retention.
However, employers in the UK are duty bound to adhere to laws and Health and Safety Executive regulations and if they do not and an accident occurs that leaves you injured, an employer would be deemed in breach of the law, legislation and their duty of care towards you. In short, an employer could be held responsible for injuries you suffered due to their negligence.
The law in the UK requires your employer to do the following:
- That your job description is clearly defined
- That assessments are routinely done to identify risks and hazards in the workplace
- That a work environment is safe, clean and tidy
- That enough training is provided and that ongoing training is routinely given to all employees whether permanent or temporary
- To routinely provide performance feedback
- To make sure that you do not work excessive hours
- To make sure you take enough breaks throughout a working period
- To ensure that you are not subjected to bullying or harassment at work either from your fellow employees or third parties
- To ensure that you and your fellow workers are not discriminated against
- To ensure that you are able to communicate easily with the relevant people when you need to voice any concerns you may have in a workplace
- To ensure that employees are consulted routinely with an end goal being to identify any concerns they may have
Should your employer fail in their “duty of care” and you are injured in the workplace as a direct consequence, you may be entitled to seek compensation from them because they could be deemed in breach of an obligation to keep you safe at work. It is also worth noting that as an employee, you also have responsibilities in the workplace which must be respected. You also have the right to refuse to go to work if you believe the environment is hazardous and an employer cannot legally treat you unfairly or detrimentally if you do.
Can I Sue an Employer for Breaches in Health and Safety Regulations?
Your employer is legally bound to respect all Health and Safety regulations that are set in place to reduce the risk of you or your fellow employees from being injured or harmed at work. These regulations also cover work-related illnesses and employers must set in place all reasonable measures to ensure that workers are not put at risk when working in certain environments that present more dangers to their health.
Should your employer have been in breach of any H&S regulations, you may be entitled to file a work-related personal injury claim against them. However it would be a Health and Safety inspector who would start the claim which could cover both psychological and physical injuries you have suffered due to breached in Health and Safety regulations that your employer failed to respect.
How Do I Sue an Employer for Negligence After an Accident at Work?
If you want to sue an employer for negligence after an accident at work, you must be able to provide enough evidence to support your claim against them. You should attempt to resolve your concerns directly with your employer prior to filing a negligence claim against them and to familiarise yourself with the “grievance procedure” that may be place which should explain what steps should be taken and who to approach within a business so that you can voice any concerns you may have.
Although this first “approach” is recommended, there are several factors to take into consideration as to how effective it would be in resolving a work-related concern. If you are a member of a trade union, you may want to speak to your representative who would provide essential advice and assistance on how to resolve your concerns.
If the problem is not resolved by following the recommended procedure, you can then contact a personal injury solicitor at www.accidentclaims.co.uk who would provide vital legal advice on how best to pursue a negligence claim against your employer. It is worth noting that when your case goes before an employment tribunal, your employer would then present their case to a judge who would rule on your claim and decide on the level of negligence compensation you may be awarded.
What are My Worker’s Rights When Injured at Work Through Employer Negligence?
In the UK, worker’s rights are highly protected and there are many laws and legislation that employers must respect to ensure that you and your fellow workers are kept safe in the workplace. Should it be found that your employer was negligent in their duty to ensure you were safe and as a result you suffered an injury at work, they could be deemed in breach of laws and regulations and as such you could be entitled to file a negligence claim against them.
Can I Claim Damages and Losses in a Negligence Claim Against an Employer?
When filing a negligence claim against an employer, you can claim both damages and losses which are awarded in two parts, namely general damages and special damages. General damages are paid to compensate you for any loss of amenity you had to endure as well as the pain and suffering you may have been subjected to. Special damages are paid to compensate all out of pocket expenses you incurred as a direct result of having been injured at work due to employer negligence.
A court or an insurer would base the level of general damages you may receive on the Judicial College Guidelines which are routinely published to determine the level of compensation a person may be awarded when filing a personal injury claim for injuries sustained through no fault of their own.
Special damages are calculated on actual expenses that an injured party incurs as a direct result of having suffered an injury due to the negligence of a third party. You would need to provide evidence of your expenditure in the form of receipts and you would be entitled to claim the following in special damages:
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs
- Care costs
- Home and vehicle adaptations
- All over costs and expenses you incurred as a direct result of having been injured in an accident at work
If you need advice on what you can claim in special damages when filing a negligence claim against your employer, a personal injury lawyer at www.accidentclaims.co.uk who has the necessary expertise required on what can be included and what cannot.
Could I Be Fired if I File a Negligence Claim Against an Employer?
Under UK law an employer must have good reason for sacking you and if they do not, you could be entitled to seek compensation from them by filing an unfair dismissal claim. As such, your employer may not fire you because you make a negligence claim against them because by doing so, your employer would be in breach of your employment rights. You have the right to do the following:
- File a negligence claim against your employer providing you have sufficient evidence to support your case
- Seek compensation for a work-place injury sustained through employer negligence
If you are sacked because you filed a negligence claim against your employer, you should contact a solicitor straight away. The solicitor would provide essential legal advice regarding employment law and your rights before recommending on how best to pursue an unfair dismissal claim against your employer.
What Advantages Would a No Win No Fee Lawyer Offer Me if I Make a Negligence Claim?
Negligence claims against employers can be complex legal processes because proving that an employer was in breach of the duty to keep you safe at work is often very challenging. Employers under the advice of their insurers often deny liability from the outset and having a personal injury solicitor act on you behalf can make the process much easier to negotiate. The reason being that solicitors have the required experience required to handle negligence claims against an employer.
Other benefits of seeking legal representation as soon as possible when claim compensation for a workplace injury sustained through employer negligence would include the following:
- Once satisfied that your negligence claim against your employer is strong, a personal injury solicitor would offer to act on your behalf without requesting an upfront fee. They would offer you No Win No Fee terms when signing a Conditional Fee Agreement which is a binding legal contract
- A personal injury solicitor would offer essential assistance when it comes to gathering the necessary evidence to support a negligence claim
- They would arrange for your injuries to be assessed by an independent medical specialist/consultant so that a report detailing your injuries can be written up. This medical report would be key to calculating the level of negligence compensation you may receive in a successful case against your employer
- The solicitor would let you know at the earliest opportunity how much negligence compensation you may be entitled to receive
- Solicitors can access legal libraries and can use “precedents” on which to base your negligence claim against an employer
- Should you have suffered severe injuries which means that ongoing treatment would be necessary, the solicitor would ensure that the cost of all therapies are included in the compensation you are awarded
- If your case is complex and therefore a final settlement takes longer to reach, the solicitor would negotiate interim payments to ensure you do not have to face unnecessary financial hardship
A personal injury lawyer has vast experience when it comes to representing employees who are injured in the workplace through employer negligence. The solicitor you contact would agree to work on your case once they have established that your case is valid and that your employer was indeed liable for any injuries you sustained or harm you came to in the workplace.
Do I Have the Right to Seek Legal Help in a Negligence Claim Against an Employer?
As part of your worker’s rights, you would be entitled to seek negligence compensation from your employer providing you can show they failed to keep you safe from harm or injury at work. Should your employer try to stop you from filing an accident at work claim against them, you may be able to pursue further legal action against them. As such, you should get in contact with a solicitor who specialises in employment law. They have the necessary expertise to determine whether your employer acted unlawfully towards you by attempting to stop you from seeking legal advice following an accident at work that left you suffering from some kind of injury, whether minor or more severe.
A personal injury lawyer would offer to act on your behalf on a No Win No Fee basis which would involve signing a Conditional Fee Agreement with them. Working with a No Win No Fee lawyer means you can seek negligence compensation from an employer without having to find the funds to do so. The contract is legally binding and it sets out the amount you would pay for the legal representation you receive bearing in mind that this “success fee” is only payable when you are awarded the negligence compensation you seek and the amount is deducted from the money you receive.
Should you lose your negligence compensation claim against an employer, the “success fee” would not be payable because you entered into a CFA with the personal injury lawyer who acted on your behalf. In short, working with a solicitor means you can file a negligence claim against an employer without any financial risk.
Informative Links
If you would like more information regarding Health and Safety regulations which an employer must respect, please click on the link provided below:
More information on Health and Safety Executive regulations in the workplace
For more information about reporting specific workplace accidents, near-misses and injuries, please follow the link below:
Information regarding incidents, near-misses and injuries that must be reported to the RIDDOR
If you would like more information regarding employment law and your rights in the workplace, please click on the link below:
More information regarding employment law