A work accident compensation pay-out is the perfect thing to help you if you have suffered damages and losses due the negligence of your employer. These damages may have been physical, emotional or financial. Either way, you can get a pay-out from your employer to help you recover without any potential burdens hanging over your head. We understand that this can be a scary time for you. After all, you may not be able to go to work or get on with the normal tasks of your life due to your injuries. That’s why you might be considering asking for compensation. But, the main question is, how much could you get from work accident compensation? The amount changes for everyone. But you need to know precise details about what you could be owed.
This is what we are going to explore in our latest blog. In our work accidents interview with Elaine, Gowing Law’s operations director, we talked about compensation and what you could be owed. The overall lesson: You receive high compensation pay-outs if you can prove that you have experienced bad losses due to the accident at work. Learn more by reading our blog below.
How much could I get from a work accident compensation pay-out?
One of the main things that you need to know about any type of compensation claims, whether they are beauty claims, road traffic accident claims or a case of financial mis-selling, the worse the damages, the more likely you will get a bigger pay-out.
For work accident claims in particular, the amount you could claim has quite a large range of pay-outs that you could receive. For an uncomplicated back injury it could be a few thousand pounds. However, for a life changing injury you could receive up to a seven-figure sum. The more evidence you have about your injuries, the more likely that you will have a valid claim. Make sure to keep your evidence carefully organized so it fits with your different damages claims. If you do get a pay-out it will be paid from your employer’s insurance. This is known as “employer liability insurance”. So, if you are hesitating claiming insurance from your employer, don’t worry! You won’t be financially damaging them. Instead, they will be prepared for any claims. Accidents can happen in any place and at any time.
How do I know if I am eligible for a work accident compensation pay-out?
Now, many people may not think they are eligible for a work accident claim because of the extent of their injuries. They may not have suffered only minor damages, and so think that their work accident claim is invalid. However, that certainly is not the case. Whilst you do need to consider the amount of pay-out you receive from a work injury claim, if you have been hurt due to the negligence of an employer, you deserve compensation.
Whether you have a large or small injury, if your accident happened due to the negligence of your employer, this means they are at fault. In legal terms, this means they are “liable” for your damages. All cases are treated on an individual bases. That means that all of the cases are judged by the losses and damages that the claimant has experienced. This is why it is crucial that you get as much evidence as possible to back up your claim.
Can I get some example of compensation pay-outs?
There are many different types of work accidents that you could experience where you get hurt. Whether your wounds are major or minor will change the amount of compensation. Take a look below to get some rough estimates for different areas of the body:
- Minor Head Injuries: £1000-£10,000
- Severe Head Injuries: £200,000 -£310,000
- Small Neck Injuries: £2,000- £6,000
- Major Neck Injuries: £34,500-£113,000
- Small Hand Injuries: £650-£22,000
- Severe Hand Injuries: £47,000-£153,000
- Minor Leg Injuries: £2,000-£20,000
- Large Leg Injuries: £74,000-£214,300
Of course, there are many more amounts of a work accident compensation pay-out and injury types that you could claim for. We would highly recommend speaking with a work accident solicitor to help come up with an estimate settlement. You can also speak with your employer and come to a settlement agreement before the court date.
Do I need evidence to prove that I am owed a work accident compensation pay-out?
Yes! If you work with a solicitor then they will be able to advise on how much you think your case is worth through your evidence. Your evidence will prove that you have suffered from a number of losses and damages. Most people think that these damages may only be physical injuries. However, there are many other types of losses you could have experienced. These fall under “general” and “special damages”. These may include:
- Emotional damages
- Loss of opportunity/potential
- Financial losses (i.e. wages, travel fees)
- Medical damages
- Broken equipment
Once you have decided on what losses you are going to base your claim around, it’s important that you have the appropriate evidence to back it up. When an accident does happen in the workplace, it is important that you notify your employers immediately. They should write down the accident within their accident handbook. You are legally allowed to get a copy of this statement for your evidence. If the accident is extremely bad, or there has been a violent altercation on the premises, you may also want to get the police involved. They can provide a police statement that should document an unbiased perspective of the events that have taken place.
Additional evidence may include:
- Photographs of the injury and accident’s environment
- Videos of the injury accident’s environment
- CCTV footage
- Witness Statements
- Medical reports
- Diary Entries
Can my colleagues claim for compensation from my accident?
This is where things can get complicated. Of course, if you get hurt, it will always help your claims if you have witnesses to back you up. However, if your injuries were incredibly severe (i.e. you lost a limb or suffered life-changing effects), your colleagues may have been traumatized by what they saw. This is why they may also be considering asking for compensation for their damages, especially if they can prove that they are now struggling with the impact of what happened.
Your colleagues can only get compensation under very specific circumstances. For instance, they are a very close friend or family member and that they were directly involved in the accident. It is important that they seek legal advice before they make any sort of claim, as these types of claims are easily invalidated.
Will anything else change if I make a compensation claim against my employer?
Asides from getting a financial pay-out, one of the good things that can come out of this sort compensation claim are the changes to your work environment. Your employer has breached their duty of care and so will need to make changes for it not to happen again. That way future employees will not need to go through the same problems or injuries that affected you. So, overall, you making a claim is actually doing a good thing for the company!
How long will it take to make a compensation claim?
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to understand that there might be a few delays when it comes to your claim. This is why it is important to make a compensation request as quickly as possible. Your time scale also depends on how complicated your case is. For instance, if a settlement agreement is not reached by both parties, this means that it may have to go to court. This would naturally take longer than an “open and shut” case where responsibility to accepted. Speak to your solicitor for more information about how long your case will take to complete.
Does it Covid-19 count as a work-place accident?
Now, this is a hot topic as of late, namely because most employees are feeling quite nervous about returning to their offices. This is because quite a few people may feel like they could catch Covid-19 from their workplace. Safety measures have been put in place to protect people against getting ill, but if someone has gotten sick and then suddenly other employees start staying off work due to having the same symptoms, it is a high probability that they got ill due to the unsanitary conditions of the workplace.
There is a chance that you could claim compensation for getting ill. However, this will need to be discussed with a trained solicitor. After all, you are going to need solid evidence to prove that you specifically caught Covid-19 from someone in your workplace.
Will Gowing Law Solicitors help me get a work accident compensation pay-out?
Of course! Gowing Law Solicitors would be more than happy to help you get the work accident compensation pay-out that you deserve. We can offer you free advice and consultations to get you started. These can all be done remotely to help you. If you want to work with our trained work accident solicitors in Manchester, we can offer you our services on a “no win-no fee” basis. That means you will always come out on top.
Get in contact today by calling 08000418350, email info@gowinglaw.co.uk. or contact us directly through our instant messenger. We will then be in touch to answer all of your questions.
Want to read more of our work accident interview series?
Don’t forget that we have many other blogs in this work accident interview series! Check them out below:
- What sort of accident at work compensation claims are there?
- How can I be sure that I have an accidents at work claim?
- How bad does my work accident injury need to be to make claim?
- Can my work accident claim be for emotional damages?
- How do I make a work accident claim?
- My work-mate caused my accident. Who pays my accident at work compensation?
We update our blog every week with new content that talks about UK legal topics and compensation claims. If you can’t see the article that you want, why not let us know? Send in your suggestions to info@gowinglaw.co.uk. We would be more than happy to upload an article about your questions.
Gowing Law wishes you the best of luck with your claim and look forward to seeing you in our next blog.
