Every employer in UK is supposed to follow certain health and safety codes to prevent workplace injuries but at times accidents at work do occur. If an employee is injured at work then by the law he is allowed to file work accident claims provided he meets certain requirements. This article will elaborate on the various requirements and a few things to keep in mind while filing work accident claims.
Accidents at work occur in two situations. In the first situation the claimant is at fault where as in the second situation the employer is at fault. Claimants are granted compensation if accidents at work occurred due to no fault of their own and if the claimant sustained workplace injuries. Claimants who have not sustained a bodily injury are not granted compensation.
In certain cases claimants may be given compensation for work accidents that occurred partly due to their fault but a small part of the compensation amount will be deducted. An instance of this is, a claimant was injured at work due to using a machine that was faulty and the employee is partly at fault if he was informed not to use this machine. In this situation the employee is not completely to blame since the employer did not remove the defective machine from the premises which resulted in the employee using the machine by mistake and getting injured. If the employer had put up a "do not use" sign on the machine then the employer would not have any liability for the accident. Share:
The compensation amount for workplace injuries will depend on a few pre decided factors. The first factor is the type of injury sustained, the second factor is the severity of the injury sustained and the third factor is if the claimant was partly at fault or not. Claimants who sustain permanent injuries are given the highest compensation amount followed by claimants who sustain serious but treatable injuries. Claimants who sustain minor injuries like cuts and bruises are usually given the lowest compensation amount.
Hiring a personal injury solicitor can make a lot of difference since personal injury lawyers are trained to handle such workplace injuries claims very professionally. These legal professionals not only represent claimants in court but also act as a buffer between the claimant and the employer. The selected solicitor will ensure that all communication between the claimant and employee goes through him and in the case of an out of court settlement the claimant will be given a good compensation amount. These legal professionals also negotiate with adjusters, talk to insurance companies if required and prevent claimants from making mistakes that will cause their claim to get rejected.