Accident at Work Compensation Claims

Most people have to work in order to earn money to live a comfortable life. Whether you enjoy your work or not, you expect, and have a right to expect a safe and secure place of work. Whilst most people do enjoy a safe and secure workplace, unfortunately many people do not, which can result in accidents at work.

If you are the unfortunate victim of a workplace accident, you may be able to make a no win no fee compensation claim. To be eligible to make a work accident compensation claim, it must be found that the accident was due to your employer's negligence. Therefore not all accident at work will entitle the victim to make a work accident compensation claim. If the employee was at fault, for example, if he or she has tripped over because they have not tied their shoelaces, they would not be entitle to claim compensation.

To make a successful work accident personal injury claim in the UK, a number of criteria must be met.

Your employer must be at fault for your accident - As mentioned earlier, in order to make a work injury compensation claim, your employer must be at fault for causing your accident and your injuries. This means your employer has breached their duty of care towards you. This could be failing to provide a safe place of work, failing to provide competent staff, failing to provide adequate machinery and equipment or failing to provide correct supervision and training.

The accident must be less than three years old - As with the majority of personal injury compensation claims, in order to make an accident at work injury claim, the accident that has caused your personal injury must have happened within three years from the date you start your claim. If the accident is over three years old, you may not be able to make a claim.

Your accident at work must have caused you an injury - Not all accidents at work will result in personal injuries. Therefore not all accidents at work will entitle you to make a personal injury claim for work accidents. Simply put, if you have not suffered an injury, you cannot make an injury claim. Although this sounds obvious, some people do make the mistake in thinking they are entitled to compensation for an accident which could have could them serious injuries.

If you do have an accident at work, there are certain things you can and should do to help in the event you decide to make an accident at work compensation claim.

Firstly you should always make a written record of your accident in the accident book at your workplace. All companies that employee people should keep an up-to-date accident book. You should record your accident, even if you have not been injured due to the accident. This is helpful as your employer can use this information to help to prevent future accidents.

You should also make a note of any evidence that you have to backup your account of what has caused your accident. For example, if you have been injured due to a piece of factory machinery which does not have the correct safety guard, you could take a photograph of the machinery.

If any of your co-workers have actually witnessed your accident at work, you could also make a note of their names, so that you can refer back to them at a later date should you decide to make a injury at work claim.