My employer has told me that it is not possible to claim for minor injuries and I will not get compensation for soft tissue bruising, even though she admitted the accident was her fault. Is this correct?
Your employer has admitted that she caused the accident in which you were injured, so you should be entitled to claim compensation for soft tissue bruising against her employer’s liability insurance policy. It is your legal right to make a claim for damages even for minor injuries, provided that the accident that caused you to be injured was directly the result of employer negligence.
There are two issues raised by your question which need to be addressed. The first is that while your employer has accepted blame for the accident, it does not necessarily mean that her insurance company will follow suit. This means that you must still establish and prove that your employer has been negligent if you are to be able to make a successful claim for soft tissue bruising.
You should certainly record the accident in your employer’s accident book, detailing how the accident occurred and the injuries you sustained. This report can then be used to support your claim. You should also make a note of the contact details of any witnesses to the accident, as their testimony will be useful if the insurance company contests your claim or if your employer changes her mind and denies liability when a claim is made.
The second issue is whether you sought medical attention for your injuries. Soft tissue injury claims can certainly be made when they have been caused by employer negligence, but only if the injuries can be supported by medical records. If your injuries did not require medical attention, they are not severe enough to warrant a claim for compensation for soft tissue bruising being made.
Although you may be within your rights to claim for soft tissue bruising, you should seek legal advice from a personal injury lawyer before making the decision to proceed with legal action. You will need to have your injuries assessed to find out how much compensation you will be entitled to recover.
You may wish to exercise your legal right to make soft tissue injury claims, but it may not actually be worth your while to do so. A lawyer will advise you whether the compensation amounts you can claim are likely to make a claim worthwhile pursuing.