Factors Which Lead to a Work Accident Compensation Claim
There are two factors which have to be present when you make a work accident compensation claim – the fact that you have sustained an injury and that your injury was the result of any employer´s negligence or lack of care, The injury does not have to be as dramatic as a broken leg for you to qualify for a work accident compensation claim. Work acquired infections such as dermatitis or illnesses due to stress or bullying can also qualify for a work accident compensation claim, provided that there is some element of negligence by the employer or his representative in your workplace.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), employers have an obligation to provide you with a safe environment in which to work. If they fail to fulfil their responsibilities under the Act, and you suffer an injury in a work accident as a result, you are entitled to make a claim for work accident compensation. Because many different industries have their own different regulations and exclusions to the Act, it is always in your best interests to speak with a lawyer whenever you have sustained an injury in a work accident for which you were not wholly to blame.
Your Health Must be Your First Priority
Whatever the nature of your injury, you should always seek medical help as soon as possible. Although this might seem obvious to somebody who has fallen from a height, often people try to shrug off their injuries thinking that a few painkillers and some rest will enable their recovery. However, some musculoskeletal injuries may not manifest for several days, during which time you could do more damage to yourself by continuing to perform domestic tasks that put additional strain on the part of your body which is injured.
Furthermore, a delayed visit to the doctor and his diagnosis of a work accident injury could give reason for your employer to counter claim that you contributed to your injuries by your own negligence (which may well be the case!). Although this does not disqualify you from making a work accident compensation claim, how much compensation you receive can be adversely affected if you have inadvertently exacerbated your work accident injury.
Why You Should Speak With a Solicitor at an Early Stage
Inasmuch as there is the obvious motive of the sooner you speak with a lawyer, the quicker your work accident compensation claim will get resolved, there is also one very important reason for contacting an experienced work injury lawyer as soon as any immediate health issues have been resolved.
In most cases, an employer will be genuinely concerned that his negligence has caused you an injury at work and, in a spirit of helpfulness and legal obligation, will report your work accident to his public liability insurance company and the Health and Safety Executive. Once the insurance company are aware of a forthcoming claim, they will try to hijack you with an offer in return for early settlement of your work accident compensation claim.
Frequently, their offer will be inadequate to your long term needs and, once you have accepted it, there is no going back for more should you have insufficient funds to provide the care you need. The insurance company´s approach need not be a bad thing as it opens the door for negotiation with your lawyer. Furthermore, if you are already aware of how much work accident you could be entitled to, you will not be tempted to accept their initial offer.
Dealing with Well-Meaning Friends and Family
It can be a great comfort to you to be surrounded by friends and family at a time when you have been injured at work and are unable to perform regular household tasks. Their support is to be encouraged and appreciated, however every work accident affects different people in different ways, and therefore your work accident compensation claim is entirely unique from any other claim that has ever been filed.
As well as compensating you for the physical pain and suffering you experienced both at the time of the work accident and during your recovery, you are also able to claim for any economic loss you have incurred (loss of earnings, the cost of seeking medical attention, any outlay for carers for yourself, your children or elderly relatives), any loss of amenity and any emotional injury you have received. Experts are in agreement that every physical injury has a psychological impact on the victim and people who sustain identical physical injuries from similar work accidents can experience completely different levels of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Free Work Accident Compensation Claim Advice
Consequently, rather than rely on well-meaning friends and family for advice on your legal standing and entitlement to claim for work accident compensation, you are invited to call our free work injury advice service on 0800 044 3256 if you, or a loved one, has been hurt in a work accident for which you were not entirely to blame. Our service will enable you to discuss the circumstances of your work accident, explain what impact your injuries have made to your quality of live and establish that you have a work accident compensation claim which is worth your while to pursue.
Our lines are open from 8.00am to 10.00 seven days a week, and we also operate a free call-back service if you would like advice but now is not a suitable time to speak with us. Simply leave your contact details in the box provided at the side of the page and one of our helpful team will call you back at a time which is more convenient for you.
Additional articles about work compensation claims: construction accidents, office accidents, electrocuted at work.