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Contact us on 0800 783 9019 for assistance
We provide expert advice and thousands of claimants write to us each year thanking us for our legal services and our attention to their personal needs. Roger Adams, one of our clients says, "Legal service was fantastic from start to finish... they were really thorough and determined in pursuing the best settlement they could get for me."
If you have been unfortunate enough to have suffered a personal injury at work contact Clear Answers' personal injury solicitors on 0800 783 9019. Our solicitors have been a leading force in securing injury at work compensation for over 85 years.
We have acted on behalf of injured people in every industry and over the years have led the way within the legal sector and made it easier for working people to obtain the personal injury accident compensation that they deserve.
Clear Answers' lawyers, Thompsons Solicitors, form the most experienced personal injury firm in the UK and possess a depth of knowledge and expertise in all personal injury compenstion claims, particularly injury at work compensation claims that is unrivalled.
If an accident happens and you sustain an injury at work, wherever possible always complete the workplace accident report in your own words. If possible take photographs and ask for the names and home addresses of witnesses to your accident at work. Keep a record of any doctors visited and treatments received and keep receipts for any injury related expenses.
It is always important to obtain prompt specialist advice from an accident solicitor, someone who specialises in personal injury compensation claims and injury at work compensation claims.
Clear Answers' specialist personal injury lawyers will be able to advise you whether an injury at work compensation claim is possible and can give guidance and assistance on how a personal injury compensation claim can be pursued.
In addition to this Clear Answers' accident solicitors operate on a cost free basis. Our personal injury lawyers recover their legal fees from the person responsible for your injury at work, ensuring that the entire compensation claims procedure is cost-free for you.
Contact 0800 783 9019 and speak to one of our accident advice solicitors who will be able to advise you as to whether or not you have a valid personal injury compensation claim.
Their specialist injury at work lawyers will be happy to talk you through the compensation claims process in plain English, as well as answering any questions or queries you may have. Alternatively, fill out one of our injured at work online compensation claim forms and one of our representatives will contact you as soon as possible.
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An employer has a duty of care to its employees and has to safeguard them against being injured at work under the law of negligence. In addition to this, all employees have legal rights due to various regulations that are in place. They protect everyone in the workplace including employees, contractors and visitors, from the risk of personal injury. These regulations include:
Work Equipment for the "tools of the trade"
We can explain why this law puts automatic liability on an employer for equipment that is faulty which injures you, even where no one could reasonably foresee the equipment failing and causing you injury. That is a much higher duty than the law of negligence which is all about "foreseeability". A good personal injury lawyer will use that law to enforce your rights in a work compensation claim.
The Workplace Regulations
Personal injuries, especially injuries at work can come from many sources; therefore these regulations take into account the condition and safety of the workplace and cover a broad spectrum of eventualities. This includes, slips, trips and falls at work, your workstation, doors, windows, gates and all the parts that make up the workplace.
Manual Handling Regulations
Manual handling accidents are a common source of injuries at work. This set of regulations take into account all forms of lifting and manual handling accidents and injuries at work.
If a task at work involves manual handling and in addition carries with it the risk of injury, it is the employer's legal duty to carry out a risk assessment and find an alternative way to perform the task with no risk or less risk of injury. This applies to one-off lifts as well as repeated every day lifting.
If an employer does not carry out this duty and an injury at work is sustained as a result of a manual handling accident, then it is possible to make an injury at work compensation claim.
Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act
The Corporate Manslaughter Act came into force in April 2008 and will apply to accidents at work where gross management failures can be proved. For more details on this important change to the law, please go to our news story about the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act Receives Royal Assent
Other laws to protect workers include:
We can advise on whether a chemical involved in a workplace accident is listed by law and whether your employer should simply not expose you to it at all or, if it is permitted, what measures should be taken to prevent injury.
We have won, arguably, the most important recent case in this area of law in which the Court of Appeal accepted an employee should not be exposed to a hazardous substance when a safer one was available, even where the employer did not know it could cause injury. If your personal injury is through long-term exposure to a substance, you will find advice and details of this case in our Industrial Disease section.
In addition, there are many other regulations dealing with specific industries such as shipbuilding and ship repair, foundries and a variety of more unusual workplaces.
Regulations are now set out in such a way that employers are obliged to avoid risks entirely if this is possible; if this is not the case they are expected to minimise the risk of injury at work to the lowest possible level.
In order to succeed in a claim for accident compensation if you have suffered an injury at work, you have to firstly prove what it was that happened, secondly that this occurred as a result of the employers negligence or breach of statutory duty and thirdly that your injuries and losses have occurred as a direct result of this work related accident.
It is also important to remember that even if you have suffered an injury at work in an accident that was partly your own fault, you may still be successful in a claim. However, your accident compensation would be reduced accordingly to reflect your own level of responsibility.
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An injury at work sustained in an accident that has happened as a result of a mistake made by a work colleague can also be pursued. You do not need to worry that they may be made to pay. This principle is called vicarious liability and makes the employer liable for the negligence of their employees. This principle can also apply if you are injured at work as a result of a prank by a work colleague during the course of their employment.
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Injury at work whilst using a crane
Our solicitors represented a client who sustained an injury at work whilst using a crane. The client had previously raised concerns about the safety of the machinery although his warnings went unheeded by his employers.
The client was injured when a piece of metal fell from the crane cutting him on his leg. We were able to recover £3,500 for the client in damages.
The client said of his compensation success: "I am very pleased with the outcome and also with your services. All the best in the future and I thank you again."
Slipping in a pool of oil at his place of work
Our client was injured after slipping in a pool of oil at his place of work. The client suffered damage to his hand, as well as cuts and bruises to his face and one of his legs. Our solicitors were able to obtain £1,750 in compensation.
The client comments: "Thanks for all your help with the successful claim. I would definitely recommend you to other people who require solicitors. I look forward to receiving the compensation. Once again thanks very much."
Tripping accident at work
Another client who suffered a tripping accident after a waste paper basket had been left lying in a corridor. The client fell heavily damaging her knee in the process and had decreased mobility for over three months.
Clear Answers' personal injury solicitors recovered £1,127 in compensation. The client says: "Thank you for the cheque for £1,127. I would also like to thank you and your staff for the excellent service I have received."
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Clear Answers' specialist solicitors, Thompsons Solicitors, has extensive experience in dealing with all types of injury at work accidents, with very many satisfied clients. Please go to our Injury at Work Compensation Claims That We Have Dealt With section to read just a few examples of our successful personal injury compensation claims, or click on one of the examples below.
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Clear Answers injury at work solicitors deal with a large number of accident cases each year. Details of some of these personal injury compensation claims can be found in our News Section which is updated regularly.
Below are a selection of injury at work compensation claims that we have fought. To view the full story click on the links beneath the description. Alternatively you can visit our Personal Injury News Section to view these stories and other successful personal injury compensation claims that Clear Answers solicitors have been involved in.
November 2008
Our Client, a Bristol man, suffered significant injuries at work when he was struck by a reversing forklift truck in a totally avoidable factory accident at work. Despite wearing personal protective equipment, he suffered several fractures in his foot and his steel toe-capped boots were pulled off his foot and ankle by the force of the forklift truck.
More about Serious Fork Lift Truck Injury at Work
October 2008
The family of a man crushed to death has received a substantial sum in fatal injuries compensation for the loss of their husband and father through an accident at work. The victim was tragically crushed to death when a misunderstanding led to a colleague starting the machine in which he was working.
More about Compensation For Family Of Man Crushed To Death
Although lifting formed a major part of our client’s duties, at no time had he been provided with manual handling training, a clear breach of his employer’s duty of care under the Manual Handling Regulations.
More about Manual Handling Accident Results In Compensation
Our client asked us for manual handling claim advice following an injury at work. A care worker, she had many years experience in working with the elderly. However, despite complaints to her employer, she had not been provided with the manual handling training she needed to correctly handle patients who were completely immobile.
More about Breach of Manual Handling Regulations
September 2008
Employed by his local Police Authority, our client suffered an injury at work because his employer, the defendants, had failed to uphold their duty of care to protect him against risk of injury in his workplace. Our client had been a post van driver for several years with the defendant when the accident at work occurred.
More about Overfilled Post Bags Cause Injury To Post Van Driver
A nursing auxiliary asked for our compensation claims advice on bringing a personal injury claim against her employers. She had slipped and fallen on water, which had been spilled on the ward where she worked. Although there was a 'clean-as-you-go' policy in place, the water had not been properly cleaned up.
More about Slipping Accident Compensation
During the investigation of this claim, it became apparent that no risk assessment had been carried out on this particular resident for 15 months prior to the accident at work. Immediately following the manual handling accident, a risk assessment was carried out on this patient, which identified that she should have been provided with an adjustable bed. This would have avoided the need for carers to bend low to attend to her, given her lack of mobility. It would also have allowed the bed to be adjusted to suit the height of any carer assigned to her.
More about Manual Handling Compensation For Serious Back Injury
August 2008
Our client had managed to push the wheelchair towards the ramp, on flat ground. However, as he pushed it up the ramp, and gave a final push to get over the top lip of the ramp, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Although in some pain, he managed to complete his shift, avoiding any duties that required lifting or handling.
More about Ambulance Driver Injured In Manual Handling Accident
July 2008
A personal injury compensation claim for an injury at work has been won against the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Our client worked in an administration department where she was required to retrieve stationery from pigeonholes situated high on a wall, above a desk. The workplace accident occurred whilst our client, who at only 4 feet 8 inches tall had particular difficulty, was climbing down from the desk to the footstool. She lost her footing and fell heavily on to the floor.
More about Compensation For Breaches Of Regulations
June 2008
Manual handling training is all too often overlooked or withheld from employees. Whether they regularly need to lift heavy objects, or only occasionally, it is vital that when the situation requires it, they have received the correct manual handling training to allow them to do so without suffering a work related injury. Our client was a librarian and asked for our help in bringing an injury at work compensation claim against her employer.
More about Compensation For Librarian Injured at Work.
May 2008
Our client asked for our slips trips and falls compensation claim advice when she suffered a slip, trip and fall injury in the kitchen where she worked. Due to the layout of the kitchen, where she was standing behind a bank of equipment, she was unaware of the spillage until she slipped on the greasy floor.
More about Slipping Accident In Kitchen Results in Injury At Work Compensation.
May 2008
Our client asked for our help in bringing an injury at work compensation claim after she suffered a work injury when a heavy wooden door released itself unexpectedly and closed heavily on her wrist, trapping it between the door and a trolley. We provided injury at work compensation claim advice and although our client was unable to confirm she had securely inserted the hook into the eye, our specialist personal injury lawyers felt there was a case to answer.
More about Compensation after injury at work causes damage to her wrist.
Our client asked our specialist personal injury lawyers for compensation claim advice following a road traffic accident during the course of his work. He was an HGV qualified driver and had many years experience in driving large vehicles and heavy loads.
More about Compensation Awarded to HGV Driver For Personal Injuries.
An experienced welder with over 30 years experience with his employer, our client asked for our help in bringing an injury at work compensation claim, after he sustained a burn injury at work. His duties required him to repair vehicles used in moving heavy items around the site. On the day his accident at work took place, he and his colleagues were under considerable pressure to repair one vehicle, as several others were also out of commission, potentially shutting down an important area of operations.
More about Welder Injured by Negligent Colleague
April 2008
When our client undertook a routine visit to the toilet at her place of work, she suffered a serious personal injury when she slipped and fell on water left on the tiled floor by another employee. She asked for our personal injury compensation advice for this accident at work and subsequently asked us to represent her in bringing an injury at work compensation claim against her employer.
More about Client Slipped On Water On The Toilet Floor
Despite making repeated complaints to his health and safety representative, the last being only a week prior to his injury at work, our client found himself again having to use defective equipment during the course of his work.
More about Employee Injured at Work Using Defective Trolley
Our client asked for our advice on whether he had a valid injury at work compensation claim after he sustained an injury whilst working as a gardener for his local council. He had worked for them for many years and was, at the time of his injury at work, engaged in grass cutting.
More about Compensation Awarded to Gardener Injured at Work
March 2008
A home carer, our client was used to dealing with elderly and disabled users. At the time she received this work injury, our client was working with a colleague to get an elderly person, who also suffered from Alzheimer’s, ready for bed. As they were preparing her in the bathroom, our client was caught unawares when the user lost her balance and fell on top of her.
More about Injury At Work, Successful Compensation Claim
A sheet metal worker lost the top of his finger in an injury at work, when a piece of drill swarf penetrated his gloved hand. An experienced worker, he was attempting to drill a hole in the sheet of metal, and following what he believed to be the correct best practice procedures operating at that time at his place of work.
More about Injury at work compensation claim
February 2008
Under the Occupiers Liability Act 1984, an individual has a duty of care to protect visitors to their premises from accident or injury. In this case, the premises were the defendant’s home. Having suffered a stroke at his home, the occupier was being carried down the stairs by our client, a paramedic, and a colleague from the ambulance service, with the aim of transporting him to hospital.
More about Injury at work compensation claim for Ambulance Man
Aware that the over-long cable on his telephone posed a hazard, our client had always ensured that the telephone was positioned away from any access routes into his office. His work took him out and about for much of his day, so when visiting colleagues needed somewhere to station themselves, it was natural that his office would be used in this way.
More about Telephone cable hazard causes work injury
On the day that our client suffered her injury at work, she was taking a can of beans from the top shelf of an oven. The can had been placed there by a colleague and was covered with cling film. Because the beans were steaming, water had gathered on top of the cling film, so that when she pulled the can down at an angle, scalding water ran down and caused a burn injury.
More about Successful claim for client injured by scalding water
January 2008
During the lunchtime rush at the school where she worked as a dinner nanny, between 270 and 300 children needed to be fed within a very short time. When an accidental spillage occurred during this busy time, it should have been cleaned up as quickly as possible to avoid an accident at work if someone slipped in the wet area.
More about Compensation for slipping on wet dining room floor
January 2008
Our client was aware that the normal use of a hoist, to help move a heavy patient, was a two-person operation. However, on the day of the injury at work, when the patient became distressed at being left suspended, she decided to try to continue by herself to speed his return to bed.
More about Compensation awarded to care worker
John Heathcoat and Co Limited are to pay a textile worker £1600 in compensation after he suffered an accident at work.
Mr Redfern from Tiverton in Devon was injured at work in May 2005. He was working in the dyeing and finishing department for his employer and began to make his way to the tea bar for his break.
More about
Textile worker from Tiverton suffers burn injury
November 2007
When our client injured his knee trying to close a heavy metal door, he asked our personal injury lawyers, who specialise in injuries at work, to represent him in his claim for accident at work compensation.
More about Compensation for MOD worker
September 2007
The cabin of a train is sealed whilst moving, so when our client was injured by an object (later found to be glass particles) flying into his eye, he assumed it had come through the air conditioning system. The Judge ruled a breach of PUWER 1998 (Regulations 5 and 12) had taken place.
More about Successful case brought for breach of PUWER regulations
When our client was issued with safety work boots, which he was required to wear as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) whilst he was working on the railway lines, he naturally assumed that if they were safe to wear as PPE, they were safe to wear throughout his working day. As his employer was London Underground, this naturally involved an element of walking up and down stairs at various times and locations. On one occasion, he fell down the stairs, causing him injury. On inspection, his boots had torn at the heel, causing the accident at work and his injury.
More about Compensation awarded after failure of PPE boots
August 2007
Normally the presence of training, risk assessments and written instructions would indicate a company that tries to minimise the risk of accidents at work, provide a safe working environment for its staff, and takes its liabilities for their safety very seriously. However, when accepted working practices are very different to any written instructions, then the safety of employees is at risk once more.
More about Rolls Royce engineer receives compensation
July 2007
A train driver had his right thumb crushed as he tried to close a train door. He had twice tried to close it with his left hand but it bounced back. He then tried to close it with both hands as his right hand had more strength. In doing so his right thumb was crushed as it overhung the side of the door on the doorframe.
More about Compensation for driver with thumb crushed by train door
May 2007
The claimant was employed by the council as a driver. The claimant was required to collect elderly and disabled clients and then transport them to a day care centre.
The claimant's accident occurred whilst she was at the house of a disabled client that required the use of a wheelchair.
More about
Work Equipment Compensation Victory
March 2007
The client was a supervisor working on a railway line and was involved in an accident at work. Throughout the course of his shift the client was required to lift a set of two cylinders and a trolley by hand from track level to the platform.
When doing this the client strained his back as the equipment that he was lifting weighed approximately 150 kilograms.
More about Manual Handling Accident
December 2006
A fire fighter was injured whilst trying to rescue a member of the public from a trapped car. The client had been asked to assist another fire fighting service with the rescue attempt and in order to free the trapped person the use of a ram was required.
More about Insufficient Training Leads to Accident at Work
The claimant was injured in an accident at work when she tripped over some scales that were fixed into the floor of the factory where she worked. The claim was fought using The Workplace Regulations.
More about Hazards In The Workplace
October 2006
A council worker sustained a knee injury whilst helping his foreman unload traffic lights from a trailer. The trailer was not sufficiently stabilised and it was decided that there was a breach of the Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations by the claimant's employer.
More about Work Equipment Compensation Claim
The claimant was injured whilst moving rubbish bags from the top of one vehicle to another, the vehicle in question was approximately eight feet high and the client had to stretch in order to reach and remove the bags and place them in the other vehicle.
More about Manual Handling At Work
August 2006
A pest control officer for the local council was injured after he was assigned to a local school to remove some bait boxes that had been positioned on a previous visit. One of these boxes had been placed under a table and as he went to reach it he cut his hand on a sharp object on the underside of the table.
More about Safe Work Equipment The Key To Preventing Accidents At Work
June 2006
Our client was injured when repairing a truck owned by another company. The steps and grab handle fitted to the chassis broke as he climbed down from the truck causing him injury.
More about How To Sue The Right Company When Work Equipment Breaks And Injures You
May 2006
The claimant in this case was injured at work lifting a fish tank which had been fly-tipped. He loaded the fish tank onto his van. Its positioning meant that the tail lift could not be closed so the claimant pushed the fish tank forward with the palms of his hands. A glass panel broke, causing him injury.
More about Accidents At Work Involving Gloves
April 2006
Friday 28th April is International Workers Memorial Day - an opportunity for us all to think about the millions of people around the world each year that are killed at work as a result of accidents in the workplace.
More about International Workers Memorial Day
A pavier in Gateshead was instructed to form a concrete driveway by his Council employer. He prepared the driveway and filled it in with concrete and then had to kneel on the concrete using a float to flatten it. The client sustained chemical burns to both knees.
More about Accidents At Work Lead To Claims For Compensation
March 2006
The claimant was a staff nurse at a Hospital near Liverpool and was working in a ward in the secure area of the hospital when he received an urgent instruction to attend to a disturbance on another ward nearby. As he was running into the ward he slipped on duck excrement on the block paved pathway which led up to the entrance door of the ward.
More about Compensation For Accident At Work
Our client was a location manager on a programme directed by David Jason and the programme had scenes in the Lake District. A decision was taken to film, even though there were exceptionally high winds in the area. Whilst filming the claimant was blown from the road and landed in a rocky beck / gully to the side, causing injuries including a broken knee cap and elbow.
More about Injured Making TV Programme
The claimant worked as a cook supervisor at a school. She was in a store room, standing on a ladder lifting boxes onto the top shelf of some racking when a fluorescent strip-light cover fell off and hit her on the head and shoulder.
More about Injured At Work By Falling Object From A Height
February 2006
The client injured his back in March 2002 whilst he was trying to move a deflated bouncy castle from a gymnasium into a storeroom. He was working alone and had lifted one side of the rolled-up bouncy castle onto a trolley, when he attempted to lift the other side and injured his lower back in the process.
More about Youth Centre Worker From County Durham Is Awarded £33,750 Personal Injury Compensation For Accident At Work
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Have you or a member of your family suffered a personal injury at work through no fault of your own. If so contact Clear Answers accident at work solicitors on 0800 783 9019 and speak to one of our accident advice solicitors or alternatively fill out an online compensation claim form.
One of our representatives will contact you as soon as possible to discuss whether you have a valid personal injury compensation claim.
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