Can You Make A New Employee Injury Claim?

By Cat Reeves. Last Updated 30th June 2023. Have you been injured as a new employee in a workplace accident? Was the accident caused by the negligence of your employer? If so, you could be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries.

When you’ve been injured in an accident at work as a new employee, it can be difficult to know what your rights are. You may be unsure whether you need to have been working for a company for a certain time in order to have the right to make a claim. This guide will go over how to claim compensation following an accident at work caused by your employer’s negligence.

Can you make a new employee injury claim

Can you make a new employee injury claim?

Being involved in a workplace accident can be distressing. You might be injured in a way that impacts your quality of life or that means you have to take time off work. You might be unsure as to the next steps to take, particularly if you haven’t been with the company for very long.

We invite you to learn more about making a claim from this guide and to contact us for more information through our team of advisors. We can also offer you the services of our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors.

Get In Touch With Our Team

If you want to find out more about whether or not you could be entitled to make a claim, you can get in touch using the contact information below.

Select A Section

  1. What Is A Claim If Injured As A New Employee?
  2. What Should You Do If You Are Injured As A New Employee?
  3. Calculating Claims If Injured As A New Employee In The Workplace
  4. Injured As A New Employee – Your Rights As A New Starter 
  5. Are There Time Limits To Claiming When Injured As A New Employee?
  6. Claim For Being Injured As A New Employee On A No Win No Fee Basis
  7. Essential References

What Is A Claim If Injured As A New Employee?

If you are injured in the workplace as a result of negligence on the part of your employer, you could be entitled to make a personal injury claim for compensation. You may be able to claim if you can show that they breached their duty of care to you, directly resulting in the accident which caused you injury.

There a number of ways an employer could neglect the duty of care set out in the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974. Some examples include:

  • Failing to provide adequate safety training
  • Failing to provide Personal Protective Equipment appropriate to the role
  • Poor housekeeping such as untidy walkways, resulting in people injuring themselves by tripping over or slipping on things,
  • Providing equipment that has not been properly serviced or maintained.

When you’ve been injured in an accident at work through no fault of your own, you should fill out a report in the accident book and collect any evidence that might support your claim. This can include things like CCTV footage, photographs of the cause of the accident and witness details of anyone who saw it take place.

If you’re not sure whether the accident you were involved in was caused by employer negligence, get in touch with our team today. Our helpful and friendly advisors can look at the details of your case and see whether your claim has a good chance of success. If so, they may be able to connect you with a personal injury solicitor from our panel.

What Should You Do If You Are Injured As A New Employee?

If you suffer an injury in a workplace accident, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention. This might include going straight to the hospital in an ambulance. In some cases, though, it might be sufficient for you to visit a walk-in centre or make an appointment with your GP. As well as ensuring you get the treatment you need for your injuries, medical records could also provide a basis for your claim.

You should also collect evidence of the cause of the accident after it happens, if possible. For instance, you could take photographs of a spill or hazard that was not cleaned up.

You should also request that the accident has been noted in the accident log. Every workplace employing 10 people or more should have a logbook that acts as a diary of safety incidents. Employers are required to log certain types of incidents and specified injuries in this book.

It may also be useful to ask your co-workers or any witnesses if they would be willing to provide their contact details so that they can be asked to give a statement in support of your claim later on. Write down every detail you can remember about the accident and the events leading up to it. Even things that may not seem relevant may be useful. This is in order to make sure that there is a record of the accident from straight after it happened.

If you’re unsure what kind of evidence you may need to support your claim, why not get in touch with our claims team? They’ll be happy to offer you free legal advice about the kind of evidence you may want to collect.

Calculating Claims If Injured As A New Employee In The Workplace

A workplace injury can affect your physical and psychological health; however, it can also have an effect on your financial situation. There are two types of damages that seek to compensate you for the losses you may experience after a workplace accident. These are known as general and special damages.

General damages is a compensation payout for the injuries themselves. This payout can be calculated with the help of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). You may also be invited to an independent medical assessment as part of your claim, and the report from this assessment could also inform the amount that you receive in general damages.

Below, we’ve included a table of guideline compensation brackets from the JCG for your reference. The JC guidelines can be used to put a value on your suffering. Legal professionals use this in personal injury cases. Please bear in mind that these are guideline amounts and may not reflect the actual settlement you receive.

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Injury Compensation Notes
Severe arm injuries £96,160 to £130,930 Injuries that are still severe and disabling despite falling short of amputation.
Less severe arm injury £19,200 to £39,170 Despite significant disabilities, a significant amount of recovery occurs.
Severe wrist injury £47,620 to £59,860 Complete loss of function caused by arthrodesis or serious injuries.
Minor wrist injury £3,530 to £4,740 Very minor minimally displaced or undisplaced wrist fractures.
Severely disabling elbow injury £39,170 to £54,830 Severely disabling injuries to the elbow.
Moderate elbow injury Up to £12,590 Common injuries including simple fractures, lacerations, and tennis elbow.
Hand Injuries (e) £35,520 to £54,830 Loss of thumb.
Serious hand injury £29,000 to £61,910 The hand will be reduced to around fifty percent capacity as a result of serious injuries.
Moderate hand injury £5,720 to £13,280 This bracket covers lacerations, crush injuries, soft tissue injuries and penetrating type wounds.
Hand injuries (o) £3,950 to £5,860 Partial amputation or loss of the little finger.

Special damages

Special damages are awarded for the financial losses you suffer as a result of the injury. For instance, perhaps you were forced to take time off work while you were recovering from your injuries. This may result in a loss or reduction in earnings. In some cases, your injury may prevent you from returning to work at all.

You could incur medical expenses as a result of the injury. This could range from private healthcare costs, paying for medication, or paying for physical rehabilitation care. You could claim back these expenses as part of your special damages. In addition, you could claim back any transport costs that you’ve incurred that you wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been injured.

The list of special damages we have mentioned is not exhaustive by any means. If you’ve experienced a financial loss as the result of your injuries, speak to our team today. They will be able to advise you whether it can be included in special damages.

Injured As A New Employee – Your Rights As A New Starter

There are certain rights that you will only be entitled to as an employee after you have been employed for a certain period of time. However, there are certain basic rights to which you will be entitled from day one of your employment. You may need to check your employment status though as all may not apply. These rights include the right to:

  • A minimum wage
  • A safe workplace
  • Not face discrimination on the basis of your sex, race, gender identity, religion, age, nationality, disability or sexual orientation.
  • A written contract of employment
  • Be provided with the written outline of the grievances procedure
  • Have a payslip
  • A right to rest breaks
  • The right not to work more than 48 hours

As well as these rights, you also have the right to make a personal injury claim for compensation following an injury caused by employer negligence. Get in touch with our team for more information.

Are There Time Limits To Claiming When Injured As A New Employee?

Generally, there is a three-year time limit to starting a personal injury claim. This time limit usually starts from the date of the accident. However, it can also begin from the “date of knowledge” if you only became aware at a later date that your symptoms were caused by negligence.

There are exceptions to the three-year time limit. For instance, if someone lacks the mental capacity to make a claim on their own behalf, the time limit is suspended. If the injured person regains their mental capacity, the time limit starts again. A litigation friend can claim on their behalf as long as they lack the capacity to do so themselves.

If you were injured while you were under the age of 18, a litigation friend could also make a compensation claim on your behalf. They can claim on your behalf until you turn 18. Once you turn 18, you can make your own claim until your 21st birthday.

If you’d like more information on the time limits to making a personal injury claim, speak to our team. An advisor will be happy to take the details of your case and let you know whether you are still eligible to make a claim.

Claim For Being Injured As A New Employee On A No Win No Fee Basis

If you have been injured in an accident at work as a new employee, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Starting a claim may seem daunting, and the claims process might appear complex; however, a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel may be able to help you.

Working with a solicitor can have many benefits. For example, a solicitor can help you gather evidence to build a strong accident at work compensation claim, and they can also explain any legal jargon that may come up throughout the process.

Our panel of solicitors offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. They do so by offering a kind of contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, you aren’t required to pay any upfront fees or ongoing costs to your solicitor in order for them to work on your claim. Similarly, if your claim fails, then your solicitor won’t take a fee for their work.

However, should your claim be successful, your solicitor will take a success fee. This fee is a small percentage of your compensation which is deducted directly from your award. There is a legal cap in place which dictates how much a solicitor can take as this fee, helping to ensure that you keep the majority of your compensation.

Our advisors can help you discern whether you could be eligible to work with a solicitor from our panel when you get in touch today.

I Was Injured As A New Employee, What Should I Do?

If you are unsure about whether or not you could be entitled to make a personal injury claim, or if you are unsure about what steps you should take, call our team of advisors. They can give you free, friendly advice about your next steps forward. They may also be able to connect you with a personal injury lawyer if they feel your claim has a good chance of success. You can reach them through the following contact options:

Essential References

Here are some additional pages from our website that address issues about claiming compensation for injuries sustained while working.

Or, for more helpful information:

Guide by KL

Published by NC