Can You Sue Your Employer If You Get Hurt On The Job?

In this guide, we’ll look at whether you could sue your employer if you’re hurt on the job. Your employer is responsible for taking reasonable steps to put health and safety provisions in the workplace and preventing you from sustaining harm. If they failed to uphold their responsibility and you sustained harm as a result, you may be eligible to seek compensation for your injuries.

can you sue your employer if you get hurt on the job

A guide on whether you can sue your employer if you’re hurt on the job

There are various ways you could get hurt on the job such as slipping on an unattended wet floor, getting tangled in unsecured computer cables, or something more serious such as a machinery malfunction or a serious fall.

If these accidents were caused by an employer’s negligence, compensation may be owed. This guide will look at when you can sue your employer to help you understand whether you’re eligible to claim.

Learn more about making an accident at work claim by reading the sections below or:

  • Call our team on 0203 870 4868
  • Fill out our online contact form
  • Use the live support option to the bottom right of this screen.

Select A Section

    1. What Can You Sue Your Employer For If You Get Hurt On The Job?
  1. When Can You Sue Your Employer?
  2. Could I Be Dismissed By My Employer?
  3. How Do I Sue My Employer If I Got Hurt On The Job?
  4. I Was Hurt On The Job, How Much Could I Claim?
  5. Discuss How To Sue Your Employer After Getting Hurt On The Job

What Can You Sue Your Employer For If You Get Hurt On The Job?

You can sue your employer for any type of workplace accident that causes you injury and arose through negligence on their part. If this is the case, you could claim for the pain and suffering you experienced as a result of your injuries. Also, you could seek reimbursement for any financial losses associated with your injuries.

It’s important to note that an accident alone would not be sufficient grounds to sue your employer. It must involve you sustaining physical or mental harm as a result of negligence. A workplace injury could be caused by lots of scenarios, some examples might include:

  • Wet or uneven floor surfaces may make an employee slip, trip or fall over, potentially causing a fractured ankle or shattered kneecap.
  • Materials that are not safely stored could fall and cause a head injury.
  • Machinery or tools that are not maintained could malfunction and cause cuts, or lacerations.
  • Damage to the eyes from toxic fumes or hearing loss caused by excessive noise might be a risk caused by the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) that was necessary for your employer to provide.
  • A collision with a badly operated work vehicle could cause multiple injuries.
  • Any equipment that is used for working at a height could lead to a fatal fall if it’s not adequately secured.
  • Chemicals or hazardous materials that are not used in accordance with guidelines might place employees at risk of an accident.

If these incidents resulted from your employer failing to uphold the responsibility they had to protect your health and safety, it may be possible to claim. Please call our team on the number above.

When Can You Sue An Employer?

Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), is a law that states all employers are responsible for protecting the safety and wellbeing of their employees. As part of their duty of care, they must do everything they reasonably can to prevent you from sustaining harm. 

The duties they have may vary depending on the specific industry for which they work. However, general duties may include:

  • Providing adequate training for employees to do their job safely
  • Communicating health and safety policies to employees
  • Carrying out regular risk assessments to highlight any hazards and taking reasonable action to remove or reduce the risks any hazards pose.

A breach of their duty of care must have occurred causing you to suffer a physical or psychological injury in order to start a valid claim. 

If you’re unsure whether you could sue your employer for getting hurt on the job, call our team. They can provide further details on how to prove employer liability.

Could I Be Dismissed By My Employer?

The prospect of facing dismissal for expressing a right to seek compensation may put a lot of employees off of making a perfectly valid or eligible claim.

However, you have a legal right to make an honest claim if you wish. Furthermore, you can do this with legal representation or independently and your employer should not dismiss you for doing so.

It’s important to note that if you were dismissed after an accident at work or there is hostility toward you for making a personal injury claim, you could make a claim for unfair dismissal.

However, as per Section 7 of HASAWA, employees also have a duty of care to follow health and safety procedures put in place at work to prevent each other from sustaining harm. For that reason, if your employer was not liable for the accident that caused you harm, you may not hold a valid claim.

For more information, please call our team and they can advise further about whether you could sue your employer if you were hurt on the job.

 How Do I Sue My Employer If I Got Hurt On The Job?

If you were injured at work and wish to make a claim, you should aim to gather evidence to build a strong case. Evidence could include:

  • A record of your accident and injuries in the workplace accident book
  • Photos of the accident scene and your injuries
  • Witness contact details
  • CCTV footage of the accident
  • Medical evidence such as doctor or hospital reports that show the treatment and diagnosis you received.

Additionally, you may wish to consider seeking legal advice. If you want to hire a solicitor, we could help.

Our panel of solicitors have experience handling accident at work claims and could help you gather relevant evidence to support your claim. They could also arrange for you to attend an independent medical assessment which could produce a report detailing the current state of your injuries.

Call our team to get in touch on the number above.

I Was Hurt On The Job, How Much Could I Claim?

We understand you might be wondering what compensation you could get when you sue your employer after you get hurt on the job. However, we cannot provide a definitive figure as each settlement varies on a case by case basis.

In general, your settlement may comprise general and special damages. General damages provide compensation for your physical or psychological injuries. The award you receive may be calculated using medical evidence which can be used to determine the severity of your injuries. 

Also, a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) sets out guidelines compensation brackets for several injuries. This publication may be used alongside any medical reports to help value your claim. 

The table below uses figures from the JCG but you should only use them as a guide.

Edit
Injury Notes JC Guideline award bracket
Hand (e) Serious hand injuries that reduce function of the hand to about 50% capacity. £27,220 to £58,100
Injuries affecting sight (g) Injuries causing permanent impairment of vision that’s minor in either one eye or both. £8,550 to £19,690
Knee (a) Severe (i) A knee injury that’s serious causing joint disruption, damage to ligaments and a long treatment. £65,440 to £90,290
Deafness or Tinnitus (d) Partial hearing loss (i) involving tinnitus or noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) that is severe. £27,890 to £42,730
Facial disfigurement (c) Significant scarring improved by plastic surgery. There will still be a psychological impact and cosmetic disability. £8,550 to £28,240
Back (a) Severe (i) Injuries may involve spinal cord and nerve root damage which causes very serious symptoms not often associated with a back injury. £85,470 to £151,070
Leg (b) Severe (iii) Comminuted or compound fractures that are serious in nature. £36,790 to £51,460
Ankle (d) Modest injuries such as a minor or undisplaced fracture that’s less serious. Up to £12,900
Damage to the brain (c) Moderate (i) The person may experience different symptoms such as a change in personality, impact on sight, speech and other senses and a risk of epilepsy that is significant. £140,870 to £205,580
Psychiatric damage (c) Moderate issues that improve by the time of trial. There will be a good prognosis. £5,500 to £17,900

In addition, you could claim back any financial losses incurred as a result of your injuries under special damages. However, you must have evidence to prove any losses and calculate special damages. For instance, you could use payslips that indicate a loss of earnings or receipts to highlight any other expenses.

Get in touch with our team to see what your claim may comprise and how it’s calculated.

Discuss How To Sue Your Employer After Getting Hurt On The Job

If you are thinking about hiring legal representation to sue your employer after you get hurt on the job, a No Win No Fee agreement could help. This provides you with a way to fund legal representation that offers several benefits, such as:

  • No upfront cost to pay for your solicitor to begin working on your claim
  • No costs to pay while your claim is ongoing

If your claim wins, you will pay a success fee that’s subject to a legal cap from your compensation. However, if your claim fails you won’t pay the success fee to your solicitor.

Our panel of personal injury solicitors could take your claim on this basis. To find out more, you can:

Related Accident and Injury Claims

Below, we have provided some further resources on claiming after an accident at work.

We hope this guide has helped you understand whether you can sue your employer if you get hurt on the job. However, if you need any additional information, call our team on the number above.