How Do I Claim For Accidents At Work Caused By Fatigue?
In this guide, we will look at the process of claiming compensation for accidents at work caused by fatigue. There are a number of different kinds of accidents that can be caused by excessive tiredness, and we will address some of these later on in this guide.
In some cases, people might be tired because of factors that cannot be attributed to negligence. However, if your employer has breached the duty of care that they owed you, resulting in an accident caused by tiredness, you could be entitled to claim.
For example, you may find yourself working long hours with no breaks, or being scheduled for shifts that are too close together to allow you to get enough rest between.
Get In Touch With Our Team
If you’ve suffered a work-related injury resulting from excessive fatigue and this was caused by employer negligence, you may be able to claim personal injury compensation.
If you’d like more information about making a fatigue claim, you can contact our team of advisers by:
- Calling on 020 3870 4868
- Starting your claim online
- Using the live chat feature
You are under no obligation to continue with our services after discussing your case with an adviser. However, our advisors could potentially connect you with a personal injury lawyer from our panel who may be able to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Contents
- What Is An Accident At Work Caused By Fatigue Or Tiredness?
- Symptoms Of Fatigue
- Injuries Caused By Fatigue And Tiredness At Work
- Calculating Compensation For Accidents At Work Caused By Fatigue Or Tiredness
- What Are The Risk Factors Of Fatigue And Tiredness At Work?
- How Fatigue Or Tiredness Could Cause Accidents At Work
- Does Your Employer Have A Duty Of Care To Prevent Tiredness?
- Industries Which Have A Higher Risk Of Fatigue And Tiredness
- How Much Time Do I Have To Claim For An Accident Caused By Fatigue Or Tiredness?
- I Was Injured At Work Due To Tiredness, What Should I Do?
- Do You Handle Claims For Accidents At Work Caused By Fatigue On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Other Information
- FAQs About Tiredness In The Workplace
What Is An Accident At Work Caused By Fatigue Or Tiredness?
Employers have a duty of care to protect and safeguard employees as outlined by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), including implementing risk management to prevent accidents at work caused by fatigue. If an employer breaches their duty of care and you suffer a workplace injury as a result, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim against them.
Tiredness and fatigue can cause workers to complete tasks with less concentration, which can result in work-related accidents. Furthermore, if you’re tired you may have a reduced reaction time, meaning that you could be injured in an accident that occurs.
Although statistics surrounding accidents at work caused by fatigue aren’t readily available, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published statistics conveying which body parts get injured the most in reported workplace accidents.
The graph below contains statistics from reports made under The Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurences 2013 (RIDDOR), illustrating the rate of non-fatal injuries to employees by injury site in the year 2020/21.
Symptoms Of Fatigue
Each individual may experience fatigue and tiredness differently. However, there are some common symptoms of fatigue:
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- Tiredness or sleepiness
- Headaches
- Aches or weakness in your muscles
- Problems with hand-eye coordination
- Impaired reflexes
- Problems with decision making
- Loss of appetite
- Reduced attention span
- Blurred vision
- Hallucinations
- Problems with short-term memory and concentration.
There are a number of ways that the symptoms above could result in an accident at work. However, not all instances of accidents caused by tiredness would be grounds for a successful claim.
For example, the NHS also explains that the following could cause tiredness in the workplace:
- Too much caffeine; as well as making you feel energetic, caffeine use can affect your sleep and cause you to feel tired
- Alcohol, which can interfere with your sleep and may leave you tired
- Medical conditions like anaemia or an underactive thyroid
- Certain cancer treatments
If your tiredness in the workplace was caused exclusively by any of the above, then you would be unlikely to be able to claim. This is because you must be able to link employer negligence and your injuries directly in order to claim.
Injuries Caused By Fatigue And Tiredness At Work
Because there are a wide range of different kinds of accidents that can occur as the result of tiredness in work, there are a number of different injury types that you can sustain as a result.
We’ve included some examples of injuries you could sustain as a result of tiredness below:
- Leg injuries. This could include a tear to the ligament in the leg, as well as soft tissue injuries and broken bones. Severe workplace leg injuries may result in amputation.
- Arm injuries. You could fracture your elbow or forearm, or sustain an injury to the elbow. In some cases, damage to the shoulder (in particular, the brachial plexus) might cause a loss of mobility in the arm.
- Head injuries. A head injury can result in a brain injury. As a result, someone who has sustained a head injury at work because of fatigue caused by negligence might result in disability ranging from minor to severe.
- Burns and scalds. These can affect any part of the body. For example, someone could spill boiling water on your legs causing a scald injury.
If you’ve experienced any of these injuries at work due to your employers’ negligence, you could be entitled to pursue a personal injury claim. You can contact our advisers today to receive free legal advice about your situation.
Calculating Compensation For Accidents At Work Caused By Fatigue Or Tiredness
We’ve used figures from a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to create the compensation table below. Estimating the potential compensation you could receive for your injuries can be difficult, as compensation is valued on a case-by-case basis.
However, the JCG provides a list of injuries and illnesses alongside guideline compensation brackets; this publication is often used to help legal professionals value potential claims.
Your settlement for a workplace injury claim may consist of two different kinds of damages. General damages aim to compensate you for the psychological and physical pain and suffering your injuries have caused you. The awarded bracket of compensation can be affected by the length of treatment and the severity of the injuries you sustained.
Special damages compensate you for the financial impact the injury has had on you; for example, if you have had to pay for prescription medication and painkillers, you could claim this back. You must provide evidence in order to receive special damages, for example, showing payslips to prove loss of earnings.
Our advisors can offer an alternative estimation of what your claim could be worth when you get in touch today. Furthermore, if your claim is valid, they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel.
What Are The Risk Factors Of Fatigue And Tiredness At Work?
There are instances in which fatigue and tiredness can become risk factors for accidents in the workplace. The Working Time Regulations 1998 set out the requirements for employees to have sufficient breaks on shift and enough time to rest between shifts.
It’s important to note that it’s the responsibility of the employer to manage the risk of fatigue in the workplace. They should take steps to avoid this even if employees want to work more hours or prefer certain shifts for social reasons.
There are a number of things that should be considered when designing shift schedules to reduce fatigue. These include:
- The workload on the shift
- The duties being performed
- The time of the shift, and it’s duration
- The number of breaks on shift and how long they are
- The length of time between shifts
Accidents at work caused by fatigue can be dangerous. If you believe you’ve suffered an accident at work due to work-related tiredness that resulted from negligence, our team of advisers can help.
How Fatigue Or Tiredness Could Cause Accidents At Work
Some common ways that tiredness or fatigue could cause a work-related accident are:
- Working at a height: Work-related fatigue can cause workers to lose their footing and fall from heights, such as from a ladder or roof. This can result in leg, ankle, arm, or wrist injuries.
- Factory equipment: If you work in a factory and your employer does not provide adequate breaks, this could lead to tiredness and fatigue, which could in term lead to injuries while operating heavy machinery.
- Handling dangerous substances. Many dangerous substances in the workplace need to be handled with care. Fatigue could cause mistakes to be made (for example, a substance being transported in an unsuitable container) which could in turn cause injuries.
You can get in touch with our team of advisers today for 24/7 free legal advice about the process for claiming after accidents at work caused by fatigue. They can then forward you to our expert panel of lawyers who may be able to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Does Your Employer Have A Duty Of Care To Prevent Tiredness?
The law states that employers have a duty of care to prevent employees from being injured; they must take all reasonably practicable steps to do so. This is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The Working Time Regulations 1998 is a piece of legislation that specifically relates to the number of breaks that employees should have during and between shifts.
Employers must manage risks that arise from fatigue by ensuring employees aren’t working too many long hours, such as excessive overtime or double shifts. They should also undertake a risk assessment and fatigue risk management to ensure employees aren’t experiencing chronic fatigue. For example, night shift workers might be more susceptible to fatigue as their sleep could be more interrupted by daylight and daytime noises; employers could consider this when designing shift patterns.
Furthermore, staff levels should be managed so that existing employees aren’t given more work than they can handle. Employees should also be given sufficient rest breaks at work where they can relax without being given any work-related tasks. If you feel your employer has acted negligently and breached their duty of care, causing you to be injured because of an accident caused by fatigue, you can contact our team of advisers for free legal advice.
Industries Which Have A Higher Risk Of Fatigue And Tiredness
There are some industries that can be more susceptible to accidents are work caused by fatigue. These can include:
- Transportation: Lorry drivers may experience fatigue-related work accidents if they’re expected to work through the night. Furthermore, they often work long hours where they are required to concentrate, which can cause tiredness.
- Healthcare: People who work in healthcare are often under a lot of pressure, working long shifts with few breaks. They may also need to work night shifts.
- Emergency services: People in emergency services often work long, high-pressure shifts, sometimes without many chances to take breaks. Furthermore, the unpredictable nature of these job roles means that it can be difficult to plan shifts.
- Retail: People working in retail are often required to work long shifts on their feet and, with more retail environments being open 24 hours, may be expected to work outside of standard working hours.
For more information on how accidents at work caused by fatigue can result from negligence, speak with an advisor today.
How Much Time Do I Have To Claim For An Accident Caused By Fatigue Or Tiredness?
According to the Limitation Act 1980, there is generally a three-year personal injury claims time limit. This is three years from the exact date you suffer the accident or the day you gain knowledge that your injuries are due to someone breaching their duty of care.
If you’re under 18, the three-year time limit begins from your 18th birthday. If you’d like to begin your personal injury claim sooner, someone you know can become a litigation friend to pursue the claim for you and the time limit is suspended while you’re underage.
The time limit is also frozen in cases where you don’t have the mental capacity to claim, and a litigation friend can claim on your behalf. If you regain the capacity to claim, the time limit will begin and you can claim yourself.
To learn more about the time limits that apply, you can contact our expert team of advisers for 24/7 free legal advice.
I Was Injured At Work Due To Tiredness, What Should I Do?
If you’ve suffered an accident at work caused by fatigue, you may be wondering if there are certain procedures that should be followed. The first thing you should do is seek medical help. This is not only necessary for your health and wellbeing, but it can also serve as medical evidence if you go forward with your personal injury claim. Providing medical records, such as a doctor’s note from your GP, can help support your claim.
Next, you should gather as much additional evidence as you can. If you want to claim special damages, you should provide evidence to prove you suffered financially due to your injuries. This could be bus tickets to prove you travelled to and from medical appointments, or evidence that you lost a holiday deposit because you couldn’t attend due to your injuries.
Finally, it’s recommended that you contact a specialist solicitor. Some claimants decide to pursue a personal injury claim alone, but a No Win No Fee solicitor can aid you in proving liability for an accident at work. Furthermore, they can offer guidance throughout the claims process about considerations like when to accept an offer of compensation.
Our panel of personal injury solicitors have extensive knowledge and experience to help you begin your personal injury claim. You can contact our team of advisers to find out more.
Do You Handle Claims For Accidents At Work Caused By Fatigue On A No Win No Fee Basis?
A No Win No Fee Agreement is a way to access legal representation with minimised financial risk, as there are no costs to pay upfront or as your claim continues.
If your case fails, you don’t have to pay your solicitor’s fees. If your case is successful, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your award. This is taken in the form of a percentage, which is legally capped.
If you’d like to begin the personal injury claims process and learn more about how much compensation you could be entitled to, you can contact our team of advisers by:
- Calling 020 3870 4868.
- Starting your claim online.
- Using the live chat feature at the bottom of the screen.
Other Information
Agency Worker Injury Claims Guide For Compensation: Our guide explains what rights agency workers have after suffering workplace injuries.
How Do I Get More Money From An Injury Claim?: If you’d like to receive the maximum amount of compensation you’re owed, our article explores how you can get more money from an injury claim.
Can You Sue On Behalf Of Someone Else? : If you’d like to sue on someone else’s behalf, our article explores the laws and regulations surrounding this.
Sleep And Tiredness: This NHS guide contains information on why tiredness can persist and tips on how to handle tiredness.
How Do I Know If I’ve Broken A Bone?: This NHS guide will provide advice on broken bones.
Broken Leg: Do you think you may have suffered a broken leg injury? This NHS article explores the signs, treatment, and recovery from a leg fracture.
FAQs About Tiredness In The Workplace
What does the Working Time Regulations 1998 cover?
The Working Time Regulations 1998 limits the number of hours an employee can work. It also ensures that employees get regular breaks and a sufficient amount of time between shifts.
What are the UK Work Time Regulations?
Employees:
- Should not be made to work more than 48 hours each week
- Are entitled to a “rest period” of at least 11 consecutive hours between shifts
- Should be given a rest break on shifts that are longer than 6 hours
Thank you for reading our guide about claiming for accidents at work caused by fatigue.
