Our guide explores how unsafe working practices and conditions could injure you and what accidents could be caused. Additionally, we look at statistics to examine the frequency of accidents at work.

Employer responsibilities are detailed in health and safety legislation, and we will examine key laws that must be adhered to. 

We also look at potential things that employers can do to help prevent injuries in the workplace and how injuries could be caused if an employer fails to do so. 

Moreover, we explain the criteria you must meet to make an accident at work claim and what evidence will be useful to you when claiming compensation. We also outline what types of damages you could be entitled to and what resources solicitors use to value injuries. 

Furthermore, we detail how a No Win No Fee agreement could financially benefit you and what these arrangements entail. For more information, please continue reading. 

If you would like to speak with us about your claim, please feel free to reach out in the ways listed below: 

• Call us on 020 3870 4868
• Contact us by completing our online form
• Talk to us through our live chat bubble 

Select A Section

1. What Are Unsafe Working Practices And Conditions?
2. Your Employer’s Responsibility To Keep You Safe
3. Accidents Caused By Unsafe Working Practices
4. How To Prove Unsafe Practices At Work Caused Your Accident
5. Payouts For Accidents Caused By Unsafe Working Practices And Conditions
6. Get In Contact To Claim Compensation

What Are Unsafe Working Practices And Conditions? 

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states that employers have a duty of care to ensure your safety as reasonably as possible while at work. If they fail to do this, thus breaching their duty, they could be liable for your injuries. 

Many different ways working practices and conditions can be unsafe. Examples of this include: 

• Lack of necessary personal protective equipment: If you suffer an injury, or a burn, for example, because you were not given gloves which were the required PPE you needed to carry out the tasks of your employment. 
• Failing to provide training: If you were not given any training from The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, you could suffer a back injury if you lift something in an improper way. 
• Lack of regular maintenance: If machinery or equipment is not frequently inspected for faults, this could lead to injuries if a ladder is damaged, for example, or if machinery malfunctions because of such. 
• Failure to carry out risk assessments: If your employer fails to perform risk assessments, you could suffer injuries because hazards were not noticed and reduced. 

You could be eligible to claim compensation for your accident at work if you suffer injuries because of these unsafe working practices and conditions.

Your Employer’s Responsibility To Keep You Safe 

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states that employers have a duty to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure your safety in the workplace. When making a claim for any injuries you have sustained from unsafe working practices and conditions, you must show that your employer owed you a duty of care when you suffered the injuries from the accident.

If this duty is breached, they could be liable for your injuries. Injuries caused by an employer’s breach of duty amount to negligence and would give you grounds to make a claim. 

Through health and safety legislation, your employer owes you a duty of care. Should this duty be breached and lead to you suffering harm then, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim following an accident at work.

Accidents Caused By Unsafe Working Practices 

As mentioned in the previous sections, unsafe working practices and conditions could be the fault of your employer failing to do the duties they are required to perform.

Examples of accidents that could occur include: 

• Slips, trips, and falls: If there is a lack of warning signs, you may slip and fall on a wet floor. Alternatively, tripping over wires that should have been tidied could result in injuries. 
• Faulty equipment: If a handrail or a ladder is damaged, this could result in injuries if you fall down stairs, from a height, or if there is any debris you fall onto.  
• Falling objects: You may suffer a head injury if an object is put in a dangerous place and falls on you. 
• Warehouse accident: If you have not been given the appropriate training on operating machinery or a forklift, you could suffer a broken bone. 

If you have been injured due to your employer’s negligence, you could make a claim for the injuries you sustained due to unsafe working practices and conditions.  

How Common Are Accidents At Work? 

Accidents are consistently recorded through statistics gathered and collated by the Health and Safety Executive. 

• In 2021/22, 61,713 employees suffered non-fatal injuries reported under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
• 30% of non-fatal accidents were slips, trips, falls, or equivalent. 
• 18% of injuries were caused by handling, lifting, or carrying. 
• 11% of injuries were caused by an individual being struck by a moving object.
• 8% of injuries were the result of falling from a height. 

How To Prove Unsafe Practices At Work Caused Your Accident 

Proving that unsafe working practices and conditions caused your injuries will be useful in your claim. Evidence to help you prove your employer’s liability after an accident at work for your injuries include: 

• Copies of medical records and photographs of the injury
• CCTV and accident book records
• Witness contact details

These can help you prove your employer’s liability and how this amounted to negligence through their breach of duty of care.

You should also be within the time limit when you start your claim. The Limitation Act 1980 states that you will have three years from the date of your accident or the date you acquired knowledge of negligence to begin your claim. 

Exceptions in which the time limit is suspended are if a person was under eighteen at the time of the accident or if they lacked the mental capacity to claim. 

• A person will have three years from the date of their eighteenth birthday to claim.
• Three years from the date they regain their mental capacity in the event that this does happen.

These apply if a litigation friend has not already claimed on their behalf. 

Payouts For Accidents Caused By Unsafe Working Practices And  Conditions

When claiming damages, you could use a personal injury compensation calculator to get a rough overview of your potential payout. 

However, though a loss of earnings may sometimes be considered, calculators do not usually include factors that would be considered when valuing your injuries.

Alternatively, solicitors may use the Judicial College Guidelines to help them value injuries. These provide compensation brackets, as shown in the table below. Despite this, these figures are not guaranteed either and should only be used as a guide to potential payouts. 

Edit

Injury	Severity	Notes	Value
Head	Very Severe (a)	There is an ability to follow basic commands but the response to environment is little if none at all.	£282,010 to £403,990
Head	Moderately Severe (b)	This involves serious disability and the need for constant professional care.	£219,070 to £282,010
Neck	Severe (a) (i)	Despite wearing a collar for 24 hours a day, the neck is still limited or not able to move at all.	In the region of £148,330
Neck	Severe (a) (ii)	This involves serious fractures and damage to discs in the cervical spine.	£65,740 to £130,930
Leg	Very Serious (b) (ii)	There are permanent problems with mobility which require mobility aids.	£54,830 to £87,890
Arm	Serious (b)	Injuries resulting in permanent and substantial disablement. Typically involving serious fractures.	£39,170 to £59,860
Back	Moderate (b) (i)	This often involves compression/crush fractures where there is a risk of osteoarthritis.	£27,760 to £38,780
Back	Moderate (b) (ii)	Ligaments may be disturbed which have caused backaches.	£12,510 to £27,760
Shoulder	Serious (b)	This involves dislocations and sensory symptoms in the forearm and hands.	£12,770 to £19,200
Pelvis and Hips	Lesser Injuries (c) (i)	This involves significant injury but there is little or no disability remaining.	£3,950 to £12,590

If your accident at work claim is successful, you could receive two heads of loss. General damages look to compensate you for the suffering your injuries have caused you. Special damages reimburse for financial losses caused by your injuries, such as missed earnings, medication costs or care expenses.

Get In Contact To Claim Compensation 

Have you thought about hiring a solicitor to represent you in your accident at work claim? If you are worried about the cost, you could always opt for a No Win No Fee solicitor.

A Conditional Fee Agreement is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. If your accident at work claim is successful, the solicitor will take a percentage from the awarded compensation. The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 legally caps how much can be taken. This is known as the success fee. 

If the personal injury claim does not succeed, you will not be required to cover the success fee.

Please contact our advisors to learn more about No Win No Fee, as our panel of experienced solicitors could choose to offer you this agreement. 

To reach us with any questions or queries, please contact us by: 

• Calling us on 020 3870 4868
• Completing our form to claim online
• Talking to us through our live chat bubble 

Workplace Safety Resources

Thank you for reading our guide on claiming for injuries resulting from unsafe working practices and conditions. For more of our guides, please use the links provided: 

• Are You Entitled To Full Pay If You Are Injured At Work? 
• Do I Need A Medical Report?
• How Do I Know If My Employer Is Responsible For A Workplace Injury? 
• Roll Cage Trolley Accident At Work – Can I Make A Claim?

For further information, feel free to check out the external resources below:

• Fire Safety– HSE
• First Aid– NHS
• Statutory Sick Pay– Government guidance