If you’ve suffered an injury during an incident at work, it could be a stressful and confusing. There’s no doubt that there’s discomfort and the difficulties that result from your injuries, but they could also cause other concerns, such as what will my life and earning capacity be affected? What should I do?
In the following 12 points I’ve provided the clear, beneficial steps you can follow following an injury at work. They are designed to assist you in recovering and to put you in the most favorable position should you choose to seek damages for the injury you sustained on the job.
1. Concentrate on your overall health
This is what is the primary thing you must do.
Following the accident, you must be treated by the first-aid person at your workplace. If not, it could be a sign of a lack of care by your employer since every workplace legally has to maintain a first-aid kit as well as a designated first aid person.
Then, you should seek an exhaustive examination of the injuries you sustained at work from a competent medical professional as soon as you can after the incident.
A few types of injuries might appear to be minor at first but they can develop into something much more severe. Head injuries, for instance may take hours or even weeks to show up. In the most extreme cases even a minor injury could turn into a chronic condition if not appropriate treatment.
The golden rule isthat after an accident, you should never do anything that could be connected to a claim over your own health and well-being.
2. Then report the incident to your manager
You should inform your manager about the incident and follow the procedures for reporting accidents in your company.
If you’ve been involved in an accident that was serious at work, the employer legally bound to report the incident and the Health and Safety Executive (depending on the specific circumstances and time you’re off work).
Furthermore, in some organizations there is a chance that you may be in violation of the procedures and manuals for employees if you don’t report an accident at work properly.
The issue of who is responsible for the accident is better avoided at this point. If you’re blaming yourself, or even if your boss is blaming you for the incident however, it doesn’t mean the employer is not legally responsible for the incident taking place. The question of who is at fault should be determined by qualified lawyers with experience in evaluating the responsibility for workplace accidents.
3. Verify that your accident has been written in the accident log
Every company must have an accident record book. Some employers might not want to document an incident in their accident log typically due to goals to reduce workplace injuries and accidents.
It is vital to not let accidents to remain unreported in this manner. Although some workplaces boast about the number of days that there haven’t been any injuries however, don’t let that pressure you to allow an accident go unreported.
The reporting of the accident is a vital obligation, and it could assist in preventing similar injuries from occurring.
If your employer is refusing to report the incident in the accident logbook Then you must contact, or send an email to your employer, so you have written evidence of your attempt to file a work injury claim. Your employer is not able to delete any of your emails that you have sent in particular if it’s directly from your personal email account.
If your employer is still refusing to include the incident in the accident log This could be enough to cause you to resign and seek constructive dismissal. But, prior to resigning or taking another move, you must consult an expert employment law lawyer. Resigning is an important move.
4. Inform your colleagues of the incident and ask for their assistance.
If you were working on your own when you had your workplace accident Make sure that your coworkers are aware that the event occurred. Particularly, you should inform colleagues you trust most about the accident.
Informing your coworkers about the incident is a great action for two main reasons:
It is a way to prevent similar workplace injuries occurring to everyone else.
It may aid in any investigation or should you decide to seek compensation.
The first one is self-explanatory . It is morally correct to inform others of the risks that caused your workplace injury.
The second makes it much harder for your employer, or their insurers to argue the fact that the accident happened and is unfortunately, does occur.
Additionally, depending on the severity of the extent of your injuries, you could be off from work for a short duration following the accident. In the immediately following the accident that employers may decide to change equipment or working systems due to the workplace accident you sustained. While this can be done to increase safety, occasionally it can be used to cover up the incident.
If your employer decides this time to conduct investigations into the incident and your connection to the facts may be overlooked when you’re away.
It is essential to keep at heart that bosses may exert lots in the way of stress on employees. They might be able convince more likable employees to claim that the accident did not happen. This may sound like a disaster but the fact is that ensuring that you have ‘bulletproof proof’ of the fact that an accident at work occurred is the most effective way to keep your employer, or their insurance company from denial that the incident occurred.
This is the reason having a trusted team member to help you is very beneficial. They will ensure that the truth about the event are documented and will keep you up-to-date regarding any changes the employer makes in the event of your absence.
5. Photograph and record video evidence
This is a follow-up to the earlier point regarding “bulletproof evidence”.
Videos and photos of the scene of the accident, as soon as (safely) feasible, could be a convincing proof. This can help aid in a compensation claim in the event that you decide later to file one, or aid in defending yourself from false allegations that a dishonourable employer might present.
Following an accident at work, you must behave like you are a Crime Scene Investigator!
Rememberthat you can’t be too sure. Be sure to work on the assumption that if you are unsure take a note. A solicitor for an accident at work will be able to criticize you for taking multiple photographs or video of an location of the accident. This is the best thing you can do.
6. Visit your doctor and/or hospital at least every time you require
It is possible that you have visited your GP or visited the hospital with your injuries. It is possible that you are getting a great recovery. But, I’d suggest that you visit your GP or the hospital whenever you can. Pay attention to your body.
If, for instance your only sought medical attention one time (at the time of the incident) the majority of medical professionals are likely to conclude that the injuries you sustained only lasted a couple of months. This is because according to their thinking, when an injury causes chronic, serious problems, the person who was injured would be seeking medical care.
If it isn’t, this impression could seriously weaken your claim. Medical experts are the ones who decides on the degree of your workplace injury in accordance with their medical advice. This is not the personal injury lawyer or you. lawyer.
What the media and government won’t reveal is that when you’re successful in your claim for work-related accidents the medical expenses incurred by NHS NHS will be covered through your employer’s liability insurance. Thus, winning personal injury claims are beneficial for society.
7. Write down every symptom you notice
It’s difficult to emphasize the importance of you to keep a current note of your symptoms whether it’s in writing or on a computer or even on your phone.
The nurses and doctors don’t always record all specifics regarding your health issues. Every time, our clients have told us that when they had their workplace accident they suffered numerous injuries, but the hospital was focusing on the ones they believed to be the most serious injuries at the moment.
In my experience that time is able to transform injuries upside down. The most small aspect of your workplace accident right after it occurred could turn into a chronic and debilitating issue – possibly the most serious accident.
If a physician or nurse did not record this injury as minor during the appointment or visit, then a medical professional is writing a report months or years later, will be unable to link the accident to the injuries you sustained at work.
Furthermore Personal injury claims may require a lengthy time to settle in particular those injuries that are serious and lasting. The memories naturally fade with time, and a note of the symptoms you have experienced will help in describing the effects of your workplace accident to a medical professional.
If you’re not interested in writing an account of your symptoms, you could make video recordings of yourself talking about your symptoms.
8. Note your losses and expenses
The reason for the compensation offered in an accident work case is to get you back into the position you’d have been had the accident not occurred. Every case is unique. If, for instance you were unable to pay your bills because of an accident, then you ought to be able to recuperate the entire amount of pay lost. In the same way, if you missed the chance to get an award or promotion, then those future losses will be able to be recovered too.
In addition, you are able to typically claim for all types of losses. Some examples include:
The depletion of the holiday you have planned
Help and support from family and friends (our Legal Library also contains an online form to assist you in recording this)
The cost of heating has increased
Cost of travel include e.g. for medical appointments or therapy sessions
This list is only scratching the surface.
Note down the losses you suffer in the event of losses ensures you don’t lose track of all of them. Like we said the personal injury claim from accidents at work can take a while to resolve, therefore it’s important to write any losses or damages you’ve received in connection with injuries or accidents while you’re at it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on paper, on a smartphone, or a computer simply record the losses so that you don’t overlook these out of your claim.
The ability to prove your losses is also essential and you should keep any evidence to prove your losses. Take photos of your receipts, and send them to the personal injury lawyer you have chosen.
9. Think about making a complaint
Grievances are a form of grievance about an issue at your place of work.
If you’ve sustained an injury at work due to such things as defective equipment or a slippery floor or the fact that you had to manually lift too much of an object, you have the right to file a claim with your employer regarding the incident. This is true even if there’s already had an investigation into an accident.
If the grievance you have submitted is correctly written Your employer shouldn’t be able to consider it a slander against you. It could help improve the working the working conditions at your workplace.
It is nevertheless vital to be aware of your rights as an employee in the event that your employer doesn’t take the appropriate action to address your grievance. If your employer fails to adequately investigate your grievance and you decide to resign in the process, it could lead to a claim for constructive dismissal (though you should seek specific advice on employment law before making a decision to resign).
If your employer does not treat you favorably due to your complaint there could be grounds to file a whistleblowing complaint under the law of employment.
10. Submit Subject Access Request
Submitting a Subject access request permits you to request copies of any information your employer holds regarding you. That includes emails where you are mentioned as well as your occupational health and personnel documents.
As you might imagine, this could provide information regarding the incident at work that might not have been communicated to you in advance. If you want to know what data your employer holds about you, whether it’s simply out of curiosity or because you believe it will aid in any future claim for compensation – you should consider submitting a Subject Access Request. is a great idea.
If you’re considering submitting an Access Request for Subjects and you are considering it, do it prior to filing any claim for an accident at work. The reason is that when the claim has been filed the employer could claim that they aren’t required to comply fully in accordance with your request. The regulations for disclosing details during the course of a personal injury lawsuit are more restrictive than the broader regulations in the Data Protection Act 2018 (which applies to Subject access requests).
Find out more information on how to file Subject Access Requests via the Information Commissioner’s Office website. The Information Commissioner supervises the compliance of individuals of The Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.
11. Keep in mind that you are subject to an expiration date to file an claim.
If you’re thinking of seeking compensation for an injury at work it is essential to keep in mind that you are only given an amount of time in which to make a claim.
In the case of most workplace accident claims, you’ll need to resolve the claim or start legal proceedings within three years after the date of your accident. If you fail to do so take action, you could be denied from seeking compensation.
The deadline could be pushed back quickly, so my suggestion is: If you’re unsure about any claim get advice as quickly as you are able to.
12. Talk to a specialist injury at work lawyer and not a call center agent
Always ensure that the legal advice you receive is from the most reliable source. This includes an expert personal injury lawyer with years of experience in settling successful claims for workplace accidents.
Since the majority of accident at work compensation claims are based under a ‘No-Win, No Fee’ model and the hourly rate that your lawyer usually charges is not a factor. Why would you use the services of a paralegal instead of an expert?
If you decide to file a claim, be sure you have legal representation who you can are confident in. In most cases, an insurance firm or union will choose solicitors on your behalf, however it’s your decision and you have the right to select a firm of solicitors you can are confident in.
Contact us to arrange a complimentary consultation that is free of pressure and with no commitment to go further.
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