_{If you need assistance with a claim, contact injurywatch.co.uk's free, confidential legal claim support helpdesk.}

The workplace is a dangerous place which accounts from more than half the accidents which take place in the United Kingdom every year.

Over 850,000 people are injured or made ill as a result of their job in the UK annually. Many will get better but some will not. Each year over 25,000 people are forced to give up work as a result of work-related injuries or illness.

Call 0800 066 99 07 and get our personal injury team working for you straight away. The call is free, the advice is free and nothing will ever be deducted from your compensation.

Claiming what is due to you

According to the Association of British Insurers, workplace related personal injury claims successfully pursued by claimants number only around 60,000 a year, while a further 20,000 will make a successful claim for industrial injuries benefit, (which is a government funded “no fault” scheme).

On that interpretation, 9 out of every 10 workers who are injured or made ill through work receive no compensation, which is seemingly inexplicable when every employer in the land regardless of size is compelled by law to have Employer's Liability Insurance which is specifically designed to provide compensation to employees who suffer injury due to the negligence of their employers.

Opinion is divided on why relatively few claims are brought.

Social pressure not to claim may be a factor (particularly in smaller workplaces), but the fear of possible "repercussions" if they take their employer to court are generally groundless as the settlement is between the claimant and the employer's insurer. Furthermore there are laws which prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who pursue legitimate compensation claims for accident injuries incurred at work and good employers will treat your claim with compassion and understanding.

You should always consider pursuing your right to claim; if the accident was not your fault a claim against your employer's insurer will compensate you for the pain you suffer and the losses you will incur as a result.
Contact the legal helpdesk for assistance.

First things first

If you are injured at work and are going to be off for a period of time, you are entitled to statutory sick pay. This can be claimed from your employer if you need more than four days off work in a row and is payable for up to 28 weeks. If you are still off work after 6 months you can make a claim for long-term invalidity or disablement benefit.

To get SSP, you should tell your employer that you are sick as soon as possible. You employer may have their own rules for when and how you tell them you are sick (please check with your employer).
However they cannot insist that you tell them:

• in person
• earlier than the first qualifying day or by a set time
• on a special form
• on a medical certificate
• more than once a week during your sickness

Your employer may not pay you SSP if you tell them you are sick more than 7 days after you are first became sick.

Evidence that you are sick

Your employer will ask you for evidence that you are sick. This will usually be in the form of a sick note from your doctor.
But your employer cannot ask you to provide a sick note, for the first 7 days that you are sick. They may ask you to fill in a self-certificate of their own or form SC2 which you can get from your GP's surgery, your nearest HM Revenue & Customs office or HM Revenue & Customs website.

Logging the accident

• Notify your employer if the accident took place at work. If you are self-employed, you must record the accident yourself. The accident must be reported in the accident book. Your employer has a legal responsibility to report the accident to the Health and Safety Executive or the local authority environmental department and can be prosecuted if they fail to do so. Accidents should be notified to the Incident Contact Centre: tel: 0845 300 9923 (http://www.riddor.gov.uk).
• Report the injury (however seemingly trivial) to your doctor because the full extent of the injury may not be immediately apparent. If you subsequently go to court to get compensation for the injury, the initial medical report will provide evidence to support your claim. Don't discuss any compensation claim you plan to make at this stage with your doctor.
  

Making your claim

You may be entitled to claim compensation from your employer if you are injured in a work-related injury or suffer ill health as a result of the job you do (see Industrial disease pages). Not every incident is claimable.

You must be able to prove it is more likely than not that:

• You have suffered a personal injury
• Your employers failed in their legal duty of care towards you.
• Your injury was caused by your employer's failure, and not by some other factor, such as an underlying medical condition.
• It was foreseeable, based on information available at the time, that the failure would lead to your injury.

If all the above are proven (on the balance of probability) then compensation may be available for the pain and suffering cause by the injury your financial losses and expenses resulting from the injury.

If you want to initiate a claim you must do so within three years of the accident taking place or of your becoming aware that you were suffering ill health caused, or made worse, by your job.

It is always advisable to take advice on making a claim as early as possible so that evidence can be preserved, witnesses contacted, photographs taken and detailed medical advice sought.

Keep a dossier about your claim

Include:

• Detailed signed and dated notes about how your accident happened.
• Sketch plans of the scene of accident, photos (with rulers in shot to give scale) of injuries, surfaces and any equipment, vehicles or machinery relevant to the case; details of the make and manufacturer of any relevant equipment.
• Names, addresses and phone numbers of witnesses.
• A diary of your symptoms, and medical treatment.
• A log of all events relevant to your case (days lost), monies spent etc. See allowable expenses
• Receipts for all expenses.

Seek medical treatment promptly. Always attend medical appointments – not attending may be interpreted as meaning that your condition was not very serious. Don't discuss your compensation claim with your doctor, because all your medical records will be disclosable to your employer.

Funding your case

Beware of TV and other adverts. 'Claims farmers', claims assessors and the like may seem to offer a convenient, friendly and trouble-free way to start your claim, but they are generally unskilled and unregulated and many will take a percentage of the compensation due to you to pursue your claim, whereas a solicitor winning a case will obtain their costs from the defence.

There are four main recommended ways to fund your case:

• Lawyers retained by your union, or professional body of which you are a member.
• Lawyers paid by 'before the event' legal expenses insurance.
• Lawyers who offer you a 'no-win-no-fee' agreement. This is usually backed up with an insurance policy to protect you against liability for your opponent's legal costs (and sometimes your own legal expenses) if you lose your claim. Alternatively, you may enter into a loan agreement to pay for legal out-of-pocket expenses, such as experts' fees.
• pay your way from your own resources (which can be very expensive)

Progressing your claim

You will need specialist legal advice to make your claim, whether it is settled by agreement, or goes to court. Keep your legal representative posted on all developments including any disciplinary procedures brought against you, and any changes in your pay or conditions following a return to work.

Pre-trial rules, known as a 'protocol', require your legal representative to put sufficient details in a claim letter to your employer to enable your employer to investigate your claim. Your employer, the defendant, has to acknowledge the letter and then has three months to consult with their insurer to decide whether or not to admit responsibility for the injury. During that time your representative will obtain your medical records and a medical report.

If you have to start a court case, the court will hold a case management conference and set a timetable for the remaining stages of preparation of the case and a date for the trial.

Remember

• Some cases may be settled in a matter of months.
• Others may take two to three years to come to conclude (particularly where the claimant's medical condition has not stabilised). In some such cases where some liability is agreed to be beyond dispute, provisional damages or interim payments may be possible. This is an area where you will need specialist legal guidance.

Settling your claim

A good solicitor will keep you informed at all stages in the progress of your case, including arranging for expert opinions (eg medical opinions). At some stage, they may advise you that agreement might be reached. You will have to take heed of their advice, and make your own assessment of the risk of proceeding to court or whether to offer, or accept an out-of-court award.

Your solicitor may advise you that an offer of settlement should be made to your opponent. This may be a 'global figure' for your whole claim, or it may be an offer on just one or more of the arguments in the case. For example on the question of how the responsibility for the accident is to be apportioned, or how much your compensation for the injury itself should be. It can speed up the claim and reduce your risk of incurring legal costs. The jargon for this procedure is 'making a Part 36 offer'. Your solicitor should ask for your confirmation that you agree to it being made.

• The offer remains open for 21 days from the date your opponent receives it.
• If your opponent refuses the offer, and you press on to trial, the court's award may be better than the offer you made to your employer. If so, your employer will have to pay a higher rate of interest on your damages, and extra legal costs.
• Your employer may also make a Part 36 offer, backed up with a payment into court, which puts you in the position of deciding whether to take a gamble on the court, (or a further subsequent offer) beating their current offer.
• Remember that the compensation is for you. You are entitled to know what deductions, if any, will be made from your compensation.

Possible outcomes...

If you win...

Your opponent will pay damages, or compensation, usually assessed under two main categories:

• 'General damages' – a figure worked out by the judge, backed up by case reports on similar cases, for your pain, suffering and loss of quality of life (short-term or long-term).
• 'Special damages' – the total of the financial losses and expenses (including those that you are likely to incur in the future) resulting from your injuries. The list may be long, and it may include not only obvious items like loss of earnings but also, in cases of catastrophic injuries, the cost of adapting your home to cope with your disability, or your care needs for the rest of your life.

PLUS

• Interest on damages.
• Your legal costs.

If you lose

• You fail to prove your case. You get no damages or compensation and you are liable to pay your opponent's legal costs, which is why you may need legal expenses insurance.

Mixed decision

• The court awards you damages but for a lower amount than that previously offered as a Part 36 payment into court made by your employer. You pay all your costs and all your employer's costs from the date of their payment until the end of the case. The costs of a trial may come to one-third of the total costs of the case. So failure to beat a payment into court made close to the trial date can wipe out the amount of your compensation even in a big-value case.

_{If you need assistance with a claim, contact injurywatch.co.uk's free, confidential legal claim support helpdesk.}