Being injured on the job is a confusing, painful, and stressful ordeal, especially when some employers will do their best to pressure you into staying silent about it. But the decisions made in the 48 hours after your injury can seriously impact your ability to seek compensation. This guide outlines what you should be doing, from the moment the injury happens, until the time comes to decide if you’ll be pursuing a claim.
Get Medical Attention First, Not Later
This may seem like common sense, but there are always people who tough it out for the rest of the day after an accident, convince themselves it’s not that bad, and only go to a doctor when the pain hasn’t subsided after three days. When you were first treated is a pretty good proxy for how bad your injuries were. So the sooner, the better.
When you are treated, be certain to do the following: tell the doctor everything that you think is ailing you; make sure they document it all; and keep track of names, contact info, and business cards.
Be clear and descriptive when you tell the doctor about how the accident happened, what you were doing at the time, and where on your body you were hurting. The doctor’s records can become evidence of the scope and extent of your injuries, and the information in those records could be used in court or at settlement negotiations. Insist that a copy of the doctor’s notes be taken each time you visit, then keep those notes in a safe place.
What Employer Negligence Actually Means
Not every accident at work will result in a successful claim. The important question is whether your employer has been in breach of their duty of care to you.
By law, they must take reasonable steps to protect employees from foreseeable harm. That’s a lot of boxes to tick, but, essentially, they should be doing proper risk assessments, giving you adequate training, ensuring any equipment you use is maintained in safe working order, providing you with any Personal Protective Equipment recommended, and trying to keep the workplace itself free of anything that could cause you harm.
Breaching their duty doesn’t mean they’ve purposely set out to hurt you, of course. It just means they neglected to do something they had a responsibility to do, and that led to the accident. For instance, they may have asked you to use a piece of machinery you weren’t trained to work with, ignored reports of a hazard, or failed to replace tired equipment.
The good news is that even if you played a part in what happened, for example, by being distracted or by not following a clearly set-out work procedure, you can still bring a claim. Any compensation you’re owed is likely to be reduced by a proportion to reflect your involvement, but the door isn’t completely shut. If you’re in doubt about whether you have valid cause, get workplace injury advice here from a solicitor who handles these cases regularly.
Secure the Scene and Gather Witness Details
Before anything is moved, cleaned up or “fixed,” take photos. Faulty equipment, slippery floors, broken railings, inadequate lighting, photograph everything with your phone, and make sure the photos are timestamped. If the hazard is corrected before it’s well-documented, you lose essential physical evidence.
Next, find out who saw what happened. Colleagues who witnessed the accident are invaluable, and their memory will be the sharpest in the hours immediately after. Get the names and contact information of these co-workers. If any are willing to write down what they saw, even just a quick text or email to you, that’s gold. You’re not asking them to “take your side.” You’re recording the unvarnished facts before they start to fade.
Don’t be surprised if some colleagues get cold feet. People understandably don’t want to get involved in something that could cause bad feelings at the office. But even just their contact info is helpful, witnesses can provide statements later if necessary.
Write Your Accident Book Entry Carefully
Most employers with ten or more employees are legally required to maintain an Accident Book. You have every right to make an entry in it. Do this as soon as possible after getting medical attention, while your memory is fresh.
Write what happened in plain, factual terms. Stick to what you directly observed and experienced. Don’t speculate, don’t assign blame in your entry, and don’t exaggerate, but don’t minimize either. The entry should describe the circumstances, the time, the location, and the nature of your injuries as you experienced them.
Here’s what many people don’t know: you don’t have to sign a pre-written statement prepared by your manager or HR. If someone hands you something to sign and you feel it doesn’t accurately reflect what happened, or that it’s been worded to protect the employer, you’re allowed to decline and write your own entry instead. Your signature on a document that misrepresents the accident can be used against you later.
Ask for a copy of the entry before you leave.
Understand What Your Employer is Required to Report
Certain workplace accidents require the employer to report the incident to the relevant health and safety authority by law. RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) determines this obligation.
Injuries that need to be reported are fractures (except for those to fingers, thumbs and toes), amputations, serious burns, an accident that causes an employee to be unable to carry out their normal duties for more than seven consecutive days, and other specified serious injuries. This reporting responsibility lies with the employer, so you don’t have to do anything. But it can be helpful to know if your accident qualifies because a RIDDOR report is an official document that could support a future claim if one is appropriate.
You don’t have to follow this up yourself, but if your employer doesn’t report something that should have been reported, that can be used as evidence too.
Know Your Financial Position During Recovery
Depending on how badly you’re hurt you may not be ready to go back to work at this point. That raises a question most people don’t have ready: what should you be paid?
The legal minimum is Statutory Sick Pay, a fixed weekly amount paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks if you qualify. But lots of employers pay more, good employers have well-funded occupational sick pay schemes that require them to pay a lot more when someone’s off and this can include full salary in the short term. You should be very sure of the terms and conditions of your employment, or your staff handbook, before accepting less.
Your GP or a hospital doctor can give you a fit note (previously called a sick note) if you are not well enough to work. A fit note, required by your employer when you have been ill for more than seven days in a row, will outline your current capacity. In some circumstances, the fit note is able to suggest that you may be fit for work if your employer is able to make certain adjustments e.g. reduced hours, different times, lighter duties or support. Keep every fit note. They document the duration and impact of your recovery, which becomes relevant when calculating financial losses in any claim.
The Fear of Repercussions is Mostly Misplaced
Many people choose not to proceed with a claim because they’re concerned about their employer, their colleagues, or their job. Let’s deal with that directly.
Your employer must be in possession of Employer’s Liability Insurance. This is obligatory. When you bring a personal injury claim against your employer, it’s their insurer who ultimately pays out. Not your boss from their back pocket, and not a pot funded out of your co-workers’ wages. It’s constructed this way because a hurt worker should not have to suffer financially while their employer continues to function.
Your job is safe. Making a claim isn’t a valid reason for dismissal or detriment at work, and if it happens, and you’re demoted, laid off, or treated unfairly due to making a claim, that is an additional legal issue. The claim itself is just a regular, run-of-the-mill process.
An estimated 561,000 workers sustained a non-fatal injury at work in Great Britain in 2022/23 (Health and Safety Executive). That’s not a figure dominated by reckless employees causing their own accidents. It’s simply a statement of fact: there are hazards at work, and they cause people harm. Making a claim when you’re injured at work isn’t hysterical or dramatic. It’s perfectly normal.
Returning to Work and Managing the Transition
Returning to work after an injury can be challenging. Some individuals may feel the need to rush their return, while others might be concerned that taking the necessary time to recover could lead to issues in the workplace.
In such cases, the fit note serves as an important tool. If your doctor has recommended that you return to work with adjustments such as lighter duties, shorter hours, or by avoiding certain tasks, your employer should consider these recommendations. They are not obligated to accept all adjustments, but they must be willing to discuss the request and not simply refuse it.
You should not return to work on duties that your doctor has deemed unsuitable given your current health status, just because your boss or co-worker is putting pressure on you. If you aggravate your condition by returning to work too soon, it will only make your recovery more complicated and potentially weaken your legal case.
The Time Limit on Personal Injury Claims
This is non-negotiable. In most workplace accident scenarios, you have a three-year window starting from the date of the accident to bring your case before the courts. It’s what is commonly referred to as the limitation period. If that window closes, a barred door awaits your claim, no matter how strong it might be.
Three years might seem like lots of time. But, in fact, these things don’t resolve overnight, and solicitors need ample time to investigate, gather all the necessary evidence, source medical reports, and engage in negotiation talks before setting foot in a courtroom. The sooner you reach out, the more options you have. The longer you wait, the fewer options there are within that last year.
If there is even a slight possibility that you could have a real case here and the accident was a result of an action (or an inaction) on the part of your employer, don’t procrastinate. The sooner you get the appropriate guidance, the better your chances.