By Megan Cullen. Last Updated 28th November 2023. Welcome to this eye injury claims guide. In it, we look at reasons you might be looking to make an eye injury compensation claim.
Whether you’re looking into how much compensation for an eye injury caused by an irritant could be payable, or want to make a loss of sight compensation claim for a severe eye injury at work in the UK, this guide could help you.
Even a minor head injury can significantly reduce your ability to see and go about your life as normal. Even if this effect was only for a short period of time, the impact on you could be big.
As a result, even lesser injuries can be awarded a significant eye injury settlement amount. Whether you suffered an eye injury in an accident at work such as an office workplace accident, or in other circumstances, as long as you can show that someone else’s negligence caused the accident to happen, you could claim compensation. Contact our advisors today to learn more by:
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Using the live chat feature
- Contacting us online
Eye Injury Claims Guide
Select A Section
- Compensation Claim Amounts For An Eye Injury
- When Could I Claim For An Eye Injury?
- Common Causes Of Eye Injuries
- What Is The Time Limit For Eye Injury Claims?
- Eye Injury Claims – Examples Of Evidence
- Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim For An Eye Injury?
- Additional Resources And Advice About Eye Injury Claims
Compensation Claim Amounts For An Eye Injury
Compensation amounts for eye injury claims vary from case to case. This is because the specific factors of your claim could affect the amount you receive, such as the severity of your injury and the recovery period.
If you successfully claim compensation for an eye injury, your settlement will include general damages. This is meant to compensate for the pain and suffering that your injury has caused you.
When calculating compensation for an eye injury, many legal professionals will refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document lists compensation guidelines for various types of injuries. In the table below, we have listed some of the amounts stated in the 16th edition of the JCG, except for the first entry.
Please only use this table as a guide.
| Type Of Injury | Comments | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Several Serious Injuries And Special Damages | Compensation for injuries and special damages, which could include loss of earnings as a result of losing the ability to work for the remainder of your life. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Total blindness | The person has become completely blind. | In the region of £268,720 |
| Loss of Sight In One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (i) | Going beyond the risk of sympathetic ophthalmia, there is a significant risk of the remaining eye's sight deteriorating. | £95,990 to £179,770 |
| Loss of Sight In One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (ii) | The eye suffers with double vision or reduced vision. | £63,950 to £105,990 |
| Total Loss of One Eye | How much is awarded will be affected by the person's age, cosmetic effect and psychiatric consequences. | £54,830 to £65,710 |
| Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye (e) | The higher end of this bracket is applicable to cases where there is scarring in the eye region. | £49,270 to £54,830 |
| Injuries Affecting Sight (f) | Cases where there is no significant risk of any loss or reduction of vision in the remaining eye. Also includes cases where there is persistent double vision. | £23,680 to £39,340 |
| Injuries Affecting Sight (g) | Cases where there is a minor loss of vision in one or both eyes that is expected to be permanent. | £9,110 to £20,980 |
Additionally, your settlement may also include special damages. This compensates you for the financial losses you have suffered due to your injury. Some examples of the financial losses you could be compensated for include:
- A loss of earnings if you’ve needed to take time off work.
- Medical costs.
- Travel expenses, such as taxis to and from medical appointments.
However, you will need to provide evidence of these financial losses, such as payslips, invoices and receipts.
Contact our advisors today if you have any further questions about making an eye injury compensation claim and the amounts you could receive for a successful claim.
When Could I Claim For An Eye Injury?
There are various daily situations where you could suffer an eye injury. However, in order to form the basis of a valid eye injury claim, you must be able to prove that:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- There was a breach in this duty.
- This breach resulted in your eye injury.
A duty of care is a responsibility that a third party holds for others’ health and safety and can vary depending on the situation. For example, you may be owed a duty of care:
- On the roads: Road users owe each other a duty of care to navigate in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. As part of this duty, they should comply with the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
- At work: Employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This means that your employer must take all reasonably practicable steps to keep you safe at work.
- In public: While you are in public spaces, such as shopping centres, parks or gyms, the controller of the space owes you a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This means that they must take steps to ensure your reasonable safety.
If you have any questions about the eligibility criteria for personal injury compensation, get in touch with an advisor from our team. Or, read on to learn more about the eye injury compensation claims process.
Common Causes Of Eye Injuries
As previously mentioned, in order to be eligible to make a claim for eye injury compensation, you will need to demonstrate that your injury was caused by another relevant party breaching the duty of care they owed you.
There are various types of accidents that could lead to eye injury claims. These include:
- Lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – for example, if you work with dangerous chemicals, you may be required to wear goggles for your safety. If your employer failed to provide you with these, the chemicals or their fumes could get into your eyes, and you could become blind.
- Car Accidents – If you are involved in a head-on collision, this could result in the windowscreen smashing, and glass could get into your eyes.
- Assaults – For example, you may suffer an injury to your eye after being assaulted at work due to your employer failing to take reasonable measures after making them aware that a colleague had been threatening you.
To check the eligibility of your specific case, you can contact our advisors. They could also provide you with information about eye injury payouts for UK based claims.
What Is The Time Limit For Eye Injury Claims?
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim for eye injury compensation, you will need to ensure that you start proceedings within the relevant time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 states that you will have three years to start your claim from the date of the accident that injured you.
However, there are certain exceptions to this time limit. For example, the limitation period is suspended indefinitely for those who lack the mental capacity to make their own claim. During this time, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. If the injured party were to regain this mental capacity and a claim has not been made, they will have three years from the date of recovery to start one.
The time limit is frozen for those under the age of 18. From their 18th birthday, they will have three years to start a claim. However, before this date, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf.
If you have any questions about the limitation period for eye injury claims or regarding personal injury compensation claim amounts, please don’t hesitate to contact our advisors.
Eye Injury Claims – Examples Of Evidence
Eye injury claims can only be successful with eye damage evidence along with proof that the duty of care you were owed was breached. For example, your medical records could be presented if you attended medical appointments following eye damage.
Regardless of whether the eye damage occurred at work or in a public place, there are items that could support your claim for eye injury compensation.
Evidence examples for eye injury claims:
- Witness contact details. A statement could be taken later on.
- Photographs of the injury and/or the scene where it occurred.
- CCTV footage.
- Dashcam, doorbell, or mobile phone footage.
Call our advisors for further evidence examples along with a free eye injury compensation value estimate.
Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim For An Eye Injury?
If you are eligible to claim eye injury compensation, you may wish to instruct a solicitor to help with the claims process. If so, one of the personal injury solicitors from our panel could support your claim. They offer their services under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
If your personal injury solicitor works with you under a CFA, they won’t take an upfront payment to start working on your claim, and there also won’t be any ongoing costs. Furthermore, following an unsuccessful claim, your solicitor won’t ask you to pay for their services.
However, if your claim is successful, your solicitor will subtract a success fee from your compensation. This amount is taken as a small percentage that is subject to a legal cap.
Direct any questions you may have about eye injury payouts in the UK to one of the advisors from our team. They can evaluate your claim for free, and if you satisfy the eligibility requirements for a personal injury claim, you could be connected with one of the solicitors from our panel.
To learn more about eye injury claims:
- Fill in our ‘contact us’ form and an advisor will call you back.
- Connect using our live webchat.
- Call 0161 696 9685
Additional Resources And Advice On Eye Injury Claims
- NHS Advice On Eye Injury Claims Advice and recommendations on how to treat and deal with eye injuries.
- Can I Make A Workplace Injury Claim If I’m Not An Employee? Read the above guide to find out whether you’re eligible to make an accident at work claim.
- What Happens If An Employee Doesn’t Report An Accident Or Injury At Work? See the guide above for information on reporting your accident.
- How To Sue A Hairdresser For Cutting you Read our guide if you sustained your eye injury as a result of a hairdresser cutting you.
Other Useful Compensation Guides
- Historical Sexual Abuse Compensation Guide – How To Claim?
- How Much Compensation Do You Get For Assault?
- If you’ve suffered an injury caused by a defective seat, this guide to broken chair accident claims may be of interest. It explains the criteria to make a claim, compensation payouts, and how we can help you.
Although we have aimed to provide guidance on how much compensation for an eye injury at work in the UK, and other eye injury claims, we understand you may still have questions.
Please contact us at the number above if you need any further assistance with your eye injury compensation claim.