Foot Injuries Caused By A Lack Of Work Safety Boots

When you are at work your employer owes you a duty of care. In some industries, there is a requirement that employers provide Personal Protective Equipment PPE, if they are necessary for the employee to carry out their tasks safely. Moreover, this requirement comes from the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. Your employer failing to
provide you with safety boots in the workplace where necessary may breach their duty of care. If you have been injured because your employer did not provide you with the correct work safety boots, without minimising the risk to your safety this may be classed as negligence. Therefore, you may be eligible to claim compensation for your injuries from your employer.

Foot injuries caused by a lack of work safety boots claims guide

Have you suffered a foot injury because your employer did not provide safety boots? If you have the right to claim for a broken foot, foot fracture, broken metatarsal or any other foot injury we can tell you in a free consultation.

To begin your claim for a foot injury at work, call us today on 0161 696 9685 for free legal advice. Alternatively, fill out our online workplace accident claims form. If our advisors see that you have a valid case they can offer to connect you with a specialist solicitor. Furthermore, if the solicitor decides to handle your claim for you they will do so on a No Win No Fee basis.

Select A Section

A Guide To Foot Injuries Caused By A Lack Of Work Safety Boots
Workplace Foot Injury Compensation Calculator
Types Of Damages You Could Claim
What Are Work Safety Boots?
Safety Regulations Footwear
Does Your Employer Have To Pay For Safety Boots?
Could An Employee Choose Their Own Workplace Footwear?
Safety Boots Requirements For Self-Employed, Agency Workers And Contractors
How You Could Be Injured By A Lack Of Work Safety Boots
Hazards Due To A Lack Of Work Safety Footwear
Types Of Workplaces Where Injuries Could Happen
No Win No Fee Claims For Foot Injuries Caused By A Lack Of Work Safety Boots
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More Information On Work Safety Boots

A Guide To Foot Injuries Caused By A Lack Of Work Safety Boots

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers must provide employees with a safe as possible workplace. In workplaces such as construction sites or industrial plants employees are at risk of foot injuries. If the employer cannot minimise the risk to employees safety then it is a requirement that they provide safety gear to prevent the employee from being injured. Therefore, safety boots will provide protection should a worker experience an accident involving their feet.

If you have been injured because of a lack of work safety boots, you may be eligible to claim compensation for your injuries. Similarly, if you were injured because you were given damaged safety shoes or low-quality safety work boots you may be owed compensation. In this guide, we will explain how to claim compensation for a workplace foot injury that happened because you were not given the correct protective footwear. Moreover, we will also look at safety boots requirements in the workplace and will provide you with footwear safety tips.

To get free advice on your eligibility, call us today for your free personal injury claims telephone assessment. Alternatively contact us in writing using our online claims form, to tell us about your accident.

Workplace Foot Injury Compensation Calculator

If you were not provided with the correct PPE safety boots at work, you may be owed compensation if you were injured as a result. How much compensation can you claim for a foot injury? The compensation amount you can claim will vary depending on the severity of your injuries. You can use the table below as a workplace personal injury claims calculator table. This may help you to estimate how much compensation you could be owed in general damages. General damages are awarded in a successful compensation claim for the pain and suffering the injury has caused. However, you may also be eligible for special damages. Our next section covers this further.

Type And Degree Of Foot Injury	Comments On The Foot Injury	Award
Amputation of both the feet	The injury is treated in a similar way to a below the knee amputation of both legs.	£158,970 to £189,110
Amputation of a foot	This is treated in a similar way to a below the knee amputation of a single leg.	£78,800 to £102,890
Very severe injury	The claimant may have to be left with a permanent level of disability and / or pain.	£78,800 to £102,890
Severe injury	A severe injury could include the fracture of the heels on both feet.	£39,390 to £65,710
Serious injury	The foot injury may be similar to the above but less serious than the severe degrees of injury.	£23,460 to £36,790
Moderate injury	This could include a displaced fracture of the foot bone (the metatarsal).	£12,900 to £23,460
Modest injury	Foot injury - simple metatarsal fractures, ruptured ligaments, puncture wounds.	Up to £12,900

The compensation amounts provided in this table are based on Judicial College compensation payout guidelines. The table does not include special damages. This table is advisory but an Advice.co.uk claims specialist can offer you free legal advice on how much compensation you could be owed. Call us today to see how much you could claim.

Types Of Damages You Could Claim

If your claim is successful against your employer you may receive two heads of claim. These are as follows:

General Damages

General damages are paid for the harmful effects of the injuries and the impact on the victim’s quality of life.

Special Damages

Special damages are paid to the claimant’s to cover the costs of being injured. These damages can cover the following:

Reimbursement for loss of income
Medical expenses
Care expenses
Transport expenses

If the claimant has become disabled as a result of their accident they can claim the following:

Home adaptation expenses
Car adaptation expenses
Funds to pay for any mobility equipment needed.

What Are Work Safety Boots?

Work safety boots are footwear that are designed to protect a worker’s feet. They have a steel toe cap to protect the toes from falling objects. They also have slip-resistant soles to help prevent slip and fall accidents. PPE work boots have an anti-penetration midsole to protect the foot from punctures if the worker steps on a sharp object. High leg safety work boots support the ankle in case of an accident. The built-in ankle support can help to prevent injuries such as a twisted ankle or other soft tissue injuries.

What Is A Lack Of Protective Footwear?

A lack of protective footwear is when a worker is not wearing the correct safety footwear for their job. This means that the employee is more vulnerable to accidents such as a foot crushing accident. It also means that slipping accidents may be more likely to happen.

Slip Resistant Footwear

If you work in an environment where floors might be slippery, your employer could provide you with slip-resistant footwear. This is if the risk cannot be reduced. Therefore, in environments where the floor is likely to be wet, such as a swimming pool, management may wish to consider installing special slip-resistant floors.

Safety Regulations Footwear

As we have mentioned the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to provide as much as practically as possible a safe work environment. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Act 1992, provides a definition of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). PPE is defined as clothing or wearable equipment that protects employees from possible hazards in the workplace. For example, providing hard hats on construction sites.

Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employees should not be made to pay for personal protective equipment when the equipment is only used at work. The PPE should be in a clear place so that employees can access it easily enough. Employees should receive training on how to use the PPE correctly.

Does Your Employer Have To Pay For Safety Boots?

If a workplace determines risk assessment that a specific type of PPE is required, the employer must provide it for the employees. This includes work safety boots. Therefore, failure to provide safety boots in the workplace may be considered negligence. If a worker is injured because of a lack of safety boots, the employer could be held liable for their injuries. As a result, the employee could claim compensation for their injury.

The employer must not pass the cost of safety boots onto the employee. The employer must provide the employee with the correct PPE foot protection for their task. The worker should not be charged for their safety boots, or any Personal Protective Equipment required to do their job safely.

Could An Employee Choose Their Own Workplace Footwear?

Some employers offer a protective clothing allowance. This means that the employee can buy their own safety boots and other protective clothing. The employer will reimburse them for the costs. However, the employer must make sure that they provide all the necessary information available to their employee about what safety boots requirements and standards their footwear should meet. The employer must not allow an employee to wear safety boots that are not sufficiently safe.

Safety Boots Requirements For Self-Employed, Agency Workers And Contractors

Those who work in different industries such as construction may not all be classed as employees. You may have agency workers, self-employed, part-time workers and temporary workers. All these have different rights within a workplace. Those who are self-employed may be required to provide their own safety wear. However, those classed as agency workers or temporary workers, in most cases should be provided with PPE.

It is not always clear cut in when a ”worker” should be provided with PPE. Very often it will be determined on your employment contract.

Rules can be more complex for agency workers, contractors and self-employed workers. If you have been injured because of a lack of work safety boots call us today for free legal advice on whether or not you can claim compensation.

How You Could Be Injured By A Lack Of Work Safety Boots

It is important for employers to take foot safety precautions and provide their employees with the proper workplace safety boots. If employers fail to do so workers can be vulnerable to the following types of injuries:

Foot crushing injuries: This is when a heavy object or piece of equipment falls onto a worker’s foot. A crush injury can result in a foot fracture, broken foot, broken metatarsal bone or damage to the soft tissues.
Slip and fall injuries: Not wearing slip-resistant shoes can make workers more vulnerable to slip and fall accidents. Slipping at work can result in soft tissue injuries or broken bones. If the employee falls backwards they can suffer back injuries.
Puncture injuries: Proper safety boots have an anti-penetration midsole, to protect workers from sharp objects on the floor. If quality safety work boots are not worn a sharp object can puncture the sole of the shoe. This can cause puncture or laceration injuries.
Cold weather injuries: Boots not built to withstand certain temperatures won’t protect workers from frostbite or hypothermia.
Chemical burns: People who work with potentially harmful chemicals should be provided with work boots to protect them from chemical burns.

Hazards Due To A Lack Of Work Safety Footwear

Employers should conduct regular health and safety risk assessments. These are to identify health and safety hazards in the workplace. So, if a hazard (the thing that puts workers at risk of injury) is identified, employers should remove the hazard or apply control measures. This means taking steps to minimise the risk, such as providing the employee with PPE.

What are the risks of not wearing PPE? These include:

Breathing in harmful chemicals.
Chemical burns.
Electrical shocks.
Impacts or collisions.
Being hit in the eye with a chemical or projectile.
Slipping or tripping on an uneven or slippery surface.
Exposure to an unsafe volume of noise. This can lead to ear damage or industrial deafness.

Types Of Workplaces Where Injuries Could Happen

Workplace foot injuries happen in all types of industries. However, some workplaces are more high risk than others. Let’s look at places of work where foot injuries can occur.

Warehouse Worker Foot Injuries

Warehouse workers are at risk of objects falling from a forklift truck, shelving, or racking and landing on their foot. They will need to wear work boots for safety with a toe cap, to protect themselves from foot crushing injuries. Other foot injury hazards in warehouses include slip hazards if a product leaks. If a chemical product leaks, workers can suffer chemical burns if they are not wearing PPE safety boots.

Construction Worker Foot Injuries

Workers on a building site, may wear work safety boots with a reinforced anti-penetration midsole. These are to protect workers from puncture wounds if they step on a sharp object. The workers also need PPE boots with a steel toe and reinforced midsole, to protect their foot should a heavy object fall on it. Construction sites can also become slippery due to rain and mud, so safety boots with a slip-resistant sole may also be required.

Have you been injured in an accident at work that was not your fault? If your injuries happened or were made worse because you were not provided with the correct quality safety work boots you may be owed compensation. Call Advice.co.uk today for free legal advice about claiming compensation. If we can see that you have legitimate grounds to claim compensation, our panel of expert solicitors will start working on your claim right away.

No Win No Fee Claims For Foot Injuries Caused By A Lack Of Work Safety Boots

A No Win No Fee claim is when a claimant signs a Conditional Fee Agreement. This means that they will not have to pay an upfront or hourly legal fee for a solicitor to work on their claim. Instead, they will only charged a “success fee”, if the outcome of your claim is successful.

What are the benefits of making a claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor?

You will not have to pay a success fee to your solicitor if we do not win your claim. This greatly reduces any financial risk involved for you.
If you win your claim, your solicitor deducts your payment from your compensation settlement. Moreover, this is at a capped rate. Therefore, this means that you don’t have to worry about finding the funds to pay for your solicitor upfront.

Contact Us

To begin your foot injury at work claim, contact Advice.co.uk using the details below. Our advisors will assess your claim for free. If it has grounds for compensation they will give you the option of being transferred to our panel of solicitors.

Contact Advice.co.uk using these details below:

Call us on 0161 696 9685.
Email us using our online contact form.
Use our Live Chat widget to speak to a claims advisor directly.

More Information On Work Safety Boots

We hope you have found this accident claims guide helpful. You may also wish to consult these guides on making a workplace accident claim.

Below, you can find links to lots more guides on accidents at work:

External Guides

Health And Safety For Agency/Temporary Workers – An HSE Guide

First Aid In Work – An HSE Guide

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