How Does A Hand Injury At Work Claim Work?

Hand injury at work claims guide

We are going to look at the process of making a hand injury at work claim. This guide, will look at why you may be eligible to claim for an injury caused by an accident at work. We will also look at the process of starting and pursuing a personal injury claim.

All claims are at least somewhat unique. This means we may not have answered all of your questions in this short guide. Therefore, if you do have more questions, please contact our claim advisors. They will be able to help you. You may phone them on 0161 696 9685, or use our contact form to ask for a call-back.

Select A Section:

Examples Of Hand Injuries In The Workplace
Steps Accident Victims Could Take
Check What Limitation Periods Affect Your Hand Injury Workplace Claim
Calculating Hand Injury At Work Compensation
What Are Pre-Action Protocols
Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor For Your Hand Injury At Work Claim

Examples Of Hand Injuries In The Workplace

Your employer is obliged, by law, to provide you with a safe place to work. However, if this duty of care is not met, it could introduce hazards into the workplace. Hazards that could cause you harm. This guide looks at making a claim for such an accident. A personal injury solicitor could be able to help you with this. Read on to find the information you need about hand injury at work claims.

Potential Workplace Injuries

The hand is a complex limb. Comprising lots of bones, ligaments and muscles. In almost all you do you will use your hands, they are vital parts of the body and are needed to carry out many tasks. Therefore if they are injured you may find that your life as you know it may halt for a while. If the injury is serious such as an amputation this will leave you with life-altering injuries.

There are many ways a hand injury at work could happen, some are listed below.

A slip or fall because the workplace had wet floors which were not signposted causing a fractured hand.
A burn or a scald of the hand because your employer never provided any Personal Protective Equipment PPE which was needed to do the job safely.
The safety screen was missing from a factory machine which caused your hand to be dragged in and crushed.

Health And Safety Legislation For The Workplace

Accidents causing injuries at work do happen. However, these do not entitle everyone that are injured in the workplace to be able to make an accident at work claim. Employers through legislation owe employees a duty of care. To be eligible to claim this duty must have been breached. Conseyqmtel you will need to have suffered an injury or illness.

There are a number of bodies of legalisation that could apply to a hand injury at work claim. Below, we have linked to some of the more important ones.

Workplace Hand Injury Statistics

According to data supplied by the Health & Safety Executive, the graph shows statistics for musculoskeletal disorders by affected area, 2020/21. According to these figures, 470,000 employees suffered from musculoskeletal disorders that are work-related (new or longstanding) in 2020/21.

Steps Accident Victims Could Take

If you believe you have the basis of a hand injury at work claim, there are some steps you may wish to take. We have listed a few below.

Get professional medical help.
Ensure that the accident reporting process put in place by your employer is followed. Also, ensure that the accident has been recorded in the company accident book.
Undergo a medical examination to provide medical evidence.
Gather contact information for any witnesses to the accident.
Collect physical evidence such as photographs of the cause of the accident and your injuries. To help prove your claim.
Gather evidence of any financial losses your injuries have caused you.
Contact our team of advisors to learn how to proceed with a claim.

Check What Limitation Periods Affect Your Hand Injury Workplace Claim

If you intend to make a hand injury at work claim, you must start the claim within the time limit that applies under the Limitation Act 1980. We have given a basic explanation below.

You generally have three years in which to begin your case. It does not matter how long the case takes to conclude but you need to issue court proceedings before your case is time-barred. This date will start from the day you were injured or the date you become aware that your injuries were caused by negligence.

In some cases, such as when the Mental Health Act 1983 is in play, this could affect the time limit. Speak to our team for clarification if you need it.

Calculating Hand Injury At Work Compensation

As all claims are unique, we can’t give you an average amount of compensation for a hand injury at work claim. But we can provide you with the table below. It is based on the guidelines produced by the Judicial College.

The guidelines we have used to create this table are used by the legal system to value injuries. You may also be able to use a personal injury calculator to get a rough estimate of the value of your claim. This table shows general damages (for pain and suffering) for a number of different types of hand injuries.

Injury	Severity	Compensation	Notes
Hand	Loss of Both Hands	£140,660 to £201,490	An injury that results in extensive damage to both hands, leaving them nearly useless. There is no effective prosthesis for use at the top of the bracket.
Hand	Serious (Both Hands)	£55,820 to £84,570	An injury of this type will have resulted in a permanent cosmetic disability, as well as functional impairments
Hand	Loss of One Hand	£96,160 to £109,650	If a hand has been crushed and amputated surgically or if all fingers and most of the palm have been traumatically amputated, this bracket will apply. The upper end of the bracket indicates the dominant hand.
Hand	Serious	£29,000 to £61,910	Reduced function by about 50%. Amputation of several fingers and rejoining them to the hand, leaving the hand clawed disfigured.
Hand	Less Serious	£14,450 to £29,000	For example, a severe crush injury that results in significantly impaired function.
Hand	Moderate	£5,720 to £13,280	For example, a crush injury, a penetrating wound, soft tissue damage, and a deep laceration. In cases where surgery fails and permanent disability is present.
Finger	Severe Fractures	Up to £36,740	These injuries can result in partial amputations and consequent deformities, impaired grips, reduced mechanical function.
Finger	Fractured Index Finger	£9,110 to £12,240	When a fracture is mended quickly, but the grip is still impaired, and there is pain upon heavy use.
Thumb	Moderate	£9,670 to £12,590	Such as injuries necessitating an arthrodesis. Also causing damage to tendons and nerves.

Special Damages Explained

Alongside general damages for pain and suffering, you may wish to try and claim special damages to recoup financial losses. This can be for either past or future losses. However, evidence of losses must be submitted to support your claim. Some examples of reasons to claim special damages are listed below.

Lost wages or salary.
Lowered income potential.
Care costs.
Medical fees.
Ad-hoc costs related to the claim or the injury itself.

Call and speak to one of our expert advisors to learn which damages you could try to claim for yourself.

What Are Pre-Action Protocols

Pre-action protocols are steps that the court wants you to take to try and resolve the case. Going to court is the last option. Many cases are settled before they need to be heard in court.

These steps are set out clearly under the pre-action protocols.

Mediation And Arbitration

If both parties can not agree on an outcome or settlement then there are two further options before proceeding to court. Mediation and Arbitration are ways of settling the claim. A workplace accident solicitor would be able to help you build the case for your claim. Eventually, if no out of court agreement can be reached, your claim may go to court.

Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor For Your Hand Injury At Work Claim

A No Win No Fee solicitor may be able to process your claim for you. Under a No Win No Fee agreement, you don’t pay your lawyer unless the claim is won. If you would like some more information on making a No Win No Fee hand injury at work claim, call and speak to our advisors. Use the info below to get in touch and learn how to claim compensation if you hurt yourself at work.

Phone: 0161 696 9685

Contact form and webchat.

References

Check out these useful web links:

Hand Pain Causes And Treatment

Getting A Personal Injury Lawyer

Government Guide To Compensation

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

Accident At Work Claims

Road Traffic Accident Claims

Public Place Claims

Medical Negligence Claims

Personal Injury Claims

Hand Injury At Work Claims Guide

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