In this guide, we will discuss the process of making an accident at work claim after you have sustained injuries in the workplace due to a broken drain cover. All employers owe their employees a duty of care to ensure that they are safe at work. Should your employer fail to uphold their duty of care, it could lead to an accident in which you sustain injuries. This would be employer negligence, which could form the basis of a valid personal injury claim.
Broken Drain Cover Accidents At Work Claims Guide
As we move through this guide, we will provide further information on when you could be eligible to claim for an accident at work and the necessary evidence that you could obtain to support your case. Also, we will explain what is meant by the term No Win No Fee agreement and how working with a solicitor on this basis could benefit you.
If you would like to raise an enquiry about your potential accident at work claim, you can speak to one of our advisors today. They are available 24 hours a day, everyday, to provide legal advice.
You can:
- Contact us through our webpage
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Talk to a member of our team using the live chat feature on this page
Choose A Section
- When Could You Claim For Broken Drain Cover Accidents At Work?
- What Are Broken Drain Cover Accidents At Work?
- How To Prove Liability For Accidents Caused By Broken Drain Covers
- What Could You Claim For A Fall At Work?
- No Win No Fee Claim For A Broken Drain Cover Accident
- Learn More About Slips, Trips And Falls
When Could You Claim For Broken Drain Cover Accidents At Work?
In line with The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, all employers owe a duty of care to their employees. This means that employers must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure employees’ health and safety at work. This includes performing risk assessments, ensuring work equipment is safe to use for its intended purpose and carrying out repairs and maintenance.
When an employer breaches their duty of care, this could cause an employee to be injured. However, it is important to note that as an employee, you also have a duty of care to ensure your own safety in the workplace. This can involve complying with any training your employer has provided.
Not all workplace accidents will form the basis of a valid personal injury claim. A criterion of eligibility must be met to make a claim for injuries caused by a broken drain cover. This is as follows:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and location of the accident.
- They breached their duty of care.
- This breach caused you to sustain physical or psychological injuries, or both.
Time Limits To Claim For Broken Drain Cover Accidents
After an accident at work that meets the conditions of negligence, it is important to consider the relevant time limits. The Limitation Act 1980 states that you’ll have three years to begin a claim from:
- The date that the accident occurred.
- The date of knowledge – which can be when you gained knowledge of negligence in connection to your injuries.
In the case that you’re unable to make a personal injury claim due to the fact that you lack the mental capacity, or are under the age of eighteen, then the courts can appoint a litigation friend to make a claim on your behalf. However, if a claim is not made, the three year time limit will not begin until the person makes a recovery and regains their mental capacity or, in the other case, the person’s eighteenth birthday.
If you would like a free consultation on your work accident claim after you sustained injuries due to a broken drain cover, please speak to a member of our team.
What Are Broken Drain Cover Accidents At Work?
If a drain has a broken cover or is left uncovered, this could present a risk of slip, trip and fall accidents. For example, an employee could step onto a broken drain cover in the workplace, causing their foot to fall into the drain. This could lead to the employee losing their balance and falling. As a result, they may sustain leg, foot or ankle injuries. Also, the person could hit their head in the fall and sustain a brain injury.
If this accident is a result of your employer breaching the duty of care owed to you in the workplace, you may be eligible to claim compensation for your injuries. Please speak to a member of our team to learn more.
How To Prove Liability For Accidents Caused By Broken Drain Covers
Providing evidence of negligence can be important when making a personal injury claim. This could include:
- CCTV footage of the accident taking place
- Photographs
- The accident report book
- Getting medical care and obtaining a copy of the records
- Contact details of any witnesses
Also, it is advisable to seek legal advice. Our advisors are available 24/7 and can offer insight into what evidence you could use to strengthen your claim.
What Could You Claim For A Fall At Work?
For a successful accident at work claim you could be entitled to a payout consisting of up to two heads of claim, the first of which is general damages. This head of claim compensates successful claimants for the physical pain and suffering and any psychological harm incurred as a result of the injuries.
The guideline compensation brackets in the table below have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which solicitors can use to assist them in the valuation of general damages for personal injury claims. These amounts are a guide.
Table Of Guideline Compensation Amounts
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury as a Result of Brain Damage | Moderate (c)(i) | Cases involving moderate to severe intellectual deficit, a change in the injured person's personality and no prospects of employment. | £150,110 to £219,070 |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (a)(iii) | Injuries causing severe damage to soft tissue and/or ruptured tendons, or dislocations or fractures, that result in significant permanent disability. | £45,470 to £55,990 |
| Leg Injuries | Severe (b)(iii) | Serious fractures, either compound or comminuted, or injuries to the person's ligaments or joints which causes instability and further problems. | £39,200 to £54,830 |
| Leg Injuries | Less Serious (c)(i) | The person will have fractures, from which they make an incomplete recovery, or soft tissue injuries, which are of a serious nature. | £17,960 to £27,760 |
| Foot Injuries | Serious (e) | Injuries in this bracket will result in a risk of fusion surgery, prolonged treatment and continuing pain from traumatic arthritis or the risk that arthritis could develop. | £24,990 to £39,200 |
| Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips | Moderate (b)(i) | The person will have sustained a significant injury where any permanent disability will not be major and any prospective future risk not great. | £26,590 to £39,170 |
| Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips | Lesser Injuries (c)(i) | Cases where a significant injury will result in little or no residual disability. | £3,950 to £12,590 |
| Back Injuries | Moderate (b)(i) | A variety of back injuries can fall within this bracket, such as the prolapse of an intervertebral disc that necessitates surgery. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Ankle Injuries | Moderate (c) | Tears in ligaments and fractures which cause less serious disabilities, such as difficulties in walking on uneven ground. | £13,740 to £26,590 |
| Achilles Tendon | Minor (d) | A turning of the ankle causing some tendon damage and the feeling of uncertainty of ankle support. | £7,270 to £12,590 |
How Special Damages Could Also Compensate You
Special damages is the other head of claim that could be awarded in a successful case. This could reimburse you for the financial losses incurred directly from their injuries. This may include:
- Cost of care
- Loss of earnings
- Cost of medication
- Home adaptations
You will need to provide evidence of these monetary losses. This could be in the form of bank records, invoices, payslips or receipts. Please speak to one of our advisors for an estimate of the compensation you could be eligible to receive for injuries caused by a broken drain cover at work.
No Win No Fee Claims For A Broken Drain Cover Accident
An advisor from our team could assess your case. If they discover that you may have eligible grounds for a claim, they could connect you with one of the specialist accident at work solicitors on our panel. Our panel of solicitors could extend the offer to work on a claim under a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under this type of agreement, you won’t be expected to pay upfront or during the ongoing process of your claim for your solicitor’s services. Furthermore, you generally won’t pay for these services in the case that you don’t make a successful personal injury claim.
In the scenario that your claim is successful, your No Win No Fee solicitor will receive a success fee. This is a small percentage of the compensation that is discussed between you and your solicitor before using their services under this agreement. Also, the law caps the percentage.
Talk To Our Specialist Team
If you’d like to talk to our team for more information regarding your personal injury claim following a broken drain cover accident at work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
To do this, you can:
- Contact us online
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Use the live chat feature on this page
Learn More About Slips, Trips And Falls
If you’d like to learn more about making a compensation claim after slip, trip and fall accidents, explore more of our guides below:
- A Guide To Slip And Fall Work Accident Claims
- £25,000 Compensation Payout For An Injury Caused By An Accident At Work
- I Tripped On A Walkway Obstruction At Work – When Could I Claim Compensation?
Also, you can follow the links below for further information:
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – GOV.UK
- When to go to A&E – NHS
- Health and safety statistics – HSE
Thank you for reading this guide to when you could claim compensation for a broken drain cover accident at work.