Can I claim injury compensation if I’m assaulted by a patient or service user?

By Ian Morris | Updated June 22nd, 2023

140 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Whether you support the elderly, children or vulnerable adults, work in schools, care homes, mental health or the NHS, you’ll know that things can sometimes go wrong.

We get regular enquiries from people who work in the healthcare sector after they’ve been assaulted by a patient or service user. Here, we’ll talk you through your rights, and explain when you might be entitled to make a claim for your injuries.

What counts as an injury or assault in healthcare?
Do I have a valid assault at work claim?
What should I do if I’m injured by a patient or service user?
Should I always seek medical treatment for the injury?
How much can I claim for assault?
Let us help
Comments – your questions answered

What counts as an injury or assault in healthcare?

Medical, care and support worker injuries can be sustained in a whole range of scenarios (see the comments below for an idea). This is particularly true when supporting people with behavioural problems, mental health issues, high stress levels or addiction issues.

As such, it might be that you’ve been assaulted when trying to do your job, or found yourself caught in the middle of a wider altercation. It might even be that the injury you’ve suffered is a psychological or emotional one.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines work-related violence as ‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’. This covers all serious and unprovoked acts of physical or verbal aggression, including racist, sexist or homophobic abuse.

Do I have a valid assault at work claim?

Health and care work carries more risks than a standard office job, but that doesn’t mean injuries or assaults should be seen as unavoidable. In fact, the opposite is true.

All employers have a legal duty of care for the safety of their employees. They have a responsibility to assess any potential risks you might face, to keep you informed of them, and to take all reasonable steps to meet any required safety standards.

They also need to make sure you have the training to deal adequately with the people you’re helping. In some support work roles, this would be expected to include Management of Actual or Potential Aggression (MAPA) or Managing Violence & Aggression (MVA) training. Employers should also ensure that the individuals you’re supporting have up-to-date care plans and risk assessments, as well as informing you if they have any potential risky behavioural traits.

If your injury has been sustained as a result of a lapse in your employer’s duty of care, or due to the negligence of one of your colleagues, you could well be eligible to make a claim. If, for example, your employer was aware – or should have been aware – that an individual had a history of violence and aggression, but had neglected to inform you, this could strengthen your case.

Bear in mind too that routine work accidents also happen to support workers, just as they do to people in any other job. If you’ve been badly injured by a trip hazard, a falling object or something similar – and another party was to blame – we can advise you’re eligible for accident at work compensation.

What should I do if I’m injured by a patient or service user?

All injuries sustained, either in a regular workplace or while undertaking support work, should be reported to your employer at the earliest opportunity.

Employers should have official accident and injury books for you to fill in, but in other situations you may have to make a report independently. Try to include as much specific detail as you can, covering where, when and how the injury occurred. You should also highlight any possible areas that would show employer negligence.

Care work often involves solo, one-on-one support, so in the absence of other witnesses, making an accurate incident report can be key. If other people did witness the incident, however, it would be very useful for your claim to keep a record of their details.

If you’ve been unable to report the injury, or your employer prevented you from making an official record, don’t panic – we can help you to do so.

Remember, you have legal rights after a work injury, for example, being able to request lighter duties while you recover. So make sure you understand them.

Should I always seek medical treatment for the injury?

Absolutely. We would always recommend seeing a medical professional. If you’ve been severely hurt this goes without saying, but all other injuries should also be assessed, whether that’s by your GP, at a NHS walk-in clinic or through a registered mental health therapist. Remember that telephone or online appointments can often be arranged when it’s impossible to attend in person.

Keep a record of all treatment you receive and any medication you’re prescribed. If your case is successful, medical evidence will be one of the things that’s used to work out the compensation you’re due.

If you need any advice or help with this, please call us on 01225 430285.

How much can I claim for assault?

This will be determined by the impact the injury has had on your life. Successful personal injury claims tend to have two parts.

The general damages portion of a claim compensates you for the pain and suffering you’ve endured, and also includes loss of amenity, which covers your overall enjoyment of life.

The special damages portion looks at the impact your injury has had on your working life. In the case of a valid claim, you would likely be in a position to recover the loss of income (including future income) caused by your injuries, as well as any other expenses you’ve incurred as a result.

It’s important that you can prove these expenses, so you should always keep receipts for any taxi fares, hospital car parking, petrol costs, massage therapies, prescription costs or physio treatments.

Each incident is different, of course, but if your case is successful, our long experience in claims work means we’ll be able to ensure you receive the sum you’re fairly due.

Let us help

You’re in safe hands with Direct2Compensation. Our claims process is transparent and effective, and you’ll have the peace of mind that comes with our no-win, no-fee approach.

To find out more, or to start your claim today, call us 01225 430285. If you prefer, we can call you back. After just a few minutes on the phone, we’ll have enough information to allow our solicitors to get your claim started.

140 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus support worker assault claim examples...

I work in supported living with vulnerable adults. One client had learning disabilities and late stage dementia. they are known for attacking staff and i have been attacked multiple times while working. Recently i was scratched very hard on the inside of my forearm and it has left scarring. This is making me very insecure as the scar looks like self harm scars. Would i be able to do anything about this? it is effecting me psychologically.

There is certainly the potential to pursue a claim against an employer for the kind of situation you describe. Our specialist Solicitors can discuss this with you and advise if the employer has failed in their statutory obligations to ensure (so far as possible) that your working environment is safe and that the risks of injury in the workplace are limited.

I work in adult care and just 2 weeks ago I had to restrain a client who isn’t known to be violent but that day he showed violence and aggression which lead to myself and another member restraining the individual. He slipped as a result of this I landed on my finger, with the clients weight and another staff members weight. We are not suppose to be using physical strains of any but in this case we had to. Can you advice me if I can compensate for anything?

If your employer has not provided you with the appropriate resources, training, guidance or support to minimise the risk of injury, you can pursue a claim for compensation if you then sustain injury as a result. Based on your initial description, my view is that you could well have a valid claim and that this is a matter we should investigate for you.

I was injured in a children’s residential care home by a young person. I sustained concussion and had to be off work for 2 of my working days to recover. The injury occurred while two staff where attempting a restraint and the young person viciously attacked me by punching me to the head with a weapon. I have not been paid by my employer for these two days. Do I have a claim?

Please call us on 01225432085 so that we can further discuss this with you. There is certainly a potential to pursue a claim and our specialist Solicitors will be able to advise you further and consider what action can be taken.

I am a support worker. I received two workplace injuries at the same establishment, at different times. I was signed off with the first injury to receive physio until I was given the go ahead to go back to my job with a few stipulations. A risk assessment was put in place, detailing what I am not allowed to do and who I am not allowed to work with ie, agency staff, inexperienced staff, or pregnant women. I have, however, due to staff shortages, constantly having to break all of these rules. I have since received another injury because of having to work with an inexperienced member of staff. I need to know a) what kind of trouble, if any, I may get into should a person in my care get hurt whilst breaking these risk assessment rules, and b) can i ask for compensation for these injuries? Thank you

As to what kind of personal trouble you could face should someone in your care sustain injury due to employer negligence, that is a matter you must address with your regulator and relevant authorities.

In terms of a claim for personal injury compensation, if you have suffered an injury due to the employer failing to work within the guidance set out in a risk assessment and therefore acted negligently towards your health and safety, you certainly have a right to make a claim for personal injury compensation.

I was assaulted by a patient I work with in a private mental health establishment. Whilst my injury was nothing major, (full on punch to the nose, swollen nose and upper lip, small bruising to nostril) it ruined my days off following the incident. I had a headache for the whole weekend, what can I do?

If your employer has provided the correct training, you are appropriately qualified and skilled to perform the work and the risks posed by this patient were something you had been made aware of/or a risk assessment had noted, there is very little that you can do.

However, if the employer has failed to provide you with warning, training or the correct support to minimise the risk of injury, you could pursue a claim for the injuries and distress caused to you.

I got bitten by a un-diagnosed mental health patient last year. I have been left with 2 scars on my arm & anxiety.
I have a good working environment & the workplace did offer me counselling but i have been waiting since.

Have you chased the employer up for the counselling therapy? If you have and nothing is happening, you could consider making a claim for compensation against the employer that would (if successful) open the possibility of accessing therapy at their expense.

I am working in a care home. On the 15th a service user that was admitted there 4 days beforehand punched me. I lost consciousness for a few seconds, lost 1 tooth and I had cuts on my lips outside and inside. The paramedics came took me to the hospital where they stitched my lips inside & outside. The following morning I went to the dentist because all my front dentures were loose and during the treatment I lost another tooth and probably according to the dentist I could lost 4 top teeth and 4 lower teeth.

When the service user came, there were no risk assessments in place. I have not done my NAPI training yet. I just came from shift at 20:00hrs and they introduced him to me saying that I would be working 1:1 with him. I asked about him they told me that he had a brain injury and came from another the home. The man was verbally aggressive and swore most of the time. 4 days later he knocked me down when I helped him to go to the garden for a cigarette in front of the nurse and the team leader. What can I do?

We assume that the details of the incident have been reported and recorded within the employers accident book? If not, you should ensure that such a report is made.

We would be happy to assist you in making a claim for compensation in this matter.

I was injured at work. I work in a hospital on a dementia ward. One of my patients attacked me and left me with a severely swollen wrist. I could not work for a few days and because I was not getting paid I had to go back to work even though the pain is still there. The patient that attacked me was know to be aggressive and had a dols in place. He was meant to have 1 to 1 at all times. It is my understanding that only experience mental health nurses carry that job. However I was send to do it instead and I have no training in dealing with aggressive patients. I got injured in the process and nothing was done. I might be wrong and maybe looking after aggressive patients without training is part of my duties and if that is the case then I apologise for wasting your time.

The lack of training for the specific work and risks that you were tasked with facing by your employer is relevant and you may have a valid claim.

If you would like to discuss this matter with one of our specialist Solicitors and seek some qualified advice as to whether or not the scenario you describe would enable you to make a claim against the employer, we would be happy to discuss it further.

I was hit by a resident and I have broken my nose. The hospital said as I have had a broken nose before they can’t fix the Cartilage and my only option is to get a 7000 nose reconstruction. I work in a residential care home. I have recorded it in the accident book but my employer hasn’t even asked how I am.

In the environment in which you work, where vulnerable, confused and unwell residents require care, there is a risk of violence or sudden aggression from the residents to the staff members working to care for them.

As such, employers in this setting need to ensure that staff members are correctly trained and that each residents risks are understood and that staff are warned if certain residents are known to present a higher risk of aggression or violence. In your case, your employer may have breached their obligations towards your safety at work and given the severity of your injury and the potential costs you would face to have the medical treatment you would like, it would seem reasonable and fair to attempt to pursue a claim and place the onus on the employer to prove that they have not been negligent.

We would be happy to assist you in finding out whether or not you can succeed with a claim. If successful, along with compensation for the pain and discomfort of the injury, you may also be able to recover the costs for the medical treatment you wish to undergo. If you would like to take this further, use our call back function so that our team can contact you to discuss this further.

I work in a care home and was physically abused by a resident with Dementia. I was smacked on the right side of my face 2 days ago and got all bruising on right eye and a cut bought blood from the impact from a plastic jug. Accident and violent incident form filled in, do I have a case?

We would be happy to present your claim to our specialist Solicitors for consideration. The Solicitors would then discuss the nature of your work, your training and talk about whether or not the resident who assaulted you was a known danger etc and then advise you as to whether or not your claim could proceed further.

I’m a theatre nurse and work in theatres at the hospital. I have been assaulted by a patient in recovery who was under anaesthetic who grabbed my right wrist fingers and arm twisted it and manipulated it all the way back twice. I have been off from work for a year my managers have only now been in touch in regards to having a meeting with HR. I have not received any support in regards to my injury 2 weeks after the injury i had gone back to work anf my arm started to swell and become extremely painful i had gone to see the matron and she had no idea about the incident. No support or advice given about what I need to do, they have put me on sick pay and now I don’t get pay from this month. I had been to a occupational review and the person highlighted that I should not be on sick pay but I have been injured at work.

Given the severity of your injury and the length of time that you have been away from work, your employer would be within their rights to stop paying you and place you on to ‘statutory sick pay’ (SSP) if you qualify for it.

Regardless of whether or not you are off work through an injury at work or for any other reason, UK law does not oblige an employer to pay you your usual salary whilst you are off. In this respect, the fact that you work for the NHS is a good thing as they do offer staff a lengthy period of sick pay, whereas many people receive zero pay from the date that they are unable to work.

In your situation, have you considered making a claim for compensation? We are not yet certain as to which way a claim would go if you were to make one, but we do feel that you are within your rights to pursue such action and we would be happy to help you. Please do contact us for more help.

A resident in a care home punched out my tooth, what steps can I take?

Was the incident reported to your employer and an accident book entry completed?

I work as a support worker and was hit over the head by a resident. At the time I was offered to go home by the nurse in charge but as I felt ok apart from a sore neck decided to stay. Later on I my neck became worse but I also began to get shooting pains to the side of my head and began to go dizzy and blurry vision. I asked to go home so that I could visit the hospital but was told no due to low staffing numbers. Because of this an emergency ambulance took me to hospital where I was told I had mild concussion and a sprained neck. My work also docked my wages for leaving early. The following week my neck was still sore. It due to already loosing pay I had no choice but to attend work. Would I have a claim at all? Thanks

The scenario you describe is certainly something for which you can pursue a claim for compensation against your employer. Your claim will succeed if we can show that the employer hadn’t adequately risk assessed the resident that you were working with or advised you appropriately of the risks that they present. If you succeeded with your claim, you would also be able to recover any lost income relevant to this incident.

Hi my other half works in a hospital for adults with mental health, autism, personality disorder and learning difficulties. She gets attacked and beaten 2-3 times a week. About 2 months ago she was attacked by a patient and was left with 2 nasty cuts on her chest, about 6cm long going from bottom of her neck towards her stomach. Anyway in the hospital the staff need to use a fob to open doors. She and 3 other members of staff were being chased by a patient who wanted to attack the first person he got his hands on. My other half was first to the door and fobbed it open, she then held the door open for the other 3 staff members to get out and once they did she closed the door. Turns out she had been fobbing her way through this door all day that the fob system had been broke for this one door since the night before which she knew nothing about so the door would just open with a push. Anyway when she shut the door when all staff were out she stood there for a second to catch her breath when the patient opened the door and caught her by surprise, he grabbed her and dug his nails into her chest leaving 2 very deep and nasty cuts on her chest. She was in so much pain from it. It has now left 2 huge scars on her chest and is scarred for life. She is very conscious about it and will not wear a top that shows below her neck. She’s sure she’s not entitled to a claim for it while I’m certain she is as the door should have been fixed that day and all members of staff told it was broke. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

In the environment in which your partner works, the need for secure doors is obvious. Such doors protect both staff members and patients. As the employer was on notice that the security fob on the door in question was not working, a repair should have been an urgent priority and whilst it was not working ALL staff should have been put on notice of the issue in order that they could make themselves as safe as possible.

In your partners case, my initial view is that the criteria needed to make a claim for compensation have been met and for them to make a claim is a valid and reasonable next step. We would be very happy to help your partner further investigate her claim and would like to have our specialist Solicitors consider the merits of further action for her. We work on a No Win No Fee basis, so there is no risk of cost should the claim fail. Making a claim does not impact on her rights to continue working in the same job and if successful, she would recover compensation for the injuries, with the settlement value taking in to account any scarring and the impact of that on her well-being and day-to-day life.

Great, Thank you very much. I will speak to her tonight when she is home from work. Thanks again.

No problem, we’re here to help people understand their rights after being injured. If we can help your partner, we’d be delighted.

i was elbowed in september 2017 by a service user i was looking after that day, he just out of the blue elbowed me in the mouth loosening a front tooth which needed removing, also loosened most of my other upper teeth, the other teeth are now going to be extracted.
i no longer work there i left almost immediately after only 3 weeks service.
i did not wish to work with challenging clients and i had not had challenging behaviour training anyway so would not expect that behaviour. i found out afterwards that he was violent quite often so therefore ought to have been given the necessary training.

You describe a possible episode of employer negligence in the lack of training you had received and no warning of the risk to your health and safety.

We would be happy to further investigate this matter for you.

As a bank worker I picked up a night shift, it was me and another bank worker as the only health cares there, should have been at least 4. I was warned about an aggressive man on the ward that I would need to 1-1, previously this man had got out and was hard to control, I requested if there was a man available to look after him as there was another comment made that he is calmer with men. A charge nurse made a comment of “why should a man be hit instead of a woman” I had to 1:1 him regardless. He repeatedly hit me until he calmed down for a little while, he then strangled me out the blue. I was told to have 10 minutes, at this time i was told he had actually strangled another woman before me. Security was called and the charge nurse came up to the ward I went down to a+e where I was told the patient hyper extended my neck giving me whiplash. I had to take a month off from work due to stress anxiety and pain. Do I have a claim?

There is certainly reasonable grounds to pursue a claim against your employer and they will have to show that they have taken every possible precaution to protect you and minimise the risk of such an incident.

I am a prison officer in the course of my duties I was injured helping to restrain a prisoner who had become violent attacking other members of staff.

Any employee who is injured in an accident at work has a legal right to make a claim for compensation if they believe that their employer has failed to uphold their obligations to Health & Safety and prevent an accident that would otherwise have been avoidable.

I was not offered first aid after being assaulted at work, instead two hours later took myself to hospital for treatment where I got a stitch in my lip, do I have a claim?

The lack of first aid is bad practice, but not negligent and in and of itself, so not something you could claim for. You may however, have a claim for criminal injuries as a result of the assault – but only if the matter was reported to the Police and you then provided statements and full cooperation to the Police.

I was involved in an accident at work last year. This involved me nearly drowning due to me working with a child with special needs who panicked and wrapped his arm around my neck. 4 people had to come in and remove his arm from around my neck. I had never worked with this boy before and feel that the risk assessment was not up to date and therefore I was put in a very difficult situation. This has caused me to has numerous medical appointments and i now suffer from anxiety and depression.

If the risk assessment was not accurate and in date, your employer could be held liable. The issue you would have is proving causation – that is to prove that the anxiety and depression was 100% attributable to the incident at work.

I am an additional learning support teaching assistant. I had my nose broken by one of the pupils. It was an accident. It was not an assault. However, I had to attend A&E that day and my employer docked my pay. My septum has now moved to the left and I can’t breathe through my right nostril. I was told by ENT that I can have an operation to put this right but I’m afraid to do this as they will dock my pay again. I already work 2 jobs I can’t afford to lose pay I’ve no fault of my own.

If the injury was caused by nothing more than an unfortunate accident, there is very little you can do. However, it could be that the employer hasn’t conducted the correct risk assessments or that you were not made aware or trained properly in the risk that the child you were working with would present. If so, you may have grounds to make a claim for compensation.