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Can I claim work accident compensation even if I have left the company?

By Ian Morris | Updated November 29th, 2022

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

Many people who contact us to discuss accident at work compensation have left the employer where they were injured and worry they won’t be able to claim because of this. Thankfully this is not the case, and as with all claims in the UK, the standard 3-year claim limitation period applies – regardless of whether or not you still work for the same employer.

Liability stays with the employer even if you leave

When someone is injured at work, a claim will succeed if the employer carries employer liability insurance and the claimant can be demonstrate that their employer was negligent and at fault for the accident. As long as the employee was working for them at the time of the accident and details of the incident and injuries were reported to the right people at the time, it doesn’t matter if they then leave to work elsewhere or are currently unemployed, as they can still make a claim against the employer responsible for their injuries. Liability remains with the employer and your ability to claim compensation doesn’t change – even if you change your job.

What will a claim against a former employer achieve?

If you were injured whilst working for a former employer, you have a right to pursue a work injury claim for compensation as long as you do so within 3 years of the date of the accident and believe that the accident was not your fault. There are many reasons that people seek compensation after an accident at work, including anger and frustration, but most commonly due to a loss of income during the months after the accident if they cannot work whilst recovering from the injuries sustained.

Many people in the UK have doubts about claiming personal injury compensation after an accident. These doubts exist because of the negative myths and untruths that are commonly thrown around regarding the personal injury claims process and no win no fee. In accidents at work, people are also concerned that any claim they make could damage their employer and affect their colleagues and friends. But if it’s handled in the right way, this just isn’t the case.

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

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

I have two jobs and had an accident at work at one of the jobs. I receive SSP for my loss of income in both jobs. My health after the accident will not allow me to go back to either job, with the second employers Occupational Health Nurse also saying the same things regarding the recovery period being 12 months. 5 months has already gone. When should I start a compensation claim? Can I also include the loss of income from t he second job too?

I have a letter the Occupational Health Nurse from the 2nd job as she said there is still a while left for my recovery. From August I want to return to my main job and resign the second job due to my ill health. After returning to work I will think about a compensation claim and starting the process.

Please suggest to me what can I do?

Given the severity of your injuries and the long term impact that the injuries are having on your ability to work, we would recommend avoiding any delay to making a claim and instead to start your claim as soon as possible. Making a claim does not affect your rights to continue with your employment and given the fact that the claims process is lengthy anyway, there is no benefit to you in waiting any longer before you claim. You have already suffered a loss of income which is ongoing, so the sooner you start your claim, the sooner you will recover your lost income if you succeed with your claim.

In terms of your 2nd job, you should avoid resigning from that position if you can – even if you are unfit to work. Instead, you should keep the position open as this will make it easier to recover the lost income from that job as well as the 1st job if you succeed with your claim.

We can help you to better understand your rights after an accident at work and suggest that you make a request for a call from us via our website. Simply use the form on our site to summarise the accident you had and the injuries you have sustained and we can then have our specialist Solicitors advise you accordingly.

Have been on off due to back related issues since July and have now had to leave the company. I have been under an osteopath for treatment and latterly the doctors who advise disc problem and sciatica down one leg, can I put a claim in against them? There are also issues relating to health and safety.

You are inside the 3 year claim limitation period and clearly have a serious injury. As such, we just need to know a little more about the injury, the work you were undertaking and what training or health and safety breaches your employer has made. We can then have our specialist Solicitors pursue this for you on a No Win No Fee basis.

I suffered a tia due to stress at work and resigned. Can I still claim?

If you believe that your employer placed you under undue and unreasonable pressure and stress, you may be able to pursue a No Win No Fee personal injury claim against them. Our specialist Solicitors will be able to advise you further.

Hi, I was injured at my last job (I left a week ago) back in July – I lifted something and hurt my back and believe I have sciatica because of it. I have never had problems with my back until now. I was lifting something because the equipment I am supposed to use I wasn’t able to, so had to make do with something else. Because of that I hurt my back and the pain as gotten worse as time has gone on. I did let my employer know at the time but it was not put in the incident book (although I have messages to prove that i notified them). I have yet to see a doctor (trying to get an appointment) to confirm the injury and what it is. Whats the best steps to take?

The best course of action is to contact us so that we can have our Solicitors advise you and potentially pursue a claim. As your back injury was sustained lifting it would indicate that you have valid grounds to pursue a claim. The evidence you have of reporting the injuries to your employer are important, so hang on to those messages as they could be very useful evidence for our Solicitors during the claims process. Of course, continue to try and get a medical appointment in order that your injuries can be noted and treated.

Good Morning, I have been off work for over a year after an accident. I resigned after 3 months as things were getting heated on the phone and I felt it is impossible for me to return.
I am still currently signed off work by my GP.
My question is can I claim for loss of earnings after my resignation?

Thank you for your time.

It is possible to seek loss of earnings recovery after a resignation, but it is of course easier for a defendant to refuse or deny such an element of a claim after an employee has voluntarily left the employer. Your case would be strengthened if you have any copies of correspondence with your former employer in which you remark on the difficult and stressful atmosphere that was created after your injury and time off work.

Hello, I was injured at work in late 2019 when a metal bar fell and hit me from height. I resigned after this and haven’t earned nearly as much money since due to the physical and mental impact. I have claimed benefits and done some part-time work. Am I able to claim for the fact that I now earn much less? Would benefits count as earnings? Thanks

We can help you to make a No Win No Fee claim for personal injury compensation for the injuries you sustained at work. It may prove harder to claim loss of income for the period after you resigned from the employer, but our specialist Solicitors would certainly look to recover the maximum possible compensation for your injuries and all appropriate loss of income.

Hi,

I have been signed off work since November 2019 due to a repetitive strain injury of some sort which I’m still trying to sort out with physio and I have also had 2 steroid injections in my elbow and will probably need more. My employer is making me redundant on medical grounds. Do I have any case for compensation? Cause of my injury is excessive use of heavy vibration machinery. They do issue health & safety meeting etc to tell you the do’s and don’ts but since beginning my job in 2016 as a gas engineer we never received any training on how to use certain tools apart from learning via watching the person you get paired up with but I’m not sure if that’s enough to secure compensation for my on going issues that I have to live with now due to poor management and over use of certain machines etc.

Hope to hear from you to advice.

Kind regards
Luke

The lack of official training in the use of certain tools and machinery is something that certainly opens the door to success in pursuit of a claim for compensation. Employers are obliged to provide adequate training and your employers failure to do so is likely to be seen as negligence. We would very much like to further investigate this matter for you and make a claim for compensation.

Can I make a claim from my old employer? I got made redundant and I fell 3 times at work. I told my boss he should have put it in the book but I didn’t seek medical attention, but since I’ve left my back and hip is killing me. I’m going to my docs on Monday to see if they can give something, my brother said I won’t be able to claim anything.

If your injuries happened within the past 3 years, you can make a claim. The lack of accident book record may be a problem as there could be a lack of evidence to support your claim. Do you have any other way of evidencing your accidents? In this case, do you know if any former colleagues would act as witnesses? Do you have copies of text message exchanges or emails between you and the employer where you have mentioned the accidents?

Hello, I worked in a school for 9 years as a lunchtime assistant and I finally left in September 2020. For several years I had to lift heavy tables and pack them away each day, and also spend a long time stood bending over a trolley which wasn’t high enough, scraping trays. This left me a back problem – damaged facet joints is one of the diagnoses I’ve been given. Over the years I have seen the doctor several times, had treatment from an osteopath, and had physio and have spent thousands on acupuncture, none of this treatment has solved my injury. Since last July I finally resorted to medication which the doctor was happy to prescribe for me. I believe I will have to take this for life now, and although it doesn’t completely alleviate the pain, it makes it bearable. This situation with my back now limits which jobs I can apply for – obviously retail would be out of the question as lifting boxes in a shop would not be possible, and I would have to declare the injury. I am 52 years old, so could potentially be stuck with this problem for up to 40 years. Do you think this is something I could claim compensation for or not?

There is certainly the potential to pursue a claim against the employer. The key issue we need to consider before going further is whether you are able to act or whether you are statute barred. Any claimant MUST bring their claim within 3 years of the onset of symptoms or within 3 years of the date at which they should have known that the symptoms were related to their work.

Ok thanks. I think it’s probably 4/5 years since it started so I guess it’s too late now. Only just occurred to me that I could have done something s out it. Conspiracy of fear of losing your job kept everyone quiet!

You could check with your GP surgery as to when you first presented with any symptoms related to this injury. If that is within the last 3 years, you could seek to make a claim.

Can I make a claim against a previous employer. I have been having occipital headaches for around 4 years. I used to push heavy equipment which I believe has caused this to happen. I was a support worker at the time and we did constantly tell the employer that the equipment especially the hoist was quite heavy to push. They changed the hoist but did not change the other equipment.

We do help support workers claim compensation quite frequently, but unfortunately it would seem that you are outside of any claim limitation period. Any claim must be made within 3 years of the onset of symptoms and you mention that you have suffered with symptoms for 4 years now.

On 25th October 2019 I fractured my elbow whilst at work. The injury occurred when I was instructed to load a van of items to go to an event outdoors. My employer asked me to load heavy goods onto a van by carrying them or using a forklift by myself. I expressed my concerns and felt it was not safe however they persisted that I continued by myself. As I got off the forklift truck in the brewery, I slipped on the floor and fell backwards hitting my elbow directly on the concrete floor. This floor is located within the brewery stock room and was/is in very poor condition. I was provided with no safety footwear and nothing to protect myself whilst doing this. Following an X-ray I was judged to have fractured my elbow and was in a full length arm plaster. The DR expressed that my injury was down to the unsafe floor and my footwear not being safe after being in wet conditions. I still have pain in my elbow when lifting or extending my arm. It has certainly effected my life since the injury happened. I’m enquiring as to whether this would be grounds to claim against my employer? Please note that I have since left the company.

This is certainly a matter that you should pursue and we would be more than happy to help you make a claim for the injury to your arm and the long term consequences caused by your former employers negligent approach to health and safety in the workplace.

The fact that you have since left the employer is not relevant to whether or not you can pursue a claim and will have no bearing on the outcome.

I had my arm crushed in cyclone on powder coating machine it closed on my forearm crushing just below my elbow, I was rushed to a&e and have been back another 4 times and i’ve got to have nerve test as lost partial feeling in fingers and all down forearm. I am still in pain and limited use of arm. I attend physio but since I returned after hospital signed me off i’ve been treated very unfairly and I want to leave. I have put claim in but will leaving affect my claim?

Leaving your employer will have no impact on your claim in terms of the matter succeeding or failing.

I’ve got a bad back leg due to me carrying post bags for many years. I no longer work for Royal Mail, could I still make a claim?

If your symptoms developed within the past 3 years you could then look at whether or not your employer was in anyway negligent.

Royal Mail would be liable if they had failed to provide you with the correct equipment, training or failed to ensure that weights to be lifted did not exceed the safe limits.

I am a teacher.
I was injured by a child at my workplace which has resulted in my finger staying crooked.

When the injury occurred I didn’t take any leave other than going to the hospital and I didn’t claim for compensation.
I was worried about the effect it would have on my job.
I am leaving where I work so can I make a claim?

You can make a claim as long as the injury was sustained less than 3 years ago. Whilst the law affords you a period of 3 years to make a claim, the reality is that if there is less than 6 months of that 3 year period remaining, it becomes increasingly less likely that a Solicitor will be able to take the matter on a No Win No Fee basis.

If you believe that the injury could have been avoided if the employer had carried out appropriate actions or if the employer was negligent in anyway, you may succeed with a claim.

I left a job about one month ago, i was fixing pallets. There was a line which was jamming pallets all the time, it’s been reported not only by me, but there was no reaction from managers side. Right now i have problem with shoulder and neck, because we still needed to do numbers even with broken machinery. Can i still apply for personal injury?

UK law enables any person injured at work to make a claim against their employer if their injury was caused through machine fault or lack of training etc – even if that person has since left the company and no longer works for them.

Hi, i was getting out of a firms vehicle at work when i stood on a bolt in the technicians parking area and went over on my ankle. This was last October. Went to doctors in October 2017, he said i had damaged ankle. Since then i have been on the sick for 3 months March to May 2018 as i could hardly walk taking pain killers every day. Retired from work at the end of may 2018 due to not been able to work because of it. Had two injections in my right ankle, one in May and one in August they have not helped, still painful, also affecting my hip now. Next step is ankle fusion, there is no alternative. I was a service driver for Lookers plc having to get in and out of vans all day, some very tightly parked causing twisting of the ankle. Could i still put a claim in? if so how do i go about it?

Given the severity of the injury you sustained and the huge impact it has and is having on your day-to-day life, I think it would be a wise move to make a claim for compensation.

Liability stays with the employer even if you leave

What will a claim against a former employer achieve?

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