Injured in a fall at work? See if you can claim compensation and how much

By Ian Morris | Updated June 22nd, 2023

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You are entitled to claim compensation if you have been injured by a slip, trip or fall at work as a result of employer negligence in providing a safe working environment. Here we look at what’s involved in making such a claim.

Can I make a claim if I fall at work and injure myself?
Employer responsibilities to prevent slips, trips and falls at work
Claims for slipping on a wet floor
Claims for tripping over
Claims for falls from height
Common work injury claims after a fall
Is it worth claiming compensation?
How much compensation can I claim for a fall?
What should I do after being injured at work?
What evidence do I need to win a claim?
How do I make a claim?
Comments – your questions answered

Can I make a claim if I fall at work and injure myself?

Simply being injured in a fall at work doesn’t mean you are eligible to claim compensation, the key to making a successful fall at work claim is being able to hold your employer responsible for your injuries, usually as a result of breaking health and safety rules.

You can make a personal injury claim if you fall at work because of your employer’s negligence rather than it being your own fault. This applies whether you are a full time, part time or temporary member of staff.

Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure a safe and secure working environment for staff and prevent foreseeable injuries. If your employer has failed to follow health and safety guidance to protect staff they can be held liable to pay compensation to anyone injured as a result.

The comments at the bottom of this article will further help you to understand the wide range of scenarios involved.

Employer responsibilities to prevent slips, trips and falls at work

Employers and contractors are responsible for their worker’s safety and injury claims will succeed if it can be proven they have been negligent and failed to comply with their statutory duties.

To reduce the risk of injury, employers must ensure:

That staff are given a safety induction relating to the workplace, made aware of accident risks and how to minimise them.
That staff are made aware as to how to deal with accidents and seek first aid.
That health and safety signage is properly and prominently displayed.
That all staff are provided with the correct PPE.
That staff are adequately qualified on any tools or machinery they use.
That faulty equipment is fixed asap and machinery regularly serviced.
That cleaners display hazard warning signs when making floors wet.
That any slip or trip hazards are identified and repaired or made safe.
That they follow working from height regulations

Claims for slipping on a wet floor

Slips at work are usually caused by wet floors and stairs. Employees can also slip if they are not provided with the correct footwear, or if a floor surface is not fit for purpose, such as no non-slip covering in potentially wet environments. Commonly we see slips caused by these workplace hazards:

Spillages of liquid or food
Recently cleaned floors
Rain, ice or snow
Leaking machinery, roofs and pipes

Employers should be prepared to do all that they can to minimise the chance of staff slipping and sustaining an injury. They must ensure that any wet floors are cleaned up and dry as soon as possible. If there is a spillage, water or other slipping risk present a wet floor sign should be erected to warn of the hazard. These should always be displayed when floors are being cleaned.

If your employer failed to display a hazard sign warning of a wet floor, you are likely to have a strong claim for slip and fall compensation if you’re injured as a result. Such an error confirms employer negligence and as such, it’s a valid claim. However, even if a hazard sign was erected, you could still be able to claim if it can be demonstrated that the sign was inadequately displayed – hidden or obscured from view, or located in the wrong place.

Claims for tripping over

Tripping accidents at work usually involve uneven floors and potholes in work areas and car parks. They can also arise as a result of a messy workplace, if wires or cables are not stored properly or if items are left in walkways or beside desks etc. We’ve dealt with claims arising from:

Rubbish and packaging on the floor
Broken steps and railings
Uneven floor surfaces
Loose wires and discarded items

Again, tripping hazards should be identified by your employer and action taken to warn staff and remove the risk in a reasonable time.

Claims for falls from height

Claims for falling from height at work often arise from ladder accidents, missing barriers, broken steps, guardrails or unmarked holes in the floor. We also see accidents involving falls from scaffolding, vehicle steps and tail lifts, forklift trucks and other plant machinery. Some claimants are injured because of insufficient training on equipment they’re tasked to use or because they were provided with the wrong equipment for the job.

Any activity performed above floor level carries the risk of a fall. This would include using foot or kick stools within shops or factories, through to the use of ladders, scaffolding and even rope climbing. Obviously some jobs are more dangerous in this respect than others, but the same basic health and safety laws apply to all.

Usually, falls from height involve a fall from one level to a lower level, they don’t include a slip or a trip on the same level or falling down a staircase.

According to the Health and Safety Executive: Work at height means work in any place where, if precautions were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. You are working at height if you:

Work above ground/floor level
Could fall from an edge, through an opening or fragile surface
Could fall from ground level into an opening in a floor or a hole in the ground

Working at height regulations

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 were specifically created to protect those working at height, whether half a mile above the ground or simply standing on a chair. Regardless of the kind of workplace, If employers are tasking staff members to work at height, they must by law ensure:

That staff are adequately trained in how to access anything at a height above arms reach.
That staff understand what equipment they should use to safely access the height needed.
To provide the right equipment to access anything at height.
That equipment used to work at height is regularly maintained and repaired.
That such equipment found to be faulty or dangerous is removed from use.

Common work injury claims after a fall

Slips, trips and falls at work, accounted for 29% of all non-fatal work injuries in a 2019/20 survey by the HSE. While they may seem innocuous, the injuries suffered can have big implications for the injured persons’ future.

Common injury claims include slipped discs, fractures to the ankles, legs, arms and wrists, or to the coccyx area of the lower back. They can also cause people to suffer nasty soft tissue injuries with damage to the knees, hips and shoulders.

In most cases, people are left with mobility and independence impairments, whether temporary or permanent. In cases of severe injuries, such as an open fracture, we have also helped people who have suffered psychological trauma.

Is it worth claiming compensation?

If you’re injured after a slip, trip or fall at work, claiming accident at work compensation can help ease some of the problems you’ll experience in a number of ways:

Claiming injury compensation is a legal right, and if successful it fairly compensates you for injuries that were not your fault.
A successful claim can help to pay for private medical treatment and rehabilitation therapies to speed your recovery.
Claiming can recoup your expenses and make up for lost income now and in the future if you are prevented from working again.

As well as the pain and discomfort of an injury, it’s the stress of losing income that often forces workers to claim compensation. All employees are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if they do not get full sickness pay, but this is often not enough to live on.

It’s worth noting that it’s absolutely possible to maintain a good relationship with your employer while making a claim, and you can’t be sacked for doing so. Furthermore, your employer’s liability insurance deals with the claim and pays the compensation, rather than the business itself, so you can be assured you’re not placing colleague’s jobs at risk.

Finally, as all claims are made on a No Win No Fee basis, you will never be charged if your claim does not succeed.

How much compensation can I claim for a fall?

A successful personal injury claim will ultimately see a claimant recover a settlement for their injuries, ongoing treatment and also for their special damages, which covers lost earnings.

How much you can claim for a fall at work is calculated from the severity of the injury, your financial losses and the impact on your quality of life. This would include:

The pain and distress caused to you by the injuries sustained
Psychological effects from the accident and/or injury
Associated costs and losses
Lost earnings if you have been away from work as a result of the accident
Medical treatments, rehabilitation therapies and post accident care
Restrictions on your ability to fulfil your usual activities and social life
Miscellaneous expenses (bus fares, painkillers etc)

Compensation amounts for injuries after a fall

There are guidelines issued by the courts for solicitors, but it’s impossible to say exactly how much you can expect as all cases vary. Some example values are listed in the table below for common fall injury claims, these are excluding special damages:

Type of injury	Compensation amount
Neck injury	£2,000 - £140,000
Minor brain or head injury	£2,070 - £11,980
Finger injury	£4,000 - £85,000
Wrist injury	£3,310 - £44,690
Hip or pelvis injury	£3,710 - £24,950
Fractured forearm	£6,190 - £18,020
Permanent back injury	£11,730 - £26,050
Serious shoulder injury	£11,980 - £18,020
Ankle injury	£12,900 - £46,980

What should I do after being injured at work?

After being injured at work it is important to understand your rights so that you can confidently manage your recovery and working future. Your employer has a duty of care to you if you’re injured, and there’s a lot you can do to help yourself after a work accident.

When a slip, trip or fall leads to injury you should record the details within your employer’s accident book. If they don’t have an accident book, or won’t let you have access to it, there are things you can do.

If you are receiving ongoing treatment for your injuries your employer MUST release you to attend appointments..

If your usual work involves aspects of hard physical labour such as heavy lifting, carrying, climbing or standing for long periods, your employer is duty bound to accommodate you (where possible) in returning to work on lighter duties whilst you complete your recovery.

What evidence do I need to win a claim?

A successful claim for a fall at work will need evidence to back up what happened and prove the accident was not your fault.

First and foremost, the incident should be recorded with the company in its accident book.

Witness statements are also admissible as evidence, so try to collect the names and contact details of anyone who saw your accident and is willing to back up your claim.

If you can take photos of what caused your accident it can be really useful in forcing your employer to admit liability. Try to show the size of any tripping hazards by using something like a coin for scale.

Medical evidence will be used to evaluate how much your injury claim is worth, so it’s important to seek professional medical treatment for your injuries at the earliest opportunity. Also, ensure that your GP is made aware of any ongoing problems with an injury to ensure a fair compensation amount. If your injuries don’t settle and you notice discomfort a few weeks or months later, or if you’re not sleeping or feeling depressed because of your injuries, make sure it’s on your medical records.

Keep a record of any lost wages and expenses you incur as a result of your injuries as you may be able to claim those costs back.

If all this seems a bit complicated, or you haven’t done any of the above, don’t worry – if you contact us we can talk you through it and help you to complete the necessary steps.

How do I make a claim?

You can start your claim online or , and one of our expert team will be in touch. Alternatively, call us on 01225 430285. We’ll only need a few minutes of your time to let you know if you can make a claim.

With over 20 years’ experience, you can use our knowledge and expertise to get your claim off to the best start. There is no charge for assessing your case, so you have nothing to lose and much to gain if you can make a successful claim.

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

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus fall at work claim examples...

My partner tripped over a cable running across a make shift uneven footpath while at work this morning. There was no lights on and it was dark, she has cuts and bruises and is saying her shoulder hurts. I have advised her to get a check over with her GP, and will take pictures of pathway tomorrow morning. Does she have a case for a claim?

The cable running across the pathway is a tripping hazard. To leave that in situ, with no warning signs and no lights is something that we would see as a breach of care and negligent.

Your partner should seek medical attention for the shoulder injury and should ensure that the accident is reported to the employer and entered in to the accident book.

We would very gladly discuss her claim with her and we feel that she has a valid claim here.

I’m a hgv class 2 food delivery driver, after i completed a delivery, closed the tail lift, walking towards the cab on a wet surface i stepped wrong and broke my ankle. At the moment i have a plaster cast for at least 6 weeks, am i entitled to claim?

Whether or not you are entitled to claim will depend on what caused you to sustain your injury. If you simply misplaced your footing and suffered an injury, there will be no negligent party and therefore no claim. If however, you were injured because of a hazard on the ground – such as a broken step or a hole in the surface of the ground, or if the ground was wet (only applicable if was is inside), then you have a right to at least pursue a claim with the hope of a successful outcome.

I slipped on wet stairs, falling down an entire flight, at work when there was no wet floor sign visible anywhere near, causing a back injury including muscle, tendon and ligament damage. I reported the incident to my manger but it was not entered into an accident book for a week. The injury was made worse as I was forced to continue work, which included heaving lifting and twisting. Do they have a right to reduce my pay for time off when the injury is their fault? Should I claim? I am just wondering where I stand.

The employer is not obliged to pay you your full salary if you are unable to work as a result of an injury – even if that injuries was sustained at work as a result of employer negligence.

Given the lack of a hazard warning sign being on display at the time of your fall, there is an argument to be made to place the liability with the employer on the grounds of employer negligence and this would give us initial hope that you do have a valid claim for slipping accident compensation. Whether or not you opt to pursue a claim against your employer for compensation is something you need to decide. However, given your injuries and their failure to pay your usual salary, making a claim to recover your lost income and obtain compensation for your injuries is something you would have every right to do.

Hi my name is Beverly. I have had a pre-existing problem and in 2014 had to undergo two knee surgeries. In October 2017 I fell at work when I slipped on a slippery dry waxed floor surface. I fell forwards on to both of my knees with force and fractured two front Teeth, injured my wrists (both left and right) jerked my neck, further damaging a deteriorating disc which was found in 2014 as well as it causing further neck pain, shoulder pain & back pain. I also have a deteriorating disc which was showing up on the MRI that I had done I believe in 2015. ALthough I have had some pre-existing injuries since before this fall in October 12th 2017, they have definitely been worsened as well as new pain. Do I have a case?

Whether or not you have a viable claim for personal injury compensation will no so much rest on the pre-existing injuries you have listed or whether you have suffered new injuries, but will come down to whether or not the cause of your slip (the waxed floor surface) was unsafe and a hazard. If it can be demonstrated that the floor was excessively slippery and was either polished too much or had too much wax applied and should have been marked as a hazard with a yellow hazard warning sign, then it is likely that you would be able to mount a successful claim for slipping accident compensation.

We would certainly like to speak with you with a view to pursuing a claim for you as there could well be something in this for you. Much will depend on whether or not the accident was reported in the employers accident book and what you can state in terms of what you saw in the area around the floor with regards to any warning signs or if you know of any other colleagues or visitors who have fallen or slipped on the floor in question.

If you work in a restaurant as a child minder then slip and fall whilst playing with the kids, am I right in thinking that this is an accident at work (I injured my left ankle – soft tissue) and that I could make a claim for accident at work compensation? Also, can you say how much compensation I could receive?

Slipping at work could well give you rise to pursuing a claim for accident at work compensation, but it will depend on what caused you to slip and whether or not the employer put you at an undue risk of injury. If so, we could succeed with a claim for you.

We can’t at this stage offer any real guidance on what level of compensation settlement you would receive as we would need to see medical evidence and have an understanding of the length of time it takes you to recover. We can however offer more info on ankle injury claims and possible compensation amounts.

Whilst at work I tripped over some boxes that had been left lying around when I was on the work premises and broke a bone in my right wrist and right elbow. I went straight to the A&E and sought medical help and was put on sick for 8 weeks. At present I’m still on sick due to the bones in my right wrist rubbing together. I put a sick note into the company but they refused to pay sick pay so I have to claim from the job centre.
I got in touch with a solicitor to see about a claim but was told last week that they are not proceeding with the claim due the company’s insurance stating no liability due to them having filled in risk assessments, is this true that you can’t file a claim if these assessments have been done?

What you describe does not sound correct. You mention that you tripped over boxes that had been left lying around in the workplace and suffering an injury as a result. I cannot imagine that the employer has carried out a risk assessment for boxes being left lying around and to be honest, even if they had done so, one could imagine a cogent argument that leaving boxes lying around in the workplace was an act of employer negligence.

The fact that you were not technically at work at the time of the accident does not matter as any visitor to any premises is protected by Health & Safety law.

At this stage we cannot be sure as to whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation, but we would certainly like to investigate this further for you.

In February my husband had a fall in work and broke five bones in his back, two in his back and his sternum he also suffered a 8 cm cut to the back of his head, he fell twenty foot down an embankment which had no safety fence around it, since the accident my husband has been suffering with ptsd and has had to wear a frame.

Is your Husband now making a claim for accident at work compensation? If not, he should contact us immediately. His claim is something we would very much like to assist with. The lack of a safety fence or barrier by the embankment could well indicate that he has a valid claim on the grounds of employer negligence.

Clearly, your Husband has suffered serious physical and psychological injuries and if successful with his claim for compensation, there is no doubt that he would receive a substantial compensation settlement.

We would only need a few minutes on the phone initially in order to get the basic information needed to enable us to instruct one of our specialist accident at work compensation Solicitors to pursue this for him.

I had a near death accident at work, I fell on my head and I cracked my skull. There was a lot of internal bleeding, luckily I survived. But due to the amount of headaches I had it was impossible to work long without complaining. The company paid for when I was booked off and my medical bills. But they fired me, do they have the right to do that? Can I claim compensation for all the trauma I went thru and am still going thru?

Any employer has the right to terminate an employees contract, as long as they follow the employment laws of the country in question.

Clearly, you suffered a very nasty accident at work and now have to live with the long term effects of a head injury. We often find that the long term symptoms and effects of such accidents can lead to huge turmoil in the lives of our clients who are making a head injury at work claim. It sounds as if your employer did all they could to assist you with regards to your ability to work and they allowed you time off during your recovery. Unfortunately, it sounds as if you are not able to work regularly on a full-time basis due to your ongoing headaches etc. In the UK, an employer cannot fire you for having an accident or for simply taking time off. However, if a worker is regularly unwell and unable to work their will come a time where they will simply have to terminate that workers contract – even if they are unwell due to an accident at work – as it would become prohibitively costly to retain that worker. As long as they then follow the employment rights laws and terminate the position correctly then they are allowed to do so legally.

If you have any concerns as to how your employer dealt with the termination of your position, you should seek the advice of an Employment Law specialist immediately.

Hi I had an accident at work, I was on the top part of a kick stool, my supervisor went past with 2 milk crates and hit the stool which I then lost my balance which caused me to fall. I went to hospital was told soft tissue damaged and sprained told to rest for 7-10 days. Can I claim against them?

This is most certainly a viable claim for accident at work compensation. Whilst your supervisor never meant to knock you from the kick stool, the fact that they have indicates that they were either not concentrating or that something else was in their way. Neither of these issues would have been your fault and as such, I believe that we should commence a claim for accident at work compensation for you.

I’ve had a fall at work over a wire which went across the floor. I work in a kitchen in a pub as cook but I didn’t have my work safety shoes on . The wire has now been moved. So I hurt my left knee and my right shin which I have a large lump and my right wrist. I know my boss doesn’t want to pay compensation because I wasn’t wearing my safety shoes

The fact that you were not wearing safety shoes here is somewhat of a red herring in this case. The key cause of your accident was a tripping hazard – a wire running across the floor. In a busy working kitchen such a hazard is extremely dangerous and should never have been present.

You may find that your failure to wear safety shoes could cause you to have to accept a small amount of responsibility. As an example, it may be that the defendant insurers argue that you should have had safety shoes on and that if you had you may not have tripped on this wire (although that will very hard argument for them to get to stick), and that you therefore must take some ‘blame’ – perhaps 20% of the responsibility. If this were the case you would still have a claim and obtain a settlement but would lose 20% of the total value.

However, I would say that there is a good chance that you would not have to accept any responsibility and I do think this claim should proceed.

Hi I’ve had an accident at work falling off back of wagon and shattering both heals. I was stood on top of the loaded wagon when a gust of wind came, blew some roof sheets up which knocked me off. I was in hospital for four days and in a wheelchair for at least 12 weeks because I did both feet. I’m now walking, but can’t go back to work because I still get pain in both feet. It’s been about 18 weeks now and I’ve been told I wouldn’t be able to claim because it was act of god. Is this true?

You may well still be able to claim compensation for this accident at work. Of course, we would need to find out more about the accident from you before we can offer any advice as to whether or not you have a valid claim.

You may be able to claim compensation for your injuries on the basis if the roof sheets that were blown by the wind and knocked you from the wagon were not adequately secured or if the maintenance of the establishment in question was not adequate. Also, it could be possible that the employer should have called off your work if the winds were so strong that structural damage was being caused to adjacent buildings.

We are currently succeeding with a claim where one of our recent storms saw extremely strong winds blow down a recently built breeze block wall onto one of the workers on the building site. This too could be seen as an act of god, but the claim is succeeding.

Given the severe extent of your injuries (I would imagine that you will have some sort of permanent damage as a result of such injuries?) and the loss of income that I would assume you are now coping with, I think it is highly worthwhile us putting the details of your claim enquiry to one of our specialist accident at work compensation Solicitors.

Hello,
Recently my mother was injured at work. She fell down a couple stairs and broke her ankle, her employer did not offer assistance or call an ambulance; she almost fainted as well. Her employer runs her own company and I am almost 100% sure she did not go through any saftey procedures or even has workers comp for her company. Is my mother possible to sue and report a claim? Is there anything we could possibly do? She’s a single mother and this is her only form of income.

In the UK it is obligatory for employers to have employer liability insurance cover and any claim is usually made against that. If your mother’s employer does not have insurance, it is possible that a claim could be made against their personal wealth. Of course, this makes claiming compensation a little more difficult and far more awkward.

However, in theory if there is a problem with the stairs in question or if the working arrangements/practices make it likely that an injury could be suffered, your mother may well have a viable claim for accident at work compensation.

Hi I climbed a pallet at work about 5ft high I fell off and fractured my hip. I understand this was my fault however we are under immense amounts of pressure at the supermarket I work for to hit targets . Do you think I have the right to claim ?

You may have some grounds to pursue a claim for compensation against your employer here, but it is likely that you would have to accept some form of contributory negligence.

If your employer has provided you with the correct equipment to get items that are at height (such as a step ladder or kick stool) and trained you to use the same, you may struggle to hold them liable for your injuries. However, if the employer is placing staff under intense pressure to work at speed and hit targets at any cost and it is therefore not possible to work safely, you may succeed with a claim for compensation.

Given the severity of your injury, it is certainly worthwhile for us to look in to this further for you. I would like to speak with you as there could well be a viable claim for accident at work compensation here.

Hi. My partner works as a security guard for a shopping centre that has smaller outbuildings, which are restaurants, pubs, etc, which he must include in his security duties as part of his job. Part of his role is to patrol the outside of the building and its outbuildings at night (when it’s dark) using a route that is predetermined for him by management. One night he was doing his usual night patrol around part of the building which contains a restaurant, he slipped in a spillage outside this restaurant where their bins are (all part of the route he is instructed to use by management). He did damage to his knee, was signed off work by the doctors (with a medical note) and the hospital confirmed that the slip had caused cartilage damage. The day he returned to work after his medical note expired and his knee was better enough to work on, he was fired as the boss said “his level of absence was unacceptable”. He had worked there about 3 months (still in probation period of 3 months) and prior to his knee injury he had only had very minimal time off work, maybe about 3 days off sick before his knee injury (due to another accident at work, and his bosses were the ones who sent him home that time), so it was only the knee injury that caused the longer period of absence and it was covered by a doctor’s note that declared him unfit to work. To make matters worse, they agreed to renew his security badge at their expense, as he was their employee, but as he was fired he is now without a valid badge and therefore no means of getting another job in security as we cannot afford the cost to renew the badge. There was no warning given, so we were caught completely off guard and, since I left my job recently to have our daughter, we will be in financial difficulty as a result of this seemingly unfair loss of his job. Do we have any claim? Thank you for your information.

There could well be a claim to be made here against the employer and restaurant that left the spillage/waste outside their premises. This claim would be for the knee injury and loss of income caused by the same. Unfortunately, given that your husband was only employed for a few months, he has very little rights against his employer for the termination of his contract.

We would be delighted to try and assist with the personal injury claim.

Hi, this was a bit of time ago but I just want to know if I can get any money out of it now. Basically when I was working at a restaurant I was a kitchen assistant and we was running the Christmas booking and a bit of carpet was loose and they was saying it was for a while but never bothered fixing it, I tripped over it and fell over it wasn’t mad injuries but I was in a&e all night due to a broken finger and was in bad pain, well they believed that anyway. Would I be able to claim for this?

Yes, you could most certainly pursue a claim for this accident, even if it did happen a while ago.

Claimants have a maximum period of 3-years from the date of their accident in which they can pursue a claim for compensation, so as long as you are within that 3-year period, you’ll be fine.

We look forward to speaking with you.

Ok thank you, it was only a sprained finger, but anyone could of fell over it they did write it in the accident book at the time.

Caitlin

A sprain injury can be equally as serious as a fracture and is something you can definitely pursue a claim for compensation for.

I tripped over a pallet at work but did not fall over it a college saw me fall forward then help me back to my feet said thanks ect ect carried on for a few min and my leg just gave up on me put it in accident book thought its just a muscle saw doc she said just rest, paracetamol, the next day after sleeping pain all over got to see my doc had examination he told me it was whiplash and to rest a couple days. i was carrying boxes when I went forward, will I get paid for this accident? thurs and fri told to complete accident report when I return Monday, thankyou in advance.

The fact that you didn’t actually fall to the floor would not effect the outcome of any claim you opted to pursue. Whether or not you can succeed with a claim will depend on why you tripped over the pallet. Had it been left in a dangerous position? Was it obscured from view and as such a hazard? If so, you may well succeed with a claim. However, if the pallet was left in a safe location where it is not a walkway and you simply tripped over it because you were not looking where you were going, of course, you would have no claim.

We would like to look in to this further for you as we have succeeded with many identical claims over the years.

My brother in law works in a car spray booth and uses an upside down lemonade crate his boss provides to stand on to spray the tops of cars. He fell off this and broke his wrist and broke a bone in his foot. No accident form was completed and he has been off work for 19 weeks. He returned 2 weeks ago on a phased return to work and has discovered that his accident hasn’t been reported. His boss is being difficult and only letting my brother in law work 2 days a week although he wants to work more. His boss has employed someone else in his absence and that person is still there. My brother in law is only getting 2 days pay but is still receiving statutory sick pay. He did receive full pay for the first 6 weeks of his absence then went onto SSP. The lemonade crate is still in use. Do you think he has a claim?

The situation you describe regarding your Brother-in-Law’s accident at work and the attitude towards health and safety of his employer is something we hear quite regularly.

Your Brother-in-Law should take a photograph of the milk crate in question – ideally when someone is stood upon it. I would imagine that his medical records show that the injury was caused at work and this would help. Your Brother-in-Law should still ask the employer to record the accident and what he could do is write to them/email the employer asking the question as to why the accident was not recorded?

It would sound as if your Brother-in-Law has a viable claim for compensation and this is something we would be keen to discuss further with him.

I slid on some food substance on the floor while working, I almost fell and the person I was walking beside caught me. By trying to catch my balance I hurt my hurt my knee and couldn’t put pressure on it right away. I filled an accident report with the supervisor but my knee is still sore. I haven’t gone to the doctor yet. Do I make a claim?

Whether or not the claim can succeed will depend on the defence raised by the 3rd party facing the claim. In the United Kingdom, the courts have previously ruled in favour of claimants when a 3rd party has been unable to demonstrate that they employ an adequate and sufficiently thorough cleaning regime in their premises. For example, when a person slips on a spillage on the floor of a supermarket, a slipping accident claim can succeed if it can be shown that the supermarket has not checked their floors for leaks, spillages or dropped items on a regular basis. Also, if spillages/dropped food is cleaned up and the floor washed, a hazard warning sign should be erected to provide notice to those using the area that the floor could be dangerous. As a rule of thumb, the courts have found that unless a business inspects and clears its floors once every 30 minutes that it will be liable if a person is to slip and fall due to an item on their floors. When it comes to claiming slipping accident compensation, the defendant must prove that they employ such a cleaning/monitoring regime.

I hope that this information helps and I wish you every success with your claim for slipping accident compensation.

I tripped at work – it felt like my foot got stuck to the floor and I struggled to remain upright and regain my balance leading to me reaching out to a table and consequently hitting the side of my face very hard on the corner of it – I consequently have bruising to my face. The incident occurred in an area where drinks are carried and are frequently spilled and not always cleaned up effectively. At time of incident I could not see any spills though – would I have a claim?

Angie

Hi, if we can demonstrate that an area that is subject to hazards being spilled on the floor and is not adequately cleaned or marked with signage, we would be able to bring a claim for compensation against your employer.

I slipped getting on to my forklift truck due to step being slippy, resulting in a trip to casualty for pulled tendon muscle in my wrist. I believe I wont be paid from my employer.

I’m sorry to hear about your accident at work. We’ve handled claims of a similar nature on a number of occasions – people who have slipped on the footplate of trucks, wagons, vehicles, forklifts etc at work. Employers have a duty of care to ensure that so far as is possible, all risks of injury are removed from the workplace. When it comes to slipping on a footplate/step of a vehicle, the employer should ensure that the step has a non-slip surface if possible and that employees are wearing suitable footwear (i.e that employees are advised as to what footwear is acceptable and what is not). If your employer hasn’t provided a non-slip step surface and the training/advice provided to you and colleagues is insufficient in terms of safety at work, you are likely to have a strong claim for compensation. Indeed, we have succeeded with the vast majority of such claims that we have pursued for claimants.