Home
» Claims Advice
» Unreported injuries – claiming compensation when there is no record in an accident book

Unreported injuries – claiming compensation when there is no record in an accident book

By Ian Morris | Updated July 4th, 2023

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

A very important element in making sure your claim for personal injury compensation has the best possible chance of succeeding is to ensure that the details of the incident have been properly reported and recorded. Usually, this would include an entry in an accident book. If there isn’t one, don’t worry, as we can help – in this article we look at how to claim compensation if an accident book record of your injuries doesn’t exist.

What an accident book should record

An accident book provides an employer, business or venue an official means of recording incidents and injuries. Anyone who has suffered a personal injury on their premises has the right to request that the details of their accident and injuries are reported and recorded. The details recorded in an accident book can prove to be extremely important when it comes to a solicitor winning a claim for injury compensation.

The two most common areas of personal injury claim where accident books play a big role are accidents at work and slipping claims, such as on a wet floor with a lack of hazard signs, in a supermarket, shop, restaurant or other similar venue. In most circumstances, staff members from such establishments will automatically make a record within an accident book if someone is injured. However, you should do all you can to make sure that this has happened, as if it has not, the strength of your claim for personal injury compensation could be weakened.

Accident book entries should list the type of accident that happened, such as a slip on a wet shop floor. In order to provide the best evidence to support a claim for personal injury compensation, an accident book record should also list other important information. For example, making sure that the lack of a hazard warning sign being present is noted if relevant. Details of injuries and immediate symptoms should be recorded, and if relevant confirm that an ambulance has been called or what first aid has been administered. Where possible, all injured parties should ensure that they request the accident book and that they are allowed to read and agree to the details of any entry made by a staff member or other person in relation to their accident.

An accident book record provides proof that an accident happened in a certain location and in a certain way, which in turn helps a specialist injury claims solicitor to prove liability rests with the defendant of the claim.

Accident book records form an often essential part of the ‘paper trail’ that will enable your specialist personal injury solicitor to successfully pursue your claim for personal injury compensation. When combined with medical evidence and witness information, the entry can be the final piece of a jigsaw that forces a 3rd party to admit liability or for an employer to admit to employer negligence.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t claim without an accident book entry. A strong record in an accident book is just one of the many key bits of evidence that can help any personal injury compensation claim reach a successful outcome, and you can often find other means of proving what happened.

How to claim if there is no accident book report

You can still make a claim for personal injury compensation if the details of your accident have NOT been recorded within an accident book. It all depends on what else you can use to prove liability.

Often, with serious injuries leaving a person incapacitated and whisked away from the scene by paramedics, there is a chance that an accident book entry has not been made, especially in a shop. In this case, ambulance records would prove that you were injured in a certain location and therefore this could not be denied. In such cases, you would still have a reasonable prospect of pursuing a claim for compensation.

Employers should always fill in accident book entries after an injury at work. In some cases, however, they may refuse to record an injury or let you do so. If you did not record details of your incident with the management or owners of the establishment or workplace where you were injured and still wish to claim, there are things you can do to help prove your claim. Here are some useful tips for those of you who have NOT recorded the details within an accident book:

Write to the relevant 3rd party (eg supermarket, shop, employer) explaining the details of your injuries, how they were caused and explaining your accident. Request that they make a record of it within their accident book. Send the letter by recorded delivery and retain a copy for yourself (along with proof of postage). This could become a useful document when it comes to pursuing your claim.
Contact the 3rd party where you sustained your injuries. Ask if anyone has made a report. Ask if there is any available CCTV footage of the accident and if so, request that it is retained.
You can take photographs of hazards at work, such as faulty machinery or inadequate work practices.
Seek independent witnesses that can support your version of events. The witnesses must be independent as they could be cross-questioned should the claim reach court. If you can provide details of witnesses and these witnesses can corroborate your version of events, your prospects of successfully claiming personal injury compensation will greatly increase. You can ask colleagues and co-workers if they would be willing to act as witnesses. Whilst this is obviously a difficult thing for them to do, we’ve found that many people who are sick of the employer neglecting their safety at work are more than willing to help.
Make sure that you inform your GP, A&E doctors or physiotherapist as to the cause of your injuries. If they have recorded your injuries as being caused at a certain place and in a certain way, again, this helps you with your proving liability against a 3rd party.

One of the biggest obstacles to making a claim for personal injury compensation when details of it are not recorded in an accident book is that it could lead to a solicitor being less willing to run your claim on a Conditional Fee Agreement (No Win No Fee) basis, as the risk of losing increases. The lack of a report gives the 3rd party some room for manoeuvre should they wish to deny liability in relation to your claim. If there is no accident book entry the 3rd party could try to deny any knowledge of the incident, or even try to claim that you were not injured where you said you were. The onus would then be on you to prove that what you have said is true.

If you have been injured in an accident which hasn’t been recorded, know someone who has or just want to find out more about making a claim, call us on 01225 430285 or if you prefer and we’ll gladly help.

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

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

I sustained a serious injury in 2018 when I had to carry an exhibition stand and materials in a hiking backpack bought by my boss so that a courier was not needed to take our stand to London and back. I had to put the bag on a table at the venue to get into it and I had to remove it to get on the tube. However when i got off the tube I tried to put the bag back on and it fell sideways and pulled my arm out of its socket . Rail staff called an ambulance and I was taken to UCL and had an overnight stay as it took hours and eventual sedation to get the arm back into place. I had treatment at my hospital the next day as the arm was still not in place and had follow ups including MRIs and under a consultant. I had aprox 3 months off work which they paid (originally they were just going to pay sick pay). As far as I am aware the accident was never put in the book and was not reported to the HSE and the bag is still used. It was weighed by my father – and it was between 20kg and 21kg. Is there anything I can do ?

The method of transporting work equipment from site to site is something an employer must consider carefully, including the potential risk of injury to those tasked with carrying or moving such an item. Whilst an employer must ensure that they have provided manual handling training, they must also ensure that the work that they are expecting a staff member to perform can be completed within the framework of manual handling guidance.

It would appear that your employer has not adequately considered the risk of injury in the way that they have expected you to lift and move this item. They appear to have provided inadequate equipment and exposed you to the risk of injury as a result. Our initial view is that you have a valid claim against your employer and that this is a matter our Solicitors would wish to pursue for you.

I have injured my rotary cuff constantly Opening a fire door for people but it was a year ago and I’m still in agony, I didnt log it in an accident book though would this stand up or not?

An accident book record will help in a claim for personal injury compensation as it provides an element of supporting evidence for the claim. The accident book simply helps to ‘prove’ that an injury was sustained at a certain time, in a certain place. Therefore, without an accident book record, we would look for some other helpful evidence – such as medical records. If when you first reported your shoulder pain to your Doctor, you discussed the heavy fire door as the potential cause, this will help to support your claim.

We would be more than happy to further consider your claim and would like to try and help you pursue your claim further.

Is it illegal for a manager to change an accident form once it has been wrote and signed and will be used in personal injury claim?

Is it illegal to sack employee for one thing when it was actually to prevent the above being found out?

Any dishonest act is potentially illegal. If a report has been made that accurately records the details of an accident at work and that record is then changed to alter the facts and make it appear that the fault of the accident rests with the employee instead of the employer, that is fraudulent and should be reported to the authorities.

As for the dismissal query, that is a matter you should discuss with an employment law expert.

Hi i had a fall at work which was off a seated area that i had to climb on to reach to polish. I went to the hospital and they said it was muscle damage. They told me if it didn’t get better to go back which im about to do. My partner worked at the same place and asked about the accident book but was told that there isn’t one!

Do you think i have a chance to claim?

If your employer is expecting you to balance on a chair whilst working at height, there is a strong likelihood that this would be seen as employer negligence. Employers are obliged to ensure that employees are able to work safely and they must minimise the risk of injury at work. Therefore, where the employer tasks you with working at height, they MUST provide a safe and secure way of doing that work and training to enable you to do the work safely. In this case, you should have a step ladder and training to ensure you can use it safely.

My initial view is that you do have a claim.

I was working in McDonalds on the drinks station and was asked to brush underneath the counter. When I bent down, my leg seized in pain and I thought I had cramp. It turns out I had sciatica after an MRI confirmed it wasn’t my leg. Unfortunately, I did not know to record it in the accident book as I was not aware it existed at that point in time. My only evidence to justify this injury was sustained at work is that my colleagues were well aware I had the injury as I had often asked not to lift heavy weight objects or do anything too intense, yet I still ended up having to lift heavy objects when the restaurant was busy. This incident happened roughly a year ago and I’m still suffering. I often told the managers throughout the year that I had sustained the injury while working in the workplace and that I could not do certain tasks they asked of me. The GP was made aware by me not long after that I had noticed the pain while working on the aforementioned drinks station. There are health and safety guidelines regarding lifting, but this does not relate to the actions I had performed, having to bend down continuously to shovel ice into cups (I’m 6ft 2.5) and despite common requests not to work on or do specific jobs, I often ended up having to.

Sciatica is a very upsetting, painful and debilitating condition. However, in your case I don’t see that you could make a claim against your employers for 2 reasons.

Firstly, there is the lack of the incident being reported at the time and although your colleagues were aware of your pain, the company would deny responsibility due to lack of evidence.

Secondly, you would struggle to prove a causal link between your work and the injury and as such, a Solicitor would most likely not wish to pursue your claim on a No Win No Fee basis due to the obvious risks of not succeeding.

Alright thankyou for the advice.

You’re welcome. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Can I still claim for back injury as when I went back to office there was no one in office and can’t find accident book so where I stand here?

If there is no person available and no accident book provided, you should make your own report of the accident in which you were injured in writing and send it to your line manager or HR department.

It is important to ensure that an accident report is made in order to protect your rights and support any future claim.

Hi I had a accident at work but did not write it in the accident book, however I did tell my manager, as I was making a bed in a residential home I banged my finger very hard on a wooden bed frame. It was very painful. A week later it wasn’t getting any better so I went to a&e for a X-ray they said it was a injury called a trigger finger. I had a splint put on for 8 weeks with numerous visits to physio at the hospital. I was off work for 8-9 weeks, can I claim?

The lack of an accident book entry could be problematic in terms of making a claim, but wouldn’t necessarily stop you from pursuing a claim against the employer.

However, the main immediate issue to ascertaining whether or not you can make a claim for personal injury compensation is understanding where your employer may have been negligent in this accident. To make a claim for personal injury a claimant must be able to identify an act of negligence by another party. In this case, your employer. You mention that you knocked your finger with force on a wooden bed frame. How did that happen?

I have banged my elbow really hard at my previous employment and never reported it as thought I’d be fine as just banged my elbow. Tho pain has returned and think the pain may be there for life.

Without having reported the injury to your former employer at the time, making a claim for personal injury compensation becomes far harder and it is unlikely that it is something that a Solicitor would now be able to pursue on a No Win No Fee basis. Whilst your injury may be severe, there is no way of proving that it happened at the former workplace and as such, your former employer and their insurers will have no problem in defending the claim on the basis of a lack of evidence that they are liable.

Good afternoon. Basically, I had an Accident at work in 2015 and no report was filled in although I went for X-rays at Hospital, since then I have been in pain and so much so I was t old by Occy Health to get a medical note until fit to return. This was last February, till now i’m still off work, and recently have now been Diagnosed with CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME which has caused no end of problems for me, is there a possibility of a claim on this please? Thank you

You may be too late to make a claim as more than 3 years has passed since the accident you had at work in 2015. You may be able to make a claim for the carpal tunnel syndrome problem, if you first developed symptoms within the past 3 years?

Hi i work in a canteen and i moved a cage of fruit from the store room into the shop part, i was lifting boxes of bananas and felt something pull in my lower back and upto my neck so asked somebody if they could help move the rest. I didnt record it but now 2 weeks later im on sick with pulled neck muscles which i also pulled in june but couldnt say if it was work related at that time which i’m now starting to think it was! Can i still put it in the work book and could i claim as it seems to be a reoccurrence of the injury?

You should still attempt to record the injury at work within the employers accident book or incident reporting system. If your employer has not provided you with the required manual handling training, you could seek to pursue a claim for compensation against them as there would be a clear argument to be made to show that the employer had failed in their obligation to your safety at work by not doing what could be reasonably expected of them to reduce the risk of such an injury at work.

hi, i was working for an access firm and was asked to pick up a machine from somewhere, i didn’t know how to make it smaller in order to get it out door so as i attempted to make it smaller it fell on my foot resulting in permanent damage. But i didn’t report this as i was worried it would mean dismissal, where do i stand with this? thanks.

As you may appreciate, having not reported the injury you suffered at work to your employer could undermine the strength of any claim for compensation. In this case, the employer and their insurers will fight any claim and demonstrate that they were never informed of the incident.

My incident has not been put in an incident book. I have asked for a copy of my incident and employer’s signature and mine. I know I have not signed one.

Your employer should ensure that the details of your accident are properly recorded. It may help if you make your own written report and forward a copy to the employer – perhaps by email?

My partner had a bad accident at work involving machinery earlier this year in February and returned to work in mid May. an accident report was filled in, his boss has come to him yesterday the 29th August requesting that he sign the accident form by the end of the day. He’s pressured him (he hasn’t signed it) but he’s been told he can’t have a copy of it, never mind take it home to have a look properly and cross reference it with a recording he made of it for his protection, because when work came to ask his version of events he was fresh out of hospital and drugged up to his eyeballs. Can they do that, or is he entitled to a copy of it to read on his own time? Thank you

Your Partner’s employers cannot ask him to sign something that he has not read and he should refuse to sign anything under such circumstances. The employer does not necessarily have to give him a copy of the report to take and keep, but they should allow him to read anything he is being asked to sign.

I was pushed by a young person in my care and I fell back against the shower. 2 weeks later I was in excruciating pain on my right rib area, I was diagnosed as having a rib injury and signed off from work. This wasn’t recorded in the accident book but was recorded in an incident report that I was pushed, can i make an injury at work claim?

You can make a claim against your employer. However, the obvious hurdle you will face is proving that the injury happened at work due to the lack of accident book entry.

Hi I work in care and a few months ago had my thumbs bent right back by a service user. My senior in charge wouldn’t allow me to write it in the accident book, so he said I was to write it on an incident form.

I did write it in the notes of this service user, but I have a feeling the incident form may have ‘accidentally’ gone missing. I am going to ask.
I am now suffering with my thumbs as a result of this incident. Would I be able to still claim?

Yes, you would still be able to make a claim for this injury. The employer will be held liable if it can be shown that they have been negligent towards your health and safety at work. In such a case, the claim will be won if your employer failed to properly train you or if they failed to adequately risk assess the service user in question and warn you of the risks that they could present to you in your work.

Not an accident, but I hurt my back at work partly due to poor posture on my part. Partly due to the work conditions. It hasn’t been recorded in the accident book. Do I have a valid claim?

To succeed with a claim, you will need to demonstrate that the employer was negligent towards you. You mention bad posture, which is not an employer responsibility.

However, if the working conditions are such that you are cramped and cannot sit or stand correctly, you could make a claim. Any injury needs to have been reported to your employer and medical treatment should be sought.

I injured my back and knee at work. I had a little training, seen just a video, no physical training? Work for NHS, silly bent over to pick something up, back went into spasms and my knee ended up having an operation. They put too much work on me and my knee gave way? Not even put it in an accident book.

The lack of manual handling training could be relevant to your injury and you could look at making a claim. However, the lack of a report to the employer could be damaging to your claim.

My dad had a fall at McDonalds as the floor was wet. The shift manager came out with a note book took name and address and injures he received asked if wanted to report it went away came back with an blank accident form and asked my dad to sign A blank form and she would fill it in later on. I don’t think it’s right that he should of been asked to sighn a blank form and she would fill it in properly later on.

You are right that it is not the correct way to record an accident as your Father should have been afforded the opportunity to see what was recorded before he signed the document. To protect his rights, I would suggest that your Father return to the McDonalds restaurant and speak with the Manager and ensure that a proper report is made that accurately reflects what happened.

You describe a slipping accident scenario that would indicate that it would be a fair move to proceed with a claim for slipping accident compensation. If your Father wishes to make a claim, please ask him to call us on 01225430285.

Hi, I had an accident at work – no accident book at work but i’ve got it recorded and my doctor and my physiotherapist. I ended up having to have surgery on my back, informed my manager.

What accident did you have? What work do you do and how did the accident happen? To be able to advise you as to whether or not you can pursue a claim for compensation after an accident at work, we’ll need to find the answers to questions like these so that we can identify whether or not your employer has provided adequate training or if there is a possibility of attaching negligence to your employer.

The accident book entry, whilst a helpful piece of evidence to support a claim for compensation is not the be all and end all to allow you to make a claim, so don’t let the lack of such a record stop you from pursuing your claim enquiry further.

I work as a chef at a hotel. I burnt my feet 11 months ago as a pot of boiling soup was placed on a high trolley where it shouldn’t have been and fell landing straight onto them and the shoes I was supplied with didn’t protect them. I didn’t receive any medical attention or an accident report form as they failed to do both. I’ve seen several GPS, been to hospital and been signed off work being unable to even walk.

I didn’t do this sooner because I thought the injury would heal on their own but it’s been almost a year now and the skin on the top of both my feet are still raw, bloody open wounds and I have to use a walking stick.

Although I don’t have an accident report form, I have photographic evidence of my injuries through the entire 11 months, the doctors should have proof of treatments ect and everyone at my workplace including managers know all about what happened.

11 months have passed and I’ve recently discovered that they will never fully heal again as the burns were so deep and didn’t get treated immediately, my skin has pernament damage and now I have a sensitivity to even wearing shoes and socks it’s almost like an allergic reaction.

I just don’t know what to do next. I hope I can get some answers.

An accident report form would have been helpful in this matter, but the lack of one would not necessarily prevent you from being able to make a claim for compensation.

The hot soup was clearly placed in a hazardous position by someone and the injuries you have sustained are serious. We would be happy to help you further investigate making a claim for burn injury compensation in this matter as it is something worthy of further expert consideration.

What an accident book should record

How to claim if there is no accident book report

Leave a comment or question Cancel reply

Comments & Questions