This is an informative guide to the action you could take after being injured in an accident at work in Scotland. Your employer owes you a duty of care to take reasonable steps to keep you safe in the workplace. If they breach this duty and you are injured as a result, this is negligence, for which you could be eligible to claim compensation.
Accident at work Scotland claims guide
Throughout this guide, we will discuss the relevant legislation under which employers owe a duty of care in Scotland and the eligibility criteria that must be met to bring forward a claim.
Additionally, we will provide you with information on the evidence you could provide to support your case.
To find out whether you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim following an accident at work, you can also contact a member of our team for confidential advice at no cost. Our advisors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Therefore, you can get in touch at a time that suits you.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8805
- Contact us via our online form
- Speak to an advisor through our live chat feature
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Claiming For An Accident At Work In Scotland
- When Are You Eligible To Claim For An Accident At Work In Scotland?
- What Potential Compensation Payout Could You Receive From An Accident At Work Claim?
- Potential Evidence In A Claim For An Injury At Work
- Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Accident At Work Solicitors To Claim
- Learn More About Claiming For An Accident At Work In Scotland
A Guide To Claiming For An Accident At Work In Scotland
If you have been involved in an accident at work in Scotland, you may have sustained injuries ranging from minor cuts and bruising to severe and life-changing. The impact on your quality of life is considered when valuing the payout for your pain and suffering in a personal injury claim.
Additionally, you could be eligible to receive compensation for past and future monetary losses resulting from your injuries. For example, if you have been unable to work due to your injuries, you may suffer financially from the loss of earnings. We will discuss this in more detail later in this article.
Please contact our advisors for an assessment of your claim. Should they find that you could have valid grounds to bring forward a claim, they may place you in contact with one of the specialist accident at work solicitors from our panel.
When Are You Eligible To Claim For An Accident At Work In Scotland?
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), your employer owes a duty of care to carry out reasonably practicable steps to ensure your safety. These steps can include the following:
- Providing proper training
- Performing risk assessments
- Carrying out maintenance and repairs within the correct time frame.
To put forward a valid personal injury claim, you must prove that your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and place of the accident. You must also prove they breached this duty of care and as a result of the breach, you suffered either psychological harm or physical injuries.
There are various ways that you could be injured in an accident due to your employer breaching their duty of care, these can include:
- Your employer is aware of a leaking sink but does not provide signage to mark the hazard or carry out repairs. This leads to you having a slip-and-fall accident.
- You could injure yourself on faulty work equipment that had not been maintained as per the manufacturer’s manual.
- You could fall on stairs at work due to a broken handrail that had been reported but had not been fixed within the appropriate time frame or marked as a hazard.
Contact our team of advisors for an assessment of your claim following an accident at work in Scotland. They could offer insight into whether you may be eligible to receive compensation.
What Potential Compensation Payout Could You Receive From An Accident At Work Claim?
There are two potential heads of a successful accident at work claim in Scotland: general damages and special damages.
Firstly, we will discuss general damages, which is the head of claim compensating for the physical and psychological pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
As a guide to compensation brackets for general damages, we have created the table below using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) from Judiciary UK. Legal professionals can use this text to value personal injury claims.
| Injury | Details | Potential Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Injury Resulting from Brain Damage - Very Severe (a) | The injury will cause the person to need full-time nursing care. They will show a small amount of, if any, evidence of a meaningful response to the environment, double incontinence and little to no language function. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Leg Injuries - Amputation (a)(i) | The person will have lost both legs. Either both legs will have been lost above the knee, or one leg will have been lost above the knee at a high level and the other leg below the knee. | £240,790 to £282,010 |
| Leg Injuries - Severe (b)(ii) | The person will suffer from a very serious injury resulting in permanent mobility problems that cause them to need mobility aids for the remainder of their life. | £54,830 to £87,890 |
| Neck Injuries - Severe (a)(ii) | Injuries within this bracket usually involve serious damage to or fractures of discs in the cervical spine. These injuries will give rise to disabilities of considerable severity. | £65,740 to £130,930 |
| Amputation of Arms - Loss of One Arm (b)(ii) | An amputation above the elbow. | £109,650 to £130,930 |
| Foot Injuries - Very Severe (c) | The injury will cause a permanent and really serious disability or permanent and severe pain. | £83,960 to £109,650 |
| Hand Injuries - (b) | The person will have serious damage to both hands, which leads to a significant loss of function and permanent cosmetic disability. | £55,820 to £84,570 |
| Hand Injuries - Moderate (h) | This bracket will cover injuries such as penetrating wounds, crush injuries, deep lacerations and soft tissue injuries. | £5,720 to £13,280 |
| Other Arm Injuries - Less Severe (c) | Within this bracket, there will have been significant disabilities. The person will have made a substantial degree of recovery or will be expected to do so. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Shoulder Injuries - Moderate (c) | This bracket includes soft tissue injuries with more than minimal symptoms persisting longer than 2 years but not permanent. Also, a frozen shoulder with discomfort and limited movement; symptoms will persist for around 2 years. | £7,890 to £12,770 |
Special Damages Compensation In A Workplace Accident Claim
You could also be eligible to receive a payout under special damages for past and future financial losses you have suffered as a result of your injuries. This could include:
- Loss of earnings
- Care costs
- Travel expenses
- The cost of home or vehicle adaptations
You must be able to provide evidence of these expenses to support your claim, such as travel tickets, payslips, receipts and bank records.
Please contact our advisors to learn more about the compensation you could be eligible to receive after you have been injured in an accident at work in Scotland.
Potential Evidence In A Claim For An Injury At Work
In support of a personal injury claim following an accident at work in Scotland, you should provide evidence of negligence. This could include:
- CCTV footage showing the accident occurred.
- Photographs showing the scene of the accident and any physical injuries.
- Witness contact details for a statement to be taken at a later date.
- Medical records detailing your injuries and treatment required.
- A copy of the incident report from the accident book. Workplaces with 10 or more employees should have an accident report book.
It is also important to ensure that your claim is within the time limits laid out by the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1984. This states that you generally have three years to begin a personal injury claim from the date of the accident or the date that you made a connection to negligence.
However, there are certain exceptions to these time limits. For instance, if the injured person is under the age of 16, the time limit won’t start until their 16th birthday. They will then have three years from this date to start their claim.
Contact our advisors to learn more about these exceptions and whether they could apply to your case.
Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Accident At Work Solicitors To Claim
If you are looking to pursue a personal injury claim following an accident at work in Scotland, we recommend that you seek legal advice. Not only could one of our advisors offer insight into whether you may have a valid claim, but they could also place you in contact with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel, should they find you eligible.
Under the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, a solicitor may offer to work on your claim under either a Speculative Fee Agreement or a Damages Based Agreement. This means that generally, there will be no fees for you to pay for your solicitor’s services in the event your claim is unsuccessful.
On the other hand, a successful claim will commonly mean that your solicitor can take a legally capped percentage of the compensation. This is called a success fee. Any expenses will be discussed with you before entering into an agreement.
Contact Us For Free 24/7 To See If You Can Make An Accident At Work Claim For Scotland
Please don’t hesitate to speak to one of our advisors for expert legal advice that is both free and confidential.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8805
- Contact us via our online form
- Speak to an advisor through our live chat feature
Learn More About Claiming For An Accident At Work In Scotland
Explore these external sources for information and support:
- GOV – Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
- NHS – First Aid
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – Reporting accidents and illness
Thank you for reading this guide to claiming compensation for injuries sustained in an accident at work in Scotland. Please get in touch if you have any questions or want to discuss starting your claim.
Writer Meg Mochi
Editor Jess Octagon