If you’ve suffered a broken foot at work, a compensation claim is something you may be looking for more information on. If so, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we discuss the claims process for a broken foot injury. We explain the criteria you need to make in order to claim and how much compensation you could receive.
We offer free legal advice via our helpline, which is open 24 hours a day. So if you’d like to begin a claim for a foot injury, get in touch today on 0800 408 7827 for help now.
Learn More About Suing For A Broken Foot
- When Could You Sue Your Employer For Borken Foot At Work Compensation?
- How To Sue For A Broken Foot Injury At Work
- Causes Of Broken Foot Injury Claims Against Employers
- Calculating Settlements For A Broken Foot Injury At Work
- How To Claim For A Broken Foot With A No Win No Fee Agreement
When Could You Sue Your Employer For Borken Foot At Work Compensation?
Before we explore the process of claiming compensation against your employer, it helps to understand the circumstances in which you could make a claim.
Your Employers’ Responsibility To Keep You Safe
The government set out laws in the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974 (HASAWA) to ensure your employer takes reasonable precautions to provide you with good health and safety protection in the workplace.
The most common things your employer is required to provide are:
- An organised workplace with reduced hazards
- Proper equipment
- Appropriate training
- Maintenance of workplace equipment
- Safe facilities, such as stairs with proper lighting and handrails.
Without these in place, you’re at risk of suffering from accidents at work that aren’t your fault.
How Could Your Employer Breach Their Duty Of Care?
If your employer fails to comply with these provisions, it means they may have breached their duty of care to you. This breach could result in potentially serious foot and leg injuries that could have a significant impact on your life. Let’s take a look at some examples:
- Your employer fails to replace a broken chain on a hoist, which breaks as it lifts a heavy item. It falls and lands on your foot, breaking bones.
- A colleague drops oil on the floor but doesn’t clean it up or inform anyone of the spillage. You slip on the oil and suffer a broken foot.
- An untrained forklift truck driver moves beyond their lane and runs over your foot, causing serious injury.
These are just some examples. If your employer is at fault, you can start your personal injury claims for a broken foot today. For more information on how to claim for a broken foot, keep reading or call our team on the number at the top of the page.
How To Sue For A Broken Foot Injury At Work
If you want to claim broken foot at work compensation, it helps to be aware of the claims process. Below, we discuss the role of solicitors and how you can sue for a broken foot at work.
Gather Evidence
One of the most important steps you can take if you want to sue for broken foot at work compensation is to gather evidence.
In order to prove a compensation claim, evidence is vital. It can prove that your employer was in the wrong and it can help calculate how much compensation you should receive.
Some of the best pieces of evidence you can obtain include:
- Photos or video footage of the accident. If your employer has CCTV, ask them for a copy. It could reveal what happened. If you or a colleague is able to, taking photos of the scene of the accident, showing the cause, is also very helpful.
- Witness details. If anyone saw the accident or saw the cause, ask them if they’d be willing to give a statement in support of your case.
- Accident book record. When you have an accident at work it needs to be recorded in a workplace accident book. This should explain what happened, the cause and who responded to the incident. You should only sign the book if you’re happy with the account given.
It’s also important to keep any bills, receipts or invoices you’ve received because of your injury. For example, having to take taxis to medical appointments because you can’t drive.
Do I Need A Solicitor To Sue For A Broken Foot?
No, you don’t need a solicitor to begin a compensation claim. It’s possible to represent yourself throughout the process. However, it’s important to be aware of some key factors which could impact the potential success of your claim:
- Making a claim comes with expenses. You may need to pay court fees, which can be expensive. You may also need to pay for the cost of obtaining evidence. Medical evidence, for example, can cost thousands of pounds in some cases.
- Dealing with the defendant’s solicitors. While you may choose to represent yourself, your employer will be covered by an insurance policy. This insurer will likely instruct solicitors to represent them, which can come as a disadvantage to you, especially if you’ve never made a compensation claim before.
Get Free Legal Advice
Given that many workplace accident solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, it comes at no cost to you to get free legal advice on your case. This is something that we can help with. We have a free live chat service and helpline which you can access at any time you like.
Causes Of Broken Foot Injury Claims Against Employers
Many situations could cause you to break your foot at work, for example, tripping and falling over something, dropping something heavy or misstepping and wearing improper footwear. Cluttered or poorly lit hazardous areas could also result in a foot injury.
Those who work in certain environments could be more at risk than others too. You may be in danger, for example, of heavy objects dropping on your foot and falling from a height if you work on a construction site.
These accidents can result from your employer breaching their duty of care. They may not have provided you with the correct footwear, for example, which can cause various breaks and fractures if an accident occurs. If that were the case, you might be able to claim.
Calculating Settlements For A Broken Foot Injury At Work
There might be quite a few questions on your mind, such as, how much compensation can I get for a broken foot? What types of damages can I claim for? And most importantly, how do I start my broken foot injury claims process?
Firstly, we can look at the types of compensation you can claim. There are two types, general damages and special damages. Both cover different losses that you might have faced as a result of your accident.
General damages take into account the physical pain, emotional suffering and the effect the injury has had on your quality of life. It’s important to have evidence that the injury was caused by an accident in the workplace. However, if your injury already existed but the accident worsened it, you could still claim. For example, if you have a pre-existing condition such as back problems and you fell on your back at work which then caused your condition to worsen, this could be as a result of negligence in the workplace.
As part of the claims process, you should meet with an independent medical professional who can assess your injuries and establish whether they were caused (or worsened) by the accident or not. If you choose to use a personal injury solicitor, they can arrange this meeting for you. They can use the resulting report to value your injuries.
Although it can be tempting to use a personal injury claims calculator to figure out the amount of compensation you can receive, it can sometimes be inaccurate. We recommend looking through our case study below or call our advisors for a more accurate estimation of how much you could claim.
For more advice and help with any questions you may have, call us on the number in the top right-hand corner.
How To Claim For A Broken Foot With A No Win No Fee Agreement
A common worry you might have about making a claim is how much the solicitor fees will cost you. If this is a concern you have, there is an option to enter into a No Win No Fee agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), when making a claim.
This simply means that if your solicitor doesn’t win the case, you don’t have to pay any of their fees. If your case is won, the solicitor will take a small success fee. The fee they take is a legally capped percentage and will be decided when you enter the agreement.
There are many benefits to entering this type of agreement, for example:
- You will have no upfront solicitor fees to pay.
- There are no solicitor fees to pay that build up during the claim.
- If your claim doesn’t succeed, you don’t have to pay the solicitor fees.
A lawyer from our panel can help you keep costs low when making your personal injury claim and provide you with all the information you’ll need.
Speak To Our Team To Get Free Legal Advice
We’ve given you a lot of information to think about; however, the main thing you need to remember is that we are here to help in any way we can.
We can provide you with free advice that will help you:
- Start your claim
- Get a better understanding of the compensation you could get for a broken foot
- Help you understand No Win No Fee agreements
- Get access to a personal injury specialist
For more information, contact us now on the following:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
- Use our live chat at the bottom of the page
- Send us an enquiry regarding your claim
Need More Help?
- If you need any more information on how to tell if you have a broken foot, visit the NHS here for advice.
- For more information on health and safety at work, visit the government website.
- For a better understanding of broken foot injuries, visit this NHS patient guide.
- If you have any questions about making a claim against your employer, take a look at our guide on how to sue your employer.
- Visit here for more information on personal injury claims and how to claim for a broken foot.
- We also have a guide for you if you suffered a broken ankle injury at work.