Are you looking for help to make a warehouse accident claim? Perhaps you suffered an accident at work that you feel was the fault of others. If you were injured through an employer’s health and safety negligence, this guide could help.
The sections below will start by explaining the duty of care and the law that outlines your employer’s responsibility to protect you from harm in the workplace. We’ll look at some ways an employer can breach this duty of care before moving on to the evidence you can use in a personal injury compensation claim.
After this, we look at time limits for starting a claim. Compensation is looked at next – what it can cover and how it is calculated. We also explain whether you need a medical assessment to start your case. The final section explains how a personal injury solicitor from our panel can help with all this.
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Choose A Section
- Can I Make A Warehouse Accident Claim?
- How Can A Warehouse Accident Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
- What Do I Need To Make A Warehouse Accident Claim?
- How Long Do I Have To Claim For Warehouse Injuries?
- How Much Warehouse Accident Compensation Could I Receive?
- Do I Need A Medical Assessment When Making An Accident At Work Claim?
- Claim For A Warehouse Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis
- More Information About Personal Injury Claims
Can I Make A Warehouse Accident Claim?
All employers must meet a duty of care to their employees as per a law called the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). It states that employers should take reasonable and practicable actions to stop employees from experiencing harm while performing their jobs.
In addition to this, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 outline the employer’s responsibilities with specific regard to the operation and use of workplace machinery.
You may have an eligible warehouse injury compensation claim if you can show the following:
- A duty of care was owed to you at the moment of injury.
- You have proof that this duty was breached by your employer in some way.
- You can put forward evidence that this caused or contributed to you being harmed.
Together, these three points act as a definition of negligence in tort law. All points must apply to move forward with a warehouse accident claim against your employer.
There are certain ways that employers can meet their health and safety obligations in a warehouse workplace:
- Carry out regular workplace risk assessments to spot hazards and issues early.
- Conduct appropriate staff training in manual handling techniques as per the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- Provide essential personal protective equipment (PPE) as needed to safely perform a task.
- Properly plan and supervise large-scale operations, works at height (in large warehouses) and when moving large loads.
What Are Common Warehouse Injuries?
Below is a list of some of the injuries that can be caused by warehouse accidents:
- Strains and sprains.
- Bruising and cuts.
- Deeper lacerations and fractures.
- Back damage and spinal injury
- Head injuries (from falling objects).
- Multiple injuries from falls or collisions with moving vehicles.
(This is not an exhaustive list). Call an advisor to discuss the exact circumstances that caused your warehouse injury.
How Can A Warehouse Accident Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
Given the wide range of injuries that can occur in a warehouse setting, we now look at some specific examples of employer negligence:
- Failure by the employer to provide essential personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves leads to a worker suffering cuts and fractures to their wrist and hands when moving boxes.
- Staff are not trained in the correct bending and lifting techniques for manual handling. A worker suffers a torn ligament in their back moving a heavy item.
- A worker suffers warehouse injuries when asked to work with faulty lifting and moving equipment (such as a forklift). The employer failed to check this equipment was safe to use.
- Management failed to properly plan the moving of large amounts of materials in the warehouse. This led to broken foot injuries from falling items and loads toppling over.
These scenarios could give rise to a warehouse accident claim. To discuss the circumstances of your accident at work, please talk to our team of advisors on the number above.
What Do I Need To Make A Warehouse Accident Claim?
A valid personal injury claim must have evidence that shows how a breach in the duty of care owed to you by your employer caused your injuries. To assist you in the process of building your claim, we list some examples of proof that can be submitted:
- CCTV from the warehouse that caught your accident.
- Take photos of your injuries and note the lack of safety procedures that caused them (or ask others to if you are unable to).
- Get the contact details of any witnesses in the warehouse. Statements from them that support your side of events later in the personal injury claims process.
- Keep a personal diary that tracks key treatments, your symptoms and your psychological state.
- Request copies of your medical records from your GP, the A&E you went to or any reports and findings from specialists you need to see.
- A copy of the accident book with details about the incident that caused your injuries.
You may also want to consider seeking legal representation. A specialist accident at work solicitor can advise you on what evidence to gather. Additionally, they can ensure that your claim is presented in full. Call our advisors to find out how a solicitor from our panel can support your warehouse accident claim.
How Long Do I Have To Claim For Warehouse Injuries?
The Limitation Act 1980 states that a personal injury claim needs to be started within three years of the date of the accident. This varies under certain circumstances:
- Time limits are paused for minors under the age of 18. Instead, the three-year period starts from the date they become 18. Alternatively, a litigation friend may begin a claim for them. This role is typically taken on by a family member or concerned party appointed by the courts. A litigation friend can act for them at any point before the injured party turns 18.
- The time limit is halted completely for claimants who lack the mental capacity to start a claim themselves. Should they recover their mental capacity, then the three-year limit starts from the day that their mental capacity returns. However, a litigation friend can be appointed to act at any point during the time limit’s suspension.
Call our advisors to discuss whether you are still within the time limit to start a warehouse accident claim.
How Much Warehouse Accident Compensation Could I Receive?
Warehouse accident compensation payouts can consist of two categories or ‘heads’ of loss called general and special damages. General damages apply a value based on the level of physical pain and psychological injury caused by the warehouse accident.
Legal professionals and other parties who work out general damages might refer to medical reports to help guide their calculations. We discuss how an independent medical assessment can be helpful in the section below.
In addition to medical proof, they refer to documents such as the Judicial College Guideline (JCG). This publication provides a list of award bracket guideline amounts for various types and severities of injury. To illustrate, we have put together an excerpt from the JCG:
Compensation Guidelines
| Injury Area | Severity | Award Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple types of injury and special damages for lost earnings, medical bills and care costs | Severe | Up to £1 million plus. |
| Head | (a) Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| (c) Moderate (iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 | |
| Hand | (b) Serious damage to both hands | £68,070 to £103,200 |
| (t) Serious injury to the thumb | £15,370 to £20,460 | |
| Back | (a) Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| (b) Moderate (ii) | £15,260 to £33,880 | |
| Wrist | (a) Complete function loss | £58,110 to £73,050 |
| Arm | (c) Less Severe Injuries | £23,430 to £47,810 |
| Neck | (b) Moderate (i) | £30,500 to £46,970 |
| Knee | (b) Moderate (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 |
Please be aware that the injury award amounts shown above are guideline figures only. Furthermore, our table includes a figure in the first entry that does not come from the JCG.
Can I Claim For A Loss Of Earnings After A Warehouse Injury?
The second head of loss called special damages might also be part of your successful warehouse injury claim for compensation. To include this, you need to present proof of any financial harm caused by the injury. This might cover a range of issues but you need to be able to prove them with documented evidence such as:
- Payslips that show a drop or loss in your income because of time needed off work to recover from your injuries.
- Bank statements showing the cost of essential alterations at home to deal with a permanent disability.
- Proof of medical and rehabilitation costs. It’s important to remember that certain costs can be needed for months or years to come.
- Tickets, receipts, petrol or parking fares for trips to essential hospital and specialist appointments.
- The receipts for domestic care provided by others for cooking, cleaning, and shopping.
Why not speak to our advisors for more free guidance on general and special damages? You could qualify for a solicitor to help you get the maximum compensation owed to you. They can also help value your warehouse accident claim.
Do I Need A Medical Assessment When Making An Accident At Work Claim?
An independent medical assessment can provide a detailed evidential snapshot of your injuries, both physical and psychological. The report generated by a medical exam might also help calculate a more precise compensation request.
For example, an independent medical professional might spot that your warehouse knee injury was the type to give rise to long-term problems such as prolonged physiotherapy or multiple surgeries. Armed with this knowledge, a solicitor could make sure that the amount of damages requested covers these predicted expenses.
A personal injury claim can only be submitted once so it’s vital to include all potential costs and expenses caused by the warehouse accident and injury.
Claim For A Warehouse Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis
The No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel have decades-long experience helping people seek compensation for their injuries. Their expertise means that your serious injuries claim will be handled properly from start to finish, calculated accurately and submitted on time.
Furthermore, they will support you through the evidence-gathering process and explain any complex legal terminology that might come up along the way. This professional approach means you can put forward a more confident case against your employer.
In addition to this, they can offer these excellent services through a variation of the No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This offers distinct advantages to you, the claimant. For example:
- No immediate upfront fees to instruct a solicitor.
- No fees for their services going forward.
- As well as this, no fees apply for completed services if the claim is unsuccessful.
- If the claim is decided in your favour, a minimal percentage is deducted from the compensation awarded to you. This is called a success fee.
- Furthermore, this amount is legally capped, which means you will receive the largest share of the compensation after your warehouse accident.
Rather than face the prospect of starting a warehouse accident claim alone, why not see if you can access the services of a solicitor from our panel? You could have a much better idea of how much compensation you’re owed today:
- See if you qualify to start an accident at work claim with a personal injury solicitor from our panel by calling on 0800 408 7827
- Connect with free advice when you contact us using our online form.
- Alternatively, ask the live discussion window a question for an immediate answer.
More Information About Personal Injury Claims
In addition to this guide about making a warehouse accident claim for personal injury, these other articles may be useful:
- Read how to sue your employer in more detail here.
- In addition, here we look at the personal injury claims process further.
- Also, you can read how to sue a company for negligence in this guide.
Resources from elsewhere:
- This link looks at some workplace statistics for health and safety from GOV.UK.
- Also, read about health and safety in warehousing from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Lastly, read about first aid from the NHS.
In conclusion, thank you for your interest in our warehouse accident claim guide. If you’d like any more free guidance and information on accidents at work and the warehouse injury claims process, please connect with the team.