In this guide, we’ll be looking at the claim process for an eye injury at work. If you’ve been in an accident at work which left you with an eye injury, then you may be able to claim.
The eyes are an important organ. They allow you to see, and any injury that you sustain that affects them could interfere with your vision. Furthermore, they’re cosmetically important to the face- if your eye is damaged or lost, this could affect your appearance and might cause a psychological impact.
If you’d like free legal advice about the process of claiming, please get in touch with our advisors. They may be able to put you in touch with one of the accident at work solicitors from our panel, provided you have a valid claim. You can reach us by:
- Call us on the number at the top of the page
- Please enter your details into our contact us page
- Chat with us using our live chat feature
Eye Injury At Work Claims Guide
A Guide To Claiming For An Eye Injury At Work
Eye injuries at work have the potential to greatly impact the quality of your life. They can vary in severity from irritation within the eye to permanent loss of vision. If you’ve been injured at work, you might be interested in finding out more about the claim process.
If you can prove that your eye injury was caused by employer negligence, then there’s a chance that you could be eligible to make a claim. This guide will outline how to claim for a workplace injury so that you can receive the compensation you deserve.
We will address the duty of care that your employer owes you and the ways that they can act to fulfil this. Furthermore, this guide will include examples of how this duty could be breached, leading to an injury.
If you’re wondering, “how much could my claim be worth?” then our section on how settlements are valued could be useful to you. You could also find out more about No Win No Fee agreements.
If you have any questions, then get in touch with us by using the contact information above.
Are You Eligible To Recieve Compensation For An Eye Injury At Work?
An employer will always have a duty of care to their employees. This means that an employer has a responsibility to do as much as is reasonable and practicable to make the workplace, equipment and facilities available as safe as possible and can be used by employees without any real risk of injury.
This duty of care is a legal requirement outlined in The Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974. If an employer breaches this, and you injure yourself whilst performing your duties at work as a result of their negligence, you may be entitled to claim and receive compensation.
There are several ways that employers should act in order to fulfil their duty of care. For example, they should carry out risk assessments, provide their employees with the necessary training and maintain good housekeeping.
An employer could fail to train employees correctly when working with dangerous chemicals. This may result in employees splashing chemicals in their eyes, injuring them. In this example, a duty of care has been breached by an employer due to them not providing the required training to mix dangerous chemicals.
For an assessment on the validity of your compensation claim for an eye injury at work, speak with an advisor today.
What Could You Recieve When Claiming For An Accident At Work?
General damages compensation is one of the heads of claim that can be awarded in personal injury compensation. This compensation amount aims to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
Solicitors use the Judicial College Guidelines to help them value claims. This is a document that contains guideline compensation brackets for a variety of different injuries. We’ve used these figures to create a table for you to get a general idea of how much compensation you may be entitled to.
| Injury | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Injuries Affecting Sight | In the region of £403,990 | (a) Total Blindness and Deafness: Complete loss of sight and sound. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | In the region of £268,720 | (b) Total Blindness: Complete loss of sight |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | £95,990 - £179,770 | (c) Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (i): Serious risk of further deterioration in the remaining eye. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | £63,950 - £105,990 | (c) Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (ii): Less risk of further deterioration in the remaining eye. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | £54,830 - £65,710 | (d) Total Loss of One Eye: Complete loss of a single eye |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | £23,680 - £39,340 | (e) Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye: Serious but incomplete loss of vision in one eye, without large risk of further reduction of vision. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | £3,950 - £8,730 | (h) Minor Eye Injuries: Temporary interference with vision |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | £2,200 - £3,950 | (i) Transient Eye Injuries: The injured person will have fully recovered within a few weeks. |
| Cheekbone Fracture | £4,350 - £6,460 | (ii) Simple cheekbone fracture necessitating some surgical intervention but where recovery is complete |
| Cheekbone Fracture | £1,710 - £3,950 | (iii) Simple cheekbone fracture necessitating no surgical intervention but where recovery is complete |
Note that these figures do not necessarily reflect the payout you’ll receive for your injuries following a successful claim. This is due to a wide variety of factors that are considered when calculating compensation for the general damages section of your claim. If you’d like a more accurate assessment of the amount you could be owed, speak with one of our advisors today.
Special Damages When Claiming For An Accident At The Workplace
As well as receiving general damages compensation, you may also be able to claim for special damages after an eye injury at work. These are compensation amounts which aim at reimbursing you for any extra costs that may have come from being injured.
Below is a short list of some of the different types of losses that special damages could compensate you for:
- Cost of care
- Loss of earnings
- Medical expenses,
- Cost of home adaptations
Eye Injury At Work – What Evidence Could Help You Claim?
You may be wondering, “what should I do if I had an accident at work?”. In order to prove that your employer has broken their duty of care, leading to your eye injury at work, it’s important to gather evidence to support your claim. If you’re struggling to find evidence, our team of solicitors would be more than happy to help you find evidence to support your claim.
There are many different types of evidence that you can look for when searching for evidence to support your claim. Below is a list of a few types that a solicitor could help you obtain:
- Medical records
- Witness details
- CCTV footage of the accident
- A report from the accident book. You may still be able to claim for an accident that was not reported
- Pictures of the injuries and the scene of the accident.
The standard time limit to start your claim for an accident at work is three years after the initial incident occurred. It could also run from the date you realise that your injuries were caused by negligence if this happens after the accident date. This is outlined clearly in The Limitation Act 1980.
If the person does not have the mental capacity to claim, then a litigation friend would need to be appointed to act on their behalf. In this case, the time limit for claiming is suspended unless they become capable of making their own claim. In this case, they would have three years from the date of their recovery.
Why Make A No Win No Fee Injury Claim?
No Win No Fee agreements are a type of Conditional Fee Agreement that you’ll could be offered when making a claim for an eye injury at work. This means that you usually won’t be expected to pay any fees to your solicitor during the claiming process. In the case your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t generally have to pay any fees to your solicitor for the work that they have done.
Instead of this, you’ll just have to pay your solicitor’s legal fees if you claim it is successful. This is a small percentage of your overall compensation amount. Additionally, you’ll be informed of all legal costs before you agree to No Win No Fee.
We Offer Free Legal Advice 24/7
You can contact us for free at any time to have a consultation in relation to your eye injury at work claim. Our team of solicitors have years of expertise in this field, and with the correct claim, would be more than happy to help. You can find out more by contacting us using the information below:
- Call us on the number at the top of the page
- Please enter your details into our contact us page
- Chat with one of us using our live chat feature on our website
Learn More About How To Recieve Eye Injury At Work Compensation
If you’re interested in learning more about claiming for an eye injury at work, then click below for some more guides:
- NHS link to black eye information
- Guidance on reportable incidents from the Health and Safety Executive
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) information from the government
Writer Louis Peach
Publisher Fern Summers
