Have you suffered a shoulder injury at work? If so, you could be eligible to make a workplace accident claim in some cases. Your employer owes you a duty of care, and if it is breached, resulting in you being injured, you could be owed workplace injury compensation. We will explore the criteria for claiming in more detail throughout our guide.
We also aim to discuss the questions:
- How do I make an accident at work claim?
- After my accident at work, what should I do?
- How much compensation could I receive if I sue my employer for negligence?
Additionally, we will explore when an accident at work could occur and the injuries you could sustain. We will also discuss the compensation that could be awarded to address the impact your injuries have had on your quality of life.
Furthermore, this guide will discuss accident at work solicitors and the various ways they may be able to help you throughout the claims process.
For more information, our team are on call 24/7 to offer you free legal advice. If you would like to get in touch, you can:
- Call us on the number at the top of the page
- Use our live chat feature at the bottom of the page
- Contact us online by filling out the form with your details.
Shoulder injury at work claims guide
Can You Claim Compensation For A Shoulder Injury At Work? – A Guide
The severity of a shoulder injury sustained in a workplace accident can vary. For example, you could experience short-term pain and stiffness after sustaining a minor dislocation or you could experience ongoing issues after sustaining a severe fracture.
The severity of your injury could influence the amount you receive after making a successful claim for a shoulder injury at work.
However, not all injuries sustained in the workplace may lead to you receiving shoulder injury compensation. For example, you could be at fault for the accident or your employer may have taken all reasonable steps to reduce or remove the risk of injury.
In order to claim, your injuries need to have been caused by negligence. This involves your employer breaching the duty of care they owed you and causing you to sustain physical or psychological harm as a result.
We will explore the duty of care your employer owes in more detail in the following section. Please continue reading for more information. Alternatively, if you want to know more about the work injury claims process, please get in touch with a member of our team.
When Are You Eligible To Claim For A Shoulder Injury At Work?
The duty of care that your employer owes you is outlined by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This central piece of health and safety legislation outlines their general responsibility for ensuring the workplace, environment, equipment and facilities are safe to use for their intended purpose. Reasonable steps must be taken to remove or reduce the risk of harm posed by any known hazards.
A failure to uphold their duty of care could result in accidents occurring at work. Examples of how someone could experience a shoulder injury at work could include:
- Your employer could provide you with a broken ladder to complete a job. Due to the faulty equipment, you fall and injure your shoulder.
- You could slip, trip or fall on a wet floor that has no sign alerting people to the hazard. Consequently, you suffer a dislocated shoulder injury.
- Your employer may not have given you the necessary manual handling training. Subsequently, when asked to move heavy objects, you sustain a soft tissue injury to your shoulder.
If you have been involved in an accident similar to this and would like to know whether you can claim, get in touch on the number above.
How To Make A Workplace Accident Claim
When claiming for a shoulder injury at work, you could gather evidence to support your case.
In the immediate aftermath of your injury, it would be wise to seek medical attention. Not only does this allow you to be treated for the injury you sustain, but it also generates medical records that can be used as evidence.
Following this, you can take other steps such as:
- Filling out the accident book at work
- Acquiring witness contact details for a statement to be taken at a later date
- Gathering CCTV footage of the incident and/ or the scene
- Taking photographs of your injuries and/ or the scene
- Obtaining medical records
You also must ensure you start your claim within the relevant time limits. Typically, you have to start the work injury claims process within 3 years of the date the accident occurred or the date you associated negligence with your injuries. This time limit is set out by the Limitation Act 1980, but there are some circumstances in which exceptions could apply.
For example, if the injured person is under the age of 18 or the person lacks the mental capacity to claim, the time limit is suspended. If this is the case, a suitable person could apply to act as a litigation friend and claim for them whilst the time limit is paused.
For more information on the evidence you can gather to support your claim or the time limits involved, please get in touch on the number above. An advisor can answer the question ‘what should I do if I’ve had an accident at work?’.
Shoulder Injury At Work – Potential Compensation Amounts
If you win your shoulder injury at work claim, the compensation you could receive may be made up of two heads of claim.
Firstly, you could receive compensation under general damages for any pain and suffering you endure due to your injuries. This can include both physical and psychological injuries.
For example, you could be compensated for your shoulder injury. The injury could also stop you from exercising, something you normally do to reduce stress. If this leads to an increase in anxiety, you may also be compensated for that.
Alternatively, you could experience mental harm with no physical injuries, such as stress at work. In these cases, you could be compensated for the mental injury.
We have compiled a table using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This contains a list of injuries alongside guideline compensation brackets that solicitors can use to help them when valuing the general damages portion of claims.
Despite the JCG being a document that solicitors can use to aid them when calculating the value of your injuries, these figures should only be used as guidance. This is because each accident at work claim is unique, and the settlement you’re awarded could differ.
| Injury | Compensation Bracket | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Arm Injuries (a) | £96,160 to £130,930 | Injuries that are extremely serious, such as a serious brachial plexus injury. |
| Severe Neck Injuries (a) (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | Injuries that lead to disabilities of a considerable severity, such as permanent brachial plexus damage. |
| Severe Shoulder Injuries (a) | £19,200 to £48,030 | Involves damage to the brachial plexus which causes considerable disability. |
| Serious Shoulder Injuries (b) | £12,770 to £19,200 | A dislocation of the shoulder, for example, which results in damage to the lower brachial plexus causing symptoms, such as pain in the shoulder and neck, aching in elbow and sensory issues. |
| Moderate Shoulder Injuries (c) | £7,890 to £12,770 | Cases such as frozen shoulder with limited movement and other issues for about two years. |
| Minor Shoulder Injuries (d) (i) | £4,350 to £7,890 | A soft tissue injury that causes significant pain but an almost complete recovery is made in less than two years. |
| Minor Shoulder Injuries (d) (ii) | £2,450 to £4,350 | A soft tissue injury that causes significant pain but an almost complete recovery within a year. |
| Minor Shoulder Injuries (d) (iii) | Up to £2,450 | A soft tissue injury that causes significant pain but almost a complete recovery is made within three months. |
| Shoulder Injuries (e) | £5,150 to £12,240 | A fractured clavicle. |
Special Damages In Work Injury Claims
You could also receive special damages in your settlement. This head of claim seeks to reimburse you for the financial losses you’ve incurred because of your injuries.
For instance, you might be unable to work after your shoulder injury. If you lose out on income as a result, this could be claimed back under special damages. Other financial losses you could claim back include:
- The cost of home adaptations
- Care costs
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs
It would be useful to keep a record of all monetary losses in order to claim them back.
To learn more about the workplace injury compensation you could receive, please get in touch on the number above.
What Are The Benefits Of Making A No Win No Fee Claim?
There are many financial benefits to being represented by a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Generally, the solicitors from our panel operate under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which means you typically aren’t required to pay for their services if the claim fails. You also don’t need to pay for these services upfront or while the claim proceeds.
However, if your case is successful, you will have to pay. A capped by law success fee will be subtracted from your compensation.
If you want to discover whether you are entitled to be covered on this basis, please get in touch with an advisor from our team.
We Offer Free Legal Advice – See If You Could Receive Workplace Injury Compensation Today
Contact our advisors, who are here to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can offer you a free consultation and can connect you with one of the accident at work solicitors from our panel if you have an eligible shoulder injury at work claim.
To get in touch:
- Call us on the number at the top of the page
- Use our live chat feature at the bottom of the page
- Contact us online
Learn More About Making A Workplace Accident Claim
Here is some further reading that may be of use to you:
- GOV – Statutory Sick Pay
- NHS – First Aid
- HSE – Worker Responsibilities
Thank you for reading our guide on what to do if you suffer a shoulder injury at work. If you have any other questions, get in touch using the details provided above.
Writer Beck Pickering
Editor Meg Martin
