Businesses are legally required to have employers’ liability insurance in place when they have people working for them. This insurance is intended to cover situations where employees have been injured whilst at work.

As such, even if you are making a claim against your employer, it should be their insurers would will deal with the claim and pay out any compensation to you – rather than your employer themselves.

You will also have legal protection from negative consequences. If you were fired because of your claim, you would have a strong basis to claim for unfair dismissal, as dismissing someone for asserting their legal rights is not valid grounds to do so.

There are many different kinds of ‘loss’ which can be included in your claim, besides your injuries. It is very rare for your injuries to be the only loss you have suffered. Some standard categories of other losses are:

• Medical expenses and treatment costs – These are often incurred during your recovery. It can include expenses such as painkillers or rehabilitation treatment.
• Travel expenses – A number of journeys may become necessary due to the accident. Examples include attending your GP or hospital after the accident.
• Loss of earnings – If you are unable to work for a time following the accident, your income may be reduced. This can cover many kinds of income such as: lost wages, bonus payments, commission, or anticipated earnings.
• Care and assistance – Even relatively minor injuries can make you reliant on others in your daily life. You may be able to claim for the time and costs of friends, family, or healthcare professionals helping you.

The losses you claim will vary greatly upon your individual circumstances. Find out more about the diverse range of losses by downloading our free ebook: The Ultimate Personal Injury Compensation Guide.

All personal injury claims have legal deadlines placed upon them. The normal time limit for personal injury claims is 3 years. This means a claim must be settled, or court proceedings commenced, within 3 years of the accident.

Exceptions can apply to the time limit, however, making the situation a bit more complicated. The best advice is to act as soon as possible if you believe you may have a claim. If you are worried about time limits or you would like to discuss your case, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Claiming compensation is a way of taking positive action to repair your life after an accident. It can help with your recovery by giving you quick, and possibly free, access to treatment.

Sadly, some harm cannot be ‘fixed’ with any amount of money or treatment. But compensation can help you adjust to a new way of living, giving you the financial support you need.

Suffering an injury caused by defective equipment gives other reasons to take action. Your injuries should never have happened. You are entitled to compensation, and this acts as strong incentive to your employer to prevent such accidents happening to others. Your claim can force changes which will avoid similar harm in future, making your workplace a safer environment.

To make a successful claim against your employer for an injury sustained due to defective equipment, you must establish several things:

• Your employer failed in their duty of care. This could be by supplying you with equipment which was in a poor state of repair, or which was not suited to the job.
• Their failure caused your injury. You suffered your injuries as a direct consequence of the defective equipment.

• The injuries and losses that you are claiming for are reasonable. In that they followed on from the accident and they are not excessive or speculative.

Employers have legal duties which require them to keep their workers as safe as possible in their place of work. In relation to the equipment they supply to their workers, they must:

• Make sure equipment is suited to the task at hand.
• Keep equipment properly maintained and in good condition.
• Monitor how equipment is used and maintained.
• Train workers in the correct use of the equipment.
• Conduct regular risk assessments.

If your employer has failed to do any of these, and you’ve suffered an injury as a result, you will have strong grounds to make a compensation claim.