Machinery Accident Claims – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

There are always some risks when working with machinery at work. For that reason, employers have a duty to minimise those risks so staff are kept as safe as possible. However, accidents involving workplace machinery do happen and they can lead to very significant injuries. If you’ve been injured by workplace machinery that was your employer’s fault, you could be entitled to file a machinery accident claim.

If you’d like to learn whether you have a valid machinery accident compensation claim, we can help. As part of a free initial consultation, a member of our team will review your case and offer expert legal advice about your next steps. Should your claim appear to have good grounds, it may be accepted by one of our accident-at-work solicitors. That means you could make a No Win, No Fee machinery accident claim.

To find out more, you can:

• Call us on 0333 241 2519 to speak with a specialist.
• Use our free online chat service day or night.

Please call if you have any questions or read on to learn more about when you could claim after being injured by machinery at work.

Can I Claim Compensation for a Machinery Accident at Work?

To claim compensation for a machinery accident at work, evidence needs to be supplied to show that, at the time of your accident, your employer owed you a duty of care. Generally, this is not too difficult as a tranche of legislation could be used to establish a duty of care including:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
• The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

You needn’t research these laws in depth as your solicitor will check which one applies if you agree to work with us. For now, it’s enough to say that your employer could meet their safety obligations by:

• Checking all workplace equipment regularly for faults or defects.
• Repairing any faults identified swiftly.
• Training you on how to use machinery safely.
• Ensure that all machinery is properly maintained so that missing safety features are replaced and emergency stop functionality works properly.
• Provide you with personal protective equipment (PPE) if machinery-related risks can’t be mitigated in other ways.

Where your employer fails to uphold their legal safety obligations, you could have grounds to claim for a machinery-related accident at work if you can show that:

• Their negligence led to an accident involving machinery; and
• You sustained an injury or multiple injuries in the last three years because of that accident.

If you wish to claim compensation, one of our solicitors could help you to do so if enough evidence exists to prove your case so please contact us now.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to a Machinery Accident Claim?

Some examples of how workplace machinery accidents and personal injuries can occur due to a negligent employer include:

• Amputations: It is possible for limbs to be lost by cutting machines if safety guards are missing.
• Crush Injuries: Limbs and digits can be crushed at work by machinery if they are caught between two moving parts. These types of injuries can be severe and even life-changing. In some cases, crushed limbs may need to be amputated if they cannot be saved by surgery.
• Entanglement: Serious injuries can also occur if your hair, clothing or jewellery gets tangled in a machine’s moving parts while employed in a factory.
• Electric Shock: You could be at risk of an electric shock at work if a piece of machinery isn’t grounded properly or where wires or electrical components are exposed. This risk may increase if you work in close proximity to water.
• Malfunctions: If a piece of machinery malfunctions, it can stop suddenly or cause jerky or uncontrollable movements. These types of movements can result in back injuries, soft tissue injuries and head injuries at work.
• Debris: Where machinery is used for cutting or drilling operations, it can result in debris striking you in the face or eyes if a safety guard is missing or where you were not provided with eye protection by your employer.

If you suspect that you’re entitled to start a machinery accident claim, get in touch now and explain what happened to one of our legal advisors for expert advice.

What Should I Do If I Was Injured By Machinery in the Workplace?

If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a machinery-related accident and want compensation for your injuries you should:

• Seek medical treatment for your injuries rather than relying on first aid.
• Tell your employer about your accident at your earliest opportunity.
• Ensure the incident is logged in the accident report book.
• Comply with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) if they investigate your accident.

The steps above are important for two reasons. Firstly, they’ll mean your employer has the chance to prevent similar machinery accidents in the future.

Secondly, they’ll provide you with some of the evidence you’ll need to support any subsequent machinery accident claim you decide to make. We’ll provide more information about this, next.

What Evidence Can Be Used for a Machinery Accident Compensation Claim?

If you decide to make a machinery accident claim, your employer is likely to pass it to their insurers. They are unlikely to compensate you unless there’s proof of why the machinery accident happened, how you’ve suffered and why your employer is liable. The best way to prove these things is with evidence such as:

• Medical records to prove your injuries.
• Photographs of any obvious machinery defects that caused the accident.
• A copy of an accident report form or an HSE investigation report.
• Video footage of your accident if the piece of machinery is covered by CCTV cameras.
• Contact information for anyone who saw what happened in case your accident-at-work-solicitor wants to collect witness statements.

If you have collected any evidence already, please give our legal advisors a call to review your chances of being compensated.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Machinery Accident Compensation?

You will have 3 years to start a personal injury claim following a machinery accident at work. This is defined in law by the Limitation Act 1980. Generally, the 3-year time limit begins on the date of your accident or from the date you became aware of your injury (which could be later) to make a claim for compensation.

For those lacking the mental capacity to make a machinery accident claim, for instance, if the person has been left in a coma, there may be no time limit until they regain capacity.

What Compensation Can I Claim for a Machinery Accident at Work?

How much and what compensation you’ll receive following a successful machinery accident claim will depend on two main factors.

Firstly, general damages are calculated based on the extent of your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. To some extent, your suffering can be proven by medical records. However, your solicitor may also choose to arrange for an independent medical assessment so that your prognosis can also be understood.

Special damages are another head of loss that can make up a compensation payout for machinery accident claims. These cover financial losses linked to your personal injury at work including:

• The cost of a carer at home.
• Medical and rehabilitation costs.
• The cost of making home adaptations to make it easier for you to deal with more serious injuries and disabilities.
• Personal property costs.
• Lost income (and future lost earnings).
• Travel expenses.

You’ll find out how much compensation your machinery accident claim could be worth if one of our solicitors provides legal representation.

Will I Be Disciplined for Claiming Machinery Accident Compensation?

There is no need to worry about facing any negative consequences of taking legal action against your employer. That’s because, so long as your compensation claim is justified, your employer would be breaking the law if they disciplined you, sacked you, bullied you or treated you differently because of your claim. In turn, this could result in separate legal action for unfair (or constructive dismissal).

Can I Claim Compensation for Machinery-Related Injuries if I’m Not a Full-Time Employee?

Any workplace machinery should be safe for all employees to use regardless of the type of employment contract they’re working on.

Therefore, if you’re self-employed, a contractor, a zero-hours worker or any other type of employee, you could be entitled to start a machinery accident compensation claim.

The same claims process is used so you will need to collect as much evidence as possible to prove that your machinery accident and subsequent injuries were caused by your employer’s negligence.

Do You Need a Solicitor for Machinery Accident Claims?

Proving how you were injured by a piece of machinery at work can be quite a complex task. While you are free to manage your claim alone, the process can be simplified if you have a solicitor who’s dealt with similar claims on your side. Their legal training and experience should of course make the process easier and it could also mean you’ll end up with a higher settlement amount if the claim is successful.

If you work with one of our solicitors, some of the services they might provide include:

• Collecting evidence to prove what went wrong.
• Filing your claim with your employer on time.
• Dealing with all negotiations for you so that you don’t face any direct questions from your employer’s insurers.
• Sending you regular updates about how your claim is progressing.
• Trying to secure the highest possible amount of compensation.

Also, all accepted machinery accident claims are dealt with on a No Win, No Fee basis. This means that after you’ve signed a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you:

• Don’t pay your solicitor for their work in advance.
• Don’t pay for your solicitor’s time and efforts if they lose your claim.
• Will have a success fee deducted from your compensation if the claim is won.

Legally, when using a CFA, the maximum allowed success fee percentage is 25 per cent of your payout.

To see if you could make a No Win, No Fee machinery accident claim, contact our team now.

Will The Claim Go to Court?

In our experience, you won’t usually go to court when claiming for an accident at work. Instead, your solicitor will work hard to achieve an amicable agreement with your employer’s insurance provider whenever possible. This will benefit both parties as it will avoid the extra costs and time involved in court hearings.

However, if your employer does not accept liability for your accident or offers a settlement your solicitor thinks is too low, they could arrange a court case as a last resort if they strongly believe that you should be compensated.

Contacting Us About a Machinery Accident Claim

We are ready to help if you believe that you should be compensated for a machinery accident at work. To start your free initial consultation you can:

• Contact our team by calling us on 0333 241 2519.
• Connect to our live chat service.

There’s no obligation to take any further action after your call. However, if you do decide to proceed with a machinery accident claim and it’s accepted by one of our solicitors, you’ll benefit from their No Win, No Fee service.