Eye Injury at Work – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

Any type of eye injury at work can have a massive impact on your life. Even minor eye injuries could stop you from driving, working or enjoying your usual activities for a while. More serious eye injuries that result in permanent blindness, blurred vision or double vision can be life-changing. Importantly, if your employer’s negligence has caused you to suffer an eye injury at work, you could claim compensation for any suffering that results.

If you or a loved one has been affected by a work-related eye injury, we are here to help. As part of a free initial consultation, one of our specialists will review your case and let you know if you might be entitled to claim eye injury compensation. If your claim does appear to be feasible, we’ll connect you with an accident-at-work solicitor. Should you both agree to work together, your claim will be managed on a No Win, No Fee basis.

You can reach out to discuss your eye injury at work claim with one of our specialists by:

• Calling 0333 241 2519 to speak with a specialist.
• Ask questions via our live chat service.

Please carry on reading to learn how the eye injury claims process works or get in touch with our team if you need to know anything further.

Types of Eye Injuries at Work We Can Help With

Before we look at the personal injury claims process, let’s take a look at some common eye injuies in the workplace we can help with. They include:

• Broken eye sockets.
• Total blindness.
• Partial blindness.
• Loss of an eye.
• Corneal abrasions.
• Chemical burns.

The extent of your eye injury is a key factor used to determine how much compensation you’ll be awarded if your claim is successful. As such, during the claims process, you’ll need to attend an independent eye examination so that a medical specialist can get a full understanding of your prognosis.

Can I Make an Eye Injury at Work Compensation Claim?

While there will always be some level of risk in most working environments, employers have a legal duty of care to take practical steps to try and minimise them. This duty is defined by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Some of the steps that could reduce the risk eye injuries in the workplace include:

• Removing any hazards identified by regular workplace risk assessments.
• Providing staff with protective eyewear where needed.
• Ensuring that machinery and equipment is maintained properly.
• Providing adequate and regular safety training to all staff.
• Ensuring proper ventilation is in place when working with irritants.

If you have suffered an eye injury at work in a preventable accident, you might be entitled to seek compensation for any suffering. The following are some of the eligibility criteria that generally need to be met for eye injury compensation claims:

• Your employer must have owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident.
• Your accident must have caused your accident through an act of negligence.
• You can prove that your eye injury was sustained in that accident in the last three years.

We are here to help if you believe that you should be compensated for an eye injury at work. For free advice about your options, please call our legal advisors today.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to an Eye Injury at Work Claim?

As described above, it may be possible to claim for an eye injury at work if your suffering has been caused by your employer’s negligence. Here are some examples of when that could be the case:

• You were left blind in one eye after debris from a drill in an industrial accident entered your eye due to a missing safety shield.
• You suffered severe chemical burns to your eyes after being provided with inadequate eye protection while handling corrosive materials in an agricultural accident demonstrating a clear case of employer negligence.
• As a result of poor ventilation, you were left with blurred vision for a couple of weeks after your eyes were exposed to hazardous chemicals in an agricultural accident.
• You were left with a broken eye socket after being hit by a customer while working in a pub that had insufficient security staff working.
• You developed chronic eye strain and vision problems due to the employer’s failure to implement regular screen breaks and provide ergonomic monitor setups in your office.

This is just a sample of the types of work-related accidents that could lead to eye injuries. Therefore, even if we’ve not described a scenario similar to yours, please let us know if you believe your suffering was caused by your employer’s negligence.

What Should I Do If I Sustained an Eye Injury in the Workplace?

Should you sustain an eye injury at work, the following steps might be advisable:

1. Visit A&E or a GP surgery so that your eye can be checked by a medical professional.
2. At your earliest opportunity, tell your immediate supervisor about your accident.
3. Log the incident in the company’s accident report book and ask for a copy for yourself.

By taking these steps, you can help your employer to make changes in the workplace to in regard to eye safety at work.

Furthermore, as you’ll see next, taking these steps will mean you have some of the evidence needed to support an eye injury compensation claim.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Eye Injury Claims?

Various pieces of evidence could be used for eye injury compensation claims to help prove how and why you were injured. They include:

• Copies of your medical records including any scan results.
• CCTV recordings of your accident.
• Before and after photographs to show the extent of your eye injury.
• Witness statements to help confirm your version of events.
• Accident scene photographs.
• Accident report forms.

As part of the initial free consultation offered by our specialists, any evidence you can provide will be reviewed. If your claim is accepted, your solicitor might offer to collect any further information should it be needed to help strengthen your case.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Eye Injury at Work Compensation?

In the UK, the time limit for claiming compensation for eye injuries at work is 3 years beginning from the date of the accident or from the date when you first became aware that your eye injury was caused by your work. This is per the Limitation Act 1980, which sets out time limits within which personal injury claims must be brought.

However, you should seek legal advice based on your own circumstances as there can be specific nuances and exceptions to these rules.

We would also suggest that you give yourself as much time to claim as possible. That’s because although 3 years is a good length of time, your solicitor will need to complete some preparatory work before filing your claim.

If you’d like to check how long you have left to claim for a work-related eye injury, please call one of our legal advisors today.

How Much Eye Injury at Work Compensation Can I Claim?

Any compensation you are awarded for a work-related eye injury is designed to help you deal with any physical suffering (general damages) and any costs associated with your eye injury (special damages).

Solicitors often use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when setting compensation levels as they contain settlement brackets for various injuries. Before doing so, however, they will need to ensure that they are fully aware of the impact of your injuries.

Therefore, as part of your claim, your solicitor is likely to arrange a meeting with an independent medical expert. Their findings will help your solicitor to calculate how much compensation your eye injury is worth.

The following list uses JCG data to demonstrate eye injury compensation values. However, the figures are only guideline settlement brackets so cannot be guaranteed.

• £268,720 where there’s total blindness in both eyes.
• £95,990 – £179,770 where there’s a loss of sight in one eye with reduced vision in the other.
• £54,830 – £65,710 where there’s a loss of one eye.
• £49,270 – £54,830 where there’s complete blindness in one eye.
• £23,680 – £39,340 where there’s incomplete blindness in one eye.
• £9,110 – £20,980 for permanent minor vision impairment in one or both eyes.
• £3,950 – £8,730 for a minor eye injury at work.
• £2,200 – £3,950 for a transient eye injury.

If you’ve been left out of pocket because of your eye injury at work, any compensation you receive could also cover your losses. That means you could be allowed to claim for:

• The cost of care and support at home.
• Medical treatment costs.
• Loss of earnings (including long-term and future losses).
• The cost of aids, devices and home adaptations to make it easier to cope with long-term eye problems.
• Travel expenses.

If you’d like us to help put a potential compensation value on your eye injury claim, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Can I Claim for Any Psychological Issues Caused by My Eye Injury?

As well as the physical suffering caused by an eye injury at work, it may be possible to claim for any emotional suffering as well. For instance, traumatic accidents can result in fear, flashbacks and even Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Also, finding out that you might never be able to see things as well as you did before can cause distress, anxiety and depression.

All of these types of suffering could be covered if your eye injury claim is successful. Before they are, expert medical evidence will need to be provided to prove the extent of your suffering.

Can I Claim for an Eye Injury at Work if I’m Not a Full-Time Employee?

The employer’s duty of care described earlier extends to all workers, not just full-time employees. Therefore, if you work as a contractor, your employer must try to keep you as safe as other staff.  This is true for other types of employment status as well including zero-hours workers and agency staff.

As such, if you do sustain an eye injury at work and your employer’s negligence caused your accident, it would be within your rights to seek compensation for your suffering.

Do I Need a Solicitor to Make an Eye Injury Claim?

Legally, you don’t have to instruct a solicitor when making an eye injury claim. However, if you decide to manage the claim yourself, you’re likely to face complex legal or medical questions from your employer’s insurance provider. Having a specialist solicitor on your side will mean you won’t need to deal with such questions alone.

If you work with one of our accident-at-work solicitors, you should find the claims process a lot simpler and less stressful. Some of the services they may manage on your behalf include:

• Collection of evidence to help prove your case.
• Filing your claim in the proper format and on time.
• Negotiating with your employer if any objections regarding liability arise.
• Sending you regular updates on how your claim is proceeding.
• Requesting a higher settlement amount if they believe the initial offer is too low.

So that you can benefit from a No Win, No Fee service, our solicitors use a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to fund their work. Once you’ve signed a CFA, you’ll know that:

• No upfront payment for your solicitor’s work is needed.
• If the claim is lost, you won’t need to pay your solicitor for their efforts.
• A fixed percentage of any compensation received will be deducted as your solicitor’s success fee.

Importantly, the maximum allowable success fee percentage allowed when using a CFA is 25 per cent. As such, you’ll know that you’ll keep hold of most of any settlement that’s paid.

To find out if you could begin a No Win, No Fee eye injury at work claim, please call today.

Contacting Us About an Eye Injury at Work Claim

Our legal advisors are here to help if you would like more information on how to claim compensation for a work-related eye injury. To discuss your case, you can:

• Call us on 0333 241 2519 to speak to one of our specially trained advisors.
• Use our free online chat service.

There’s no obligation for you to take action following your call and we won’t pressure you into doing so. However, if your eye injury at work claim does proceed, your solicitor will manage it from beginning to end on a No Win, No Fee basis.