Racking Accident Claims – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

Shelving and racking are used extensively in many workplaces to make it easier to secure stock, files, books and other items. Racking can make workplaces much more organised and increase the amount of items that can be stored. When used correctly, racking is generally safe. However, work-related racking accidents do sometimes occur. If you’ve been involved in a racking-related accident at work, you could be entitled to claim compensation for any injuries. This guide on racking accident claims explains your options.

We can help if you’re considering claiming compensation for a racking accident at work. To start, we offer a free initial consultation where we’ll review your claim and provide free legal advice. Then, if your claim appears to be feasible, we could connect you with an accident-at-work solicitor from our team. They’ll provide a No Win, No Fee service if your racking injury compensation claim is accepted.

To discuss a racking accident claim with a legal advisor, you can:

• Call us on 0333 241 2519.
• Use our free online chat service day or night.

Feel free to call if you have any questions about claiming racking accident compensation or read on to find out more.

Can I Make a Racking Accident Claim?

While you’re at work, your employer has a legal responsibility to take reasonable steps to keep you safe. The main piece of legislation that provides this duty of care is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

With regards to the safety of racking, some of the steps your employer could take to uphold their legal obligations include:

• Inspecting any racking regularly to identify any problems.
• Ensure racking and shelving are installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
• Ensure items are stacked on shelving correctly based on weight, size and contents.
• Providing PPE such as protective gloves for staff where required.
• Training staff on safe manual handling techniques and working at height.

You may be entitled to claim compensation for a racking accident if:

• At the time of your accident, you were owed a duty of care by your employer; and
• Their negligence led to you being involved in an accident; which
• Caused you to be injured in the last three years.

If you’d like to check if you are entitled to begin a racking accident compensation claim, please call our team today.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to Racking Accident Claims?

For reference, we’ve listed several examples of accidents at work that could result in racking accident claims which we can help with:

• Where you suffered broken bones after being crushed at work by boxes that fell from overloaded racking.
• If you suffered cuts or lacerations to your hands, arms or wrists because of damaged racking with jagged edges.
• Where you suffered a work-related back injury because you had to move heavy items that were stored above head height for prolonged periods.
• If you suffered chemical burns because products were damaged by a forklift truck that was being operated by an untrained driver.
• If you fell from a height while retrieving stock from the upper levels of the racking which was not fit for purpose.
• Where you were trapped under racking that collapsed in a warehouse because it had been installed incorrectly.
• Where a poorly stacked item fell from a damaged shelf and hit you on the head.

These are just a few examples of the types of incidents that could lead to racking accident claims. If you have suffered any other type of racking accident at work, call our legal advisors to see if you could claim for your injuries.

What Should I Do If I’m Injured in a Racking Accident at Work?

Whether you work in a warehouse, office or shop where racking is used, there are some steps you should take if you are involved in a racking accident. They are:

• Tell your employer about what happened.
• Ask for the incident to be logged in the accident report book.
• Visit A&E or your GP for treatment of any injuries.

If you tell your employer about your accident, they’ll have the chance to rectify any defects or procedural errors to prevent similar accidents from occurring. Also, the steps above can provide crucial evidence to support a racking accident claim if you decide to make one later on.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Racking Accident Claims?

When seeking compensation for a racking accident in the workplace, you’ll need to convince your employer’s insurers that your accident and injuries were caused by your employer’s negligence. Therefore, you should provide as much evidence as realistically possible to support your claim. This could include:

• Photographs of the accident scene including pictures that help to prove the cause of your accident.
• Medical records and photos of any visible injuries.
• Contact details for colleagues, customers or others who witnessed the racking accident at work.
• A copy of the accident report form to confirm where and when the accident happened.
• Any video footage of the accident that exists.

When you call our legal advisors to discuss your claim, please let your advisor know about any evidence you have to help prove your case.

What Time Limit Applies to Racking Accident Claims?

In the UK, you have 3 years to claim for an accident at work. This is set in law by the Limitation Act 1980. Generally, for racking accident claims, the time limit begins from:

• The date that the accident occurred; or
• When your injury (such as an RSI) was diagnosed by your doctor.

While 3 years might seem like ample time to begin a racking injury claim, we’d suggest that you start as soon as you can to enable plenty of time for evidence and other information to be collected.

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

Two heads of loss are generally used to value a personal injury at work. The first, general damages, aims to compensate for any pain and suffering caused by your injuries. It also covers any impact your injuries have on your hobbies, social life and other activities (loss of amenity).

To value your injuries, your solicitor may compare your medical records and an independent medical assessment with any past similar cases and settlement figures listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

Special damages may also be included in any compensation you receive. These can cover financial losses directly linked to your injuries including:

• The cost of support and care at home.
• Modification costs if your home or vehicle needs to be adapted to help you cope with any disabilities.
• Loss of earnings and future loss of income.
• Medical costs.
• Travel expenses.

If you work with an accident-at-work solicitor from our team, they’ll work out how much compensation you could be entitled to once they’ve assessed your claim in detail.

Can I Claim if I’m Not Employed Full-Time?

The duty of care that we discussed earlier means employers have to keep their staff safe whilst they’re working. That applies to all types of workers regardless of their contract type.

As such, you could make a racking accident claim if you are a full-time employee, consultant, zero-hours worker, contractor, agency staff or self-employed.

So long as you can prove that you were injured in a racking accident that was caused by employer negligence, you could have grounds to sue them for compensation. Why not give us a call today to learn more about your options?

Can I Be Dismissed If I Claim Compensation?

You don’t need to worry about facing any negative consequences as a result of a racking accident claim. So long as you’re claiming for a legitimate reason, your employer would be breaking the law if they fired you, demoted you, picked on you, bullied you or treated you differently as a result of your claim.

If you have suffered any such action following a claim against your employer, an employment solicitor could help you start a separate claim for unfair or constructive dismissal.

Do You Need a Solicitor for Racking Accident Claims?

Legally, it’s okay to perfectly acceptable to file a personal injury claim against your employer yourself. Practically, it’s not always the simplest thing to do. That’s because any claim is likely to be fought by the employer’s insurance provider and that process could involve complex legal and medical questioning.

Having a legal representative on your side could improve the likelihood of winning your claim and could result in a higher settlement. It should also make the process much easier to deal with.

If your claim is handled by one of our accident-at-work solicitors, they could:

• Manage all communication with your employer from start to finish.
• Collect as much evidence as possible to prove your case.
• Negotiate on your behalf and fight your corner if any objections are raised.
• Keep you up to date throughout the claims process.
• Aim to secure the correct level of compensation to cover all of your suffering.

All accepted racking accident claims are managed on a No Win, No Fee basis. That means that after you’ve signed a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you:

• Won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work upfront.
• Won’t pay for your solicitor’s work if the claim is lost.
• Will have a percentage of any compensation payout deducted as your solicitor’s success fee.

So that you keep hold of the majority of any settlement you receive, the success fee percentage is capped at 25 per cent (when a CFA is used).

To see whether you could start a No Win, No Fee racking accident claim, please call our team today.

Will the Claim Go to Court?

In our experience, most accident at work claims don’t need to be heard in court. Instead, employers and solicitors will generally come to an amicable agreement to avoid the time and costs involved with court hearings.

However, if your solicitor strongly believes in your case and your solicitor won’t accept liability for your injuries (or offers a low compensation payout) a court date could be booked as a last resort.

How Long Do Racking Accident Claims Take?

The time taken for racking accident claims to be finalised varies from case to case.

For instance, you could receive compensation within 5 to 6 months if you have suffered minor injuries and your employer accepts that they were responsible for your accident.

However, claims for more serious injuries or those that are contested can take longer. For instance, if you’ve sustained life-changing injuries after being crushed by collapsing racking, it could take a year or more to get a full understanding of how you’ll be affected. During this time, you could receive interim payments so long as your employer has accepted liability for your accident.

Contacting Us About a Racking Accident Claim

We’re here to help if you’d like more information about claiming for work-related racking injuries. To find out more about your options, you can:

• Call 0333 241 2519 to discuss your case with a specialist.
• Use our 24/7 live chat service when it’s convenient for you.

When you call, we won’t pressure you into starting a claim with us. However, if your racking accident claim is accepted by one of our solicitors and you decide to proceed, you’ll benefit from their No Win, No Fee service.