Work Compensation Lawyers UK

Work Compensation Lawyers UK

Here at The Injury Lawyers we deal with all types of personal injury claims. We deal solely with claims for injury. We have a team of specialist personal injury lawyers who strive to bring your claim to a swift and successful conclusion. We deal with all types of work accidents including tripping and slipping accidents, accidents involving scaffolding, work equipment accidents, industrial diseases etc. If you have sustained injury (or developed an industrial disease) as a result of an accident at work then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

Many people are reluctant to bring a claim against their employer, particularly in the current economic climate. While this is certainly understandable, employers are required to have employer’s liability insurance which is in place for the sole purpose of paying out compensation to injured victims, such as yourself. It is your right to make a claim but equally it is your right to make the decision on whether to make a claim or not. It is your right to make a claim and your right to decide whether or not to exercise that right to claim. In some situations you may no longer work for that company or employer and therefore you may want to bring a claim. However you should note that the right to claim is not open indefinitely.

For general accidents at work you normally have 3 years (from the date of the accident itself) to either settle your claim or issue Court Proceedings for English / Welsh jurisdiction. If Court Proceedings are not issued within this 3 year limitation period then you may lose your right to claim compensation. Therefore it is always prudent to bring a claim as soon as possible if you have sustained injury and if you want to claim.

The limitation period (or the time limit) is different in terms of industrial diseases and can be 3 years from the date that you realised you were first suffering from a significant condition caused by your employment. This is often referred to as date of knowledge. For example you may have industrial deafness. The exposure to excessive noise which caused the deafness may have been during employment from 1980 to 1985. However you may not notice any hearing deficit until later in life when age associated loss adds to the noise induced hearing loss. Basically as a result of the noise induced hearing loss you will notice hearing difficulties in advance of when normally expected (i.e. you may notice a hearing deficiency when you are 50 years of age and if you had not been exposed to noise you would not have noticed a hearing deficiency until you reached the age of 65 years).

In cases of deafness the 3 year limitation period normally starts from the date that you first knew, or should have known, that you were suffering from a significant condition (deafness) caused by your employment. You could realise your symptoms and bring your claim a number of years after the damage was done. That is only fair as at the time the noise was doing the damage you probably did not know you had sustained an industrial injury.

As with any work compensation claim, I would always advise you to seek expert legal advice as soon as possible. We deal with all types of personal injury claims and we are experts in the field. We are available to take your call today.

When it comes to limitation periods, the above is a very basic and general guide only – each case is different, so you will need to seek expert legal advice to confirm when the limitation date for your claim is due to fall.