Have you suffered workplace eye injuries due to being given no eye protection at work, such as safety goggles or safety glasses? This guide looks at how to seek compensation for injuries due to no eye protection at work. We will discuss the accident at work claim process.
But first, we establish when an accident at work claim would be eligible and what legal duties employers have with regard to their employee’s health and safety, such as providing personal protection equipment such as safety goggles when they are needed to do the job safely. After looking at the personal injury claims eligibility criteria, we look at how having no proper eye protection at work could lead to injuries.
Then, we show you what evidence is best to obtain to prove that an employer breached their legal duties and prove that from this, eye injuries occurred. This guide also tells you the benefits of claiming with a solicitor from our panel on a No Win No Fee basis.
You can chat with our advisors about your potential accident at work claim for compensation for injuries due to no eye protection at work. Here is how you can contact us for free:
- Call us on 0333 000 0729.
- Enter your details on our ‘contact us‘ form.
- Send a message to our live chat box.
Jump To A Section
- How Much Compensation For Injuries Due To No Eye Protection At Work
- When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation For Injuries Due To No Eye Protection At Work?
- How Could No Eye Protection At Work Lead To Injuries?
- How Can I Prove An Eye Injury Claim?
- Can You Claim For Eye Injuries At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Discover More About How To Claim Compensation For Injuries Due To No Eye Protection At Work
How Much Compensation For Injuries Due To No Eye Protection At Work
For successful workplace accident claims, there are up to two heads of loss that could make up the eye injury compensation award.
The first head of claim, general damages, compensates for the pain and suffering of your psychological and/or physical injuries. These are a few factors that are considered when general damages are being calculated:
- Your injury severity, for example, whether you have a serious injury or whether it’s more moderate.
- If your quality of life has been affected.
- The estimated recovery time and if you require medical treatment.
When general damages are being calculated, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) are looked at. The JCG is a document that has different injuries and guideline award figures for each. An independent medical assessment may also be conducted throughout the personal injury claims process. A medical report is generated from this independent assessment and is also looked at alongside the JCG.
Compensation Table
You can find in the compensation table a selection of different eye injuries that could be sustained from having no proper eye protection at work. Apart from the first figure, all of the injuries and accompanying guideline award figures are from the JCG.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline award figures | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries plus special damages. | Serious | Up to and above £500,000+ | Compensation for the effects of multiple serious injuries plus their financial costs, such as medical expenses and lost wages. |
| Injuries affecting sight | Total blindness (b) | In the region of £268,720 | Complete blindness in both eyes. |
| Loss of sight in one eye with reduced vision in the remaining eye (c) (i) | £95,990 to £179,770 | In the remaining eye, there's serious risk of further deterioration beyond sympathetic ophthalmia. | |
| Loss of sight in one eye with reduced vision in the remaining eye (c) (ii) | £63,950 to £105,990 | The remaining eye has problems with reduced vision and/or other problems like double vision. | |
| Total loss of on eye (d) | £54,830 to £65,710 | The award will depend on effects such as psychiatric consequences and age. | |
| Complete loss of sight in one eye (e) | £49,270 to £54,830 | The risk of sympathetic ophthalmia and the extent of facial scarring will be considered for this award. | |
| Serious but incomplete loss of vision in one eye (f) | £23,680 to £39,340 | There is no significant risk of a reduced or complete loss of vision to the remaining eye. | |
| Facial disfigurement | Very severe scarring (a) | £29,780 to £97,330 | Where the injured person is relatively young, the psychological reaction is severe, and the cosmetic effect is disfiguring. |
| Less severe scarring (b) | £17,960 to £48,420 | There is still substantial disfigurement and a significant psychological reaction. |
Since all eye injury claims are unique, please remember that the table is only a guide.
Types Of Special Damages
The second head of claim, special damages, compensates for the financial costs that your eye injury has caused you to suffer. For instance:
- Loss of earnings if your eye injury has made you unable to work.
- Medical costs, like prescriptions.
- Travel costs, such as using public transport to get to a hospital appointment.
Special damages may not always be awarded. So, try and keep any invoices, travel tickets, payslips and receipts that can prove your injury’s financial effects.
To learn more about how to pursue compensation for injuries due to no eye protection at work, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our advisors today.
When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation For Injuries Due To No Eye Protection At Work?
Every employer owes a legal duty to all of their employees, which requires them to take reasonable steps to ensure their workforce’s health, safety and well-being while they are at work. This is known as an employer’s duty of care and is established in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. To fulfil this duty of care, employers can provide personal protective equipment, carry out risk assessments and ensure employees are trained.
*The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, places a duty on employers in Great Britain to provide suitable PPE to ‘employees’ who may be exposed to a health and safety risk. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be provided in these instances free of charge.
So, if you are working in an environment where you need to wear safety glasses or goggles, it is your employer’s responsibility to provide that for you. It is also your employer’s responsibility to train you on how to clearly use the PPE that they have provided., such as wearing eye protection properly.
As such, your employer would only be liable for your workplace eye injury if a breach of their duty of care was the cause. Here are the personal injury claim criteria:
- An employer owed a duty of care when the accident occurred.
- The employer breached their duty of care.
- Because of this, an employee suffered an injury.
To find out how having no eye safety equipment at work could cause an injury, continue reading. To confirm whether the reason you were injured was due to an employer breaching their duty of care, contact our advisors. They will give you a free consultation on your case and discuss whether you are entitled to compensation.
Workplace Eye Injury Claim Time Limits
The Limitation Act 1980 sets the accident at work claims time limit. The standard time limit is 3 years and commences from the date of the accident. You must begin making your claim within this time.
There are only a few circumstances in which the standard time limit will not apply. If a minor is injured, they cannot pursue a claim themselves until they turn 18, for which they will have 3 years in which to submit legal proceedings in court. However, while they are a minor, a trusted adult who has their best interest can apply to the court to be a litigation friend and can pursue the claim for them.
If the injured party lacks the mental capacity to initiate their own claim, the time limit is paused indefinitely. During this pause, a litigation friend can make the claim on their behalf. If they recover mental capacity and no claim has been made, they can make their own claim and have 3 years in which to begin.
Our advisors can give you more details about the exceptions to the time limits when claiming compensation for injuries due to no eye protection at work.
How Could No Eye Protection At Work Lead To Injuries?
Here are a few ways in which no proper eye protection at work could lead to severe or minor eye injuries:
- You started a new job as a welder; however, your employer failed to supply any safety eyewear. Sparks from metal material get into your eyes and cause loss of vision in one eye.
- You work as a carpenter on a construction site, the eyewear or safety goggles you have been provided are defective, and they allow small pieces of wood to enter your eye causing disturbed and blurred vision.
- You work in an industrial landfill and are exposed to chemicals due to the air being contaminated with pollutants. The exposure causes blindness as the employer did not correctly show you how to wear the safety glasses or eyewear.
This list is not exclusive when it comes to accidents causing workplace eye injuries. So, if you received no adequate protection at work, such as safety goggles or safety glasses, and this led you to suffer an eye injury, you may be entitled to compensation. Call our advisors today for a free case check.
How Can I Prove An Eye Injury Claim?
Here is a list of what types of evidence would be useful to collect for your eye injury claim:
- Footage from CCTV cameras of the accident taking place.
- Photos of your injury.
- A diary with recordings of your psychological injuries and other symptoms.
- An accident report log of the accident, which should have been done at work.
- Contact details of potential witnesses to the accident, i.e. maybe other employees who were working with you.
- Getting copies of the medical records that show what medical care you have received and treatment you needed.
If you are eligible to have one of the solicitors from our panel represent you in your accident at work claim, they can help you gather the evidence needed to prove your claim for compensation for injuries due to no eye protection at work. Collecting evidence is part of a solicitor’s services. So, you can contact our advisors whenever it is convenient for you to discuss the possibility of being connected to our panel.
Can You Claim For Eye Injuries At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis?
If your accident at work claim is eligible, then you could be connected to our panel of specialist solicitors. They typically offer their services on a specific No Win No Fee basis called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
You do not pay any upfront or ongoing fees for the services that your solicitor provides with a CFA in place. This is also the case if you have an unsuccessful claim.
If your claim is successful, however, there is still no money taken directly out of your pocket. There will be a success fee taken from your compensation instead. Success fees are a percentage of your compensation, and the law sets a limit to the maximum percentage of the success fee. So, there is no need to worry about the majority of your compensation not going to you.
Contact Us
Although seeking legal representation for your compensation claim isn’t a requirement, legal representation can make the accident at work claims process a lot simpler for you. So, if you have been injured due to having no safety eyewear at work such as safety goggles or safety glasses, contact us. Our advisors can validate whether you are entitled to claim compensation and could connect you to a solicitor from our panel who could provide free legal advice. Here are our contact details:
- Call us on 0333 000 0729.
- Enter your details on our ‘contact us‘ form.
- Send a message to our live chat box.
Discover More About How To Claim Compensation For Injuries Due To No Eye Protection At Work
Try browsing these similar guides and resources if you found this guide useful.
Our guides:
- Learn about what responsibilities an employer has after an accident at work has happened.
- Look at advice on how to use an accident at work claims calculator for more information on what effects of eye injuries you could be compensated for.
- Discovery what your employee rights are after an accident at work.
Resources from other websites:
- Gov.UK – could you receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if your injury has made you unable to work?
- NHS – advice on what to do to treat eye injuries.
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – a guide on how employers should use the correct type of personal protective equipment (PPE) to control risks and hazards at work.
Thank you for reading our guide today on whether you could claim compensation for injuries due to no eye protection at work. To find out who could make eye injury claims call our advisors today.
