Find Out If You Could Claim Compensation If You Did Not Take Time Off Work After An Accident

By Mark Anderson. Last Updated 16th March 2021. In this online guide, we answer the question, I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim? This includes looking at your workplace injury rights and how a personal injury lawyer could help you make a workplace accident claim.

As each claim has its own unique aspects, you might have questions about your own case not covered in this guide. If this is the case, then please call our team on 0333 000 0729. One of our advisers will be happy to provide any answers you need and explain how you could move forward with your claim.

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A Guide On Work Accident Claims If You Did Not Take Time Off

I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim

Accident at work

Our guide provides an answer to the question, I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim? We look at how the personal injury claims process works and explain the role of a personal injury solicitor. We begin with a general overview of what a work-related accident entails and why you could be eligible to claim if you are injured through no fault of your own.

The next part looks at workplace accidents in general and provides some key statistics related to workplace injuries sustained in the UK. There is a section that looks at whether it is a good idea to take time off if you are injured at work or not, and whether your claim would be affected if you do decide to continue working after an accident at work in which you suffered an injury.

The last section covers the claims process itself and some of the legal and financial implications of filing an accident at work claim. This includes a table based on the Judicial College Guidelines used in England to value injuries by courts, insurers and solicitors. This allows you to work out roughly how much compensation you might be able to claim. We have also provided a list of some of the commonly awarded damages that could make up your compensation settlement. You will find advice on how to best start your claim, as well as an explanation of why using a No Win No Fee solicitor might be the best choice for you.

If you have questions about the contents of this guide or require additional clarification about any of the points, please call our team on the number at the top of the page. An adviser will answer your questions for you, talk through your claim with you, and offer you some free legal advice on proceeding with your personal injury claim.

What Do We Mean By An Accident At Work?

Before we look at whether not taking time off work will affect your claim, we need to discuss what a work-related accident entails and why you may be eligible to claim if you are injured in one through no fault of your own.

Every employer in the UK has a duty of care towards employees and other staff to provide a working environment that is both safe and healthy to work in. This is a legal obligation that requires full compliance with all health and safety directives that apply to a business. For example, a hotel may need to comply with health and safety regulations related to both the hospitality sector and the food service sector. Failure to comply can result in fines being levied against the company. Failure to comply with protocols that result in an injury to a staff member could entitle an injured employee to seek compensation by filing an accident at work claim against an employer.

Your rights after an accident at work include the ability to claim damages if the harm you suffered was directly or indirectly caused by them. However, you must be able to prove that your employer caused you harm due to an error, oversight, negligence or omission for your claim to be valid.

You can even start a claim against a previous employer. For example, if you are diagnosed with a work-related illness due to working conditions in a previous job, such as being exposed to hazardous chemicals, you have three years from the date your illness is diagnosed to file an accident at work claim against the party responsible.

To recap, a workplace injury that you could be able to claim for would be an injury (or illness) that was caused by the actions of your employer, and you have sufficient evidence to prove this to be true. If you would like to learn whether your own claim is valid, please call our team and speak to one of our advisers.

Statistics Highlighting Workplace Accidents

The answer to the question I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim links to whether the accident is reported. It could be that your accident may not have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) if it was reportable. The HSE produces statistics for workplace injuries in the UK, and unreported injuries won’t be included.

Some of the key 2019/20 statistics are:

  • Around 1.6 million employees have some work-related illness
  • Mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure killed 2,446 people
  • 111 people died in fatal accidents at work
  • 693,000 people were injured at work (based on a Labour Force Survey)
  • 65,427 workplace injuries were reported through RIDDOR
  • 38.8 million days of work were lost due to work-related injuries and illness
  • £16.2 billion is the estimated cost of workplace illness and injuries

If you are injured in an accident at work for which your employer could be held to blame, you may have a valid reason to file a compensation claim against them. Could you speak to our team to find out more?

Should You Take Time Off Work If Injured At Work?

In this section, we answer questions such as, how long should you take off work after an accident? Can you get fired for not reporting an injury? And, I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim?

Firstly, the length of time you should take away from work would depend on how long the medical professional who is treating you recommends/prescribes. If you take longer away from work, if queried, you may not be able to prove you had cause to be off work.

Secondly, you cannot be fired for failing to report an accident. You may be reprimanded in some way, though. Your employer has a responsibility to ensure that all accidents are entered into the company accident book. If it is your specific task to ensure the accident book is maintained properly, then you might be disciplined for not filling it in when necessary.

Thirdly, your eligibility to claim for an injury sustained in an accident at work is not affected by whether or not you took time away from work. However, if you did not take time off work, you may find it difficult to press a claim for a serious injury. Put, how could your injury have been so severe if you did not take time off work to recover?

If you have any questions about taking time away from work and your eligibility to make a claim, please speak to one of our advisers today for free legal advice.

Will My Claim Be Affected By Continuing To Work?

If you didn’t take time off work after an accident, this would not stop you from claiming any harm you suffered. Some injuries, like a fractured finger, will cause little pain once treated and may not require spending time recuperating at home. In short, you may be able to return to work once the injury has been treated, should you wish to.

With this said, you suffered an injury in a workplace accident, and therefore if you can prove that negligence was the cause, you may be able to sue your employer for damages. However,  if you did not take time away from work, it is unlikely that you would be able to claim compensation for a serious or severe injury.

If you would like some advice on moving ahead with a workplace accident claim, even though you did not take any time away for work, speak to our team today.

Workplace Accident And Injury Compensation Calculator

You may be able to find an online personal injury claims calculator that will give a rough idea of how much compensation you could be able to claim after a workplace accident. You can also use the table below, which we created based on the Judicial College Guidelines used by the courts, solicitors and insurance companies in the UK to value injuries.

InjurySeverityNotesCompensation
Injured handModerateIn this bracket would be deep penetrating wounds, crush injuries, lacerations, and soft-tissue injuries. Also, injuries that have been partially treated using surgery but some level of impairment remains. At the bottom end of the scale would be injuries that result in permanent symptoms but that would not be considered an impairment.£5,260 to £12,460
Injured armModerateIn this bracket would be conditions such as tennis elbow. Also, simple fractures and soft tissue injuries and any injury that will heal fully and leave no permanent impairment.Up to £11,820
Injured backModerateIn this bracket would be crush injuries and compression fractures, where in the future, osteoporosis could set in. There could be constant pain or discomfort. Other injuries could include a prolapsed intervertebral disc that needs surgery or damage to one of the intervertebral discs with irritation of the nerve root.£26,050 to £36,390
Injured neckModerateIn this bracket would be injuries such as dislocations and fractures, with severe short-term symptoms, that may need spinal fusion. Also, chronic conditions of the neck, serious soft tissue injuries and injuries that have exacerbated a previous medical condition.£23,460 to £36,120
Injured footModerateIn this bracket would be injuries such as a displaced metatarsal fracture. Once healed, the foot would be deformed and it would be impossible for the patient to wear normal shoes.£12,900 to £23,460
Injured legModerateIn this bracket would be crush injuries as well as complex or compound fractures affecting just one leg. The amount of compensation awarded will depend on the extent of treatment the patient underwent, any scarring or long-term impairment and the risk of further similar injuries due to general weakening.£26,050 to £36,790

If you want a more accurate estimate of the value of your claim, you would need a lawyer to assess it for you. This would involve an examination carried out by an independent medical professional to prove the severity of your injuries. Call our team for some free advice on how to go about this.

Special Damages Claimable In Workplace Accidents

I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim? Well, the answer is yes. But when you claim a work-related injury or illness, if it is successful, the overall settlement you receive would comprise general damages and special damages. For examples, this could include:

  • General damages (these all compensate the claimant for physical harm):
    • Permanent disability or long-term impairment, causing a loss of life quality
    • A long recuperation requiring traumatic treatment
    • Psychological damage such as post-traumatic stress disorder
    • Harm and suffering at the time the accident occurred
    • The stress and trauma of being involved in an accident
  • Special damages (these all compensate the claimant for financial and other losses):
    • Long-term or permanently reduced earning potential, or inability to work at all
    • Loss of current income (wages or salary) for taking time away for work. Either full or partial loss
    • The cost of private medical care that could not be provided by the NHS for free
    • The cost of hiring a nurse to care for you at home or for a cleaner to help maintain your home
    • Out of pocket expenses such as travel costs too and from a healthcare facility or to deal with the claim itself

These are the more commonly awarded damages that your compensation settlement could be made up of. To check the kinds of damages you might be able to claim based on your own circumstances. Please speak to one of our advisers today.

How Do I Start A Workplace Accident Compensation Claim?

In this section, we look at what to do after an accident at work or if you have been dismissed after an accident at work. Your basic accident at work rights entitle you to pursue your employer for damages if they were responsible for the accident that caused you harm, and you are within the personal injury claims time limit to do so. There are some things you can do to ensure you have done all you can to ensure your claim is a success which is as follows:

  • Fill in the company accident book and follow the company procedure for reporting an accident.
  • Receive first aid from a company specified first-aider
  • Ensure that you visit a hospital to have your injuries checked over and treated, even if you believe they are not serious enough to warrant it
  • If you can, take photographs of the scene and the cause of the accident.
  • If any of your work colleagues witnessed the accident, make sure to note who, so you can contact them to give testimony if needed.
  • If you suffer any financial loss due to the accident or your injuries, keep the receipts, bills, invoices.

Taking steps such as these will help you get the help you need at the point of the accident, disburse your duties about reporting and accident, and leave a paper trail of evidence showing how your injuries were caused. To learn how an accident and injury lawyer can follow up on these steps and process an accident at work claim for you, please call our team.

Why Select Legal Helpline To Help You Claim Against An Employer?

Do you need additional information related to the question, I did not take time off work, could I claim? Or maybe you want to find out about your injury at work rights? Whatever legal help you need, we provide a simple 3 step process to get it and to make sure your claim progresses, and this is:

  1. Call our team to have all of your questions answered and to get further information.
  2. One of our advisers will evaluate your claim for you and then advice you on how best to proceed with it.
  3. A solicitor can begin processing your claim right away.

Follow these three simple steps to get the legal help you need today. One of our advisers can walk you through our simple process and help get your claim underway as quickly as possible.

No Win No Fee Workplace Injury Or Accident Claims

When you make a claim under a No Win No Fee agreement, you are minimising most of the financial risks you could face when filing an accident at work claim. This is because the solicitor will not ask to be paid their pre-agreed fee until they have received a compensation payment for you.

You won’t be asked to pay a fee for the lawyer to begin working on your claim or while the lawyer is processing the claim on your behalf. If the lawyer fails to win you any compensation at all, then they won’t expect to be paid their fee. As you can see, you really don’t pay anything until your claim has been a success and you are awarded an accident at work compensation.

Call our team for more information about No Win No Fee claims and to learn why this kind of fee agreement could be the perfect way for you to make your own workplace accident claim.

Begin A Workplace Accident Claim

Do you need an answer to questions such as, I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim? Or maybe you have some questions about your workplace accident rights about making a claim? No matter what you need, you can contact our team on 0333 000 0729. One of our advisers will go through your claim with you, evaluate it, and also answer all of your questions for you.

Related Guides

These external pages could have some more useful information that can help you:

How To Report A Workplace Accident

Accident At Work Advice

Time Limits For Making A Work-Related Accident Claim

You might also like to read over these other useful guides, they could be of help to you:

I Did Not Take Time Off Work After An Accident, Could I Claim FAQs

How long do you have to claim after an accident at work?

English law states that you have up to three years to make any injury claim. This is the case, regardless of the nature of the accident or the severity of your injuries. The case may not be settled during that three-year period, but you must take the first step towards legal action during that time.

What happens if you’re unable to work due to injury?

If this is the case, you could file for any worker compensation benefits available to injured staff. If you’re successful, these benefits could cover at least 67% of your salary, along with money for medication and recuperation. There may be additional payments if you suffer a disability.

Now, what happens if an employer doesn’t report an accident at work?

It is part of the law for employers to report all workplace accidents. Every accident has to be reported, no matter what the accident is or how minor the injuries might be. If an employer fails to do this, even once, they may end up suffering a major fine.

Could an employee be fired if they don’t report an injury?

If you fail to report a serious injury, it could raise some awkward questions with your employer. However, you couldn’t be fired because you’ve been injured and haven’t reported the situation. Furthermore, you can’t be fired specifically because you’ve been injured.

Article by MW

Editor HW

Thank you for reading our guide, which covers those wondering, “I did not take time off work after an accident, could I claim?”