Have you suffered a hand injury at work due to your employer acting negligently? If so, you might wonder whether you are eligible to begin a personal injury claim and seek compensation for the way your injury has affected you. This guide will discuss the criteria that must be met for hand injury claims and the time limits that must be adhered to when starting legal proceedings.
Additionally, we discuss the duty of care that all employers owe to their employees concerning their health and safety and offer some examples of how this duty might be breached, causing an employee to suffer a hand injury.
Injuries to the hand can differ in type and severity, such as severe hand injuries involving amputation or minor hand injuries involving a slight laceration. We look at how hand injury compensation is calculated and what a settlement awarded following a successful claim could comprise.
Later, we provide information on the types of evidence that can support your hand injury compensation claim and how our expert personal injury solicitors could assist you under No Win No Fee terms.
For further guidance on when you could claim compensation for hand and wrist injuries, please get in touch with our helpful team. They can provide free legal advice 24/7. To reach them, you can:
- Call on 0800 073 8802
- Make an enquiry online about your potential hand injury compensation claim.
- Start a conversation through the live chat feature below.
Learn About Hand Injury At Work Claims
Browse Our Guide
- When Are You Able To Claim For A Hand Injury At Work?
- How Could Hand Injuries At Work Be Sustained?
- Potential Compensation When Claiming For A Hand Injury At Work
- What Evidence Could Help You Make A Hand Injury Claim?
- How Can No Win No Fee Solicitors Help With Hand Injury Claims?
- Learn More About Making An Accident At Work Claim
When Are You Able To Claim For A Hand Injury At Work?
The duty of care that is placed on employers is set out by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). It states that employers need to take reasonable as well as practical steps to prevent employees from sustaining an injury in the workplace and as they perform their work-related tasks.
Examples of the steps they can take to uphold their duty include:
- Carrying out regular risk assessments.
- Providing training to staff on workplace health and safety, as well as how to carry out their roles safely.
- Ensuring the provision of any necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a hard hat to a construction worker.
- Carrying out regular maintenance of workplace equipment.
To be eligible to start a personal injury claim after a hand injury at work, it is essential to demonstrate that negligence occurred. In tort law, negligence is defined as:
- A duty of care was owed to you at the time and place of the injury.
- Your employer breached this duty in some way.
- As a result, you experienced physical and/or psychological harm.
Is There A Time Limit To Claim For An Accident In The Workplace?
For hand injury claims to be valid, the above three points must all be demonstrated. Additionally, you must start your claim within the personal injury claim time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 outlines that you generally have three years from the accident date to start legal proceedings.
Exceptions can be made to this time limit in cases where the injured person is under the age of 18, or lacks the mental capacity to start their own claim.
For further guidance on the time limits for hand injury at work claims, please contact an advisor on the number above.
How Could Hand Injuries At Work Be Sustained?
There are several ways a hand injury at work could be sustained. For example:
- An employer could fail to check the safety of machinery which then malfunctions and traps an employee’s hands. As a result of the crush injuries, both hands require surgical amputation.
- Hand and wrist injuries could be sustained due to a failure to carry out a risk assessment before instructing an employee to move heavy boxes that were over the maximum weight for their height.
- An employer could fail to provide their employee with essential personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves when working with hazardous chemicals. This results in them suffering burn injuries.
- Slips, trips, and falls could occur if a loose cable isn’t covered leading to an employee falling at work and sustaining a fractured hand and fingers.
When calculating hand injury compensation, consideration is given to the severity of your injury. For example, you could receive a higher compensation amount for more severe hand injuries, such as an amputated hand that is life-changing, than moderate hand injuries, such as a fracture that recovers fairly quickly.
Continue reading to learn what your compensation claim could be worth. Or call our team on the number above to discuss when you could have a valid hand injury at work claim.
Potential Compensation When Claiming For A Hand Injury At Work
It’s important to note that the amount of personal injury compensation awarded in successful hand injury claims varies according to each case. Generally, though, two heads of loss could form your overall settlement amount. The main one is called general damages which awards compensation to address the pain and suffering caused by the injury, physical and/or psychological.
Those responsible for calculating general damages can refer to medical evidence, such as an independent medical report from an assessment you might be expected to attend as part of the claims process.
In addition, they can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) which is a document containing guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries.
Compensation Table
The table below contains figures from the JCG, except for the top entry. Please use the table as a guide only as work related injury claims are calculated on an individual basis.
| Area of Injury | Level of Severity | Guideline Award Brackets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries and Associated Financial Losses | Serious | Up to £1 million plus | This award reflects the physical and emotional effects of multiple serious injuries as well as incurred financial losses, such as loss of earnings, medical costs, and care costs. |
| Hand | Total or Effective Loss of Both Hands | £140,660 to £201,490 | A serious injury causing extensive damage to both hands and rendering them little more than useless. |
| Total or Effective Loss of One Hand | £96,160 to £109,650 | This bracket refers to a hand that was crushed and surgically amputated, or cases where all fingers and a large part of the palm have been traumatically amputated. | |
| Amputation of Index and Middle and/or Ring Fingers | £61,910 to £90,750 | In these cases, the hand is left of very little use and any remaining grip is exceedingly weak. | |
| Serious Damage to Both Hands | £55,820 to £84,570 | Injuries here include significant loss of function and permanent cosmetic disability. | |
| Serious Hand Injuries | £29,000 to £61,910 | Injuries that reduce the capacity of the hand by around 50% and includes cases where several fingers were amputated but rejoined, leaving the hand clumsy and clawed. | |
| Severe Fractures to Fingers | Up to £36,740 | Cases of partial amputations as well as cases that result in deformity, loss of sensitivity, reduced mechanical function and an impaired grip. | |
| Total and Partial Loss of Index Finger | £12,170 to £18,740 | Total loss of the fingers will prompt an award towards the upper end of the bracket. | |
| Moderate Hand Injury | £5,720 to £13,280 | Crush injuries and penetrating wounds are included in this bracket, as well as soft tissue type and deep lacerations. |
Special Damages When Making A Claim For An Accident At Work
The second head of loss that can be awarded following a successful compensation claim is special damages. This seeks to reimburse any financial losses incurred due to your injury. For example:
- Past or future lost income.
- Travel expenses.
- Medical expenses.
- The expense of making necessary changes at home.
Keep hold of any payslips, invoices, receipts, and bank statements that show expenses related to your injury.
For further guidance on how much compensation you could be awarded for a successful hand injury at work claim, call our team using the number above.
What Evidence Could Help You Make A Hand Injury Claim?
Evidence can help prove employer negligence in a personal injury claim. As such, after sustaining a hand injury at work, you might benefit from gathering the following:
- CCTV footage of the workplace accident.
- Photos of the accident site and your injuries.
- Witness details, such as their contact information, so that a statement can be collected from them at a later date.
- A copy of any accident report made in the workplace accident book.
- A personal diary showing your mental and physical state after the accident.
- Copies of your medical records, such as X-rays, scans, and reports from any specialists involved in your treatment.
If you’re eligible, you could be connected with one of our expert solicitors who has experience handling claims for accidents at work. They could then assist you with gathering evidence and the different steps you’ll need to take as part of the hand injury claims process.
Call us for further guidance about how our specialist solicitors could assist you with your claim for compensation.
How Could No Win No Fee Solicitors Help With Hand Injury Claims?
At No Win No Fee Expert, our expert personal injury solicitors can offer eligible claimants a version of the No Win No Fee agreement. The particular contract they offer is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). There are many distinct advantages to instructing a solicitor under a CFA.
Firstly, under a CFA there are usually no upfront or ongoing fees that need to be paid for the solicitor’s work. In addition to this, if your hand injury at work claim is not successful there are usually no fees owed for the work your solicitor has completed on your case.
On the other hand, if your personal injury claim is a success, a small percentage is deducted from your compensation. This is a success fee for the solicitors but the percentage they can take is subject to a legislative cap. As such, you always benefit from receiving the majority of your awarded settlement.
For more information on claims for hand injuries following accidents at work, please contact us using the details below:
- Call on 0800 073 8802
- Make an enquiry online about your potential hand injury compensation claim.
- Start a conversation through the live chat feature below.
Learn More About Making An Accident At Work Claim
If you would like to read more about workplace injury claims, the following guides can help:
- How to claim after a slip and fall at work caused you to become injured.
- Read more on fall at work settlements in this guide.
- Here we look at arm injury claims including how much compensation could be awarded.
Some external resources may be helpful as well:
- Information on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from GOV.UK.
- Guidance on first aid from the NHS.
- Advice on preventing slips and trips at work from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Thank you for reading our guide on claiming for a hand injury at work. If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor on the number above.
