Accidents at work and personal injury

Just been injured?

As an RCN member you’re eligible for legal advice and representation for injuries sustained due to the fault of someone else. Whether a workplace injury or not, we can help you obtain 100% of your compensation. The service is completely free to members, regardless of whether the claim is successful.

We can also help your family and friends if they’ve suffered injury through no fault of their own.

Immediately following an accident you should:

report the accident to your line manager or immediate superior
seek medical advice where appropriate ensuring your medical record states where the incident happened
if on premises, complete an accident form as soon as possible after the incident
if at work, report the incident in the accident book providing as much detail as possible - if you believe that unsustainable pressures within the workplace were a factor, please state this
take contact details of all witnesses where possible
if possible take photographs or make a sketch of the area including any relevant hazards, for example, faulty equipment or slippery surfaces
take the details of the type and serial numbers of any relevant equipment
do not apologise or accept blame or responsibility for what happened.

After the accident you should:

if the incident happened at work, keep in touch with your employer and inform them of your progress if you had to take time off work
keep a diary of your treatment, investigation or any medical consultation and any receipts for medication/treatment
document your progress and keep copies of any documentation you receive
keep any receipts for expenses arising out of the injury for example. prescriptions or taxis.

Serious accidents at work

A serious accident should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or HSENI.

If you are in any doubt that your employer has done so, you can contact them independently. More information is available in our health and safety concerns and prioritising personal safety guides.

We recommend that you complete the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) form BI100A (Registration of an industrial injury) to register the illness, incident or accident. Also see our section below on finances following an injury at work.

Use form BI100PD to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for a disease caused by work.

Specific workplace injuries

The injuries you suffer could be the result of a one-off accident/incident, or because of an ongoing situation for example, unsustainable pressures due to staffing levels/increased demand for the service. Below are examples of specific types of workplace injury:

Work-related stress

If you feel you are suffering from work-related stress, contact us for advice. You can also benefit from speaking to us about peer support or our counselling service. Personal injury claims for psychiatric injury are hard to prove and may not lead to a successful conclusion. All avenues should be explored if you or your colleagues are experiencing occupational stress.

You could also explore our resources on Managing Stress.

Repetitive strain injury/upper limb disorders

These affect the joints, muscles, nerves and tendons of the hands, arms and legs. They can be caused by:

a physical overload from repeated use of the hands or limbs
application of repeated pressure, and/or
maintenance of a rigid or awkward posture.

You may be able to bring a claim if you can show:

that there was a foreseeable risk of a clinical condition, and
that the employer failed in their duty to warn and educate the workforce.

Your employer should also try to prevent or minimise the risk of injury, including:

reorganising the system of work
rotating staff
allowing more frequent breaks
having appropriately designed work stations, or
instructing on posture and use of equipment.

Criminal assault

Please visit our guidance on violence in the workplace and the section below on making a claim for criminal injuries compensation.

Sharps/needle stick injury

You may have a claim if you can show your employer was to blame. To establish negligence, you will have to consider whether your employer provided:

a safe system of working
a safe place of work, and/or
safe and suitable equipment.

The following points may be particularly important:

did your employer have a policy on the use and/or disposal of sharps?
was the policy communicated?
was it observed and followed in practice?
was the practice monitored and/or inspected?

Making a claim for compensation

You may be able to claim compensation for injury, if your employer or a third party were to blame for the incident. For example, your employer may be negligent (meaning that they failed in their duty of care to you) if they:

provided unsafe equipment
provided an unsafe place of work
provided an unsafe system of work
provided inadequate or no training or updating
provided inadequate or no supervision, and/or
failed to carry out risk assessments.

In addition, your employer may be found to be vicariously liable for the actions or failures of your co-workers, if that is relevant to your case.

You will need legal advice if you are considering making a claim and it is vital that you access advice as soon as possible after the incident. You have three years from the date of the injury/accident to begin court proceedings. If you are making a claim for work related stress, you have three years from the date that the stress began. Please be aware it can take six months of preparatory work before a solicitor can start court proceedings on your behalf. It is important to seek advice as soon as possible after the incident to ensure there is sufficient time to prepare your case before the deadline.

RCN help with making a personal injury claim

If you think that you have a claim for personal injury compensation then we may be able to help. We can also offer support for non-work related claims (excluding medical negligence).

If you're an RCN member please contact us. If you are a friend or part of the family of a member you can, you can find out more about making a claim here.

It is vital that you do not delay making a personal injury compensation claim.

We will support personal injury claims that we assess to have a greater than 50 per cent chance of success.

Please be aware that if you instruct a private solicitor, the RCN will not take over that case at a later date. Also, the RCN will not reimburse the cost of using external solicitors.

In order for us to provide the best support, you will need to:

attend any medical examinations both for your side and the other side
attend any conference/meeting with your legal representatives
attend any court hearing and give evidence if your case fails to settle (the majority of cases do settle before the trial begins)
allow access to your medical records and personnel file
share all relevant information
be open, honest and not mislead anyone
provide relevant documents (defendants have the right to see any non 'privileged' documents including applications for retraining or new jobs, pay slips and P60s and receipts for any items of expenditure)
keep a diary of related expenses, pain and suffering and any additional problems
recognise your duty to mitigate (reduce) your loss, by obtaining alternative work if you can and/or retraining.

Costs

The RCN has entered into an agreement with RCN Law to provide legal services to its members under an agreement called a Collective Conditional Fee Agreement (CCFA). This is known as a “no win, no fee” agreement as if you win your case, you will not be charged as the other side will pay your costs.

How much will this cost?

In short, nothing. The CCFA/the RCN will cover any fees you incur in making your claim provided that you comply with RCN Law’s terms of business and the conditions for representation by the RCN.

What do I pay if you lose?

If you lose your case, you will be ordered to pay your opponent’s charges and disbursements. The RCN may pay them for you if you meet our conditions of representation and comply with RCN Law’s terms of business. Legal expenses insurance may be sourced at no personal cost to you to limit your personal exposure to such costs when making your claim if this is considered to be appropriate.

Will I ever pay any fees under this agreement?

The short answer to this question is no, but this is dependent upon you complying with the terms of business and conditions of representation. There are times when you could become personally liable for legal costs and these include circumstances where you:

act contrary to advice
fail to provide instructions and/or respond despite repeated requests
fail to beat and/or significantly better a Part 36 offer
act fraudulently, provide incorrect or misleading information or your claim is dismissed by the court on the grounds of fundamental dishonesty
you ask us to work in a way which is contrary to our rules of professional conduct or our duty to the court, or
if you cease to instruct us and we are unable to obtain an undertaking from another firm of solicitors to reclaim our costs.

Provided you do not act fraudulently and are honest and truthful in providing your timely instructions, you are unlikely to become personally liable for legal costs.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)

You may be entitled to compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) if you were injured in England, Scotland or Wales. The equivalent in Northern Ireland is the Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (for more detail please see the nidirect website).

Please note:

there is a two-year limit for CICA claims
all applicants must report the assault to the police immediately after the event (a report to the employer will not suffice).

We may be able to assist with a claim, please contact us for more information.

Finances following an injury at work

Sick pay

For information on sick pay please see our sickness guide.

If you experience financial difficulty, contact us. We can put you in touch with specialist advisers who can offer support and guidance. They can provide advice about your state benefit entitlements and debt management. Find out more about our Welfare service here.

State benefits

You may be able to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit. Please complete the DWP form BI100A for accidents and DWP form BI100PD for diseases. These are available at Gov.uk (in Great Britain) or nidirect (Northern Ireland).

You must submit a claim within two months of your accident.

The benefit will not be paid for the first 15 weeks (90 days, not including Sundays) after your accident.

Please see our guide on Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit for further information.

Personal injury claim interim payments

During your personal injury claim, it may be possible to get an 'interim payment'. This will only occur if the court believes that you are likely to be successful at trial and awarded substantial damages. Your legal adviser can tell you more about this.

NHS Injury Allowance

NHS Injury Allowance can protect the earnings of NHS employees whose pay is reduced following injury or illness caused by work. We also have a guide on NHS injury allowance. It is important that you check your eligibility on this as it covers staff within the NHS under the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook or where the injury allowance is provided for in your employment contract.

NHS Ill health retirement

If you work in the NHS and are unable to return to work because of long-term ill-health please read our advice on NHS Ill health retirement.

Little boy is hospital posing with boxing gloves

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