How to Claim Compensation for Injuries from Tripping Over Cables in Office
This article explains some of the reasons why you might – or might not – be eligible for compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office and the procedures you should follow after being injured in an accident at work to support an injury from trip over office cables claim for compensation.
A brief explanation of how to claim for trip over cables accident in office is also included; however, as no two claims for tripping injuries from cables at work are identical, it is always in your best interests to discuss the specific circumstances of your office injury with a solicitor at the earliest practical opportunity.
Your first priority should always be your health and, if you have not already done so, you should seek professional medical care for the injury you sustained when you tripped over cables. No amount of office trip accident with cables compensation will ever make up for a long term health issue which could have been avoided by prompt medical attention and, to support your claim for being injured from trip in office, you will need a doctor to complete the Injuries Board Medical Assessment Form B.
Claims for Tripping Injuries and the Duty of Care of Employers
In order to be eligible to claim compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office, you must have sustained an injury which could have been avoided had your employer – or other person with responsibility for your health and safety – adhered to his or her duty of care to provide you with a safe environment in which to work.
An employer´s “duty of care” covers all his or her responsibilities to prevent a workplace injury with cables wherever possible, and would include performing risk assessments to identify foreseeable hazards, providing training and supervision, and supplying personal protective equipment where necessary to eliminate the risk of an employee tripping over cables in the office.
Should an employer fail in their duty of care to eliminate the risk of an injury, and you subsequently suffer an injury as a result, you should qualify to make an injury from trip over office cables claim for compensation. It should be noted, however, that an employer´s duty of care is not “absolute” and, if you sustain an injury in an office accident which could not have been foreseen, claims for tripping injuries from cables at work are unlikely to be successful.
Procedures for Claiming
The most regularly used procedure for claiming office trip accident with cables compensation is to submit an application for assessment to the Injuries Board. Your application can be completed on a paper form or online, but must be submitted with a medical practitioner´s report containing details of the injury you suffered when you tripped over the cables. Receipts for any expenses you have incurred which are directly attributable to your office cable accident should also be attached to your application.
The Injuries Board´s role is only to assess the amount of compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office you are entitled to, and not establish liability for your workplace injury. Therefore, the Injuries Board will write to your employer asking for consent to proceed with an assessment of your injury from trip over office cables claim for compensation, and only continue once that consent has been received – effectively when your employer has admitted his liability for your office cables injury.
Thereafter you may have to undergo an independent medical examination to ascertain the severity of your office related injury and the Injuries Board will then send you and your employer a “Notice of Assessment” which – if both you and your employer agree to – is followed by an “Order to Pay” office trip accident with cables compensation. If either your employer denies his consent for the Injuries Board to assess your claim for being injured from trip in office, or neither party agrees on how much compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office you are entitled to, the Injuries Board will issue you with an authorisation to pursue your claim for trip over cables accident in office through the courts.
How Much is a Claim Worth?
How much compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office you will be eligible to receive will depend on the location, nature and severity of your office cable trip injury in relation to your age, sex and general state of health prior to the accident in which your injury was sustained. Financial values for workplace trip injuries can be found in the Book of Quantum, but these values only account for the physical pain and suffering you experience at the time of your accident and not for the “inconvenience of incapacity” that might result from sustaining an injury at work.
Claims for tripping injuries from cables at work should include compensation for the impact that your injury has on your ability to perform everyday domestic tasks and your incapacity to partake in leisure pursuits or engage in an active social life. There is very little opportunity to account for this “loss of amenity” when making a claim for being injured from trip in office through the Injuries Board process, and this is a further reason why you should speak with solicitor with experience of making a claim for trip over cables accident in office – to ensure you receive your full entitlement to office trip accident with cables compensation.
The amounts you are claiming for expenses, lost income and any other costs you have incurred due to the injury you sustained when you tipped in the office are then added to the compensation values above to finalise how much your injury from trip over office cables claim for compensation is worth. You may also be able to recover any legal costs you have incurred in pursuit of your claim for being injured from trip in office, alternative transport fares if you are unable to drive and future medical costs if, for example, physiotherapy is required in order that you make a full recovery from your office injury.
Contributory Negligence and Office Trip Accidents
One reason why consent to assess your claim for trip over cables accident in office may be withheld from the Injuries Board is if you are considered to have been at least partially responsible for the cause of the office cable accident at work or the extent of your injury. The Injuries Board will only assess claims for tripping injuries from cables at work in which total liability is admitted and, if you have contributed to your work-related injury, the Injuries Board will have no option but to issue you with an authorisation to pursue your injury from trip over office cables claim for compensation in court.
Court action may be a last resort when making a claim for being injured from trip in office, as it may also be possible to negotiate a settlement with your employer´s liability insurers where you accept a percentage responsibility for your office-related injury and that percentage is then deducted from how much compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office your claim is settled for. Please bear in mind that negotiating the value of office trip accident with cables compensation directly with an insurance company is not a good idea without professional legal representation.
One aspect of contributory negligence which is sometimes overlooked is if you contributed to the extent of your office injury by failing to seek timely professional medical attention. Some people who sustain injuries in workplace accidents foolishly attempt to work through the pain – making their injury worse and jeopardising their entitlement to compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office. If this has happened to you, you should speak with a solicitor about whether you still have a viable claim for trip over cables accident in office.
How the Statute of Limitations Affects Claims for Compensation
The Courts and Civil Liability Act 2004 set a limitation period of two years for making claims for tripping injuries from cables at work from the “Date of Knowledge” on which the trip injury is diagnosed. There are very few scenarios in which a plaintiff would be unaware that they have suffered an injury in a cable trip accident at work and therefore the two year limitation period for making an injury from trip over office cables claim for compensation would usually start on the day of your accident.
Two years may seem ample time in which to submit a claim for trip over cables accident in office to the Injuries Board for assessment but, if liability for your injury is denied, or you are waiting for the results of an HSA investigation to confirm your employer´s liability in a claim for being injured from trip in office, the time can slip quickly by.
If the full extent of your tripped over cable injury is not known, or due to complications it is taking a long time to recover from your workplace accident and impossible to calculate how much office trip accident with cables compensation you are entitled to, it is possible to “stop the clock” on your claim for compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office. You will need the agreement of your employer´s insurance company to do this – assuming your employer has admitted liability for your office cable trip injury – and this is something which is once again best done with the assistance of a personal injury solicitor.
Do I Need a Legal Advice to Claim Compensation for Injury from Tripping Over Cables in my Office?
You do not necessarily need a solicitor in order to make claims for tripping injuries from cables at work, but it is often in your best interests to do so. In addition to acting as a go-between between yourself and your employer, and dealing with any complications that arise while making a claim for trip over cables accident in office, a solicitor has the experience to ensure you receive your full entitlement to office trip accident with cables compensation – whether your claim for being injured from trip in office is resolved via the Injuries Board, by negotiation with your employer´s insurers or through court action.
Most solicitors will offer a free assessment of your injury from trip over office cables claim for compensation if you have sustained a workplace injury in work accident for which you were not entirely to blame, and provide you with answers to any questions you may have regarding your eligibility to claim compensation for injury from tripping over cables in office. As it is often in your best interest to have evidence collected in support of your claim for trip over cables accident in office while it is still fresh, it is recommended that you speak with a solicitor about the circumstances of your office trip injury in a work accident without delay.