When should I make an accident at work claim?

Ideally you should make your accident at work claim as soon as possible but this may not be easy. Usually any claim for an accident at work compensation must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are some exemptions and you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further. 

When should I make an accident at work claim? Video Transcript

Hi, my name is Dominic Moss, Stonehewer Moss Solicitors. Today I wanted to talk about personal injury claims as a result of accidents at work, and one of the questions I’m often asked is ‘when is the best time to make a personal injury claim resulting out of an accident at work’, and the short answer is as soon as possible. But that isn’t always easy to do, you might have problems with people you work with, it might create issues for you.

The other question people ask is, ‘is it okay to wait until I leave?’. The answer to that is with most personal injury claims you have three years to make your claim, and that’s no different if you’ve had an accident at work. In fact, what a lot of people do and many of our clients do is that they have had an accident at work, for whatever reason it’s been awkward to make a claim and they wait until they’ve left. They might know that they are going anyway and they leave and then they make their claim. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, it’s perfectly okay. As long as you haven’t signed a contract to say you won’t make a claim, you can make your claim after you’ve left work. Obviously, it does make matters difficult collecting evidence, for example videos of machinery that’s working, statements from people that are at that work are harder to get. But usually there’s accident reports, there’s other information, medical records etc. We can get hold of your own statement and statements from other people that may have left as well, that we can put together to build your claim up if it’s a claim that’s got merit and is going to win.

So you’ve had an accident at work, best time to make a claim is immediately. If there are reasons you don’t want to do that, you can make a claim up to three years and we can help you do that. If you’ve had an accident at work and you want some advice about when the best time to make a claim is in your particular circumstances, give me a call. It’s Dominic Moss at Stonehewer Moss Solicitors on 01606 872200 or visit our website stonehewermoss.co.uk.