Being injured at work is more common than most people realise. According to the Health and Safety Executive, an estimated 680,000 workers sustained a non-fatal injury in 2024/25. If you've been hurt at work through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to compensation, but the process of making a claim can feel daunting if you don't know where to start.
Here, we look at what workplace injury claims involve, what your employer is legally required to do, how to go about reporting workplace accidents, and what the steps are when making a claim for an accident at work.
An accident at work claim is a legal process that allows an injured employee to seek compensation from their employer when the injury was caused by the employer's failure to provide a safe working environment. To have a valid claim, you generally need to show three things: that your employer owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty, and that the breach caused your injury.
It's worth knowing that most accidents at work claims are covered by your employer's insurance, not paid directly by the business. Under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, employers in the UK must hold at least £5 million in insurance to cover workplace injury claims. This means making a claim is unlikely to cause serious financial harm to your employer, it's what the insurance exists for.
Claims must generally be brought within three years of the date of the accident, so it's important not to delay once you've decided to seek advice.
UK employers have a clear legal obligation to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.
In practice, this means your employer should be:
If they've failed to do any of these things and you've been injured as a result, that failure is the basis of your claim.
One of the most important steps you can take after being injured at work is to report the accident properly and promptly. Reporting workplace accidents creates an official record that will support your claim further down the line.
You should report the accident to your employer or line manager as soon as possible and ask for it to be recorded in the workplace accident book. Every employer with ten or more employees is required by law to keep one. Make sure the record accurately describes what happened, where, when, and what injuries you sustained.
Certain workplace accidents must also be reported to the Health and Safety Executive under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013). This covers fatalities, specified serious injuries, accidents that result in more than seven days off work, and certain dangerous occurrences. While your employer is responsible for making the RIDDOR report, you should be aware that this report will form part of the official record.
If you're not sure whether your accident has been properly reported or recorded, you have the right to ask for a copy of the accident book entry and any RIDDOR reports submitted.
After a serious workplace accident, your employer or the HSE may carry out a formal investigation. This investigation report can be a valuable piece of evidence in your claim, as it may contain findings about how the accident occurred and whether safety procedures were in place and being properly followed.
You can request a copy of your employer's internal investigation report. If the HSE investigates, you can submit a Subject Access Request under the UK GDPR to obtain any information held about the incident. Your solicitor can help you with this process and can also advise on obtaining other supporting evidence, such as CCTV footage, witness statements and maintenance records.
Making a claim for an accident at work follows a fairly consistent process. In broad terms, the steps are:
Compensation in accidents at work cases typically covers pain and suffering, loss of earnings, medical expenses, and any ongoing care needs resulting from the injury.
If you've been injured at work, our specialist work injury lawyers can help you understand your options and guide you through reporting, evidence gathering and the claims process. Get in touch with our accident at work team for a free, no-obligation conversation about your situation.
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