What are my rights if I’m injured at work in Northern Ireland?

Picture this – you’re at work, going about your day as usual, when something unexpected happens and you find yourself injured. What happens next?

At Wilson Nesbitt, our Personal Injury department is here to help. 

In 2023-2024, an estimated 1.7 million workers suffered from work-related ill health. As a result, 33.7 million working days were lost, costing the local economy approximately £264 million annually due to workplace injuries and new cases of occupational illness.

But what happens if you are unfortunate enough to have a workplace injury? Here Hannah Simpson takes a look at what your rights are and the questions that are often asked prior to claiming. 

But first,  let’s break down the most common personal injury claims in the workplace and their leading causes.

What are the types of workplace injuries that are most common?

You may see us frequently reference the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, the primary legislation outlining employers’ duties to maintain a safe and secure working environment. 

Although every case is unique, the most common workplace incidents will fall under the scope of this legislation. These tend to include:

Slips, trips, and falls – the most common workplace injuries that can cause a number of injuries, including sprains, fractures, cuts, burns, and head injuries. 

There are many ways you can fall at work, including poor lighting, loose wires and cables, uneven surfaces and too much clutter. You could also be at risk if you have been given poorly fitted, inadequate clothing to wear from the company, such as improper footwear.

Falling from heights – a significant concern particularly in the construction industry, and can be caused by a lack of adequate protection, such as safety nets or guardrails, unstable work surfaces, poor training, or lack of supervision. Falls can often be attributed to adverse weather conditions, where some employees have found that they are told to work in high winds or snow.

Injuries by falling objects – often common in industries such as warehousing and construction; those who suffer an injury from a falling object are usually affected due to unsafe storage, such as poor stacking or a lack of safety warnings and protective barriers.

Burn injuries – although burn injuries can happen anywhere,  they are particularly common in the hospitality, manufacturing, and processing industries. The majority of these cases result from direct contact with hot surfaces, explosions, fires, or boiling liquids/steam. Other risks include chemical, radiation, cold, friction, and electrical burns, which often occur due to inadequate training or a lack of proper PPE.

Repeated exposure injuries – these injuries occur when an employee has prolonged exposure to a hazardous substance without the correct protective clothing. An individual may also be exposed to chronic noise without adequate hearing protection, leading to long-term hearing loss or deafness. 

For those with significant exposure to screens, hazardous materials, or airborne debris, eyesight issues can become more common.

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) – RSI happens when an employee repeatedly performs the same motion without taking breaks. It is common in manufacturing and office environments. You could even get it from excessive typing!

What steps do I need to take after a workplace injury?

If you have been injured at work, you must speak to your employer and seek medical advice as soon as possible, and if you are able to, take photos of the injury and the area where it happened.

If you are unable to do this, ask a colleague, witness, or trusted person to take photos on your behalf. If no one is available, make detailed notes about the incident as soon as possible, including what happened, where, and any hazards that may have contributed. It is also important to contact any potential witnesses who were there at the time of the incident.

Next, seek legal advice from a solicitor. Once you have found a legal representative, they can explain whether you potentially have a claim for compensation. If the claim goes forward, your solicitor will send a legal letter to your employer seeking compensation.

An insurance company, on behalf of your employer, will usually respond with an admission or denial of liability. Our team will guide you through the process and advise the best course of action at each step in order to progress your claim, whether that is obtaining medical evidence, engineer reports or further discovery.

If a settlement can be achieved prior to issuing proceedings, your Solicitor will negotiate a fair compensation amount on your behalf. Should proceedings need to be issued, your Solicitor will guide you through this process

Steven’s warehouse injury compensation

“My compensation helped me get back on track with my lost working hours.”

Steven worked in logistics as a delivery driver at a local depot. His role involved heavy lifting, managing parcels and freight, loading and unloading his van, and delivering parcels across the region.

On the day of the accident, Steven was walking across the warehouse when a large pallet of parcels collapsed on top of him due to inadequate stacking.

He sustained serious injuries, including a broken leg and a fractured shoulder, which resulted in a significant period of time off work.

Hannah Simpson worked closely with Steven to ensure he received the support he needed, including physiotherapy, funded as part of a five-figure compensation claim.

Get in Touch

If you’re suffering from an illness related to your workplace, contact Hannah and our team today for a free, no-obligation consultation. Let us handle your claim, so you can focus on your health.

Frequently asked questions

“Will I lose my job if I try to claim compensation?”

It’s completely normal to have anxiety about claiming compensation if you still want to stay at your job, but it is important to remember that under the Employment Rights Act 1996, your employer legally cannot fire you for doing so.

If your employer does try to dismiss you, or you feel like your workplace has become a hostile environment and your employer is pushing you to quit following your claim, we strongly suggest speaking to your solicitor as may have grounds to claim for unfair dismissal or discrimination.

“Can I claim for historical injuries if I still work at the same place?”

You can claim for historical injuries, however there is usually a maximum time of three years to put your claim in. Saying that, if your injury wasn’t immediately apparent – such as repetitive strain injury – you have three years from the point you became aware of the injury to claim.

“I’m self employed – can I still claim compensation?”

You may be pleased to know that being self employed doesn’t mean you’re automatically on your own. There may be opportunities to claim if you were injured on someone else’s premises and they failed to keep a safe working environment. You may also be able to claim if you were given faulty equipment from a company that contributed to your injury. 

Under the Health and Safety Act 1974, all businesses have a legal responsibility to ensure that their working environments are not only safe for their employees but also anybody who is on their premises. Additionally, under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, if your injury occurred on someone else’s property due to their negligence you may also have a right to claim.

For more information on how we can help, please visit here.