If you sustain an injury in the course of your employment, you may be able to make a work injuries claim for compensation. Handling a work injuries claim may be a delicate issue if you are concerned about how it may affect your working relationship with your employer. Nevertheless, if your employer is in any way at fault for causing the circumstances which led to you sustaining an injury, you are entitled to make a work injuries claim for compensation.
A work injuries claim may not only result from an accident occurring on a construction site or with heavy machinery. There are many instances in the work environment where an injury can be sustained in what you may regard as normal circumstances. For example:
- Computer users face repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome and muscle fatigue if their work stations are not assembled correctly.
- Paint sprayers in motor vehicle repair shops are up to 80 times more likely to develop occupational asthma due to the inhalation of isocyanides in paint spray, if not protected with breathing apparatus.
- Workers using vibrating machinery for many years may develop an injury known as “White Finger”. This is where the constant use of drills, grinders and cutting equipment has damaged the nerve endings in the fingers.
Whatever symptoms of a work injury you are displaying; your first objective should be to consult medical opinion to ensure that your ailment receives appropriate treatment. Your doctor should be able to advise what is causing the symptoms and whether they are indeed work related. Only then should you consider making a work injuries claim for compensation.
Making a Work Injuries Claim for Compensation
Whereas an accident at work which results in an immediate injury has a specific date, where a work injury has developed over a period of time, you have two years from the “date of knowledge” in which to make a work injuries claim for compensation. This claim should be made to the Injuries Board Ireland, who have a set procedure for assessing work injury claims and awarding “special” damages to account for out of pocket expenses such as loss of earnings and medical costs.
However, the Injuries Board Ireland is established to process compensation claims rather than necessarily award adequate amounts of compensation, and this is why 90% of people making a work injuries claim for compensation still choose to use a solicitor.
The benefits of using a solicitor include ensuring that the assessment made by the Injuries Board represents the trauma you have experienced and is adequate for your future financial security. Solicitors can also intervene when you have been approached by an insurance company representing your employer and offering an amount in respect of early settlement. Indeed, around a third of all work injuries claims for compensation are resolved due to a solicitor´s negotiation skill before the Injuries Board Ireland has even made their assessment.
If you would like to find out more about how the services of a solicitor can benefit you and speed up your work injuries claim for compensation, please take advantage of our free advice telephone service. This enables you to speak directly with a solicitor who can offer helpful and practical information about your claim with no obligation on you to proceed with a claim after your conversation.
Call us now or if you cannot speak now please fill in the form on the left and we will call you back.
What can I expect to happen?
When making a work injuries claim for compensation, we acknowledge that you have just been through a physically and psychologically traumatic experience, so you will find our solicitors understanding and considerate.
We will ask you to explain the circumstances under which you sustained your injuries and we will listen while you tell us what medical attention you have received and how your injuries have affected your quality of life since the incident.
You may also have several questions for us, or possibly have received several pieces of conflicting advice from family and friends about making a work injuries claim for compensation. We are happy to clear up any areas about which you are confused.
We are also happy to intervene if your employer´s insurance company has already made an approach to you, and you just want to check that the amount that they are offering is fair. Remember, we handle work injury claims for compensation on an almost daily basis, so the information we can give you is always right up to date.
It will cost you nothing to find out what you are entitled to claim for, so please do not hesitate to give us a call. We will not advise your employer that you have been in touch and if you cannot call right away, please complete your details in our call-back box below and one of our team will be back in touch with you at a more convenient time.