Accident at Work Claims Solicitors in Bingley, Keighley and Airedale
Contact our injury solicitors.
In short
If you have been injured in an accident at work that was not your fault, you can claim compensation for your injury, lost earnings, treatment costs and any ongoing care you need. Your employer is legally required to hold insurance for exactly this, so the claim is paid by the insurer rather than by the business or by a colleague. You normally have three years from the date of the accident to start a claim, and your employer cannot lawfully dismiss or penalise you for making one. Arma Law acts for injured workers across Bingley, Shipley, Saltaire, Otley, Ilkley, Menston, Guiseley, Harrogate, Skipton, Silsden and Keighley on a no win, no fee basis.
What Counts as an Accident at Work?
An accident at work is any incident during the course of your employment that causes you injury or illness. You do not have to be on your employer's premises for it to count. Claims regularly arise from accidents on client sites, in vehicles, during deliveries, on construction sites and while working away from base.
The question that decides whether you have a claim is not how serious the injury is, but whether somebody breached a duty of care owed to you. That duty usually sits with your employer, but it can also sit with a contractor, a site operator, an equipment manufacturer or another road user. We work out who was responsible as part of your free initial assessment.
You can still have a valid claim if you were partly at fault, if you were new to the role, if you were working through an agency, or if the accident happened some time ago and you only now realise how serious the injury is.
What to Do After an Accident at Work
The steps you take in the first few days make a real difference to how straightforward your claim is later.
Get medical attention
Attend A and E, a minor injuries unit or your GP, even if the injury seems minor. The medical record is the most useful single piece of evidence in a workplace injury claim.
Get it in the accident book
Every employer with ten or more staff must keep one. Report the accident and ask for a copy or photograph of the entry.
Photograph the scene
The faulty machine, the missing guard, the wet floor, the blocked walkway, the damaged ladder. Conditions get tidied up quickly after an accident.
Note who saw it
Names and contact details for colleagues who witnessed the incident, or who had raised the same hazard before it happened.
Keep your paperwork
Payslips showing lost earnings, prescription receipts, travel costs to appointments, and any emails or messages about the accident.
Get advice early
Speak to a solicitor before you give a recorded statement to your employer's insurer.
If you missed any of these steps, it does not sink your claim. We regularly take on cases where the accident was never logged at all and build the evidence from medical records, witness accounts and HSE documentation instead.
Workplace Accidents We Deal With
Our accident at work solicitors act for employees across the full range of industries operating in Airedale, Wharfedale and the Harrogate district, from the mills and engineering works around Keighley and Silsden, to the warehousing and distribution sites at Shipley and Bingley, to hospitality, retail and care work in Ilkley, Otley, Guiseley and Harrogate, and to farming and construction in and around Skipton.
- Machinery and equipment injuries, including crush injuries, amputations and lacerations from unguarded, faulty or badly maintained plant
- Manual handling injuries, including back, shoulder and hernia injuries from lifting, carrying and repetitive work
- Falls from height, from ladders, scaffolding, mezzanines, roofs and loading bays
- Slips, trips and falls caused by spillages, trailing cables, poor lighting or obstructed routes
- Forklift and workplace vehicle accidents in warehouses, yards and distribution centres
- Falling objects from racking, pallets, scaffolding or overhead loads
- Burns and scalds in kitchens, laundries and industrial processes
- Injuries from missing or inadequate PPE, including eye injuries, hand injuries and chemical burns
- Industrial illness, including noise induced hearing loss, hand arm vibration syndrome, occupational asthma and dermatitis
- Assaults at work in retail, care, licensed premises and lone working roles
Where an injury at work was caused by a violent crime rather than negligence, a different route may apply. See our page on criminal injury compensation claims.
What You Can Claim For
Compensation in an accident at work claim is made up of two parts.
General damages
These cover the injury itself, the pain it caused and the effect it has had on your day to day life.
The figure is assessed against medical evidence and recognised guidelines, so it reflects the severity of the injury and how long recovery takes.
Special damages
These cover the financial consequences of the accident, including lost earnings while you were off work and loss of future earning capacity if you cannot return to the same role.
They also cover private treatment and physiotherapy, prescription and travel costs, care provided by family members, and adaptations to your home or vehicle where an injury is permanent.
We will give you a realistic view of what your claim is likely to be worth once we have medical evidence, rather than an inflated figure at the outset. Every claim is assessed on its own facts.
Will Claiming Put My Job at Risk?
This is the single most common reason people hesitate, and it is worth addressing directly.
It is unlawful for an employer to dismiss you, demote you, reduce your hours or treat you unfairly because you have brought a genuine injury claim. Doing so would expose them to a separate and more serious legal problem.
You are also not claiming against your employer's bank account. Almost every UK employer is legally required to hold employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million, and the claim is handled and paid by that insurer. Small businesses and family firms are covered in exactly the same way as large ones. Our employers' liability claims page explains how that insurance works in more detail.
You can make a claim while you are still working for the same employer, and most of our clients do.
How Long Do I Have to Claim?
In most accident at work claims you have three years from the date of the accident. For industrial illness, where symptoms develop slowly, the three years usually runs from the date you first knew your condition was connected to your work, which may be years after the exposure. Different rules apply to claims involving people under eighteen and those who lack mental capacity.
Earlier is better regardless of the deadline. Accident books get archived, witnesses move on, CCTV is overwritten and equipment is repaired or replaced. If your accident was recent, getting advice now protects the evidence.
No Win, No Fee
We handle accident at work claims under a conditional fee agreement. There is nothing to pay upfront, and nothing to pay us if your claim does not succeed. If it does succeed, our fee is an agreed percentage of your compensation, capped and explained to you in writing before you commit to anything.
Your first consultation is free and carries no obligation. If we do not think you have a claim worth pursuing, we will tell you that plainly rather than take it on.
Accident at Work Solicitors Covering Airedale, Wharfedale & Harrogate
Arma Law has been acting for injured people since 2011 and works from an office in Bingley. We act for employees injured at work across:
Wherever your accident happened in West Yorkshire or North Yorkshire, we can deal with your claim by telephone, video call, email or in person by appointment at our Bingley office. You do not need to travel while you are injured.
Accident at Work Claims: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim if the accident at work was partly my fault?
Yes. This is known as contributory negligence. If you were partly responsible, your compensation is reduced by the proportion you were at fault, but the claim itself can still succeed. Employers often suggest an accident was entirely the employee's own doing when the underlying cause was inadequate training, unrealistic workloads or unsafe equipment.
Can I claim if I work through an agency or I am self employed?
Yes. Agency workers, contractors, subcontractors and self employed workers can all bring claims. The duty of care may rest with the site operator, the principal contractor or the end client rather than the agency, and working out who is responsible is part of what we do.
My accident was never written in the accident book. Can I still claim?
Yes. An accident book entry is helpful but it is not essential. We can build a claim using medical records, witness statements, photographs, text messages, HSE or RIDDOR reports and your own contemporaneous account.
How much compensation will I get for an accident at work?
It depends on the injury, how long recovery takes, whether there is any lasting effect, and your financial losses such as lost earnings and treatment costs. We will give you a realistic assessment once we have medical evidence, and we will explain how the figure is reached.
How long does an accident at work claim take?
Straightforward claims where liability is admitted can settle in a few months. Claims involving serious injury, disputed liability or a long recovery take longer, because it is not possible to value a claim properly until the medical position is clear. We will keep you updated at each stage rather than leaving you to chase.
Will I have to go to court?
In most cases, no. The large majority of accident at work claims settle by negotiation with the insurer without court proceedings. Where proceedings are needed to apply pressure, that still usually results in settlement before any hearing.
Do I have to report the accident to the HSE?
That duty sits with your employer, not with you. Certain injuries and incidents must be reported under RIDDOR. If your employer failed to report something that should have been reported, that can itself support your claim.
What if the injury has stopped me doing my job?
Where an injury prevents you returning to the same work, a claim can include loss of future earnings and the cost of retraining, alongside compensation for the injury itself. These claims need careful medical and employment evidence, and we will tell you early on if that applies to your case.