How Long Do I Have To Make A Claim Following An Accident At Work?

Although employers have a duty to provide its employees with a safe working environment, accidents at work occur more often than you think. Whether you work in an office, a factory, a shop or outdoors, there are various statutory regulations to ensure the standard of health and safety is maintained. If your employer fails to meet their statutory and general duties, resulting in you suffering from an accident at work, you will be entitled to claim compensation.

In Scotland, the time limit to begin the process of claiming for compensation following an accident at work is normally three years. If you fail to make a claim within the three-year time limit, your case may be time-barred and you may not be entitled to any compensation.

Generally, the three-year deadline begins from the date the accident took place or from the date you have become aware of the injury suffered as a result of the accident at work. The latter is beneficial in circumstances where an individual was not aware of exposure to substances that have later become apparent and resulted in a work related accident, for example an asbestos related disease.

Workplace related accident include can include some of the following:

• Construction site accidents
• Factory or warehouse accidents
• Unsafe industrial site accidents
• Office based accidents
• Agricultural accidents
• Injuries following serving in the military

There are some exceptions to the three-year rule and they are as follows:

Accidents while working abroad

The time limits for accidents, which occurred whilst you were working abroad, might be slightly different. Unlike Scottish injury claims that have a time limit of three years from the date of the accident, foreign accident claims have different time restrictions, normally of two years, and the procedures involved in them can be very complex. This is why the sooner you begin the process the better. It will ensure that everything in relation to your compensation claim will be completed within the timescales allowed.

Mental capacity

If the accident at work has resulted in an individual losing mental capacity due to brain injury and their ability to make a claim for their injuries themselves, there will most likely not be any time limit to make a compensation claim due to the extent of the injury. That being said however, every claim is different and therefore it is always best to speak to your lawyer to be certain.

Accidents due to defective work equipment

If an injury was caused by work equipment that may have been defective, the time limits to claiming for an injury are very likely to vary. It might be necessary to make investigations into the equipment to establish whether the equipment had a manufacturing defect and therefore time limits might be extended.

Fatal accidents

If a person dies before the work accident claim settles, the three-year deadline for the claim begins from the date of death. This allows family members to continue and finish their claim.

If someone dies as a result of a work related accident, the three-year time limit begins on the date of death. If the cause of death was unknown and it was only discovered during the post mortem, the deadline will begin from the date of the post mortem.

Every work accident is different and has individual circumstances surrounding it. At Jones Whyte, our experienced team of personal injury lawyers has vast experience in assessing injuries and working tirelessly to secure the right compensation for you. You can rest assured that we are take care of everything for you, allowing you to focus on your recovery. To discuss your individual case today, call on 0141 375 1222 or contact our team on here.