Can You Claim Back Your Lost Earnings For a Work Accident?

Can You Claim Back Your Lost Earnings For a Work Accident?
If you are involved in an accident at work and suffer an injury that is sufficiently serious to prevent you from returning to work for a period of time, what will happen to your earnings? If you are away from work for a few weeks or even months, how will you pay you household bills if you are not receiving your pay packet? This article explores whether you can reclaim your lost earnings following a work accident.

Can You Claim Back Your Lost Earnings For a Work Accident?

Work Accidents and Lost Earnings

If you have an accident at work, what gives you the right to reclaim your lost earnings if you are unable to work and your employer stops paying you? It is important to understand why you may be entitled to claim back your lost earnings before you assess how and how much you can claim back.

In English law, your employer owes you a duty of care to ensure that while you are at work you are not harmed due to his actions, or his failure to protect you from injury. This is the law of negligence that is an integral part of the English Legal System. However, even though the common law of negligence afforded good protection to an employer other acts of legislation have been introduced to provide even more rights for the employer. For instance, one of them is the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations which ultimately means that any failure of equipment, for whatever reason, that causes injury to you is the fault of the employer.

Employees are very well protected at work by these laws, so if you suffer an injury due to a work accident a work accident solicitor will soon be able to advise you whether you can make a claim.

How Much Lost Earnings Can You Claim?

Once you have established that you can claim for their lost income, then you need to be able to assess the value of their claims. Your claim for your lost earnings will include a claim for your basic salary, any lost overtime, and also any lost promotions in your absence or if you are unable to return to work over the remainder of your future career.

Basic Salary

You will need to keep your old wage slips so that your basic salary can be reclaimed. If you do misplace them, your solicitor should be able to obtain copies from your employer.

Overtime

Again, your pay slips will prove your average overtime each month over a period of three or six months. This average overtime can then be claimed for the period you were away from work.

However, if you were absent from work at a particularly busy time during which you would have received above average earnings, then you will need to obtain evidence to support this. This can normally be achieved by obtaining copies of a colleagues payslips, directly from your client or from your employer.

Promotions

If you are away from work for a sustained period of time, or cannot return to work at all because of your injuries, you will have to consider whether you have missed an opportunity, or opportunities, for promotions. This can be done by interviewing managers and assessing colleagues promotions.

Summary Of A Lost Earnings Claim

Evidence will be obtained to support all aspects of your lost earnings claim so that it can be fully assessed. Your solicitor will then attempt to obtain payment of your earnings to reimburse you for your period away from work.