How To Claim For Delivery Driver Accidents At Work

This guide provides information on claiming for delivery driver accidents at work. If you are a delivery driver, your employer owes you a duty of care to protect your safety and well being whilst working regardless of whether you are located in the workplace or carry out your duties elsewhere. A failure to do so could lead to accidents in which you suffer an injury. This may include manual handling accidents when loading or unloading a vehicle or being struck by a moving or falling object. As we move through this guide, we explore the accident at work claims eligibility criteria to give you more of an understanding of whether you are able to take legal action against a negligent employer.

delivery driver accidents at work

How To Claim For Delivery Driver Accidents At Work

Additionally, we discuss the responsibilities your employer has in more detail, and provide examples of delivery driver accidents that could occur if they fail in their obligations to protect your health and safety.

Then, we list what evidence you should collect when proving your injury and who is responsible for your workplace accident. Furthermore, we discuss what factors are considered when compensation payouts for successful personal injury claims are being calculated. 

To end, we explore the benefits of No Win No Fee agreements, which is a type of contract that our solicitors offer their services under. If you wish to connect to our solicitors, please contact us. If we deem you to have an eligible claim, we will connect you. Contact us by:

Jump To A Section

  1. Who Could Claim For Delivery Driver Accidents At Work?
  2. What Are Common Delivery Driver Accidents At Work?
  3. What Evidence Should You Collect?
  4. How Much Could You Claim For A Delivery Driver Accident?
  5. How To Claim For A Delivery Driver Accident At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis
  6. More Workplace Accident Claim Resources

Who Could Claim For Delivery Driver Accidents At Work?

As a delivery driver, you may be able to make an accident at work claim if you can prove that you suffered an injury whilst working because of negligent actions from your employer. 

Employers have a duty of care placed on them by The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This central piece of workplace health and safety legislation states that all employers are required to take practical and reasonable steps to prevent employees from becoming injured at work or whilst they carry out their work-related duties. Some of these steps include:

  • Making sure equipment and facilities are well maintained regularly and fixing defects they are made aware of within a reasonable time frame. 
  • Providing the correct and necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
  • Training employees adequately so they are able to complete their tasks safely. 

As mentioned, this duty extends to delivery drivers, even when they are not located in the workspace. If there is a failure to uphold this duty of care, leading to delivery driver accidents at work, you might wonder what steps you could take.

In some cases, you might be eligible to make a personal injury claim. However, in order to do so, you need to:

  1. Establish that you were owed a duty of care at the time and location of the accident.
  2. Show this duty of care was breached. 
  3. Prove that you sustained an injury as a result of this breach. 

How Long Do You Have To Claim?

Additionally, to make a personal injury claim after suffering a workplace injury, you have a 3-year time limit to begin legal proceedings. This typically starts from the date you were injured as per the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are some exceptions to this time limit, depending on the circumstances.

To learn more about the exceptions to the personal injury claim’s limitation period or to discuss whether you’re eligible to seek compensation, please call us on the number above.

What Are Common Delivery Driver Accidents At Work?

There are different types of delivery driver accidents at work. For example:

  • You are asked to load a van without receiving any manual handling training. When you are lifting a particularly heavy load, you fall backwards from lifting the load incorrectly. This causes the load to land on you resulting in you sustaining a fractured arm injury. 
  • A forklift truck that you are using to unload a lorry is defective. Your employer was aware of the defect but instructed you to continue using the truck. As a result, the pallets suddenly collapse along with the object on it at the time. Thus, the falling object hits you on your head and you suffer a brain injury. 
  • No training is given to employees on safely loading a delivery vehicle. As a result, when you open the doors to retrieve items, they fall on you. Due to the heavy weight of the items, this causes severe crush injuries.

Delivery Driver Accident Case Study

Now, we look at a more detailed, illustrative case study of a successful delivery driver accident claim. Please keep in mind this has only been provided for guidance purposes and is figurative.

In the back of an HGV lorry, a metal pole is used to secure the transported goods. One day, when Mr Brown was unloading the lorry, the metal pole fell on his head, causing a dent and laceration. The metal pole was usually secured to the side wall of the van using retarders, but this pole was secured via a wire instead. Mr Brown suffered from moderate brain damage as a result of the head injury he sustained.

He decided to start a personal injury claim and collected copies of his medical reports, CCTV footage from inside the van, receipts of the over-the-counter medicine he bought, photographs of his injury, and a diary with recordings of his symptoms and treatment. Additionally, he sought legal advice from an experienced workplace accident solicitor who assisted him in putting forward his case in full within the relevant time frame.

Mr Brown was successful with his claim and was awarded compensation which took into consideration the following factors:

To see if you can claim for your delivery driver accident today, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. 

What Evidence Should You Collect?

Claims for delivery driver accidents at work should have supporting evidence to prove the extent of your injuries and how your employer is liable for them. Therefore, you could benefit from gathering the following:

  • CCTV footage or photographs of the cause of the accident, the immediate scene, and the injury. Footage can also be from internal cameras in the delivery vehicle. 
  • Any documents which show that the correct workplace training was not provided. 
  • Accident report logs. 
  • A diary of your symptoms. 
  • Contact details of other colleagues who may have witnessed the accident. 
  • Copies of your medical records. 

If you are put in contact with one of our solicitors, they can help you collect the evidence you need to support your case. To find out whether you can receive this assistance, contact us today. We can perform a free case check and determine whether you have eligible grounds to pursue compensation. Following this, we could connect you with one of our experienced solicitors to guide you through the different stages of the claims process. 

How Much Could You Claim For A Delivery Driver Accident?

Successful personal injury claims for delivery driver accidents at work are awarded a payout comprising general damages. You are compensated for the effects of your psychological and/or physical injuries under general damages. Consideration is given to factors such as:

  • The impact of your injuries on your quality of life.
  • The severity of your physical pain. 
  • Your symptoms and treatment.
  • Your recovery time.

Solicitors can calculate the value of general damages by referring to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and your medical reports. The JCG includes different guideline compensation brackets for different injury types. 

Injuries Table

You will find in the table below figures from the JCG. However, these are only guidelines since each case is assessed uniquely. 

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Injury Type Severity Level Guideline Compensation Bracket Other Notes
Brain damage Moderately severe (b) £219,070 to £282,010 The person will have a very serious disability which is either physical or cognitive. They will be substantially dependent on others and need constant professional care.
Moderate (c) (i) £150,110 to £219,070 No prospect of employment with an effect on the senses, personality and an intellectual deficit which is moderate to severe.
Arm Severe (a) £96,160 to £130,930 A serious brachial plexus injury which leaves the person little better off than if they had lost the arm completely.
Injuries resulting in permanent and substantial disablement (b) £39,170 to £59,860 Serious fractures of one or both the forearms causing significant and permanent residual disability. This may be functional or cosmetic.
Simple (d) £6,610 to £19,200 Fractures to the forearm which are simple in nature.
Leg Severe (b) (ii) £54,830 to £87,890 Injuries of a very serious nature leading to permanent issues with mobility.
Less serious (c) (i) £17,960 to £27,760 Incomplete recovery from fractures and serious soft tissue injuries are covered in this bracket.
Foot Moderate (f) £13,740 to £24,990 Displaced metatarsal fractures that lead to permanent deformity and ongoing symptoms.
Modest (g) Up to £13,740 Simple fractures with ongoing symptoms, such as a permanent limp, aching, or pain.
Wrist Less severe (c) £12,590 to £24,500 Permanent disability resulting from injuries, such as a level of persisting pain and stiffness.

Claiming Special Damages

You may be compensated for the financial losses from your injuries under special damages. Special damages can only be awarded if general damages is awarded. Such financial losses for which you could seek reimbursement include:

  • Medical costs. 
  • Loss of earnings. 
  • Travel expenses. 

In order to receive a special damages, you must keep hold of your payslips, invoices, receipts, and bank statements as evidence. 

You can find out more about how personal injury compensation is calculated for accidents at work by getting in touch. 

How To Claim For A Delivery Driver Accident At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis

If you have an eligible personal injury claim for a workplace injury, you could begin your claim with us. Our solicitors offer claimants a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). 

Under a CFA, you are not expected to pay fees for your solicitor’s services upfront, throughout the case process, or if you have an unsuccessful claim. 

If you do have a successful claim, your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. The maximum percentage that solicitors can take as this fee is legally restricted to ensure you keep the majority of your award. 

Contact us today if you wish to make a claim with a solicitor on this basis. Our solicitors have years of expertise in personal injury claims. If you are a delivery driver who has suffered an injury due to your employer’s negligent actions, here’s how you can contact with us:

More Workplace Accident Claim Resources

Here are some of our other guides that you may find helpful:

Also, here are some additional resources:

Thank you for reading our guide today on claims for delivery driver accidents at work. If you have any further questions, please contact an advisor on the number above.