In this guide, we will discuss the eligibility criteria that must be met to make a personal injury claim after being involved in a conveyor belt accident at work. Conveyor belts can be used in a range of workplaces, such as a factory or airports, as a method of transporting goods.
Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Compensation Guide
All employers have a duty of care, which we will explain in this guide. If your employer breaches this duty of care and, as result, you sustain injuries, you may be eligible to claim compensation.
As we move through this guide, we will provide examples of the evidence you could obtain to support your claim. Also, we will explain what the term No Win No Fee agreement means.
If you’d like to discuss the eligibility of your potential accident at work claim, or you’d like to make an enquiry, you can contact a member of our team at any time. Our advisors are available 24/7 to help you at the most convenient time for you.
To get in touch, you can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Fill out your details in the ‘contact us’ section of our website
- Talk to one of our advisors using the live chat feature on this page
Browse Our Guide
- A Guide To Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claims
- What Can Cause Injuries From A Conveyor Belt At Work?
- What Could Prove A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claim?
- Potential Payouts For Workplace Accident Claims
- Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
- Learn More About Claiming For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work
A Guide To Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claims
To bring forward a personal injury claim against your workplace after a conveyor belt accident, you must prove employer negligence. This means:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and place of the accident
- They breached their duty of care
- This caused you to sustain physical and/or psychological injuries as a result of the breach
Every employer owes a duty of care to their employees. This is outlined in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This piece of legislation states that an employer needs to take all steps that are reasonably practicable to ensure the safety of their employees whilst at work. When this duty of care is breached, and you are injured as a result of this, you could be eligible to bring forward an accident at work claim.
Below we have provided various instances involving an employer breaching their duty of care and causing an employee to sustain harm in an accident at work:
- An employer fails to carry out the correct maintenance of a conveyor belt, resulting in it becoming faulty. This leads to an employee sustaining an injury.
- An employer does not provide an employee with proper training to work with a conveyor belt, resulting in them being injured whilst carrying out their work duties.
Is There A Time Limit For Claiming For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work?
When considering whether you could seek accident at work compensation, it’s important to be mindful of the time limits you’ll have to start your claim. You will have three years to begin your claim, which can apply from the date of your accident. This is set out in the Limitation Act 1980.
However, there can be exceptions to these time limits. If you would like to enquire about the time limits that could apply to your claim, please get in touch with one of our advisors. They will be able to discuss any exceptions with you that may be relevant to your case.
What Is A Conveyor Belt Injury?
Conveyor belts have lots of moving parts and mechanisms that, if not checked, maintained and serviced regularly, can cause injuries.
There are lots of different injuries that could be caused by a conveyor belt, including:
- Crush injuries – if you get caught in the mechanism, you could suffer a crush injury
- Burns – electrical or friction burns could also result from this type of machinery
- Electric shock – you could sustain an electric shock if there is a malfunction of the machine
- Broken bones – being trapped in the mechanism could lead to a fractured bone
- Lacerations and soft tissue injuries – these could also result from accidents at work involving conveyor belts
Not every accident and injury involving this type of machinery would automatically lead to a claim. However, if your employer has failed to maintain the machinery to a safe standard, has not trained you on how to operate the machine safely, or has not fitted machine guards, for example, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Please speak to an advisor who can check your claim free of charge.
What Can Cause Injuries From A Conveyor Belt At Work?
Conveyor belt accidents could occur for various reasons. For example:
- Faults with the machinery
- Lack of guards or poor assembly
- Poor workstation design
- A conveyor belt is overloaded
- The conveyor belt is travelling too fast
If you have been injured in a conveyor belt accident at work caused by your employer breaching the duty of care owed to you, you may be eligible to make a compensation claim. Please contact a member of our team for a free consultation regarding your case.
What Could Prove A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work Claim?
To make a conveyor belt accident at work claim, it’s important that you’re able to prove that your injury was caused by employer negligence. This can be done by providing evidence.
Examples of evidence that you can use to strengthen your claim include:
- CCTV footage showing the accident
- Photographs showing the cause of the accident and any physical injuries
- The contact information of any witnesses
- A copy of the accident report book entry regarding the incident
- Copies of your medical records
If you would like to find out more about the evidence you could obtain to support your claim, please contact our advisors. Should they find that you may have a valid accident at work claim, they could place you in contact with one of our specialist solicitors. A solicitor can help you to gather and compile evidence for your claim.
Potential Payouts For Workplace Accident Claims
For a successful accident at work claim, you could be eligible to receive up to two different heads. The first of these is general damages, which is the head of claim that compensates successful claimants for any psychological harm and/or physical pain and suffering they’ve experienced as a result of their injuries.
The guideline compensation brackets in the table below have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Solicitors can use this document to help them value the general damages head of a conveyor belt accident at work claim. However, these figures cannot be guaranteed. This is because the settlement for each claim is determined by its unique factors.
Guideline Compensation Table
| Type of Injury | Severity | Notes | Guideline Compensation Brackets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injuries as a Result of Brain Damage | Moderate (c)(i) | There will be a moderate to severe intellectual deficit, a significant risk of epilepsy, a personality change, and no prospect of employment. | £150,110 to £219,070 |
| Hand Injuries | The Complete or Effective Loss of Both Hands (a) | There will be a serious injury that causes extensive damage to both of the person’s hands. This will render them little more than useless. | £140,660 to £201,490 |
| Hand Injuries | Damage of a Serious Nature to Both Hands (b) | Injuries within this bracket will lead to permanent cosmetic disability and loss of function to a significant level. | £55,820 to £84,570 |
| Hand Injuries | Severe Finger Fractures (f) | This could lead to partial amputations and cause deformity, impairment of grip, disturbed sensation and reduced mechanical function. | Up to £36,740 |
| Arm Amputation | One Arm is Lost (b)(iii) | The arm is amputated below the elbow. | £96,160 to £109,650 |
| Arm Injuries | Injuries that Result in Substantial Permanent Disablement (b) | The person will suffer fractures of a serious nature to one or both of their forearms and there will be significant permanent residual disability either cosmetically of functionally. | £39,170 to £59,860 |
| Shoulder Injuries | Severe (a) | Cases often connected to neck injuries and involving damage to the brachial plexus, which results in a significant disability. | £19,200 to £48,030 |
| Wrist Injuries | (b) | An injury that causes significant permanent disability. However, some useful movement will remain. | £24,500 to £39,170 |
| Back Injuries | Moderate (b)(i) | A wide range of different injuries can fall within this bracket. For example, damage to an intervertebral disc where there is nerve root irritation and mobility is reduced. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Back Injuries | Moderate (b)(ii) | Injuries to the back which are frequently encountered, such as prolapsed discs requiring laminectomy or leading to repeated relapses, and disturbance of ligaments and muscles causing backache. | £12,510 to £27,760 |
Special Damages
You could also be eligible to receive special damages for a successful claim. This head of claim reimburses successful claimants for financial losses they experienced as a direct result of their injuries. This could include:
- Cost of care
- Loss of earnings
- Cost of home adaptations
- Travel expenses
You will need to provide proof of these losses to be eligible to receive special damages. This could include bank records, invoices, or payslips.
If you’d like to learn more about the potential conveyor belt accident at work compensation that you could be eligible to receive, please get in touch with our team of advisors.
Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
It is not required of you to work with a solicitor to bring forward a personal injury claim. However, it may prove to be beneficial, as an experienced legal professional can guide you through the claims process.
You may choose to work with a No Win No Fee solicitor under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This would mean that firstly, you won’t be expected to pay any upfront or ongoing costs for the services of your solicitor. Also, in the case that you’re unsuccessful in your personal injury claim, you generally won’t have to pay for these services at any time.
However, in the case that you’re successful in your accident at work claim, your solicitor can take a small percentage, called a success fee, from the compensation. This is a legally capped amount that is discussed between you and your solicitor before you enter the agreement.
Contact us
If you’d like to contact us to learn more about making a conveyor belt accident at work claim, please use the information below to get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Fill out your details in the ‘contact us’ section of our website
- Talk to an advisor using the live chat feature on this page
Learn More About Claiming For A Conveyor Belt Accident At Work
If you’d like to learn more about bringing forward a claim for an accident at work, explore more of our guides below:
- How To Claim Compensation For A Defective Work Equipment Injury
- Could I Make A Claim If I Hurt Myself At Work?
- Agency Worker Accident At Work Claims
Additionally, you can learn more by using the following external links:
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – GOV
- How do I know if I’ve broken a bone? – NHS
- Conveyor belt workstation design – The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Thank you for reading this guide on when you could be eligible to make a conveyor belt accident at work claim. Please contact our advisors using the details provided to make any enquiries.
Guide by LP
Edited by JO/MMI