In this guide, we examine what to do if your finger was trapped in a door at work. This guide investigates key health and safety legislation for the workplace and looks at when you might have a valid compensation claim.
Additionally, you will need evidence to prove both your injury and the breach in your employer’s duty of care that caused it. This guide examines what is meant by this as well as explores potential evidence you could submit to support your claim. Your claim must also be started within the time limit. We investigate what this is and when exceptions might apply.
Finger trapped in a door at work claims guide
If you have any questions at any point while reading this guide, or are ready to start a claim, please do not hesitate to contact our expert advisors. Once they give your claim a free assessment, if it seems like it could recover compensation, they can help you get started right away.
To speak to an advisor:
- Contact us online
- Call 0800 073 8801
- Ask a question in the live chat.
Jump To A Section
- How To Claim For A Finger Trapped In A Door At Work
- Examples Of Accidents Leading To Fingers Being Trapped In A Door
- Collecting Evidence To Support Workplace Finger Injury Claims
- Finger Trapped In A Door At Work Injury Claim Settlements
- Could No Win No Fee Injury Claim Specialists Help You Claim?
- Further Information On Workplace Finger Injury Claims
How To Claim For A Finger Trapped In A Door At Work
All employers have a duty of care towards their employees under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They must take steps to protect you from reasonably foreseeable risks of harm at work, and that includes ensuring doors are safe to use and that they take practicable steps to avoid you suffering an injury because of your work or workplace.
If they fail to do so, for example, because they’ve failed to maintain automatic door closing mechanisms, and you have trapped your finger in a door at work because of this, you could be eligible to claim compensation.
If you’re eligible to claim, there are specific actions that could assist you in making a claim. These include:
- Seeking medical attention.
- Ensuring you report the incident to your employer.
- Gathering evidence is also a wise idea. Getting witness details, taking photographs of the scene of the accident or requesting CCTV footage could all be useful.
- Keep documentation if you’ve incurred financial loss or expense because of your injuries.
Finally, getting legal support could help ensure you have all the help you need to get the compensation you deserve for a finger injury at work. If you contact us today, one of our advisors could assess your case to see if you’re eligible to claim. They could then connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors, who could help you with your claim.
Limitation Periods
As stated previously, personal injury claims must be started within the time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 sets this as generally three years from the date you were injured in an accident.
Additionally, particular circumstances where the injured party cannot start a claim for themselves suspend the time limit. These include:
- Children under the age of 18. The time limit only starts once they turn 18.
- Lacking the mental capacity to claim. Should the injured party regain this capacity, they have three years from that date to start a claim.
However, during the time limit’s suspension, a litigation friend can start a claim on behalf of the injured party at any point.
Call our advisors if you have any questions about claiming compensation if your fingers were caught in a door as a result of employer negligence.
Examples Of Accidents Leading To Fingers Being Trapped In A Door
As mentioned above, your employer owes you a duty of care. If a breach of this duty of care has caused you injury, then you could be entitled to claim.
Below, we have included some examples of how your finger could be trapped in a door at work as a result of negligence:
- There is a faulty door stop on a door in an office. This causes the door to swing closed, and the resulting office accident causes a finger fracture.
- You aren’t given manual handling training, but despite this are expected to carry a heavy box from one part of the workplace to another. Because you haven’t been trained, your finger is caught in the door and crushed.
In order to claim, you need evidence that a breach in the duty of care caused ian accident in which you were injured. We examine supporting evidence in the next section. However, if you have any questions, please get in touch.
Collecting Evidence To Support Workplace Finger Injury Claims
Examples of evidence that could help support an accident at work claim include:
- A report from the workplace accident book.
- Medical records.
- Photographs of the scene.
- Photographs of your injuries.
- Footage, including from CCTV and mobile phones.
- Witness contact information.
Call our workplace injury experts if you need any help gathering supporting evidence. Any advice they give you is free. Furthermore, if you have a valid claim after your finger was trapped in a door at work, they could connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Finger Trapped In A Door At Work Injury Claim Settlements
You may like to know how compensation for a workplace accident is calculated. In this section, we examine the two potential heads of personal injury claims: general damages and special damages.
In a successful claim, general damages compensate for the pain and suffering you experienced. If you are wondering how value is placed on injuries, legal professionals use a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help assess general damages. It contains injuries alongside compensation brackets.
Our table below contains finger injuries from the latest update of the JCG. These are not guaranteed due to the differences in individual claims, and should only be used as a guide.
| Injury Type | Details | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Hand (a) | Injuries resulting in the total or effective loss of both hands. | £140,660 to £201,490 |
| Hand (c) | The total or effective loss of one hand | £96,160 to £109,650 |
| Hand (d) | Amputation of index, middle and/or ring fingers. | £61,910 to £90,750 |
| Hand (e) | Serious hand injuries, reducing the hand to 50% capacity are included in this bracket. | £29,000 to £61,910 |
| Hand (r) | Loss of the thumb. | £35,520 to £54,830 |
| Hand (f) | Severe finger fractures that could result in partial amputation. | Up to £36,740 |
| Hand (g) | Less serious hand injuries, such as significant function impairments from a severe crush are included in this bracket. | £14,450 to £29,000 |
| Hand (h) | Moderate hand injuries such as crush injuries, wounds, soft tissue injuries and deep lacerations. | £5,720 to £13,280 |
| Hand (j) | Fractures of the index finger with remaining impairment to grip. | £9,110 to £12,240 |
| Hand (m) | This bracket is for a little finger amputation. | £8,640 to £12,240 |
How Special Damages Could Also Compensate You
You may also be eligible for special damages. This head reimburses you for any costs incurred due to your injuries. However, you might need to supply proof of your costs, such as receipts.
Examples of costs you might be able to recover for a finger injury include:
- Prosthetics.
- Specialist equipment to help cope with the injury.
- Loss of earnings for any time off work, including pension contributions.
- Medication costs, including prescriptions and over the counter medicines.
Call our advisors for a free claim valuation. Additionally, we can advise on what evidence you might need to submit to claim special damages.
Could No Win No Fee Injury Claim Specialists Help You Claim?
If you are eligible to claim you may like to have legal representation. A specialist work accident claims solicitor could provide legal support under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
Solicitors operating on a No Win No Fee basis typically won’t ask for upfront payment for their services. They generally won’t ask you to cover any ongoing costs either.
If a solicitor successfully recovers compensation, they take a success fee from the award. The law caps this amount. However, if your claim is unsuccessful, they usually won’t charge for their services.
Get In Touch With An Expert
Call our advisors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a free consultation. In addition to assessing the potential value of your claim, they can advise on its validity. If it seems like you could recover compensation, you could be put in touch with our solicitors.
To speak to an advisor:
- Contact us online
- Call 0800 073 8801
- Alternatively, ask a question in the live chat.
Further Information On Workplace Finger Injury Claims
Additional workplace injury guides:
Further guidance from external sources:
- NHS – Broken Finger
- Health and Safety Executive- Making sure powered doors and gates are safe
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries about claiming if your finger was trapped in a door at work.