Negligent Decorator Accident Claims

By Joanne Jeffries. Last Updated August 18th 2021. Welcome to our guide to negligent decorator accident claims.

Decorator Accident Compensation Claims

Girl falling down the stairs due to a negligent decorator

If you’re looking for information on negligent decorator accident claims, the chances are, you or someone you know has sustained injuries in an accident involving a decorator.

We have created this guide to provide those looking to find out more about decorator accident compensation with all the information they could need to begin a personal injury claim if they’ve sustained injuries because of a negligent decorator.

Whether you’ve sustained injuries due to a negligent decorator working in your home, or on commercial premises, you can find useful guidance on what types of decorating injuries could lead to a claim and how much compensation you could recover.

In the sections below, we answer common questions about making personal injury claims against negligent decorators. We take a look at whether you could claim against someone who is self-employed and what would happen if you were partially liable.

In addition, we look at how decorators could protect the health and safety of other people. If you have further questions after reading this detailed guide to decorator negligence claims, or you’re ready to start your No Win No Fee claim and would like us to provide you with a solicitor, you can call the Accident Claims UK helpline on 0800 073 8801.

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A Guide To Negligent Decorator Accident Claims

If you have sustained injuries because of a negligent decorator, accident claims may be something you are considering. This guide has been created to provide you with useful information on claiming decorator accident compensation.

After all, decorators, just like other people contracted to work in domestic and commercial premises, must take care to protect the health and safety of others from risks arising from their work. If they fail to do so, and someone sustains injuries as a result, then a negligent decorator could be held liable for those injuries.

In the sections below, we take a look at the risks of a negligent decorator and what types of accidents and decorator injuries they could cause. We also discuss how to prove who is liable for your injuries and where your compensation would come from if a decorator is self-employed.

In addition to this, we take a look at what would happen if you were partly to blame for your own injuries and offer some guidance on how much compensation you could claim.

Finally, we look at how we at Accident Claims UK could help you claim decorator accident compensation by providing you with a No Win No Fee personal injury lawyer.

We hope you find this guide useful. If you have any questions about any of the information in this guide, or would like us to assess your case for free, we’d be happy to help. We could provide you with a solicitor authorised and regulated by the solicitors regulation authority for medical negligence claims, accident at work claims, and other claims where someone breached their duty of care to you, causing you injury.

What Is A Negligent Decorator Accident Claim?

There are many ways in which a person could sustain a decorating injury due to a negligent decorator. Just like builders’ accident claims where passers-by suffer injuries on construction sites due to unsafe practices, if a decorator is negligent and causes injury to someone, that person could make a claim.

Some examples of how negligent decorator accident claims could start could include:

  • A negligent decorator not clearing up spillages, causing a slip, trip or fall.
  • Using toxic chemicals in poorly ventilated areas, causing people to inhale toxic fumes.
  • A decorator dropping items from height and hitting people.

To make a claim for decorator accident compensation you would need to prove that the decorator was supposed to protect your health and safety from risks arising from their work. You would need to also prove that they breached that duty, and you were harmed because of that breach.

What Are The Risks Of A Negligent Decorator?

The biggest risks of a negligent decorator could include:

  • Wet or dirty flooring: If a decorator fails to keep the area around them free from spillages, or doesn’t warn people of spillages, or wet floors, then a person could easily slip and fall.
  • Toxic chemicals: As mentioned, painters and decorators could use toxic chemicals in their work. If they do not keep them safe and use them according to their instructions, people could become ill from inhaling them. If a person consumes them, this could cause poisoning. Or, people could suffer skin damage from exposure.
  • Hazardous equipment: If a decorator does not take care when placing their equipment, it could cause a trip hazard. In addition to this, if a decorator is working up a ladder and drops something heavy off the side of it, it could hit a person, causing head injuries or other types of injury.

These are just a few of the risks a negligent decorator could cause. If they do not take reasonable care to reduce these risks, and you sustain an injury as a result, you could be eligible to claim decorator accident compensation.

Liability For Negligent Decorating Accidents

While it might be quite simple to understand how liability works in construction site accidents, when it comes to a workplace accident that causes injuries to a contractor, many people may be confused about whether they could claim against a decorator for a decorating injury.

Can I Claim For A DIY Accident That Causes Me Injury?

If you were looking to take on the decorating yourself, and you suffered a DIY injury because you were inexperienced and made a mistake, no one else would be liable for your injury. DIY accidents in the UK are not uncommon, which is why many people prefer to get professional decorators to perform jobs that might cause injury to an inexperienced homeowner.

Can I Claim If I Am A Decorator That Suffers Injury Due To A Client?

If you were working in someone else’s home, and you were injured in an accident that was the homeowner’s fault, you would have to prove that they are liable for your injures. Some homeowners have home insurance that covers such accidents. If you have suffered a decorator or construction worker injury in someone’s home, we could assess your case to see if you could claim.

Could I Claim If A Decorator Injures Me?

If a decorator is negligent, for example by dropping a heavy paint can on you, leaving their equipment out as a trip hazard or causing you to inhale toxic fumes, you may be able to claim against their insurance.

Many contractors, including painters or decorators, have public liability insurance. This could cover your compensation if you made a claim against a negligent decorator.

Decorators are often self-employed, but this still means they should consider having insurance in place to cover claims against them. You could also claim against a decorator employed by a company.

Depending on the situation and where you were injured, you could make a claim against a landlord that employed the decorator.

If you were injured by a decorator working on commercial premises, you could claim against the controller of the premises. They could have a legal duty under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 to protect your health and safety while using the premises.

If you’re not sure who could be liable for negligent decorator accident claims, we could help. Our experienced advisors could assess your case for free to see if you could claim.

Could I Claim If I Was Partially Liable?

In some cases, it may be difficult for you to work out who was to blame for decorating injuries. You may be partially at fault, in some cases,  but the decorator might be partly to blame too. In such cases, courts and lawyers could have to take into account contributory negligence when calculating compensation payouts.

What Is Contributory Negligence?

If there is liability on both sides of a claim, you could still seek compensation for your injuries. But, you would have to provide solid proof that another party was also at fault for your injuries.

According to the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945, those who are partially responsible for an accident that causes injury could have their compensation reduced to the extent that a court deems to be just and equitable to the share of responsibility. This means that if you were deemed to be partly responsible for an accident, you could still receive compensation, but it could be reduced to reflect your involvement.

Trips And Slips On Wet Floors

If you’ve sustained injuries in a slip, trip or fall on wet floors caused by a decorator, you may be wondering whether you could claim decorator accident compensation. A negligent decorator could be held liable for such an accident in cases where they:

  • Have not secured protected sheeting correctly, and it causes a person to trip over it.
  • Didn’t warn people of wet paint, or didn’t clear up a spillage, causing people to sustain injuries slipping on a wet floor.
  • Have caused a person to fall by hitting them with equipment, such as ladders, etc.

How Common Are Slips, Trips And Falls?

According to the HSE, slips, trips, and falls are the most common type of workplace accident. According to a report by the HSE, 95% of major slips lead to a fracture or a break. They could also cause a range of other injuries such as:

Decorator Accident Compensation Calculator – Updated August 2021

When calculating compensation payouts for personal injury claims, lawyers assess all the available evidence, as well as the circumstances and facts of the case. One important piece of evidence that could directly influence compensation amounts is the medical report.

To obtain this important document, you’d need to visit an independent medical expert. They would assess your injuries, look at any relevant past medical notes, and write a report that gives their professional opinion on your injuries and your prognosis.

If you’re looking to get some insight into how much an injury could be worth, it may not be the best idea to consult a personal injury claims calculator. Such a tool would not be able to give you anything more than a very rough estimate. Instead of providing such a tool on this page, we’ve opted to give you figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The JCG is a legal publication that the courts and solicitors could use to hone in on an appropriate value for an injury. If you don’t see your injury in the table below, please contact us. We would be more than happy to talk to you about compensation for other injuries and negligent decorator accident claims over the phone.

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Part of the body injured Severity of the injury Approximate Compensation Bracket
Chest Injuries Toxic fume inhalation leaving some residual damage £5,000 to £11,820
Neck Severe £42,680 to £139,210
Back Severe £36,390 to £151, 070
Shoulder Severe £18,020 to £45,070
Pelvis/Hips Severe £36,770 to £122,860
Arm Severe £90,250 to £122,860
Leg Severe £36,790 to £127,530
Head Moderately severe brain damage £205,580 to £264,650
Neck Moderate £7,410 to £36,120
Back Moderate £11,730 to £36,390
Shoulder Moderate £7,410 to £11,980
Pelvis/Hips Moderate £11,820 to £36,770
Leg Moderate £26,050 to £36,790
Head Minor head injury £2,070 to £11,980
Neck Minor Up to £7,410
Back Minor Up to £11,730
Skin conditions Itching, irritation resolving within a few months £1,600 to £3,710

Decorating Injuries: Special Damages

In addition to the general damages you could claim for the loss of amenity, pain and suffering of your injuries, you could also claim for pecuniary (financial) losses. These special damages could compensate you for expenses such as:

  • Loss of income: Some personal injury victims have to take time off work with their injuries as they are unable to work. If you have done so and have lost out on income because of this, you could include loss of income in your decorator accident compensation claim.
  • Care costs: if your injuries mean that you can’t look after yourself properly, you may require some form of care at home. You could include the costs of such care within your claim.
  • Travel expenses: You could include travel expenses you incur while attending hospital appointments and lawyer’s meetings within your claim too.
  • Medical expenses: While most NHS services are free at the point of access, there may be other costs you incur, such as prescription charges, the cost of physiotherapy or counselling, for example. You could include such costs within your claim.

No Win No Fee Negligent Decorator Accident Claims

Are you trying to decide whether to use a personal injury solicitor to make a claim for personal injury? If so, you might be worried about how much you need to pay law firms or a solicitor to work on your case.

You might be interested to know that if you work with a No Win No Fee solicitor on your case, you wouldn’t need to pay their fee until your claim ends and the liable party or their insurer pays your compensation.

How Do No Win No Fee Claims Work?

  1. Your personal injury solicitor sends a document, known as a No Win No Fee Agreement, to you. They would ask you to read it carefully before you sign it. Within the text of the agreement are details of a success fee. This is the fee you’d pay your lawyer in the event of a successful claim. The success fee is generally a small proportion of your total payout and is subject to a legal cap. It is only payable if the solicitor achieves a payout for you.
  2. When you sign and return the agreement, the solicitor would be able to start working on your claim. They would put together the legal paperwork and negotiate for compensation on your behalf. If your case needs to go to court, your solicitor would support you throughout the process.
  3. When your compensation comes through, the solicitor would take their success fee from your payout, and the rest would be for your benefit.

What If There’s No Compensation?

If your claim ends unsuccessfully, and your lawyer doesn’t get you a payout, you don’t pay them the success fee mentioned in the agreement. You don’t have to cover their costs, either. Should you wish to find out more about this type of claim, we’d be happy to talk to you.

Talk To Our Workplace Accident Claims Team

Now you know more about making negligent decorator accident claims, you may be ready to start a claim for decorator accident compensation. Or you may have further questions and want to check your eligibility to claim. Either way, the team at Accident Claims UK is here to help. You can reach us at any time by:

Essential References

Health And Safety Advice For Decorators: You can find useful advice for decorators here.

Poisoning – NHS: If you’ve inhaled toxic fumes or been poisoned in another way, this guide could be useful.

DIY Injuries UK: The NHS has produced an article about the upsurge in DIY accidents and injuries over a bank holiday weekend.

Construction Injury Claims: In this guide, you can find out what is a claimable injury for a construction worker, and a common injury in construction.

Accidents At Work: You can find out how to claim for a work accident in this guide.

Claiming If You’re Self-Employed: You can find out how to claim as someone who is self-employed here.

Negligent Decorator Accident Claim FAQs

Time Limits For Decorator Accident Compensation Claims

Usually, there is a three-year personal injury claims time limit for negligent decorator accident claims. This would run from the date of the injury or the date you became aware that the decorator’s negligence caused or contributed to your injury. However, there are some exceptions to this. If you’re unsure as to how long you could have to make your claim, please don’t hesitate to call us.

Will My Case Have To Go To Court?

You may be surprised to learn that not many personal injury claims reach the courts. In many cases, a lawyer could negotiate with the liable party or their insurers. You could then receive a settlement long before your case would have reached court.

However, in some cases, particularly when the liable party disputes your claim, you may need to go to court. If so, having a solicitor on your side could help make the process less stressful. They should support you throughout.

In some cases, if your case is getting close to becoming time-barred, your lawyer may file protective proceedings with the court. This would give them more time to negotiate a settlement or gather evidence before your case reaches the personal injury claims time limit.

How Are Damages Determined In Negligence Cases?

Courts and lawyers need to assess all the evidence submitted. This could include pictures of the scene of the accident, witness statements, and evidence relating to the claimant’s injuries. They could also look at financial documents such as bank statements and bills. This could help them to determine what special damages could be compensated for.

It is vital that claimants keep all documents pertaining to such damages so they could be included within a claim. If you cannot prove that you have incurred an expense, you would not be able to claim for it.

Could I Make Negligent Decorator Accident Claims For Psychological Harm?

Depending on the type of accident you’ve been injured in, you may have suffered mental harm as well as physical harm. If, for example, the accident that caused your injuries was serious, even life-threatening, you may have suffered mental trauma at the thought that you could potentially lose your life. If your injuries are long-term, this could cause psychological harm too. You could be depressed at the thought that you were unable to do the things you once did. You may have even developed anxiety because of your accident. If you could prove that your accident caused you mental injury, this could lead to a case for psychological or psychiatric injury compensation. While this may not take away the suffering you’ve borne, it could help you get the treatment you need to move forward and begin to recover.

How to prove a psychological injury

Similarly to a physical injury, you’d need to evidence your injury by getting an independent expert to verify your mental trauma or psychological injury. They may need to ask you lots of questions and would perhaps need to see past medical notes. Once they had collected the information they need, they could write up a report which explains your condition and prognosis for the future. Courts and personal injury lawyers could use this to work out whether you’d be eligible for psychological injury compensation. This could significantly impact the amount of compensation you could receive for your claim.

Thank you for reading our guide to negligent decorator accident claims.