What to Do After a Life-Changing Work Accident

If you had a life-altering accident at work, it makes sense to be paralysed by anxiety about your future. Particularly when you are healing from your injuries, questions regarding how to help your family, modify your house, and handle your return to work can be intimidating. From your company’s obligations to the care and support you are entitled to, at SilverOak Solicitors we are here to help you negotiate your alternatives.

Employer Responsibilities After a Work Accident

Employers are legally obliged under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable changes to suit workers left with permanent injuries or disabilities following an occupational accident.

This means that your company must help you return to work by:

• Providing additional equipment and support.
• Changing workplace policies.
• Modifying your workstation or working environment.

Given the company’s resources and scale, the tweaks should be judged “reasonable.” A larger organisation, for instance, would be expected to implement more changes than a small family company.

Some common examples of reasonable adjustments include:

• For staff members adjusting to disability, a phased return to work can mean part-time or flexible hours.
• Modifying equipment, such as ergonomic desks or adjustable keyboards, to assist those with back or limb injuries.
• Physically altering the workplace, including building ramps for wheelchair users.

Whether your injuries seriously disadvantage you relative to an employee without a disability will determine your employer’s need to make these changes. You can be eligible for reasonable adjustments if your injuries prevent you from following specific work policies such full-time hours or from accessing parts of the office including staircases without ramps.

Care and Support After a Life-Changing Work Accident

Often, recovering from a major workplace accident calls for more than just physical recovery. You could need continuous therapy, emotional support, and everyday living changes. To help you reconstruct your life and recover your freedom, rehabilitation—including physiotherapy or counselling—is absolutely vital. An occupational therapist from your local NHS trust or social services department can help you to evaluate your difficulties and create solutions.

If you are pursuing a claim against your employer for their role in the accident, you may be eligible for private rehabilitation treatments, which can help you heal faster.

Many charitable organisations can also help you through your recuperation. Short-term wheelchair loans are available from the Red Cross; the Disabled Living Foundation offers direction on independent life. Charities such as Headway and the Brain Injury Group provide specific help for head or brain injuries. Remploy and other companies offer mental health support as well as help with return to work planning.

If you rely on a primary caregiver, there are other tools available to give them respite care, including The Respite Association, thereby relieving some burden on your family.

Adapting Your Home and Vehicle

Your injuries will determine whether you need to modify your house or car to enable you to carry on with regular chores. From little adjustments like installing handrails or altering taps to more major improvements like expanding entrances, adding stairlifts or building accessible bathrooms, home adaptations can range.

Installations of hand controls, left-foot accelerators, or steering aids will help you to retain your independence if you are unable to drive a regular car.

There could be financial support to assist with these expenses. Your local council can help you apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant to help with home adaptations. For people living in privately owned or rented homes, Not-for-Profit Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) also assist with finance arrangement and required changes.

Financial Support After a Work Accident

Financial support is one of the main worries following a life-changing accident, particularly if your injuries prevent you from working. The government provides Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), and depending on the degree of your injuries you could potentially be qualified for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Your employment contract can also include extra sick pay based on your company’s own policies.

Apart from these advantages, you can choose to seek recompense. By helping to cover loss of income, medical bills, and continuous care costs, a successful compensation claim guarantees you the financial means to handle your future needs.

How to Start Your Compensation Claim

Starting a compensation claim can seem daunting if you have been injured in an accident connected to your employment, but it doesn’t have to be. At SilverOak Solicitors, we stress-free and simple approach the procedure. First, get in touch with our seasoned personal injury team; they will review the specifics of your accident and determine whether you have a strong claim. We will compile important facts including the type of your injuries, the circumstances of the accident, and how it has affected your life. From there, we will take care of everything for you, from negotiating with your insurance carrier to gathering medical records and computing your entitlement to reimbursement. If you are scared to report an accident at work read, is fear stopping you from speaking up.

How Personal Injury Solicitors Can Help

At SilverOak Solicitors, our experienced team is here to support you through this challenging time. Our area of expertise is work accident claims; we can assist you in obtaining compensation for medical treatment, lost income, and care required to reconstruct your life.

Contact SilverOak Solicitors now to explore your case if you have past three-year injuries from your employment. Our committed lawyers will battle to make sure you get the help and recompense you are due.