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The Facts - Accidents at Work in Northern Ireland

The Facts – Accidents at Work

In Northern Ireland, employers have the legal responsibility to keep their employees safe at work. Sometimes, for whatever reason, this duty of care is not met and staff members get injured as a result. What many do not know, is that injured employees might be entitled to justice in the form of compensation. In this blog post, we’re going to address some common myths with the facts.

Here are the facts on Accidents at Work.

It’s too late to claim

You can claim within 3 years of your accident, and it won’t affect the outcome of your case. The case does not even have to be settled within this time frame, as long as legal proceedings are issued within the stated time parameters.

It costs too much

It is true that “No Win No Fee” is not permitted in Northern Ireland. However, an expert injury solicitor will recover their bill from the employer at fault anyway. At Paschal O’Hare Solicitors, we even offer an entirely free confidential consultation to discover whether or not a case is winnable. Even in the worst case scenario, we can take out legal expenses insurance which means clients don’t have to worry about costs, win or lose.

My employer will fire me if I attempt to claim

If an employer punishes or harasses an employee for exercising their right to compensation, then they are opening a whole other legal can of worms that could get them into serious trouble. However, the vast majority of employers are actually quite reasonable in these cases.

I like my employer too much to claim

When pursuing a claim, it is important to recognise that the claimant is not dipping their hand into the pocket of an employer. The compensation is recovered from the insurance company that the employer has already paid.

It takes too long to claim

There is no doubt that some cases can drag on depending on the complexity of it. However, it is a solicitor’s job to do the heavy lifting. To speed the process up, we use a case management mobile app to get clients to sign documents, send photographs and communicate via instant messenger. Once we’re on the case, we actually ask very little from the client so that they may focus on their recovery.

Accidents at work don’t pay enough out

The amount that is awarded depends on the severity of the injury. However, successful claimants might receive anything from £1k to several million. Check out the Paschal O’Hare Solicitors’ Claim Calculator for a better idea of how much each type of injury is worth. In addition to this, an injured party can also expect to recover any loss of earnings and costs of recovery.


Want to know more?

Paschal O’Hare Solicitors are Work Accident claims specialists. Click here to learn more about our services, or contact us for a free enquiry if you have had a workplace accident.

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