Teacher Injured at Work – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

Working as a teacher can be very rewarding and a noble career option. However, accidents in schools do happen and can lead to quite serious injuries. When a teacher is injured at work, they may have grounds to claim compensation if their accident resulted from their employer’s negligence. As such, this guide explains how the claims process works, the types of teaching accidents that could lead to a claim and how much compensation an injured teacher could receive.

You can call on our team for free advice if you’re a teacher injured at work. A specialist will review your case and explain your legal options. If we suspect that you are entitled to teacher injury compensation for your suffering, you’ll be connected with a specialist accident-at-work solicitor. Crucially, they will manage your claim on a No Win No Fee basis if they take it on.

To contact us about a teacher injury claim, you can:

• Call our legal advisors on 0333 241 2519.
• Connect to our live chat service right away.

If you’re a teacher injured at work, seeking legal advice promptly can greatly enhance the chances of receiving compensation for the pain, suffering, and financial losses incurred.

Can I Claim Compensation as a Teacher Injured at Work?

Teachers are owed the same duty of care by their employers as in all other industries because of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. That means that those who employ teachers must take reasonable and practical steps to try and keep them safe at work. This applies whether you’re employed directly by a school, by an academy or by the local authority.

Some of the ways employers could try to prevent teachers being injured at work include:

• Providing staff safety training regularly.
• Conducting risk assessments in classrooms, offices, school halls, playgrounds and sports fields regularly.
• Providing teachers with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where required.
• Ensuring that any school-provided equipment is safe to use, fit for purpose and properly maintained.

These are just a few safety measures that could easily reduce the number of teachers being injured at school. If such measures are not implemented or adhered to, and you have been injured as a teacher, we could help you to claim compensation if:

• At the time of the incident your employer owed you a duty of care.
• The incident was caused by the defendant’s negligence.
• You sustained an injury that can be linked to that negligence.

Please contact our legal advisors now if you would like to check if a claim against the school can be started.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to a Teacher Injury at Work?

Here is a handful of examples of accidents in schools that could result in teachers being injured at work:

• A teacher tripped on a raised flooring tile in the school hall during an assembly and sustained a broken arm at work as a result.
• Due to a lack of manual handling training, a teacher suffered a slipped disc in his back when moving PE equipment on the sports field.
• A teacher suffered head and neck injuries when items fell onto him due to damaged racking.
• Due to exposure to asbestos in a school, a teacher was diagnosed with asbestosis.
• A teaching assistant was assaulted by a student because they had not been trained on proper restraining techniques and sustained broken teeth.

If you have sustained any other type of injury whilst working as a teacher, please let us know and we’ll work out whether you could be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

What Should I Do If I’m a Teacher Injured at Work?

If you’re injured at school while teaching, you might just try to brush the incident off and carry on teaching. However, wherever possible, you should:

• Report the accident at work to the headteacher, head of year, or relevant person as soon as possible.
• Visit your GP or A&E to ensure your injuries are treated correctly and recorded.
• Inform the school about any medical recommendations in case they need to make reasonable adjustments to allow you to return to work.

Taking these steps will ensure that the school are aware of your injuries and can support you during your recovery. They could also allow the school to make changes to try and prevent similar accidents and injuries in the future.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Teacher Injury Claims?

Evidence is key if you’re to receive compensation after being injured while teaching. The types of evidence that could make your claim a lot stronger include:

• Photographs of any obvious defects or problems that caused your accident.
• Contact information for anyone at the school who witnessed you being injured.
• A copy of the school’s accident report form with details of the incident.
• Medical records that prove your injuries and any treatment needed.
• CCTV footage of the accident if the area was covered by cameras.

While it’s very helpful to have everything listed here, we know it’s not always possible. Therefore, no matter how much evidence you might have gathered, please get in touch so that we can review your teacher personal injury claim today.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Teacher Injury Compensation?

The Limitation Act 1980 sets a 3-year time limit for personal injury claims. As such, a teacher injured at work will usually need to start a claim within 3 years of the date of their accident.

In cases where an injury, illness or disease (such as asbestosis or a repetitive strain injury) isn’t immediately obvious, the 3-year time limit may begin from the date the condition was diagnosed.

Crucially, claims can become statute-barred if they are made outside of the allowable time limits. This means your claim could be turned down if it is made too late. For that reason, we suggest contacting a legal advisor to discuss your claim at your earliest opportunity while details about your accident are still fresh in your mind.

How Much Compensation for a Teacher Injured at Work?

Settlements in successful teacher injury compensation claims are typically calculated on:

• General damages – for pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
• Special damages – for financial losses caused by an injury at work.

To put a value on the general damages element of your claim, your accident-at-work solicitor will normally collect medical records and arrange for an independent medical assessment.

Additionally, a teacher injured at work could be left out of pocket. This is where special damages could form part of a compensation payment to cover:

• Lost income.
• Rehabilitation costs (i.e., physiotherapy costs).
• Transport costs.
• The cost of a carer at home.
• Future loss of earnings.
• The cost of modifying your home to improve accessibility.

Any costs you wish to include in your claim must be verifiable. Therefore, you should present financial evidence including receipts and bank statements to support your claim.

Can I Claim Compensation if I’m a Supply Teacher?

The duty of care you can expect from your employer isn’t reliant on the type of teacher you are. It will be the same for supply teachers, newly qualified teachers (NQTs), head teachers, teaching assistants, experienced teachers and unqualified teachers.

Therefore, any teacher injured at work through no fault of their own could be entitled to compensation for their suffering.

Please get in touch to find out more.

Do You Need a Solicitor for a Teacher Injury Claim?

Taking legal action against a school can be quite a daunting task. That’s especially the case if parts or all of your claim are contested by your employer’s insurers. Therefore, it might be wise to take on legal representation from a solicitor from our team who specialises in workplace injury claims.

Their legal expertise and training should make your claim much easier to deal with and it could also result in you receiving a higher compensation settlement than you might have expected.

Our solicitors work hard to try and win any claim they take on. If one agrees to represent you, they will typically:

• Deal with the school and their insurers on your behalf.
• Make sure your compensation claim is filed on time.
• Collect evidence to build as strong a case as possible.
• Deal with all paperwork and fight your corner throughout the claims process.
• Ensure that you are kept up to date as your claim is being processed.
• Try to ensure that you receive a fair settlement.

Crucially, all of this work will be conducted on a No Win, No Fee basis as our solicitors use a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). The CFA means that you only pay for your solicitor’s time and effort if you’re awarded compensation.

Why not give us a call now to see if you could make a No Win, No Fee injury at work claim?

Will My Claim Go to Court?

It is unlikely, in our experience, that a teacher injury compensation claim will require court action. Generally, both parties involved in the claims process will want to avoid potentially costly and lengthy court hearings so will try to reach an amicable settlement.

That said, if your solicitor believes your case is strong enough but your employer won’t accept liability or offer a fair settlement, a court hearing might be booked as a very last resort.

How Long Will the Claims Process Take?

There isn’t a set duration for teacher injury claims as each case is different to the next. For instance, if you tore ligaments in your leg after a slip trip and fall in the school playground, compensation could be awarded in less than 6 months if you’ve made a full recovery.

On the other hand, if you sustained a serious spinal cord injury, the claims process could take a year or more. This extra time might be necessary to allow specialists to get a full understanding of your prognosis.

In any scenario, your claim would only be settled once liability for your accident or injuries has been proven or accepted.

Contacting Us About a Teacher Injury Claim

If you’ve been injured while teaching, we are happy to review your eligibility to claim compensation. To arrange an initial consultation, you can:

• Call our legal advisors on 0333 241 2519.
• Use our 24/7 free live chat service.

Your claim will be assessed for free by a specialist when you get in touch and they’ll explain your legal options. You’re under no obligation to proceed with a claim after your call but if you do decide to take action, we could partner you with a work injury solicitor. Crucially, accepted teacher injury claims are normally managed on a No Win, No Fee basis.