Nose Injury at Work – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

Nasal injuries can lead to much pain and suffering. Additionally, they can cause problems with your sense of smell and taste or lead to embarrassment if the nose is left deformed. Therefore, if you’ve sustained a nose injury at work, you might want to consider starting a personal injury claim against your employer for your suffering. During the course of this guide, we’ll explore when that might be possible, how the process works and the types of evidence that could improve your chances of being paid compensation for a nose injury.

We are here to help if you want more information about claiming compensation for a nose injury at work. Initially, an advisor will review your claim for free. They’ll answer your questions and provide legal advice about your options. If it looks like you are entitled to start a nose injury compensation claim, they could connect you with a No Win, No Fee accident-at-work solicitor from our panel.

For more information on nose injury claims, you can:

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

For more on what to do if you’ve sustained a nose injury, read on. If any questions arise along the way, please feel free to call.

Types of Nose Injuries at Work We Can Help With

Here are some of the most common types of nose injuries that can be sustained in workplace accidents:

• Broken Nose: This can cause breathing problems, swelling, pain and bruising. Your nose may also change shape and you might hear a crunching noise when you touch the wound.
• Dislocated Nose: Where the nasal bones are forced out of position. Again, this can cause breathing problems, nasal deformity and pain.
• Severe Nose Bleeds: You might need medical treatment if your nasal injury results in a nose bleed that won’t stop on its own.
• Lacerations of the Nose: A deep cut on the skin surrounding the nose. In some cases, this can cause permanent scarring.
• Septal Haematoma: In some cases, a build-up of blood in the nasal cavity might lead to an abscess, cartilage damage or aseptic necrosis.

Whatever type of nose injury at work you’ve sustained, please call our legal advisors now to see if we can help you to start a compensation claim.

Can I Claim Compensation for a Nose Injury at Work?

When assessing a workplace nose injury claim, the first essential point to establish is that your employer owed you a duty of care. This is generally straightforward since all employers are legally required to protect the well-being of their employees, a duty mandated by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Employers must take reasonable and practical steps to prevent nose injuries at work. Relevant measures could include:

• Providing comprehensive health and safety training tailored to the risks associated with specific tasks that might impact the face or nose.
• Ensuring that all machinery and equipment are well-maintained and safe to use, particularly those that could pose a risk to the face.
• Conducting regular risk assessments to identify potential hazards that could cause facial injuries.
• Supplying appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face shields or masks, especially in environments where there is a risk of flying debris or exposure to harmful substances.
• Implementing strict guidelines and protective measures in areas prone to accidents that could result in facial injuries, including the nose.

These steps are crucial for safeguarding employees against nose injuries and demonstrate an employer’s adherence to their legal obligations under health and safety laws.

Therefore the criteria work injury solicitors will generally assess before agreeing to help start a nose injury compensation claim are:

• Were you, at the time of your accident, owed a duty of care by your employer?
• Did your employer’s negligence cause you to be involved in an accident in the last three years?
• Can your nose injury be linked directly to that accident?

We’re here to help if you have sustained a work-related nose injury. If you’d like to talk your case over with a legal advisor, for free, please get in touch.

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

Here are a few scenarios that might result in a nose injury at work caused by your employer’s negligence:

• You slipped on a wet floor and sustained nose fractures because your employer had not repaired a leaking water pipe or put out warning signs.
• You suffered a severe chemical burn to your nose in a lab, due to inadequate protective equipment.
• You suffered facial injuries and a nasal laceration after debris flew out of unsafe machinery in a factory because the safety screen had been removed.
• Due to a lack of safety training, you fell off a ladder at work after overreaching and broke your nose as a result of the fall.
• You experienced a nasal fracture after colliding with a forklift that was operating in reverse without a working reverse alarm.

There are, of course, plenty more scenarios that could result in a nose injury at work claim. As such, if you’ve suffered any other type of accident and would like to check if you’re entitled to claim, why not call our legal advisors now so that we can review your options?

What Should I Do If I Injured My Nose at Work?

Here are a few simple steps you could take if your nose is injured at work:

• Tell your employer about the incident as soon as you can.
• Visit A&E or a minor injuries unit as you might need an X-ray to help diagnose your injury.
• Ensure the incident is logged in the accident report book.

Taking these steps will help you to meet your own health and safety obligations at work. Additionally, they may arm you with some of the evidence you’ll need to help prove your case if you decide to claim at a later date.

What Evidence Can Be Used for a Nose Injury Compensation Claim?

If you start a work-related nose injury compensation claim, your employer’s insurers will want to see evidence to prove a) what happened, b) why your employer is liable and c) the extent of your suffering.

Here are some examples of evidence that you could use to make a nose injury claim stronger:

• Before and after photographs of your face to show any nasal deformities.
• Witness statements from colleagues, customers or anyone else who saw what happened.
• Medical proof of your nose injury i.e. doctor’s records and X-rays.
• Video recordings and photographs of the accident scene.
• Your copy of an accident report form about your incident.

Together, these pieces of evidence could improve your chances of being awarded compensation for a nasal injury at work. If you’d like us to review any evidence you’ve collected so far, please get in touch now.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Nose Injury Compensation?

As you might know already, the personal injury claims time limit is 3 years in the UK. This is a requirement of the Limitation Act 1980 and it applies to workplace injury claims as well. In the majority of cases, the time limit will start on the date you sustained the nose injury but some exceptions may apply, for instance, if you were under 18.

As the Limitation Act enables claims to become time-barred if they are made too late, it’s crucial not to leave seeking legal advice too late.

Therefore, please get in touch now to begin your claim or to check how long you have to begin.

How Much Compensation for a Nose Injury at Work?

Compensation payouts in successful nose injury claims vary from case to case. That’s because everyone is affected differently and the idea of a compensation payment is to try and put you back in the position you were in before your accident.

As such, you could receive general damages to cover the pain and suffering you’ve endured because of your nose injury. The extent of your suffering will be determined by using medical evidence such as hospital records and independent medical reports. This will then be compared with settlement figures listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and possibly similar past cases. Crucially, general damages could also cover psychological trauma such as embarrassment caused by facial deformities, for instance.

We’ve included JCG data in our nose injury compensation list. Please note, however, that the amounts of compensation listed cannot be guaranteed.

• £1,710 – £2,520 for a simple nondisplaced nasal fracture that heals completely.
• £2,520 – £3,150 for a displaced nasal fracture that does not require surgical intervention.
• £3,950 – £5,100 for a nasal fracture that necessitates surgery but results in no long-term complications.
• £10,640 – £23,130 where multiple or serious fractures have required several operations and caused permanent problems.

Additionally, special damages might also be awarded if your nose injury has left you out of pocket. For instance, a compensation payout could cover:

• Travel expenses (when visiting a hospital for example).
• Loss of earnings.
• Care at home costs.
• Any costs linked to medical treatment.

To check how much compensation for a nose injury at work you could claim, please contact our legal advisors.

Can I Claim Broken Nose Compensation if I’m Not a Full-Time Employee?

The duty of care we discussed earlier in our guide applies to all workers regardless of their contract type. That means employers must take reasonable steps to protect the well-being of full-time employees, zero-hours staff, agency workers, subcontractors and the self-employed.

Therefore, if you’ve suffered a broken nose at work and believe your employer was responsible, call now to find out if you might be entitled to compensation for your suffering.

Will I Be Sacked If I Sue My Employer for a Nose Injury?

You should not worry about facing any negative consequences due to a nose injury compensation claim against your employer.

Legally, if you submit a claim for a genuine injury, your employer must not single you out in any way. That means you should not be demoted, fired, bullied or treated any differently as a result of your claim.

If you have faced any such action, you may wish to speak with our legal advisors to check your rights.

Do You Need a Work Injury Solicitor for Nose Injury Claims?

There’s no legal reason to hire a solicitor to help you claim for a nose injury at work. However, you might be grateful for the support provided by a legal expert if your case is contested by your employer’s insurer or if they ask for specialist medical or legal evidence to support your claim.

If you work with a solicitor from our panel, they will strive to make the claim as easy as possible for you. They’ll handle all communications with your employer, fight your corner if objections are raised and negotiate a fair settlement.

Crucially, they will act on a No Win, No Fee basis if your claim proceeds. This means that after you’ve signed a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you:

• Won’t pay any upfront legal fees for your solicitor’s work.
• Won’t pay your solicitor if they lose your case.
• Will have a success fee deducted from any compensation you’re awarded.

To ensure that you retain most of your compensation, success fee percentages are legally capped at 25 per cent of any settlement you receive when a CFA is used.

Call our legal advisors now to see if you could make a No Win, No Fee nose injury at work claim.

How Long Do Work Injury Claims Take?

There is no defined duration for work-related injury claims because, as you might expect, each claim is unique.

In some cases, where you’ve suffered a minor nose injury that has fully healed and your employer liability quickly, compensation might be paid out in around 4 to 6 months.

Where you’ve suffered a more serious nasal injury such as one that affects your sense of smell permanently, the claims process can take up to a year or more. This is to enable time for your prognosis to be assessed and understood properly. Claims which are contested can also take this long to enable time for negotiations to take place.

Contacting Us About a Nose Injury Compensation Claim

We hope this guide on nose injury at work claims has been helpful. If you would now like advice on how to start a claim, you can:

• Contact our legal advisors on 0333 241 2519.
• Use our free live chat service 24 hours a day.

You’re not obliged to start a nose injury compensation claim after your call. However, if you do decide to sue your employer and one of our solicitors offers to help, you’ll receive No Win, No Fee legal representation throughout the claims process.