Retail Worker Injury – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

Staff in shops, supermarkets and shopping centres have to deal with a variety of different situations every time they go to work. While shops are generally safe places, retail workers do sometimes end up injured through no fault of their own. If you are a retail worker who has been injured at work, this guide will explain your options. For instance, you’ll read about when accidents caused by your employer’s negligence could enable you to claim compensation for any suffering you’ve endured.

Our team provide no-obligation advice on retailer worker compensation claims as part of a free initial consultation. During your call, you’ll be able to ask questions and explain how the retail accident occurred. If your advisor suspects that you have a strong enough case, they’ll connect you with one of our solicitors who specialises in workplace accidents. If they agree to work for you, they’ll do so on a No Win, No Fee basis.

To see if you could make a retailer worker injury claim, you can:

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

Please get in touch or read on for more information on when compensation for injured retail workers may be possible.

Can I Make a Retail Worker Injury Claim?

Regardless of what type of shop you work in, your employer will have a duty of care towards your well-being while you’re working. This is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as well as other laws.

Due to the nature of retail outlets, no workplace will ever be completely free from risk. However, retailers must take practical steps to try and prevent foreseeable accidents. To try and keep retail staff safe, they may need to:

• Conduct risk assessments regularly. This should include the shop floor, stock room or warehouse, car park, staff room and other facilities.
• Train retail staff on how to do their job safely.
• Ensure all equipment used in the shop is safe to use and properly maintained.
• Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as protective gloves where required.
• Have a health and safety policy which is up to date and available to all staff.

If a retailer fails to take steps to protect staff, they could be deemed to have been negligent. As such, an accident-at-work solicitor might offer to help you make a retailer worker claim if:

• You can prove that your employer owed you a duty of care.
• An accident at work occurred because they breached that duty.
• As a consequence, you suffered an injury or injuries.

Generally, all 3 criteria must be met if a retail worker compensation claim is to be successful.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to a Retail Worker Injury?

Here is a small sample of the types of negligence that could enable a retail worker injured at work to claim compensation:

• A poorly maintained shutter on a cigarette cabinet in a newsagents slammed shut, resulting in the retail worker sustaining 3 broken fingers.
• While collecting products from the stock room, a retail worker sustained a back injury at work because they’d not been given adequate manual handling training.
• A retail worker tripped and broke their wrist while taking rubbish to the shop’s skip because the retailer had not replaced a paving slab that had been damaged for some time.
• A supermarket worker was crushed at work by falling products in the warehouse because an untrained forklift driver knocked over a row of shelving.
• Due to adverse weather, a build-up of rainwater at the shop’s entrance caused a worker to slip and fall, sustaining a serious neck injury. The retailer had made no effort to clear the water or use warning signs to alert staff and customers to the danger.

There are many more ways in which retail staff could be injured at work. As such, even if your accident is not listed, please get in touch and let us review your eligibility to start a retail worker compensation claim.

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

There are some important steps that you can take if you are injured working in a shop. They include:

• Securing the area if you’re able to, as this could stop other retail staff and customers from being injured.
• Getting medical treatment (from your GP or at a hospital) for your injuries.
• Reporting the incident so it’s logged in the shop’s accident book.
• Telling your employer about any medical recommendations you receive.

If you take these steps, the retailer will have the opportunity to learn from the incident so that previous incidents of a similar nature do not occur. They could also provide you with some crucial evidence to support any subsequent accident at work claim.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Retail Staff Injury Claims?

The types of evidence that can strengthen a retail worker injury claim include:

• Photographs of the accident scene that show any defect that caused your accident.
• Contact details for any potential witnesses (including customers and colleagues).
• Copies of any relevant medical records so that you can prove you were injured at work.
• CCTV or mobile phone footage of your shop accident.
• Your copy of the accident report form to prove when and where you were injured.

If you’d like us to review any evidence to support your retailer injury claim, please get in touch by calling the number above now.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Retail Worker Injury Compensation?

Generally, injured retail workers have 3 years to start a claim for compensation after an accident at work. This will normally start from the date of the accident, as explained in the Limitation Act 1980. In some circumstances, however, the limitation period may run differently.

One exception to this rule is where the injured party is under 18 years old, i.e., teenagers who might have a Saturday or Summer job. In this scenario, the 3-year time limit does not normally start until the worker’s 18^th birthday. However, a parent or responsible adult could start the claims process at any point before then.

If you’d like to check how long you have to make a retail injury claim, contact one of our legal advisors.

How Much Compensation for Retail Worker Injuries?

Should you make a successful retail worker accident claim, you’ll be awarded a compensation payout. This will normally be based on two different types of suffering. The first is physical or emotional pain, suffering and loss of amenity (general damages).

To put a value on your injuries and their impact on your life, your solicitor will usually book an independent medical assessment. In the meeting, a specialist will assess your injuries and discuss how they’ve affected you. The specialist’s report and copies of your medical records will help your solicitor to understand the extent of your injuries.

Any compensation you receive could also cover any financial suffering linked to your injuries. For instance, injured retail staff could claim the following compensation for:

• Loss of earnings. This might also cover future losses for a more serious injury at work.
• Medical expenses, including prescription fees.
• Care and support at home.
• The cost of making changes to your home to help you deal with any long-term disabilities.
• Travel costs.

As you might expect, any costs you wish to claim back must be proven. As such, it’s important to keep hold of receipts, bank statements and wage slips to prove your losses.

Can All Retail Workers Claim Compensation for Workplace Injuries?

When it comes to health and safety, all shop staff are owed the same duty of care by their employer. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just started your job or if you’ve worked for the same retailer for decades.

Therefore, our solicitors could help you to make a retail worker injury claim if you’re a checkout operator, warehouse staff, a shelf filler, Saturday staff, a temp, a delivery driver, or you work in the shop’s office.

If you’re a retail worker who’s been injured at work, please let us know what happened, and we’ll assess your case for free.

Do You Need a Solicitor for a Work Injury Claim?

Any type of accident at work claim can result in difficult medical or legal arguments – especially if your version of events is contested. Therefore, to try and make things easier, you might want to work with a solicitor who specialises in workplace accident claims.

If your case is taken on by an accident-at-work solicitor from our panel, they can help:

• Collect evidence to build as strong a case as possible.
• Send the claim to your employer and their insurers on time.
• Argue your case and fight on your behalf if any objections are made about your claim.
• Keep you up to date as the claim progresses.
• Try to ensure that any compensation offer completely covers all of your suffering.

As our panel of solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service, you won’t need to pay for any of the work listed above unless you are compensated once you’ve signed a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

To find out now if you can claim on a No Win, No Fee basis, contact our legal advisors for free advice.

How Long Will the Claims Process Take?

In our experience, no two retail accident claims are the same. The time it takes to process your claim is likely to depend on the severity of your injuries and your employer’s willingness to accept the blame for the incident.

For instance, if you broke an arm after falling in a shop but made a swift recovery, compensation could be paid in less than 4 to 5 months, if your employer does not contest what happened.

Conversely, if you suffered a spinal injury in a shop accident, your claim could take beyond a year to be settled if your prognosis is not immediately clear. However, in longer-term claims, your solicitor might be able to secure interim payments to help you financially once liability for the accident has been agreed upon.

Contacting Us About a Retail Worker Injury Claim

If you are a retail worker who has been injured at work, we’d recommend getting in touch as soon as you can to discuss your options. To do so, you can:

• Call our team on 0333 241 2519 to explain what happened.
• Use our live chat service 24 hours a day.

As part of the free consultation we provide, your claim will be reviewed by a specialist who can answer your questions and provide legal advice about how to proceed. If the retail worker injury claim looks to be strong enough, you could be connected with an accident-at-work solicitor and receive a No Win, No Fee service.