This guide explains when and how you could seek compensation for glass in your eye after an accident at work, in public or through a road traffic collision. A set of criteria need to be met in order for you to be eligible to pursue a settlement. As we move through this guide, we discuss these criteria in more detail and look at the evidence you could gather to strengthen your case.
Additionally, in the following sections, we explain the duty of care that relevant third parties owe, such as employers, occupiers, and road users. We also provide examples of how an eye injury could be sustained if this duty is breached.
An eye injury caused by glass can range from mild cuts to severe eye injuries such as the eyelid to a punctured eyeball causing complete sight loss. If eligible, you could receive a personal injury settlement that address the impacts of your eye injury. We discuss how compensation is calculated in more detail throughout our guide.
Our guide concludes by explaining the advantages of working with a personal injury solicitor from our panel. It’s not a legal requirement to use the services of a solicitor but it can benefit you and if you instruct them under No Win No Fee terms there won’t typically be any fees to pay for their work upfront or as the claim proceeds.
For further guidance on how personal injury claims work or to ask any questions about your particular circumstances, please get in touch with an advisor by filling out our online contact form. They can get in touch with you and help you understand whether you can claim eye injury compensation.
Jump To A Section
- When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation For Glass In Your Eye?
- How To Claim Compensation For Glass In Your Eye
- What Is The Time Limit In Personal Injury Claims?
- How Much Eye Injury Compensation Could I Claim?
- Claim Compensation For Eye Loss Using No Win No Fee Personal Injury Solicitors
- Read More About How To Claim Compensation For Glass In Your Eye
When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation For Glass In Your Eye?
The foundation of an eligible personal injury claim needs to show negligence occurred. In tort law, negligence is the following:
- A duty of care was owed by a third party.
- This duty was breached.
- You experienced a physical and/or psychological injury as a result.
The following sections explore the different third parties that owe a duty of care, including employers in the workplace, occupiers in a public place, and road users while using the roads.
Accidents In A Public Place
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 sets out the duty of care those in control of a public space owe visitors using the space for its intended purpose. These are known as the occupier and must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of visitors. Failure to do so could lead to an accident in a public place in which a member of the public sustains an eye injury.
For example:
- An accident in a supermarket could occur if glass bottles have been stacked incorrectly due to a lack of staff training causing the bottles to topple off the shelf and shatter resulting in glass getting in a customer’s eye.
Workplace Injuries And Accidents
Employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They need to take reasonable steps to prevent injury or harm to their employees whilst they’re working. A failure to do so could result in a workplace accident in which an employee suffers an eye injury.
For example:
- An employer at a glass factory may have failed to provide their employee with personal protective equipment, such as goggles, resulting in them suffering an eye injury at work after glass gets in their eye.
Accidents Involving Road Traffic
Road users owe a duty of care to navigate the roads in a way that prevents harm or damage to themselves and others. To uphold this duty, they need to adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. If there is a failure to do so, it could lead to a road user sustaining eye injuries in a car crash.
For example, a head-on collision could occur if another driver is driving their vehicle the wrong way down a one-way street resulting in the windshield shattering. The broken glass can cause an eye injury to a passenger or penetrate the eye of the driver.
To discuss your specific case and find out how to claim compensation for glass in your eye, please get in touch on the number above.
How To Claim Compensation For Glass In Your Eye
It’s important to gather evidence of negligence when claiming compensation for glass in your eye. As such, you could benefit from gathering the following to strengthen your eye injury claim:
- CCTV footage or dashcam footage of your accident.
- Pictures of the injury.
- A diary of your treatment and symptoms.
- Medical evidence in the form of copies of medical records and reports from eye specialists.
- Collect contact details of any witnesses so that they can give a statement at a later date.
An experienced solicitor from our panel could take on eligible eye injury claims. They can help you build your case and gather evidence to support your case for personal injury compensation. For further guidance on the services they can offer, call an advisor on the number above.
What Is The Time Limit In Personal Injury Claims?
When seeking compensation for glass in your eye, you need to ensure you start legal proceedings within the relevant time limit. For personal injury claims the time limit is generally three years from the accident date as outlined in the Limitation Act 1980. However, there can be exceptions made in certain circumstances. For example:
- If the injured person does not have the mental capacity to launch a claim themselves, the time limit is paused indefinitely. While the pause is in place, a litigation friend could act on their behalf and start legal proceedings for them. If no claim has been made for them and they recover their capacity, the three year time limit would start from the recovery date.
- If the injured person is a minor below the age of 18, a pause is placed on the time limit until they reach the age of 18. While it’s paused, a litigation friend can start the claim for them. If no claim has been started for them by their 18th birthday, they will have three years from this date to pursue their own claim.
For more information regarding how long you have to start your eye injury compensation claim, call an advisor on the number above.
How Much Eye Injury Compensation Could I Claim?
After successfully claiming compensation for glass in your eye, you could receive a settlement comprising up to two heads of loss:
- General damages compensate for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to your injury, physical and/or psychological. When valuing this head of loss, reference can be made to your medical reports and a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG contains guideline award brackets that correspond to different injuries.
- Special damages compensate for the financial losses incurred due to your injury. This can include loss of earnings from any time taken off work to recover, medical expenses, such as for paid prescriptions, and travel expenses if your injury has left you unable to drive. Evidence, such as wage slips, invoices, and receipts, can help prove these losses.
Compensation Table
The table contains figures from the JCG, apart from the top entry. It’s important that you use this table as a guide only because eye injury settlements can vary on a case-by-case basis. As such, how much compensation for an eye injury you receive will differ to the amounts in the table.
| Injury | Severity | Award Bracket Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries Including Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1 million plus | Compensation for the pain and suffering of multiple severe injuries and financial losses incurred as a result, such as lost income, care costs, and medical expenses. |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | (b) Total Blindness | In the region of £268,720 | Cases of complete sight loss in both eyes. |
| (c) Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (i) | £95,990 to £179,770 | There is a serious risk of further eye deterioration in the remaining eye. This goes beyond some risk of sympathetic ophthalmia. | |
| (c) Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (ii) | £63,950 to £105,990 | Where there is a reduced vision in the eye that remains and/or other problems such as double vision. | |
| (d) Total Loss of One Eye | £54,830 to £65,710 | Awards in this bracket depend on age, cosmetic impact and psychological effect. | |
| (e) Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye | £49,270 to £54,830 | Consideration is given to the risk of sympathetic ophthalmia when determining the award. | |
| (f) Serious Incomplete Vision Loss in One Eye | £23,680 to £39,340 | There is no significant risk of loss or reduction of vision in the remaining eye. | |
| (g) Minor Permanent Vision Impairment in One or Both Eyes | £9,110 to £20,980 | Cases where there is some double vision that may not be constant. | |
| (h) Minor Eye Injuries | £3,950 to £8,730 | This bracket includes minor eye injuries, such as being struck in the eye or exposed to fumes including smoke. |
For further guidance on how payouts are calculated for successful eye injury compensation claims and what you could potentially be owed, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Claim Compensation For Eye Loss Using No Win No Fee Personal Injury Solicitors
The solicitors from our panel offer their expert services under a kind of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). When you instruct a solicitor this way, there are typically no fees required for their services upfront or as the claim moves forward.
In the event of a successful claim, a small percentage of your compensation needs to be deducted and paid to your solicitor. This is known as a success fee. However, the percentage is legally capped ensuring you keep the most of your awarded payout. Should the compensation claim for glass in your eye fail, no success fee will be deducted.
Contact Us About Your Eye Injury Compensation Claim
To see if you could be eligible to have one of the No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors represent your case, you can get in touch with our helpful team of advisors. They can also answer any other questions about personal injury claims. You can reach out by filling out our online contact form.
Read More About How To Claim Compensation For Glass In Your Eye
For more of our helpful personal injury claims guides:
- A guide examining eye injury claim amounts and how they are valued.
- Learn about the public liability claim time limit to find out how long you have to seek compensation after a public place accident.
- Find out how to prove a personal injury claim with this guide discussing evidence needed to strengthen a case.
These external links may also be helpful:
- Advice on eye injuries from the NHS.
- Government advice on statutory sick pay (SSP) you could claim while off work.
- Information on personal protective equipment at work from the Health and Safety Executive.
If you have any other questions about how to claim compensation for glass in your eye, please get in touch using the number above.