Delivery driver accidents can, in some cases, result in significant injuries. Employers owe their employees a duty of care to protect them in the workplace and while performing their workplace duties. This extends to delivery drivers who are often not based in a specific workspace. This guide aims to explain when you could be eligible to start an accident at work claim for an injury as a delivery driver following a breach of your employer’s duty of care.
You will find information on the responsibility of employers to protect their workforce and how failing to uphold this duty of care can result in an accident. We have also included a case study to demonstrate how this type of accident can occur and what injuries could be sustained.
Also included is an explanation of how personal injury compensation is calculated in successful accident at work claims, as well as what evidence you can use to support your claim.
To finish this guide, we will explain the benefits to you of starting your potential claim with a personal injury specialist from our panel of solicitors under the specific type of No Win No Fee agreement that they can offer.
You can speak to our advisors at any time with questions, concerns or a free consultation regarding your eligibility to begin a claim. Contact our team via:
- Phone on 0161 696 9685
- Complete our “Contact Us” form via this link.
- Use the live chat button at the bottom of the screen to reach an advisor quickly.
Examples Of Payouts For Delivery Driver Accidents At Work
Select A Section
- Examples Of Payouts For Delivery Driver Accidents At Work
- Who Could Claim For Delivery Driver Accidents?
- Examples Of Injuries Caused By Delivery Driver Accidents
- Proving Your Delivery Driver Accident Claim
- How Do You Start A No Win No Fee Delivery Driver Accident Claim?
- Learn More About Workplace Accident Claims
Examples Of Payouts For Delivery Driver Accidents At Work
If you make a successful personal injury claim for delivery driver accidents and subsequent injuries, you will receive a settlement. Accident at work compensation payouts can be comprised of up to two different heads of claim. These are:
- General damages: Awarded to compensate for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, physical and/or psychological.
- Special damages: Awarded to compensate for the financial losses stemming from the injuries you sustained.
To calculate the potential value of general damages in delivery driver accident claims, solicitors can refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) alongside your medical evidence. The JCG publication details a wide variety of different injuries with guideline award brackets for each. You can see some of these brackets below.
Compensation Table
Due to the individual nature of personal injury claims, this table has been included to act as guidance only.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Bracket Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Damage | Moderate (ii) | £90,720 to £150,110 | Injuries that cause a moderate to modest intellectual deficit, greatly reduce the capacity to work and present some epilepsy risk. |
| Moderate (iii) | £43,060 to £90,720 | Cases involving reduced ability to work, impacts on concentration and memory, but with a low dependency on others. | |
| Leg Injuries | Severe (ii) | £54,830 to £87,890 | Injuries of a very serious nature causing permanent mobility problems and the need for mobility aids such as multiple fractures that have led to serious deformity. |
| Arm Injuries | Permanent and Substantial Disablement | £39,170 to £59,860 | Serious fractures to one or both forearms resulting in significant permanent residual disability. |
| Elbow injuries | Severely Disabling | £39,170 to £54,830 | Injuries that result in severe disabilities. |
| Foot Injuries | Serious | £24,990 to £39,200 | Injuries that lead to continuing pain from traumatic arthritis, or a future risk of arthritis, prolonged treatment and risk of fusion surgery. |
| Moderate | £13,740 to £24,990 | Permanent deformities caused by displaced metatarsal fractures. A risk of long-term osteoarthritis may be present. | |
| Toe Injuries | Severe | £13,740 to £21,070 | Severe crush injuries resulting in the amputation of one or two toes. This bracket also includes bursting wounds and other injuries causing severe damage. |
| Serious | £9,600 to £13,740 | Serious injuries to the great toe or multiple fractures of two or more toes resulting in permanent disabilities such as discomfort or sensitive scarring. |
Special Damages
Costs stemming from your injuries can be reimbursed under special damages. Some possible examples include:
- Loss of income.
- Medical expenses.
- Costs for travel.
- Care costs.
Retain copies of your payslips, as well as any travel tickets, receipts and other documents as proof you incurred financial losses.
Who Could Claim For Delivery Driver Accidents?
An accident at work claim is made against an employer who has caused your injuries through a failure to uphold their duty of care. The duty owed by employers to their employees is contained within the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Per the Act, all employers are required to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of employees while at work.
While not all employers will uphold their duty in the same way, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the UK regulator for health and safety at work, routinely release guidance on what constitutes adequate health and safety procedures. For example, the HSE have prepared resources on the safe loading and unloading of vehicles.
In order to begin a personal injury claim for delivery driver accidents at work, you will need to show:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time and location of the accident.
- The employer failed to uphold this duty.
- This failure resulted in an accident where you suffered injuries.
The three points above form the basis of negligence in claims for a personal injury. If proven, it could entitle you to proceed with your accident at work claim.
Time Limits when Claiming For Delivery Driver Accidents
Personal injury claims are, broadly speaking, subject to a limitation period of 3 years from the accident date. This was established by the Limitation Act 1980. However, in certain circumstances, exceptions to this limit can apply, and an extension may be granted.
To learn more about the time limits for personal injury claims and if you are eligible for an extension, contact our team using the details given above.
Examples Of Injuries Caused By Delivery Driver Accidents
As stated above, owing to the physical nature of a delivery driver’s work such as loading and unloading stock, significant injuries can occur if an employer fails to put adequate safety procedures in place. Some possible examples of how injuries could occur if an employers’ duty of care is not upheld are:
- Head injuries from being hit by falling objects. This could occur if employees haven’t been given any training on how to safely load delivery vehicles.
- Soft tissue injuries from lifting heavy objects. This could occur if employees are given no manual handling training such as the correct lifting techniques to use when lifting or moving stock.
- Broken bones or crush injuries could be sustained if shelving or other equipment used to store stock in a delivery vehicle is defective. This could lead to the driver being trapped under shelving that has come loose.
Case Study: Delivery Driver Accidents At Work
Below we have included a case study to demonstrate how delivery driver accidents can occur following a breach of the employer’s duty of care.
Mr Green, a delivery driver, was unloading an HGV when the accident took place. The trucks they use have a metal pole that is used to secure the goods for transportation. When not in use, the pole is meant to be secured to the side of the truck, but this truck did not have the retarders to secure the pole and was instead secured by a wire. This meant the pole could not be laid down on the truck bed and was instead propped up against the wall.
During the unloading, the pole came free and hit Mr Green, causing him to sustain a serious head injury and several fractures. He was unable to return to work for a long period of time and his quality of life was severely impacted. He decided to take legal action against his employer and sought help from a solicitor to do so.
Mr Green’s solicitor helped him secure a substantial payout that addressed both the pain and suffering of his injuries, the way they affected his quality of life, and the financial losses he had incurred as a result of the accident in which he was injured.
To find out if you could start a personal injury claim for your particular accident, call our team today for a free assessment of your circumstances.
Proving Your Delivery Driver Accident Claim
You will need to provide supporting evidence to show that your injuries were caused by your employer’s negligence. Examples of evidence that could be used to demonstrate the employer’s fault for delivery driver accidents have been provided here:
- Following a workplace accident, it is important you get medical attention. As well as protecting your health, any medical documents, such as copies of X-rays or the results of any tests that were performed, can be used to show what injuries you sustained and the treatment you needed.
- Workplace training documents can demonstrate that the correct manual handling training was carried out incorrectly or omitted entirely.
- Anyone who saw the accident take place could provide a witness statement during the claims process, so ensure you have taken their contact information.
- Employers with 10 or more employees are required to keep an accident book. You can get a copy of your incident report from this.
- Footage from CCTV or internal cameras in the HGV itself that shows the accident taking place or its cause.
How Do You Start A No Win No Fee Delivery Driver Accident Claim?
Our panel of solicitors have considerable experience in handling accident at work claims, including claims for delivery driver accidents. They can help you get started with the claims process by assisting you with collecting evidence and submitting your case in full within the relevant limitation period. Additionally, throughout the legal process, they can deal with all correspondence on your behalf and keep you updated on the progress of your claim.
A solicitor from our panel of experts could offer to take your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) if our advisors decide you have valid grounds to proceed. A CFA is a specific type of No Win No Fee contract that gives claimants considerable benefits such as:
- Generally, there will be no fees at the start of the claims process for the solicitor to begin work on your case.
- Similarly, you will not be paying any fees for that work during the claims process itself.
- Finally, the solicitor will not take a fee for their helpful services if your case loses.
But if the solicitor wins your case, you will receive personal injury compensation. The solicitor will deduct a percentage amount of this compensation, known as a success fee. You will have the opportunity to discuss this fee before any work begins on your case. Also, since the maximum percentage that can be charged as a success fee is legally capped, you’ll keep the majority of the awarded compensation.
You can speak to our advisors to get a free consultation on your eligibility to claim for delivery driver accidents with help from a solicitor off our panel today.
- Call us on 0161 696 9685.
- Complete our “Contact Us” form via this link.
- Use the live chat button at the bottom of the screen to reach an advisor quickly.
Learn More About Workplace Accident Claims
Further accident at work guides:
- See this guide on the eligibility to begin a claim after fracturing your humerus in a workplace accident.
- Learn more about who can claim following a fatal accident at work.
- Read our guide on personal injury claims for accidents caused by defective work equipment.
External resources:
- The Government have prepared this resource on requesting CCTV footage of yourself.
- See this NHS guidance on slipped discs.
- Read the HSE’s resource on manual handling at work.
Thank you for reading this guide on claims for delivery driver accidents and injuries. You can speak to our advisors for further guidance, as well as get a no-cost consultation on your eligibility to begin a claim. Contact us via any of the details given above.