My employer’s insurers have offered me compensation for cut hand at work – should I accept?
Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor
Editor in Chief
It is difficult to recommend whether you should or should not accept the compensation for cut hand at work that your employer’s insurance company has offered. The amount of compensation that you may genuinely be entitled to will be influenced by several different elements – not least for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to the injury you sustained. You should be aware that offers of compensation to an accident victim from the negligent party’s insurer’s do not always reflect the full impact an injury has had on the sufferer’s life.
How much compensation for cut hand at work your employer’s insurance company has offered may have been calculated by simply looking in a book or by referencing previous awards given in similar cases and it is likely that little consideration would have been given to the individual circumstances of your particular case. You cannot know how much workplace hand injury compensation you may be eligible for without a complete evaluation of your potential claim.
It is recommended that you seek expert legal advice from an experienced solicitor when a situation such as this arises. Perhaps you did not realise your eligibility to claim for injured hand at work compensation until you were approached by your employer’s insurance company; after evaluating your case your solicitor can assess the settlement offer and determine whether or not it adequately represents each aspect of your potential claim. If your solicitor finds the offer to be an insufficient amount, he or she could advise you on the best way to proceed with a claim for injured hand at work.
The first element a solicitor will analyse when preparing a workplace hand injury compensation claim would be the extent and severity of your injury in relation to your general state of health prior to the accident, your age and possibly your sex. He or she will then take the impact your injury has had on your quality of life into account due to your inability to use your hand, and any emotional trauma you may have suffered as a result.
You should be able to be reimbursement for any financial expenses that you have incurred as a result of your injury, such as loss of earnings, overtime, promotional prospects and pension contribution. Your solicitor will also investigate the circumstances of your accident to examine whether there is any way in which you could have contributed to your own injury, as this could have a negative effect on how much compensation for cut hand at work compensation you receive.
Because you have already been approached by your employer’s insurance company with an offer of compensation, the company has effectively admitted liability for your injury. You would be well advised to speak with a solicitor at the first practical opportunity who can organise a full assessment of your claim for injured hand at work. He or she would be in the best position to determine whether the offer made by the insurance company is worth accepting or if you would be better served by pursuing legal action in order to obtain a satisfactory amount of compensation for cut hand at work.