Many people who have got valid reasons for bringing accident at work claims against their employers, fail to do so because they didn’t report the accident at the time it happened, or at all. They think a workplace personal injury claim will automatically fail if it hasn’t been reported. They are wrong. You can still bring a compensation claim against your employer even if you haven’t reported the accident.

Succeeding in an accident at work claim when you haven’t reported it, maybe a bit more complicated, but it is still possible. If you had reported the accident straight away, there would have been a contemporaneous record of what happened. Your employers might have had to report the incident to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) if the incident was serious, and that would have meant there needed to be an investigation into how the accident happened.

Your claim may succeed even if you didn’t report the accident to your employers. You will need to prove your case, and some of the ways you will do this might be through:

  • CCTV – check whether the accident was covered on any CCTV cameras in your workplace and ask for copies of any footage if it has not already been deleted.
  • Photos of the hazard that caused your accident if it has not been rectified.
  • Medical records – if you were injured as a result of the accident and received medical attention from your GP or at the hospital, a medical report from the health professional treating you could be essential evidence.
  • Witness statements – if your accident was seen by any of your work colleagues, or anyone else, for that matter, try to contact them if you have their details. You can ask them if they will provide a witness statement. If you have asked an accident at work solicitor to help you bring an employer’s liability claim, pass the details of witnesses on to them so they can take the statements for you.

Report the accident to your employer now! There is nothing to stop you from reporting the accident at a late stage. Report it in writing, so there is a record of your doing this. Ideally, send your boss a letter by recorded delivery.