What if you suffer eye injury or loss of sight, caused by someone else?
If you suffer an eye injury as a result of an accident that was someone else’s fault, then you will be able to make an eye injury claim. Your claim will be against the person or company that was responsible for your accident, either due to their negligent actions or because they breached a duty of care that they owed you (by either doing something they shouldn’t have or not doing something that they should have).
To be successful in a claim against the party you hold responsible for the injuries you have suffered, you will need to prove that they were:
- negligent &/or in breach of a duty of care that they owed you (liability), and
- that as a result of their negligence/breach of duty, you suffered the injury that you want to claim for (causation).
What types of eye injury can I make a claim for?
Scratch to the cornea – the cornea is the clear, protective layer on the front of your eye. Most of the time, cornea injuries are self-inflicted eg by accidentally scratching the eye with a fingernail. However, they can be caused by others eg a colleague accidentally catching your eye with a work tool or other implement during the course of your working together., or by grit
In most cases, any pain and slight blurring caused by a scratched cornea will clear up quickly although in more severe cases, both effects may continue for a longer period of perhaps several weeks
Cornea pierced by a foreign body – this is potentially a more serious injury, as the front of the eye has been penetrated. The size and nature of the material that gets into the eye will dictate the seriousness of the injury caused.
Chemicals splashed or sprayed into the eyes – how serious and how damaging to the eyes and eyesight this is, will depend on the type of chemical. This type of accident will entail getting immediate, emergency treatment. Whilst it may seem instinctively right to wash the eyes immediately, this may not always be advisable.
Black or swollen eye – building sights and industrial workplaces are full of potential hazards. It can be easy to walk into machines and tools at the eyesight level. A trip or fall can lead to getting a black and swollen eye.
Sharp objects – This is an obvious and dangerous hazard in almost any situation. Whilst employment and health and safety legislation contain a wealth of regulations and required practices to guard against accidents being caused by sharp objects being misused, mishandled or left in a dangerous place, they still happen. If a sharp object comes into contact with the eyes, a serious eye injury is a strong possibility.
Eye and vision damage caused by trauma to the head – when people suffer head trauma, damage to the optic nerve can be caused. This nerve is responsible for passing information between the eyes and the brain. Optic nerve damage can cause blindness which may be permanent. A concussion can cause double vision, accommodative dysfunction, convergence insufficiency, sensitivity to light and eye-tracking.
Bright lights – Welders and other types of workers who use machinery that emits extremely bright light are required to wear industrial-strength eye protection for a reason. Failure to use or be provided with googles could lead to serious eye impairment.
What type of accidents can result in eye damage or loss of vision?
Accidents at Work – Eye damage and accidents causing loss of vision occur most obviously in workplace settings. Construction sites, heavy industry, farming and agriculture, joiners, and woodworkers, machine operatives to name just a few, are occupations that are highly regulated, but that at the same time for that reason, also carry a risk of serious accidents causing injuries to the eyes
Road traffic accidents – Car accidents, motorcycle accidents, cycling accidents, and pedestrian accidents can be the cause of any type of dreadful injuries, eye damage and vision loss included.
Public liability accidents – accidents that happen in the public arena are said to be public liability accidents or accidents in public places. As you can imagine, this covers a lot of potential accident situations. For example, some real-life examples of public liability eye damage claims include:
A case involving allergic reactions to eyes caused by eyelash tint treatment in a beauty salon,
A child who suffered a penetrating injury to the cornea when a clothes hanger shattered in his eye,
A man who developed chlorine damage to his eye after swimming in an over-chlorinated swimming pool owned by the local authority.
What amount of compensation can I expect to get for eye damage or loss of vision claims?
No two claims are ever the same. Therefore, it is almost impossible to say without knowing more details about the type and seriousness of an eye injury, how much a claim for the pain and suffering (damages) in an eye damage claim is likely to be worth.
Why should I instruct Mooneerams to deal with my eye injury claim for me?
If you have been involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault and as a result, you wish to make a claim to get compensation for an eye injury, call us here at Mooneerams Solicitors. We are experienced, personal injury solicitors. We only deal with personal injury claims.
We have recovered millions of pounds worth of compensation (or damages) on behalf of our personal injury clients. We will ensure that not only do you get the maximum compensation possible for your injury claim, but we’ll also claim for all your other losses as a result of the accident such as:
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of future earnings
- Rehabilitation costs
- Cost of medical treatment
- Medical expenses – such as prescriptions
- Travel expenses to medical and other specialist appointments
In fact, we’ll recover any losses that you suffer as a result of the accident, so that financially you are put back into the position you would have been, had the accident not happened. On top of that, of course, will be added compensation for the eye injury that you have suffered.
What should I do next?
Call Mooneerams on 029 2048 3615 for an entirely free of charge discussion with one of our experienced injury claims solicitors. They’ll go through the details of the incident that caused your injury, with you and after discussing it they will tell you whether they believe that you have reasonable prospects of making a successful compensation claim. If they feel that your prospects are reasonable then you can decide whether you wish to make a claim and which solicitors, you want to help you. We hope you’ll choose Mooneerams.
In most cases, we’ll be able to take your claim on using a No Win, no Fee agreement. This means that if your claim isn’t successful, you’ll have nothing to pay.
Call us now on 029 2048 3615 or fill in the form on this page and we’ll get back to you.
