Eye Injury Compensation Claims

A person’s eyesight is such an important part of who they are that any problem affecting it can be highly upsetting. Many people find that their vision naturally gets worse over time and simply accept this as part of getting older, while others might suffer from conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts or glaucoma. Conditions like these can often be treated if diagnosed in time, and prescription glasses or contact lenses can help you get on with your day-to-day life.

But if you’ve suffered from an eye injury that has a severe effect on your eyesight, we know that this is likely to have stopped you from being able to live your everyday life and enjoy social situations, and it might even have affected your career.

If someone else’s negligence caused your eye damage, then this can feel incredibly unfair. In these cases, you can make a no win no fee* eye injury compensation claim to help cover the costs and impact of the accident on your life.

Making a compensation claim for an eye injury can be a long and complex process, so it’s important to only ever try to claim with the help of a professional personal injury lawyer.

If you’ve been in an accident that happened because somebody else was negligent or careless, then you have every right to be paid compensation. Not only will this mean that you’ll get official recognition of the pain and suffering you’ve had to go through, it will also help to make sure that your finances aren’t affected by the injury – now, and in the future.

For example, in the case of a severe or total loss of sight, your compensation could help to cover the cost of your future care needs, loss of earnings (including future earnings), and any adaptations you might need to make to your home as a result of the injury.

When it comes to making a claim, the causes of eye injuries usually fall into two main categories:

1) Accidental – incidents which occur in the workplace, while playing sport, or as a result of a road traffic accident or any other accident—for example, not being given personal protective equipment at work or injuring your eye due to someone else’s careless driving.

2) Medical – an eye injury which was caused by medical negligence. This could be a botched surgery, a failure to spot a condition, prescribing the wrong medicine or anything else which shows that your medical care fell below the expected standard.

The person or organisation you’re claiming against will vary depending on your case.

If you’ve been injured at work, your case will be against your employer – for example, they may have failed to provide protective eyewear. Workers are protected by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which sets out the rules an employer must follow to ensure their staff are as safe as possible.

If your eyes are injured in a road traffic accident, then your claim will be made against the responsible driver.

Medical negligence claims are often complicated, sometimes taking longer than other cases. However, a specialist eye injury solicitor can support you through the process.

Whether your eyes were injured following treatment at a major eye hospital, a private clinic or a high street optician – if you’ve suffered medical negligence, then you’ve been badly let down by people you entrusted with one of the most delicate and valuable parts of your body, and have every right to make a compensation claim.

The first step is to talk to a trained legal adviser for free on 0800 234 6438. They’ll be able to quickly let you know whether they think you have a claim and can pass you on to a specialist personal injury solicitor to start your case.

Your lawyer will answer any questions and can talk you through the process in a bit more detail. Personal injury solicitors can also help you gather the evidence you need to give you the best possible chance of winning your case. Throughout your case, they’ll be able to do most of the work for you, so you’ll have the time to focus on your recovery – safe in the knowledge that you’re in good hands.

Most personal injury claims are made using a pre-action protocol – a special procedure devised by the Ministry of Justice which sets standards and guidelines that parties to a personal injury claim should observe before formal court proceedings are issued. The type of protocol used would depend on how your injury was sustained.

Even if the injury you suffered was partly your fault, you may still be able to claim compensation as long as someone else’s negligence was partly to blame. This is known as ‘contributory negligence‘ – and if you’re partially responsible for your injury, you might still receive compensation. However, it will be reduced according to how much the judge thinks the accident was your fault.

Your specialist personal injury solicitor will work hard to get you the full compensation you deserve as quickly as possible, but if the other side denies liability or if your claim is particularly complex or severe, your case may need to go to court. Your solicitor will ensure your case is as strong as possible before this happens and will be with you throughout the process, offering advice and speaking on your behalf. Based on the evidence they heard, the judge will listen to both sides and decide who was to blame when the accident occurred.

If an NHS medical professional caused your injury, it can be a good idea to go through the NHS’s complaints procedure before making a compensation claim. The complaints procedure isn’t a way of claiming compensation; it aims to identify problems and stop them from happening in the future. Under the NHS constitution, you have the right when you make a complaint to have it thoroughly investigated and be informed of the conclusion of any investigation – so it can be a helpful way of discovering what happened and can give you stronger evidence when making your claim.

Your compensation will depend on how serious your eye injury is, your expected recovery time and how it has affected your life. It could run to hundreds of thousands of pounds in particularly severe cases. For example, your solicitor will take into consideration:

• Your pain and suffering
• Any loss of earnings – for instance, due to time away from work – including future earnings if you can’t return to work
• Additional medical treatment or rehabilitation
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Any adaptations you’ve had to make to your home

When putting together your case, your solicitor will work hard to understand the full impact your injury has had on you and your loved ones. They’ll then gather evidence to make sure you receive the right amount of compensation to reflect this.

For example, minor—or transient eye injuries typically heal within weeks, while a serious injury can cause long-term damage to vision.

If you’d like a realistic estimate of your compensation, feel free to call 0800 234 6438 or fill out the online form.