Workplace accident examples: what counts and when you can claim
Last updated · 22 May 2026
What counts as a workplace accident?
A workplace accident is any unplanned event that occurs in connection with work and results in injury or illness. The event does not have to happen on your employer's premises: accidents in a client's premises, on a construction site, or while driving for work all count.
Not every accident is claimable. To make a compensation claim, you need to show two things: your employer was in breach of their legal duty of care, and that breach caused your injury. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all their employees.
If the accident happened despite your employer taking all reasonable precautions, a civil claim is unlikely to succeed. If it happened because they failed to provide safe equipment, adequate training, a safe working environment, or proper supervision, you have the basis for a claim. The distinction matters because the type of accident alone does not determine whether you can claim: the employer's conduct does.
For a detailed breakdown of what employers are legally required to do, see our guide to employer responsibilities.
Workplace accident examples: the most common types
The following accident types account for the majority of non-fatal workplace injuries reported in Great Britain each year. Each section includes a real-world example, the regulatory position under RIDDOR, and a link to the relevant claim guide.
Slips, trips and falls on the same level
Slips, trips and falls on the same level are the single most common type of workplace accident in the UK, accounting for 30% of injuries reported in 2024/25, with around 18,051 RIDDOR-reported cases that year.
Example: A warehouse operative slips on a hydraulic fluid spill that was not cleaned up or cordoned off, fracturing their wrist. A shop worker trips over a stock box left in an aisle, twisting their ankle.
Negligence angle: Your employer must identify slip and trip hazards through regular risk assessment and take reasonable steps to control them: non-slip flooring, hazard signage, prompt spill clean-up, and adequate lighting. Failure to do any of these is a breach of duty.
RIDDOR: A fractured wrist is a specified injury and must be reported to the HSE immediately. An ankle injury causing more than seven consecutive days off work must be reported within 15 days.
See our slip and fall claim guide for compensation ranges and what to prove.
Manual handling injuries
Manual handling injuries (back injuries, shoulder strains, and hernias caused by lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling loads) account for 17% of injuries reported in UK workplaces each year.
Example: A care worker develops a serious lumbar disc injury after being required to manually lift patients without mechanical assistance. A warehouse picker sustains a torn shoulder rotator cuff from years of repetitive overhead stacking with no ergonomic assessment.
Negligence angle: The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers to avoid hazardous manual handling where possible, and where it cannot be avoided to assess the risk and reduce it. Providing mechanical aids, training, and carrying out a task-specific risk assessment are the minimum standards. Skipping any of these is a breach.
RIDDOR: A disc injury or torn rotator cuff requiring seven or more consecutive days off work must be reported within 15 days. Fractures or crush injuries to the spine are specified injuries requiring immediate notification.
See our manual handling guide for typical compensation ranges.
Falls from height
Falls from height account for 8% of non-fatal workplace injuries but are the leading cause of fatal workplace accidents, responsible for 35 worker deaths in Great Britain in 2024/25.
Example: A roofer falls through fragile roof sheets that were not marked or protected. A delivery driver falls from the rear of an unsecured tail-lift. A maintenance worker falls from a ladder that was not footed or tied.
Negligence angle: The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require employers to plan all work at height carefully, use appropriate equipment (scaffolding, edge protection, or harnesses depending on the task), and ensure workers are trained and supervised. An unsecured ladder or missing edge protection is a straightforward breach.
RIDDOR: Falls from height causing fractures, amputations, loss of consciousness, or over seven days off work are all reportable. Fatal falls must be reported immediately.
See our construction claims guide, which covers falls from height in detail.
Being struck by a moving object
Being struck by a moving object (falling items, moving vehicles, and flying debris) accounts for 10% of reported non-fatal injuries.
Example: A warehouse worker is struck by a forklift reversing without an audible warning in a poorly lit loading bay. A construction worker is hit by a tool dropped from scaffolding above. A factory operative is hit by material ejected from an unguarded machine.
Negligence angle: Employers must segregate pedestrian and vehicle routes, ensure moving equipment has appropriate warning systems, and guard machines against ejection hazards. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) require machinery to be suitable, maintained, and guarded.
RIDDOR: A fracture caused by a struck-by incident is a specified injury. Any incident causing seven or more days off work is reportable within 15 days.
Machinery and equipment accidents
Machinery accidents, including being caught in unguarded moving parts, crush injuries from powered presses, and entanglement in rotating equipment, cause some of the most severe workplace injuries.
Example: A food processing worker loses a finger in a slicing machine that lacked a proper guard. A print worker suffers a crush injury to their hand when a press activates while they are clearing a paper jam.
Negligence angle: PUWER requires all work equipment to be suitably guarded against dangerous moving parts. Any employer who allows workers to operate machinery with inadequate guarding, or without proper training on isolation procedures, is in clear breach.
RIDDOR: Amputations are specified injuries requiring immediate reporting. Crush injuries to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs are also specified.
Violence at work
Acts of violence account for 10% of injuries reported under RIDDOR, concentrated in sectors where workers deal with members of the public: healthcare, retail, hospitality, and security.
Example: A hospital healthcare assistant is assaulted by a patient and sustains a fractured cheekbone. A pub door supervisor is attacked by a customer and suffers soft tissue injuries requiring surgery.
Negligence angle: Employers have a duty to assess the risk of violence and take reasonable steps to reduce it: training in conflict de-escalation, lone working policies, adequate staffing levels, CCTV, and panic alarms where appropriate. Failure to implement these measures where the risk is foreseeable is a breach of the duty of care.
RIDDOR: Fractures, amputations, or any violence-related injury causing seven or more consecutive days off work are reportable.
Which workplace accidents must be reported under RIDDOR?
Employers must report three categories of work-related incident to the HSE under RIDDOR 2013: specified injuries, over-seven-day incapacity, and dangerous occurrences.
Specified injuries must be reported immediately (within 10 days for non-fatal). They include:
- All bone fractures except fingers, thumbs, and toes
- Amputations of any limb, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot, or toe
- Injuries likely to cause permanent loss or reduction of sight
- Crush injuries to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
- Burns covering over 10% of the body, or affecting the eyes, respiratory system, or vital organs
- Loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
- Any degree of scalping requiring hospital treatment
Over-seven-day injuries: where an employee cannot perform their normal work duties for more than seven consecutive days, the accident must be reported within 15 days.
Reporting is the employer's obligation, not the worker's. If your employer failed to submit a RIDDOR report after a serious accident, that failure does not bar you from making a compensation claim. It may, however, be relevant evidence of the employer's attitude to health and safety.
When do workplace accident examples give grounds for a claim?
Any of the accident types above can give grounds for a compensation claim if the accident was caused or contributed to by your employer's failure to meet their legal duty of care.
Three elements are required: your employer owed you a duty of care (they do, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974), they breached that duty through some failure of equipment, training, assessment, or management, and that breach caused your injury. All three must be present.
The time limit is three years from the date of the accident, or from the date you first knew your injury was work-related. Almost all workplace injury claims are funded by a no-win-no-fee Conditional Fee Agreement, so you pay nothing upfront and nothing if the claim does not succeed.
For a step-by-step explanation of how claims work and what to do in the first week after an accident, see our claims process guide. For compensation ranges by accident type, see the claim types section.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a regulated solicitor. You can find one through the Find a Solicitor service (Law Society) or through APIL.