A Complete Guide to Bringing a Workplace Accident Claim

Please note: this article is an update to a piece we originally published in June 2024. I have revised it to include more recent data from the HSA.

Every week, our personal injury team speaks with people who were simply trying to do their job when something went badly wrong. A ladder that should have been checked was not. A warehouse floor that should have been dry was not. A machine guard that should have been in place was missing. Over the years, I have spoken to many victims of workplace accidents, and most are not looking for a fortune. They want their medical bills covered, their lost wages reimbursed, and some acknowledgement that what happened to them should not happen to anyone else.

This guide sets out, in plain terms, where you stand if you have been hurt while carrying out your duties at work, together with the key next steps to take.

Workplace accidents in Ireland

Workplace accidents are not a rare or abstract problem. They are a frequent reality for thousands of families, and the official figures for 2025 make sober reading.

Source: Health and Safety Authority

Behind those totals sit some alarming figures. Agriculture accounted for 23 of the 58 deaths in 2025, some 40 per cent of the total, despite the sector employing only around 4 per cent of the workforce. Construction saw 10 fatalities, up from 5 the previous year, and manufacturing saw 5, up from none in 2024. Two other details stand out: 40 per cent of those who died were self-employed, and 19 people, or 33 per cent, were aged 65 or over. The HSA’s chief executive, Mark Cullen, put it plainly, warning that “well-known incident triggers are not being adequately controlled” across Irish workplaces.

Fatalities are, thankfully, the exception. Non-fatal injuries are far more common, and they are the accidents I am asked to advise on most often.

Source: HSA Annual Review of Workplace Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities

The same review found that manual handling accounted for around a third of reported incidents, with slips, trips, and falls on the same level responsible for roughly a quarter, and loss of control of equipment or vehicles behind a further one in ten. None of these are exotic causes. They are the ordinary hazards of ordinary workplaces, which is precisely why they are so preventable.

Types of workplace accident and injury claims

In addition to slips, trips, and falls, common types of claims we often handle here include:

• traumatic injuries from a specific incident, such as a fall, a collision, or being struck by an object or vehicle
• repetitive strain injury and other musculoskeletal conditions, caused by repeated movement, poor posture, or workstation design over time
• industrial disease, such as noise-induced hearing loss or hand-arm vibration syndrome, caused by prolonged exposure to noise or vibrating tools
• occupational asthma and other respiratory conditions, caused by exposure to dust, fumes, or chemicals
• psychological injury, including work-related stress, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, where it can be shown that an employer’s failure to manage a known risk, such as workplace bullying or an unsafe environment, caused or significantly contributed to the condition

The common thread is not the type of injury but the question of fault. If your employer, or another party, failed to take reasonable care and that failure caused or contributed to your injury or illness, you may have a valid claim, whether the harm arrived in a single moment or built up gradually over months or years.

Your employer’s duty of care

Every employer in Ireland owes their staff a legal duty of care, and this is not simply good practice. It is a statutory obligation set out in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

Under that Act, an employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable:

• provide and maintain a safe place of work, including safe access and egress
• provide safe plant, equipment, and systems of work
• prevent risk from the use of any article or substance
• provide the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to protect employees
• carry out a written risk assessment and prepare a safety statement
• provide personal protective equipment free of charge, where it is needed

This duty is not confined to direct employees. The 2005 Act also places obligations on employers, and on those who control a workplace, towards contractors, subcontractors, and members of the public who may be affected by the work being carried out. So, if you are a self-employed contractor injured on a site controlled by someone else, you may still have a claim, though the legal basis is somewhat different from that of a direct employee.

Common causes of workplace accidents

Drawing on both the official statistics above and what we see in practice, the most frequent causes of workplace accidents include:

• manual handling injuries, from lifting, carrying, or repetitive strain
• slips, trips, and falls on wet floors, uneven surfaces, or cluttered walkways
• falls from height, including from ladders, scaffolding, and mezzanine platforms
• being struck by moving vehicles or machinery, particularly in warehouses, farms, and construction sites
• being struck by falling objects or heavy loads
• inadequate training or supervision on new equipment
• faulty or poorly maintained machinery, including missing or bypassed safety guards

What to do immediately after an accident

If you are ever injured at work, the steps you take in the following days can make a real difference to your health and, if you later decide to make a claim, to the strength of that claim.

• seek medical attention promptly, even if the injury seems minor at first
• report the accident to your employer and ensure it is recorded in the workplace accident book
• photograph the hazard, the location, and any damaged equipment before it is repaired or removed
• note the names and contact details of anyone who witnessed what happened
• keep every receipt and record connected to the accident, including medical costs, prescriptions, and travel to appointments
• keep a note of any time taken off work and any duties you have been unable to perform since

Building the evidence for your claim

A workplace accident claim is only ever as strong as the evidence behind it, and this is where I would encourage clients to be thorough rather than hurried. The following categories of evidence make the greatest difference.

Medical evidence is essential. This normally includes your GP’s records, any hospital or accident and emergency reports, X-rays or MRI scans where relevant, and, where a psychological injury is involved, a report from a suitably qualified psychologist or psychiatrist. Your solicitor will usually arrange for an independent medical report to be prepared specifically for the claim, in addition to your existing treatment records.

Documentary evidence from the workplace itself is equally valuable, and includes:

• the accident report or incident report completed at the time
• witness statements from colleagues who saw what happened
• photographs or video of the hazard, the equipment involved, and the general location
• maintenance, inspection, or servicing records for any equipment involved
• your contract of employment, training records, and any relevant safety statements or risk assessments
• correspondence with your employer or its insurer following the accident
• a running log of your expenses and lost earnings

Gathering this evidence early, before memories fade and records are archived or disposed of, is one of the most useful things you can do for your own case.

Reporting duties

There are two separate reporting obligations that often get confused, and it is worth being clear on both.

Your employer’s duty is to the Health and Safety Authority. Where an accident leaves an employee unable to perform their normal duties for more than three consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident, the employer must submit an IR1 form to the HSA, generally within ten working days. A fatal accident must be reported immediately by phone, followed by a written report within five working days. An employer who fails to report can face significant penalties, and if your employer does not file a report, you are entitled to report the accident to the HSA yourself.

Your own duty, separately, arises under section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. Anyone intending to bring a personal injury claim must serve a written notice on the alleged wrongdoer, commonly called a letter of claim, within one month of the accident, or as soon as practicable afterwards. This is a formal legal notice rather than the informal accident report to your employer. Missing this deadline without good reason will not necessarily end a valid claim, but it can lead a court to reduce the costs you recover or to draw an unfavourable inference, so I would always encourage clients to act early rather than late.

It is also worth knowing that section 27 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 makes it unlawful for an employer to penalise or dismiss an employee for reporting an accident, raising a safety concern, or pursuing a legitimate claim.

Time limits for bringing a claim

In Ireland, the general rule is that you have two years from the date of the accident, or from the date you became aware that your injury was linked to the accident, to bring a personal injury claim. This is known as the statute of limitations, and once it has expired, your claim will almost certainly be barred, no matter how strong it might otherwise have been.

There are exceptions. Where the injured person was a child at the time of the accident, the two-year period does not begin until their eighteenth birthday. Where someone lacks the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, the clock may not run at all until that changes.

It is also worth knowing that submitting a properly completed application to the Injuries Resolution Board pauses the two-year clock. Time stops running from the date the application is accepted and does not start again until six months after the Board issues its authorisation. This gives the Board room to do its work without your claim running out of time in the background.

In my experience, the two years pass more quickly than people expect, and memories, witnesses, and CCTV footage all fade well before the deadline itself arrives. I therefore usually urge clients not to delay.

How a workplace accident claim actually works

Almost every personal injury claim in Ireland, workplace accidents included, must first go through the Injuries Resolution Board (formerly known as PIAB) before it can be brought to court. The process generally runs as follows.

1. You, or your solicitor on your behalf, submit an application to the Injuries Resolution Board, supported by medical evidence.
2. The other party, typically your employer’s insurer, is given the opportunity to consent to an assessment.
3. If both parties consent, the Board assesses the claim and proposes a compensation figure, without the need for either side to attend court.
4. You may accept or reject the Board’s assessment. If you accept, and the other party also accepts, the matter concludes there.
5. If either party rejects the assessment, or if the respondent does not consent to an assessment in the first place, the Board issues an authorisation allowing you to proceed with court proceedings.

Throughout this process, having a solicitor gather the right medical evidence, correspond with the Board, and advise you on whether an assessment fairly reflects your injury makes a genuine difference to the outcome.

How long does it take?

Where both sides consent to an assessment, the Injuries Resolution Board generally completes it within nine months. Where a claim proceeds to litigation, whether because the respondent will not consent or because the assessment is rejected, the timeline depends on the complexity of the case and the court involved, and can reasonably run to one or two years, sometimes longer for the most serious injuries. The significant majority of workplace claims we handle settle either through the Board or through negotiation, without ever requiring a court appearance.

Claims against someone other than your employer

Not every workplace accident claim is brought against the injured person’s own employer. Responsibility can rest with, or be shared by, other parties, including:

• a contractor or subcontractor working on the same site, where their negligence caused or contributed to the accident
• the manufacturer or supplier of defective equipment, machinery, or protective gear
• the occupier or controller of a site, where you were working there but employed by someone else, such as an agency worker or a contractor’s employee

It is common for more than one party to bear some responsibility for the same accident, and a thorough investigation at the outset is often what identifies every party who should be named in a claim.

What if my employer was not insured or has since closed?

Unlike the United Kingdom, Irish law does not impose a general statutory requirement on employers to hold employer’s liability insurance. In practice, however, the overwhelming majority of Irish employers carry it, since a single serious accident could otherwise put a business at real financial risk.

If your employer has gone out of business since your accident, this does not automatically end your claim. Depending on the circumstances, it may still be possible to pursue the insurer directly, to claim against the company’s remaining assets through a liquidator, or to identify another responsible party, such as a parent company, a site controller, or a contractor. These situations are fact-specific, and I would always recommend taking advice promptly rather than assuming the claim is not worth pursuing.

What compensation might look like

Compensation for a workplace accident is generally made up of two elements: general damages for the pain and suffering caused by the injury, and special damages for your financial losses, such as medical expenses and lost earnings.

General damages are assessed with reference to the Personal Injuries Guidelines, published by the Judicial Council. These Guidelines, which set indicative compensation ranges by injury type and severity, took effect in April 2021 and remain the framework in use today.

The Injuries Resolution Board publishes detailed figures on the awards it makes each year, and the most recent data gives a useful sense of scale.

Source: Injuries Resolution Board and Law Society Gazette

Workplace awards have consistently sat above the median for public liability and motor claims, which reflects the fact that workplace injuries are often more serious and better documented from the outset, supported as they are by HSA reports, safety statements, and occupational health records.

One further point worth flagging is contributory negligence. If you were partly at fault for your own accident, for example by not wearing provided safety equipment, your compensation may be reduced in proportion to your share of the blame. It rarely rules out a claim entirely, but it is something a good solicitor will discuss with you honestly from the outset.

Fatal workplace accidents

Where a workplace accident tragically results in death, a separate type of claim arises under Part IV of the Civil Liability Act 1961. This is one of the more difficult areas we deal with, and it is worth setting out clearly.

A fatal injury claim can be brought on behalf of qualifying dependants, a category that includes spouses, civil partners, cohabitants, children, and, in some circumstances, parents and siblings. Rather than each family member claiming separately, one claim is normally brought on behalf of all dependants together. It covers:

• solatium, a statutory payment for the mental distress caused by the death, which is capped by law at €35,000 in total and shared among the qualifying dependants
• loss of dependency, an assessment, usually carried out by an actuary, of the financial support the deceased would have provided over time
• the value of services the deceased provided, such as childcare or household work
• funeral and related expenses

If you have lost a family member in a workplace accident, I would encourage you to seek advice when you feel ready to. There is no obligation to act immediately, and the same two-year time limit generally applies from the date of death, or from when the family became aware that the death was linked to someone else’s fault.

A word on looking ahead

The Civil Reform Bill 2025, published in January 2026, proposes to raise the financial jurisdiction of the Circuit Court and District Court, which would move many workplace accident claims out of the High Court and into the Circuit Court. This has not yet become law at the time of writing, so it does not change anything for a claim you bring today, but it is a development we are watching closely, and we will update this guide as it progresses.

Speak to our personal injury team

At McCarthy + Co Solicitors LLP, our personal injury team has a long and successful history of helping employees who have sustained injuries in the workplace secure appropriate compensation for their pain, suffering, and the expenses they have incurred. If you have been injured at work and you would like to speak to a qualified solicitor about your case, send us an email at info@mccarthy.ie, call us on the number on this page, or send us a message using our confidential form and we will get back to you.