London Legal Podcast – Personal Injury: Accidents At Work
The following is a transcript of a podcast interview between Bloomsbury Institute London – in conjunction with Hodge Jones & Allen – interviewing Partner Daniel Denton; who specialises in personal injury law at Hodge Jones & Allen solicitors, alongside Jack Foran, Paralegal. The conversation was distributed via the Letter of the Law podcast as run by Bloomsbury Institute London, and the London Legal Podcast which goes out through Hodge Jones & Allen podcast channels.
The London Legal Podcast, and this episode, can be listened back via Spotify and YouTube. The episode was broadcast in two parts, Part I can be found here, Part II here.
Host: Welcome to another episode of the London Legal Podcast which is also being distributed through Bloomsbury Radio London via its ‘Letter of the Law’ podcast as recorded through Bloomsbury Radio. The focus is back on Personal Injury Law, and specifically the topic of Accidents at Work. We’ll be speaking about that as well as the Personal Injury Law Clinic that Hodge Jones & Allen has set up with Bloomsbury Institute London.
We’re delighted then to welcome to the show both Daniel Denton, Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, and Jack Foran, Paralegal at the firm.
Daniel, tell us a bit more about Hodge Jones & Allen
Daniel Denton: Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors was founded in 1977 and has for the last 48 years helped thousands of people gain access to justice. Often, Hodge Jones and Allen will take on cases other firms of solicitors don’t take, and we are not afraid of dealing with challenges to achieve the best results for our clients.
Our strong company ethos of fighting for people’s rights sits well with the Law Clinic which will enable people to gain access to free legal advice irrespective of their financial position.
Host: Jack, please tell me about this collaboration between Bloomsbury Institute London and Hodge Jones & Allen and how the Clinic came about?
Jack Foran: The partnership started in March 2025 when Daniel approached Bloomsbury Institute and asked them if Hodge Jones & Allen could partner with Bloomsbury to run a remote Personal Injury Clinic.
Bloomsbury Institute was very keen on the idea, and Daniel then organised a remote PowerPoint presentation to present to the Bloomsbury students. At the same time, we got together to draft an enquiry form for members of the public to complete and then we set about promoting the project
Host: Daniel, what are the collective aims of this partnership?
Daniel Denton: I’d say the collective aims are threefold:
Social Justice: To improve access to justice by providing free, confidential legal advice to members of the local community on a range of issues, including personal injury law, and build up important relationships between university and local businesses.
Develop students’ skills: To offer students the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience designed to enhance their employability, exposing them to real-life cases, bridging the gap between legal education and practical application. The students will also be able to observe the necessary soft-skills necessary to build a rapport with the client.
Help the local community: Having a significant positive impact on the local community by supporting individuals in need.
Host: And Jack, how does the remote Personal Injury clinic work?
Jack Foran: A member of the public can complete the enquiry form and then the student will arrange a 30-minute remote meeting on either Teams or Zoom which would allow the member of the public to obtain free legal advice on any Personal Injury claim.
After the meeting the student will draft a letter of advice which will be sent to the member of staff at Hodge Jones & Allen for checking and the final version will be sent to the client.
Host: And where can listeners find this enquiry form should they want to get in touch with an enquiry?
Jack Foran: You can visit the Bloomsbury Institute London website right now, on www.bil.ac.uk and to find the Law Clinic page, simply type in ‘Bloomsbury Law Clinic’ to look up the Personal Injury Law Clinic page with the enquiry form.
Simply fill in some details about what happened and provide your contact details and you can get in touch with the team straight away.
If you’d like to make a direct enquiry instead and learn more about your legal rights, then do get in touch with us via phone on 0330 822 3451 or via email at bilradio@Hodge Jones & Allen.net.
Host: Daniel, Jack, what types of Accident at Work cases will be covered by this Clinic?
Daniel Denton:
The various types of cases that would be included, include:
- Slips and trips in the workplace
- Manual handling tasks
- Being exposed to defective machinery
- Unsafe systems at work
- Accidents working at height
- With electricity e.g. construction sites (where lack of supervision, and disrupted chains of command have become apparent on further investigation).
Host: What sort of injuries tend to be the most common?
Jack Foran: If it is related to manual handling – then injuries tend to concentrate on the back, neck, shoulders, spine – usually orthopaedic in nature. If someone slipped and tripped, the injury can be orthopaedic as well. If the accident involved falling objects, then head injury is always a consideration.
Host: If you suffer an accident at work, what steps should you take immediately afterwards?
Daniel Denton:
The following steps should be taken:
- Report accident immediately to line manager
- Ensure you know name of line manager, and the approximate time of accident and when it is reported
- If the injury is serious enough, have a look at your surroundings and check if it has perhaps been captured on CCTV footage
- Make sure the accident report form is completed
- If you’ve been asked to complete or sign the above, make sure it accurately explains what happens in sufficient detail; don’t be afraid to amend and initial it as required
- Seek medical treatment ASAP by going to A&E or by making an appointment with your medical practitioner as soon as practicable
- Try and seek advice from a law firm and a legal representative as quickly as possible after the accident, this is so facts and circumstances are clear in your mind, and will greatly assist with evidence gathering.
Host: What if the accident occurs while the worker is on someone else’s site/premises?
Jack Foran: The correct person to sue is the individual or business entity which has control of it, e.g. an agency, or a construction company in control of how a site is being run, for instance.
Host: What is involved in making a personal injury claim with a legal representative?
Daniel Denton: The burden of proof is on the Claimant. This means that they have to prove that, not only did the other party cause the accident, but the injuries they sustained arose because of the accident.
The first part of this is called “liability”. The Claimant’s representative will send a letter of claim to the insurer of the Defendant. The letter of claim will set out the details of the accident, the reasons why the Defendant is to blame for the accident, the injuries that the Claimant has suffered and the documents that we require if liability is to be disputed. We will request an admission of liability from the insurer.
The Defendant’s insurers will have three months to investigate the accident and decide whether or not to admit liability. If they don’t respond within this time, we will chase them.
Host: Can claimant be held to be partly to blame for the accident?
Jack Foran: In some cases, it may be the case that the claimant is partly to blame for the accident. If this is the case, then we need to determine what percentage of blame is attributable to the claimant and what percentage to the defendant. Depending on what those allocations are calculated to be, then the full amount of compensation will be deducted accordingly from the claimant reflecting their blame for accident.
Host: What if the insurance company only partly admits liability?
Daniel Denton: If liability is only admitted in part by the insurance company, then we would ask them for specific reasoning as to why they consider that the Claimant is partly to blame for the accident together with any documentation that they have in support of their reasons.
If liability is fully in dispute, we would re-assess the evidence available to ensure that the case still has at least 51% prospects of success. If the case still has at least 51% prospects of success, then we would advise the Claimant to proceed with their claim.
Host: What type of documents do we ordinarily request when pursuing a claim? What should the person who has suffered the accident need to get together for his or her representative?
Daniel Denton:
You’d need to get together –
- The full proper address of employer
- A contract of employment, relevant payslips
- An accident report
- The RIDDOR report
- A first aid report.
These are the types of informational documents you should be armed with when approaching your legal representative.
Host: What if the insurance company only partly admits liability?
Jack Foran: If liability is admitted in full or in part, we would then instruct our medical experts to examine the Claimant. This is the second part of the burden of proof where the Claimant obtains medical evidence from independent medical experts to support their injuries.
We would instruct a medical expert to examine the Claimant and provide a report on the injuries. We always obtain the Claimant’s medical records such as from their GP, hospital, ambulance and any treatment providers such as physiotherapists. It is important that the independent medical expert has access to these records so that he has a full understanding of the Claimant’s pre accident medical history and what has happened to him since the accident.
The independent expert’s report will consider the injuries sustained and confirm if they were caused by the accident. The report will also consider any treatment or surgery which may assist the Claimant in his recovery.
Crucially, the report will also provide a prognosis of the injuries to state when the Claimant had recovered from the injury or when he is likely to recover at some time in the future. This prognosis period is important as it is used by solicitors to put a value to the Claimant’s claim.
Host: What about if the Claimant sustained out of pocket expenses as a result of the injuries? Are these recoverable from the Defendant?
Daniel Denton: Yes, absolutely. Examples of out-of-pocket expenses include:
- Cost of travelling to treatment appointments
- Loss of earnings from not being able to work because of the injuries
- Prescription charges
- Damage to clothing or property
- Private medical expenses incurred or care and assistance provided by friends or family.
These are just some examples of out-of-pocket losses but there are various other losses which are dependent on the Claimant’s particular circumstances.
A Claimant will need to prove his out-of-pocket expenses to be able to recover the costs. This is why we advise that a Claimant should keep all receipts and evidence of expenses incurred so that they can be included in his claim.
Host: How do you settle a claim for the Claimant?
Daniel Denton: The Claimant’s claim is made up of two parts. The first is known as General Damages and is the pain, suffering and loss of amenity (the ability to pursue any hobbies/interests) suffered by the Claimant because of the injuries. The second is known as Special Damages which is the Claimant’s out of pocket expenses. Both General and Special Damages are added together to give one figure. Special losses incurred already and going to be incurred in the future.
It is then a process of negotiating a settlement with the Defendant’s representative. It is possible to disclose all the evidence to the Defendant’s representative and invite an offer of settlement. Alternatively, the Claimant’s solicitor can put forward an offer of settlement to the Defendant.
If the parties are able to reach a settlement through negotiation, then this will be the end of the case. The Defendant’s representative will make payment of the compensation to the Claimant and the claim will conclude. The Claimant will not be able to reopen his case after settlement to seek additional compensation.
If the parties are unable to reach a settlement, then it will be necessary to commence court proceedings.
Host: How does a court deal with accident at work claims?
Jack Foran: The court system is set up to deal with claims based on their value. A claim which is valued at up to £1,500 is known as a “Small Claim”.
For claims valued between £1,500 and £25,000, Claimants should be represented by a solicitor. The solicitor will submit the Claimant’s claim on the online portal known as the MOJ portal. Such claims are called Fast Track claims. The solicitor will guide the Claimant through the process and negotiate settlement with the Defendant’s representative.
Host: What about more complicated claims, where the claims value is much higher?
Jack Foran: For claims valued between £25,000 and £100,000, the government has recently created a new track called the Intermediate Track. These are for cases valued up to £100,000 which are not overly complex and do not involve several independent experts.
A claim valued at over £100,000 is known as a Multi-Track claim. Such claims can be complex involving complicated issues, require a more extensive use of independent experts and require long trials.
Host: If a case is commenced at court, does it mean that it will end up at a hearing before a judge?
Daniel Denton: Not necessarily, the process is to attempt to settle the case without recourse to a hearing before a judge. The process normally entails attempting to settle the case without recourse to sitting before a judge, most cases it’s in both parties’ interests to settle a case without a hearing as the court hearings can be unpredictable when going before a judge. It is unknown how the judge will react to the evidence before them. He may prefer one party’s evidence over that of the other party.
Host: What’s your advice to someone who has been involved in an accident at work?
Daniel Denton: Seek help from a legal representative as soon as possible so that your representative has the best opportunity to get all the evidence together and also will know how best to direct you to your union rep if that option is available. If you belong to a trade union, then please seek advice from your trade union rep as soon as possible.
Jack Foran: If you are involved in a road traffic accident, I would recommend that you take down the registration number of the vehicle, take photos of both vehicles and call the police.
You should seek medical attention as soon as possible and follow the advice and recommendations of your medical practitioner. Where the injuries are serious, such as a head injury, you should go to A&E straight away.
Host: If any listeners didn’t join us at the start, could you both sum up how this personal injury law clinic can help members of the public?
Daniel Denton: The most important benefit to members of the public is that the clinic allows people to obtain access to justice irrespective of their financial position, and alongside a specialist lawyer with years of experience. All of this also takes place within an informal and friendly environment.
Jack Foran: If you’d like to learn more about the Bloomsbury Institute Law Clinic, please visit the Bloomsbury Institute London website and look up ‘Bloomsbury Law Clinic’.
If you’d like to potentially make an enquiry and learn more, get in touch with us via phone on 0330 822 3451 or email on bilradio@hja.net.
Daniel: And if you’d like to learn more about the work I do, the cases I’ve dealt with, and a bit more background about my experience, please visit www.Hodge Jones & Allen.net and look up my profile under ‘Daniel Denton’.
Host: Thanks so much Daniel, Jack, for coming on today and speaking to our audience. Goodbye for now and we look forward to speaking with you all on the next episode of “The Letter of the Law” as well as the London Legal Podcast.