Chef injury claims are for the personal injury a chef suffers when working in the catering industry. A working chef may be injured in a hotel, café, restaurant, or catering event and could have a workplace accident compensation claim.

The hospitality industry can be a fast-paced, under-pressure place to work. Chefs need to work at speed to produce meals on time. Accidents can happen in a flash but the injury may impact a chef for life.

The employer in the hospitality industry owes their staff a duty of care. If they breach that duty, causing an injury to a chef, then the chef may have a workplace accident claim.

A chef could be out of work for a time, may face hefty medical bills and could suffer pain and mental anguish after a workplace accident.

The Personal Injury Team No Win No Fee solicitors can look at the case and see how to make the chef injury compensation claim.

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Claim compensation for personal injuries while working as a chef

A chef claim for personal injury is the legal process a chef takes after a workplace accident. It may be a burn to the arm in a hotel kitchen or a cut hand in the catering van, but if you suffer an injury when working as a chef, you may have a claim for personal injury.

In the catering industry, 35% of all reported injuries are the slips, trips, and falls type, such as when a chef slips on a wet or contaminated floor. Manual handling injuries make up 30% of harm to employees in catering, and a chef can damage their back by lifting heavy pots of water off a stove. 

Knives, hot oil, fire, gas leaks and wet floors all pose major risks to chefs working in the catering industry. A breach of an employer’s duty of care, such as not maintaining the gas ovens, can have a significant impact on chefs when at work.

Chefs work long hours and can be under pressure often when on duty. An accident can happen in any busy kitchen, and a chef could suffer a severe injury.

A No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor can make a chef claim for compensation when they suffer injury in an accident that was not wholly their fault.

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Common injuries sustained by chefs

Common injuries sustained by chefs range from the burns and scalding to lacerations, bruising and amputations. 

If you work as a chef and you were injured in an accident in the workplace, you could have a chef injury compensation claim.

Common injuries chefs get when working in catering:

  • Cuts to the hands, fingers, and upper arms
  • Splash injuries to the eyes
  • Cuts to the ears and face
  • Bruising injury to arms
  • Burn injuries to the body
  • Rotator cuff injury
  • Loss of fingers or part of a finger in cleaver accidents
  • Burn injury to the hands from the cold store
  • Lung damage from fume inhalation in the kitchen
  • Gas poisoning from leaks in the kitchen
  • Muscle damage in slips on wet floors
  • Head, neck and shoulder injuries when hit by an object falling from a height
  • Facial injuries after a trip over uncollected rubbish in the catering kitchen

Any injury in the workplace can have an impact on a chef. They may need time off work, require physiotherapy, and could need to change employment. A personal injury can affect your life today and in the future.

A chef may suffer an injury when working:

  • In a hotel restaurant kitchen
  • At a banquet
  • In the local café kitchen
  • In a catering kitchen
  • In the kitchen of a catering college
  • At an outside catering event
  • On a food stall
  • At a food demo event
  • In the pub kitchen

A chef may make a no win no fee compensation claim if they are injured when at work in an accident that was not wholly their fault.

common kitchens where injuries happen

Who is at fault for kitchen injuries?

The employer can be at fault for a chef injury at work. Every employer has a duty of care to employees. If they breach that duty of care and an employee is injured, it could be the employer’s fault.

The Health and Safety Executive publish guidelines for every industry. The HSE guidelines show how employers should train employees in safety at work and how employers must implement safety procedures in the workplace.

An employer may be at faulty for a chef injury when:

  • The catering equipment is not maintained
  • Catering staff are not fully trained in health and safety at work
  • Catering staff are not fully trained in using all kitchen equipment
  • Guidelines are not in place for dealing with spillages in the kitchen
  • Manual lifting training and equipment is provided for chefs
  • Personal Protective Equipment is not provided for chefs

A back injury can happen with a lack of training, a chef can be burned by a faulty gas oven, and a chef could lose a finger when using the wrong type of cleaver in the catering kitchen.

If an employer is at fault for a chef injury, the chef may have a compensation claim for workplace injury.

A No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor can help a chef make their injury at work claim for compensation.

wet floor in kitchen

Our Process

We make the claim process as simple and streamlined as possible, and that’s one of the reasons we’re maintain a 4.9 / 5 ★ rating from our customers!

Enquiry

The first step is to get in touch and tell us what went wrong. It’s free and easy. Call our 24-hour helpline: 0800 027 0370 or request a callback here.

Claim Evaluation

Once you have spoken with our team we’ll let you know how we can help. This will involve a thorough case review and understanding of the incident, financial damages and physical injuries.

Legal Letter

Once we are satisfied we have all the information we require and have a full understanding of your circumstances. We send a letter of claim to the negligent party outlining your claim and compensation requirements.

What if I was partially at fault for an accident in the workplace?

If you were partially at fault for an accident in the workplace you may still be able to make a compensation claim. The floor you slip on may be oily because you dropped a can of cooking oil, but the employer may be partially responsible if the spillage is not cleaned up in time. 

Contributory negligence is a term used when both sides contribute to the cause of an accident. In legal terms, the employer and the chef may have had a hand in what led to an accident, which is known as contributory negligence.

Split liability and shared responsibility are other terms used when the chef and the employer contributed to an accident in the kitchen.

When an employer and a chef agree to contributory negligence, both sides may be able to agree on how much they are responsible for the cause of the accident. It could be 65% to 35% or 50:50 or whatever is acceptable to the two parties to the compensation claim.

If the two sides can agree on the terms of contributory negligence, they can then decide on the amount of compensation due to the chef for the workplace accident claim. In a 65% to 35% case of split liability, the employer may have to pay 65% of the agreed compensation amount.

Your No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor can advise you on contributory negligence and what may be acceptable in your chef injury claim.

Compensation in a chef injury claim

Compensation in a kitchen injury claim can range from more than £10,000 to over £100,000, and some workplace accident claims can see compensation amounts above £10 million. 

The compensation may be for losing a finger in a catering equipment accident or facial scarring from being splashed by boiling water.

A personal injury can affect your ability to drive, exercise, play sport and even get to work. You can claim compensation for the effects of chef injury on your life today and in the future.

Amounts of compensation in a chef injury claim are:

  • Eye injuries such as smoke and splash injuries from £3,950 to £8,730
  • Moderate long-term pain following a kitchen injury from £21,070 to £38,490
  • Severe injury to the arm without amputation from £96,160 to £130,930
  • Scarring to the body and limbs with long-term pain from £104,830
  • Serious injury to both hands rendering them useless, from £140,660 to £201,490

(The figures given here are for General Damages amounts only. You will also receive compensation for any financial losses you suffer due to the personal injury. Figures are taken from Judicial College Guidelines 16th Edition and are accurate as of April 2023.)

Personal injury claim calculator

There is not one fixed amount in any chef injury claim. The compensation awarded for the injuries suffered will be tailored to the circumstances of the claim.  

A No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor can tell you what to expect when you claim damages for the effects of the injury when working as a chef.

What can you claim for in a chef injury claim?

You can claim damages in a chef injury claim. The damages are a combination of General Damages and Special Damages and are for physical effects and the financial effects on your life today and in the future.

You are being compensated for two types of damages: 

In a chef injury claim, you claim General Damages for PSLA, the Pain, Suffering and Loss of Amenity you experienced directly from the personal injury suffered in the accident that was not your fault.

You could suffer Pain as a direct result of the injuries sustained in the accident. The scarring, the burns to the arms and legs, and the back injuries can be painful, and you can claim for any medical treatment you receive.

You may experience Suffering while recovering from the accident that caused your chef injury in the hotel kitchen, catering event, or local café.

The compensation can also be for the Loss of Amenity in daily life, such as difficulty or restriction in walking, sitting, playing sports, and sleeping due to the injuries.

You seek compensation for Special Damages in a chef injury claim to cover any costs today and the future financial losses after injury in an accident that was not wholly your fault.

These could include loss of earnings when recovering, as well as care costs, medical treatment and any long-term treatment expenses. 

You can also claim for specialist rehabilitation, aids, adaptations, and any other out-of-pocket expenses you have or will have in the future due to the personal injury.

Compensation is awarded to cover all losses, including income, medical expenses, and long-term care needs arising from the injuries you suffered in a workplace accident.

The compensation claim solicitor will need payslips and all day-to-day receipts, such as accommodation costs, the costs of travel to medical appointments, physical therapy, and all other out-of-pocket expenses incurred after the accident.

A No Win No Fee solicitor handles your compensation claim for chef injury damages.

The amount of compensation awarded for your personal injury claim is the total of these two types of damages.

Who pays compensation in a chef injury claim?

The employer’s insurance company pays compensation in a chef injury claim. If the employer is responsible for your chef injury, then they may have to pay compensation for the effects of the injury on your life.

Every employer should have employer liability insurance in place. The liability insurance is there to cover the chances of an employee having an accident at work and paying out on a compensation claim.

If an employer is responsible or partially responsible for a workplace accident, they may have to pay compensation to the victim.

When a chef suffers an injury in the kitchen that is not wholly their fault, they can make a compensation claim against the employer’s insurance company.

A No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor will have the experience of dealing with the insurance company and can handle your chef injury claim.

Make a chef injury claim today

Make a chef injury claim today by contacting the Personal Injury Team. Our online assessment tool can determine how much you can claim for an injury suffered while working as a chef.

The Personal Injury Team FREE online assessment tool will put you in direct touch with one of our team, who will give you a full rundown of what can happen with your chef injury claim.

Compensation amounts for a personal injury vary, and expert advice from one of our team members can give you an idea of compensation for the claim. 

We can be on your side when dealing with the employer’s insurance company and help you get the compensation you deserve.

Contact your Personal Injury Team today for immediate chef injury advice tailored to you.

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