Office Accident Claims: Injured at Work in an Office
An office accident claim is a personal injury claim against your employer for an injury at work in an office, such as a trip over a trailing cable, a fall on a freshly mopped kitchen floor, or a back injury from lifting boxes or a chair that gave way, and it must normally start within three years. Your employer has a legal duty to keep the office safe and almost always carries insurance for exactly this; National Accident Support Line checks whether you have a claim and passes it to a specialist workplace injury solicitor.
Offices feel like the safest place to work, which is partly why office injuries get brushed off. Nobody expects to be hurt at a desk. But slips, trips and falls on the same level are the most common cause of injuries at work in Britain, about 30% of the employee injuries reported to the HSE in 2024/25, and an office has plenty of chances for all three: cables across walkways, a kitchen floor that's always wet, a box of paper left at the bottom of the stairs, someone standing on a swivel chair to reach the top shelf. A broken wrist or a back injury from an office accident can keep you off work for weeks.
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What your employer has to do in an office
The same health and safety law applies to an office as to a factory floor. Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, floors and walkways must be kept free of anything that could cause a slip, trip or fall, so far as is reasonably practicable, and stairs, lighting and handrails must be suitable and kept in good repair. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers to avoid risky lifting where they can and to assess and reduce it where they can't, which covers stacks of paper, water bottles for the cooler and moving furniture for an office move. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 require a workstation assessment for anyone who uses a screen daily for an hour or more at a time, along with breaks or changes of activity and an eye test if you ask for one.
Almost every employer must also have employers' liability insurance under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. That is the policy a claim is made against. The money doesn't come out of your manager's budget, and the claim is handled by the insurer, not by the people you work with.
Since October 2013, breaking one of these regulations isn't enough for a claim on its own. The question is whether your employer was negligent, and the regulations set the standard a reasonable employer is measured against. A cable left across a walkway for weeks, or a chair already reported as broken, usually answers that question.
Common office accidents and who is usually responsible
| What happened | What it usually points to |
|---|---|
| Tripped over a trailing cable or a box left in a walkway | Poor housekeeping: walkways must be kept clear |
| Slipped on a wet floor in the kitchen, toilets or entrance with no sign | No proper cleaning routine or warning |
| An office chair collapsed or tipped back | Faulty equipment that should have been checked or replaced |
| Fell standing on a chair or desk to reach a high shelf | No step stool or safe way of reaching storage |
| Hurt your back lifting paper, water bottles or furniture | No manual handling assessment or training |
| Neck, back or wrist pain from your workstation | No display screen assessment, or problems found and not fixed |
| A filing cabinet tipped over when two drawers were open | Unsecured furniture |
| Fell on stairs with a loose carpet edge or poor lighting | Premises not kept in good repair |
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Working from home and hybrid working
If you work from home some or all of the week, your employer still has health and safety duties to you. The HSE's guidance to employers is that they have the same health and safety responsibilities for people working at home as for any other worker. For long-term and hybrid home workers that includes a display screen assessment, and any equipment the assessment shows you need has to be provided without charging you for it. A laptop on a kitchen table for months with no assessment, or a chair from the office that was already broken, can be part of a claim.
What your employer can't control is the rest of your home. A fall on your own stairs while you're making a coffee is very unlikely to be your employer's responsibility. The claims that work for home workers are usually about the equipment and the setup, not the house.
The situations people describe to us
"The first aider said they'd only write it down if my back started hurting"
Ask for it to be recorded now, not later. An entry made at the time counts as notice of the accident, and back injuries often feel worse the next morning than they did on the day. If nobody will write it up, write down what happened, when, and who you told, and email it to your manager or HR so there's a dated record. A missing entry doesn't stop a claim; your GP notes, photos and colleagues who saw it all count as evidence.
"Someone said 'we don't use that chair anymore'"
Then the problem was known. A chair, step or piece of equipment that staff already knew was faulty, and that nobody removed or replaced, is one of the clearest office claims there is. Note who said it and when, and photograph the chair if you can.
"I'm on a temp contract through an agency"
Agency workers can claim too. The office you were working in still has to be safe, and depending on who controlled the work, the claim may be against the business you were placed with, the agency, or both. The solicitor works out which.
"I don't want to be seen as a troublemaker"
It's a common worry, along with feeling embarrassed about being hurt at a desk job. The claim is made against your employer's insurer, not against your manager, and raising a health and safety concern is legally protected. If you're worried about how a claim could affect your job, or about absence reviews while you recover, tell us on the call and the solicitor can advise on your position.
"I wasn't looking where I was going"
Being distracted doesn't automatically mean it was your fault. If the hazard shouldn't have been there in the first place, the employer is usually responsible for most of it. If you were partly to blame, the claim is reduced by your share rather than refused.
"The cleaner had just mopped and there was no sign"
Many offices use an outside cleaning company. You don't have to work out whose fault it was: your employer is responsible for the safety of your workplace, and the solicitor can bring the cleaning company into the claim where they were at fault.
What to do after an accident in the office
Get first aid or medical help, even for something that seems minor, because back and wrist injuries often get worse over the next day or two. Make sure the accident goes in the accident book; any employer with ten or more people normally working on the same premises must keep one. Take photos of what caused it before it's tidied away: the cable, the wet floor, the chair. Note the names of anyone who saw it. If you can't do your normal work for more than seven days in a row, not counting the day of the accident, your employer must report it to the HSE under RIDDOR. Keep payslips and a note of every day off and every appointment, and don't sign anything about the accident until you've had advice.
How an office accident claim works with National Accident Support Line
Tell us what happened, using the form, WhatsApp or a call to 0333 212 2730; web enquiries are called back within 2 minutes during opening hours. We ask where it happened, what caused it, who you reported it to and how the injury has affected your work. If there is a claim, we refer it to a specialist solicitor who handles injuries at work in any setting on no win no fee terms. If there isn't a claim, we tell you straight. NASL is an FCA-regulated claims management company, not a law firm. For falls more generally, see our page on slips and trips at work and in public. Most claims we refer start from our personal injury claims page. If you are thinking of handling it yourself, our guide to making a work accident claim without a solicitor sets out the risks.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim for an accident at work in an office?
Yes, if your employer didn't take reasonable steps to keep you safe and you were injured as a result. Trips over cables, slips on wet floors, lifting injuries and faulty chairs are among the most common office claims.
Can I claim if the accident wasn't recorded in the accident book?
Yes. A missing entry makes things harder, not impossible. Put your own written account to your employer as soon as you can, and keep your medical records and any photos.
Will making a claim affect my job?
The claim is handled by your employer's insurer, which employers must have by law. Raising a health and safety concern is legally protected, and if you're worried about how a claim could affect your job, the solicitor can advise on your position.
Can I claim if I was injured while working from home?
Sometimes. Your employer must assess home working risks and provide safe equipment, so an injury caused by unsafe equipment or a workstation nobody assessed may be a claim. An accident caused by your own home, such as your stairs, usually isn't.
Can I claim for back or wrist pain from my desk?
Possibly, if your employer didn't carry out a display screen assessment or didn't fix problems it found. These claims depend on medical evidence linking the pain to the workstation.
How long do I have to make an office accident claim?
Three years from the date of the accident, or from when you first knew the injury was linked to your work.
What does no win no fee mean?
You pay nothing upfront, and nothing to your solicitor if the claim fails. If it succeeds, the solicitor's success fee comes out of the award, but by law it can't be more than 25% of the compensation for your injury and past losses, and it can't come out of money for future losses. Any insurance premium is on top; the total is set out in writing before you sign.
We'll call you back within 2 minutes with a straight answer on where you stand.
National Accident Support Line Ltd is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated claims management activities, registration number 829991.