It could be that your injuries did not affect your work and therefore you may have been able to continue in your employment. With minor injuries, for example minor whiplash injuries, people may not have to take any time off work. Whether or not you do need to take time off work will depend on the nature and severity of your injuries and also the nature of the job that you do. If you do heavy manual work then you may be less able to fulfil your duties. However before taking time off speak to your employer as they may be able to offer you an alternative role while you get better. This is often referred to as “light duties”. You may be able to work but you may not be able to do anything heavy.
Working on “light duties” means that you still go to work but your role is adapted so that you do not have to do certain things which may exacerbate your symptoms. It may be that your normal work is a manual job on a building site. If you sustain injuries and you are not able to fulfil this role, your employer may suggest that you undertake an alternative lighter role such as doing office work. It is always best to ask your employer if you can be accommodated on a lighter role, if you are unable to do your normal role.
If your injury is a laceration to your leg, it may well be painful and set to leave a scar, but it’s unlikely to stop you going to work if you work in an office for example. Wherever you are its going to hurt – but it’s not likely to be debilitating enough to stop you doing your day to day activities, which includes work of course.
In a personal injury claim you can seek to recover for any loss of earnings. However a note of caution – you also have a duty to mitigate your losses. This means that you have a duty to keep your losses to a minimum. If you sustain injury and as a result you don’t work and you lose income, if this is not supported by medical evidence and it is found that your were fit for work, it will be difficult to claim this loss of earnings back as part of your claim. If you are involved in an accident, you should continue to work if you are able. However you can still make a claim for compensation even if you did not require any time off work.
Put simply, you do not have to be off work to make a compensation claim. If, despite your injuries, you are fit for work then we would recommend that you go to work as long as you are medically fit to do so. If you are unsure about whether or not you are fit for work then you should seek advice from your GP.