Home › Accident at work guides › Machinery and equipment injuries
Guide · Accidents at work
Machinery and Equipment Injury Claims at Work
If you were injured by machinery, a power tool or other equipment at work, you may be able to claim compensation if your employer didn't take reasonable steps to keep you safe, for example by not guarding a machine, not maintaining it or not training you to use it. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) set out what employers must do. You usually have 3 years from the date of the accident to start a claim.
Machinery and equipment accidents can cause crush injuries, amputations, burns and fractures. This guide explains your employer's duties under PUWER and the lifting equipment rules, who can be responsible and what your claim could be worth.
- Source
- Health and Safety Executive, Great Britain (provisional)
- Main law
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
- Lifting equipment
- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998
- Time limit
- Usually 3 years from the accident
What counts as work equipment?
PUWER applies to almost any equipment used at work, meaning any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation. It covers equipment your employer owns and equipment that's hired, leased or borrowed. That includes:
- Hand tools and power tools, such as saws, drills and grinders
- Factory machines, presses, guillotines and rollers
- Conveyor belts and packing lines
- Forklift trucks and other workplace vehicles
- Cranes, hoists, lifts, and lifting accessories such as slings and chains
- Kitchen equipment, such as slicers and mixers
- Farm machinery
Common machinery and equipment accidents
- Hands or fingers caught in unguarded moving parts
- Guards that are missing, broken or have been switched off
- A machine starting up while someone is cleaning it, clearing a jam or repairing it
- Faulty equipment failing without warning
- Being told to use a machine without proper training
- Using equipment for a job it wasn't designed for
- Material thrown out of a machine, causing eye injuries
- Forklift collisions, tip-overs and falling loads
- Burns from hot surfaces or materials
In our £15,000 conveyor case, a colleague switched a jammed conveyor back on while our client was clearing it. In our £17,000 faulty equipment case, equipment failed without warning and a heavy load fell onto our client's legs. If you've just been injured, read what to do after an accident at work.
What PUWER says your employer must do
PUWER sets out a series of duties on employers, and on anyone who controls work equipment. These are the ones that come up most often in injury claims.
Suitable equipment
Equipment must be suitable for the job, and only used for work and in conditions it's suitable for. Regulation 4.
Maintenance
Equipment must be kept in efficient working order and good repair. If a machine has a maintenance log, it must be kept up to date. Regulation 5.
Inspection
Where safety depends on how equipment is installed, or it can deteriorate in a way that's dangerous, it must be inspected by a competent person, at suitable intervals and after anything that could affect its safety. Regulation 6.
Information and instructions
Everyone who uses equipment must have adequate health and safety information and, where appropriate, written instructions. Regulation 8.
Training
Everyone who uses equipment, and anyone who supervises them, must have adequate training, including the risks and the precautions to take. Regulation 9.
Guarding dangerous parts
Employers must take effective measures to stop people reaching dangerous parts of machinery, or to stop those parts moving before anyone reaches them. Regulation 11.
Other duties cover controls and emergency stops, isolating machines from their power supply, and making sure maintenance can be done safely, with the machine shut down where that's reasonably practicable.
How should dangerous machinery be guarded?
PUWER sets out the measures employers should use to protect people from dangerous parts of machinery, in this order:
Fixed guards
Guards that enclose the dangerous parts, wherever that's practicable.
Other guards or protection devices
For example, interlocked guards that stop the machine when they're opened, or light curtains that stop it when someone reaches in.
Protection appliances
Such as jigs, holders and push sticks, so your hands stay away from the dangerous parts.
Information, instruction, training and supervision
These should back up the measures above, not replace them.
Do the Regulations decide my claim?
Not on their own. Since October 2013, a breach of health and safety regulations doesn't by itself give you a right to compensation. You need to show that your employer, or someone else, was negligent. But PUWER sets out what a reasonable employer should do, so evidence that it wasn't followed can strongly support your claim.
Lifting equipment and LOLER
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) apply to equipment used to lift or lower loads, including cranes, forklift trucks, hoists, passenger lifts, and lifting accessories such as slings and chains.
Lifting operations must be properly planned by a competent person, suitably supervised and carried out safely. Lifting equipment must also be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set intervals: usually every 6 months for equipment that lifts people and for lifting accessories, and every 12 months for other lifting equipment, unless an examination scheme sets different intervals.
Who could be responsible?
It depends on who controlled the equipment and what went wrong. More than one party can be responsible.
Your employer
Responsible for giving you safe equipment, maintaining and guarding it, and training you to use it. Employers must have employers' liability insurance, so compensation is usually paid by their insurer.
Whoever controlled the equipment
If you were working at a client's premises or on someone else's site, the business in control of the equipment may also be responsible.
A hire, installation or maintenance company
If a company supplied, set up or repaired the equipment carelessly, it may share responsibility.
The manufacturer
If the equipment was defective, the manufacturer may be responsible under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
If equipment your employer gave you was faulty because of a manufacturer's or supplier's fault, the Employers' Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969 means your employer can still be held responsible. That usually means you can claim against your employer's insurer, rather than having to pursue the manufacturer yourself.
Compensation guide
How much compensation could I get for a machinery injury?
The table below shows indicative ranges for some of the more serious injuries caused by machinery and equipment, based on the current guidance used by the courts in England and Wales. Hand and finger injuries are among the most common. Their value depends a great deal on which fingers are affected and how well you recover, so talk to us about yours. You can also claim for financial losses, such as lost earnings, care and rehabilitation.
| Injury type | Severity | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| AmputationLoss of a hand, arm, foot or leg, including below or above the knee | Loss of part or all of a limb | £113,500 – £372,500+ |
| Serious arm injuryFractures or nerve damage that leave lasting weakness or loss of use | Serious fracture, nerve damage or loss of function | £25,400 – £172,900+ |
| Arm or shoulder injuryFrom soft tissue damage to fractures and elbow injuries | Depends on severity and impact on work | £5,500 – £42,000 |
| Serious burnsBurns needing grafts or leaving lasting scarring | Significant burns, scarring or disfigurement | £12,000 – £128,600+ |
| Serious scarringScars to the face or body that are noticeable or permanent | Noticeable or permanent scarring | £5,200 – £128,600 |
| Loss of sightDamage to one or both eyes, such as from material thrown out of a machine | Partial or total loss of vision | From £72,400 |
| Serious back injuryLasting damage to the back or spine that may need surgery | Permanent symptoms, disc damage or nerve involvement | £51,000 – £212,000+ |
| Serious leg injuryComplex or multiple fractures, such as crush injuries from a vehicle or load | Serious fractures, permanent symptoms or disability | £36,500 – £117,000+ |
| Psychological injury (incl. PTSD)Anxiety, depression or PTSD caused by the accident | Depends on severity, duration and impact on daily life | £2,000 – £150,000+ |
How to read these figures
- These are indicative ranges for pain, suffering and loss of amenity only. In serious machinery claims, financial losses are often much larger and can include lost earnings, future loss of earnings, care and support, rehabilitation, prosthetics, home adaptations and equipment. See how compensation is calculated.
- Figures are rounded and based on the Judicial College Guidelines (18th edition, April 2026). A "+" means the most severe cases can be worth more.
- Where the other side accepts fault, you may be able to receive interim payments before your claim settles to help with costs such as care and treatment.
- Every claim is different. The amount you receive depends on your medical evidence and circumstances, and past results don't guarantee future outcomes.
Machinery and equipment injuries: FAQs
What is PUWER and how does it affect my claim?
PUWER is the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It requires employers to make sure work equipment is suitable, maintained, inspected and guarded, and only used by people who've been trained. Breaking PUWER doesn't by itself give you a right to compensation, but it can be strong evidence that your employer didn't take reasonable care.
Can I claim if a guard was missing or broken?
Yes, you may be able to. Employers must take effective measures to stop people reaching dangerous parts of machinery, and keep guards in good repair. A missing, broken or bypassed guard is often strong evidence that your employer didn't keep you safe.
What if I wasn't trained but was told to use the machine anyway?
Employers must make sure everyone who uses work equipment has adequate training, including the risks and the precautions to take. If you were told to use a machine without proper training, that may support your claim, even if you made a mistake while using it.
Can I claim if the machine belonged to a client or site owner?
Yes, in many cases. Your employer still has a duty to keep you reasonably safe wherever you work, and the business that controlled the equipment may also be responsible. We'll work out who to claim against.
Can I claim if the equipment was faulty because of the manufacturer?
Yes, you may be able to. Under the Employers' Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969, if equipment your employer provided was faulty because of someone else's fault, such as the manufacturer, your employer can still be held responsible. That usually means you can claim against your employer's insurer, rather than having to pursue the manufacturer.
Can I claim if I was partly to blame?
Yes, you may still be able to. If you were partly responsible, your compensation may be reduced to reflect your share. Employers should plan for the fact that people make mistakes, which is why guards and safe systems of work matter.
Injured by machinery at work?
Machinery injuries can be life-changing. Talk to our team for free, with no obligation. We'll look at what happened, work out who was responsible and tell you whether you have a claim. Eligible claims are handled on a No Win No Fee basis.