Needlestick Injury Claims
A needlestick or sharps injury at work can support a claim if your employer failed to provide safer sharps, training or safe disposal, and you were harmed. Even where no infection results, the physical injury and the psychological distress of waiting for results can be compensated.
What Employers Must Do
Direct Answer: In healthcare, employers must use safer sharps where reasonably practicable, avoid unnecessary needles, provide training, and have safe disposal and post-incident procedures under the 2013 Sharp Instruments Regulations.
Claims commonly allege that safer needles were not provided, that sharps bins were overfilled or badly placed, that staff were not trained, or that staffing pressure led to unsafe practice. Outside healthcare, cleaners, waste workers and police officers can suffer sharps injuries where discarded needles were not safely managed.
Compensation Where No Infection Results
Even if you do not contract an infection, the puncture injury itself and the anxiety while waiting for test results, which may span months, are recognised and can be compensated, with medical or psychological evidence about the effects. If an infection such as hepatitis or HIV is contracted, the claim is far larger and involves lifelong losses.
Immediate Steps
Follow the post-exposure procedure, attend occupational health and get blood tests as advised. Report the injury and make sure it is recorded, and note the equipment and circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim for a needlestick injury with no infection?
Who can claim?
What should I do straight after the injury?
What if the needle wasn't in a healthcare setting?
Do I have to prove my employer was negligent?
How long do I have to bring a needlestick injury claim?
Can I make a workplace injury claim on a no win no fee basis?
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Sources for this page
Every rule stated above is based on the primary sources below. Each link goes to the legislation, court rule or regulator itself so you can check it. Last verified 18 September 2026.
- Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (conditional fee agreements)
The provision that makes CFAs lawful and enforceable. CFAs derive from this section, not from LASPO.
- Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, arts. 4–5 · in force from 1 April 2013
Art. 4 caps the success fee at 100% of base costs. Art. 5 caps what may be taken from damages in personal injury at 25% of PSLA plus past pecuniary loss, net of CRU, at first instance.
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44 (incl. rr.44.13–44.17, QOCS)
Qualified one-way costs shifting and its exceptions. Rule 44.14 was amended with effect from 6 April 2023.
- Limitation Act 1980, s.11 (personal injury actions)
Three years from the date of the accident or the date of knowledge. Property damage such as a damaged vehicle is a separate claim with a longer six-year period under s.2.
- Limitation Act 1980, s.14 (date of knowledge)
The three-year period can run from the 'date of knowledge': when you first knew the injury was significant and attributable to the act or omission alleged to be negligent. Central in delayed-diagnosis cases.
- Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/645)
Healthcare employers must use safer sharps where reasonably practicable and provide training, post-incident action and safe disposal.
- Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, s.69 (civil liability for breach of health and safety duties)
For accidents from 1 October 2013, breach of a health and safety regulation does not by itself give a civil claim unless the regulation says so. A workplace injury claim must generally prove negligence, using the regulations as evidence of the standard of care.
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
Most employers must hold employers' liability insurance covering injury or disease to employees, so that a successful claimant can be paid.
Who wrote and checked this page
- Written and published by
- Edward & Amaury Solicitors (Edward & Amaury Ltd, company no. 12195443), regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 800525.
- Legal review
- Checked for England & Wales by Edward & Amaury Solicitors — Solicitors regulated by the SRA (no. 800525) (verify on the regulator’s register).Review is recorded against the firm. The individual reviewer is not named on this page.
- Review dates
- Last reviewed 18 September 2026. Next review due 18 March 2027.
Fee rules change. California’s medical malpractice fee limits changed on 1 January 2023, and the QOCS rules in England and Wales changed on 6 April 2023. If you spot something out of date, tell us — we publish corrections.