Eye Injury and Sight Loss Compensation Claims
Damage to your sight that someone else caused
Whether an accident damaged your eye or a condition was missed until it was too late, you may be able to claim. We will explain your options clearly, at whatever pace suits you, and there is no obligation.
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Can you claim for an eye injury or sight loss?
You may be able to make an eye injury compensation claim if the damage was caused, at least in part, by somebody else. That covers an accident at work, a road traffic accident, an assault, a defective product, an accident in a public place, and medical or surgical care that fell below the standard it should have met.
It also covers sight lost gradually rather than suddenly. If a condition was there to be found and was missed, or a referral that should have been urgent was not, the claim asks whether earlier treatment would probably have preserved more of your sight.
An eye injury claim can still be brought where you already had an eye condition and something has made it worse or brought it on sooner. That is a common situation and it does not shut the door.
Common causes of eye injury and sight loss claims
Sight is lost in two broad ways: something damages the eye, or something treatable is not treated in time. Both can found a claim.
Eye injuries at work
Flying fragments from grinding or cutting, chemical splashes, welding arc burns and laser exposure. An eye injury at work claim nearly always turns on whether proper eye protection was provided and enforced.
Road traffic accidents
Impact injuries, fractures around the eye socket, and damage from glass or airbag deployment.
Missed or delayed diagnosis
Glaucoma not picked up or not monitored, diabetic eye disease missed at screening, a retinal detachment not referred urgently, or giant cell arteritis not treated fast enough.
Surgery that went wrong
Complications of cataract, laser or corrective surgery, or a post-operative infection that was not managed as it should have been.
Assaults
Where sight is damaged in a violent crime, a claim may be possible through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which has its own rules and deadlines.
Defective products
Tools or equipment that failed, protective eyewear that did not protect, or products sold without adequate warnings.
A missed diagnosis claim is not about blaming a clinician for a hard decision. It asks a narrower question: were the signs there to be acted on, and would acting on them probably have saved more of your sight.
How a sight loss claim is valued
No honest figure for eye injury compensation can be given at the start. What is more useful is understanding how an eye injury claim is actually built up, because the part people find online is usually the smaller part.
The injury itself
Compensation for the loss of sight and what it means for your life. The courts work from the Judicial College Guidelines, which set bracket ranges according to how much sight was lost, in one eye or both, and how you are affected.
Those brackets are guidance for valuing this part of a claim. They are not a promise, and they are not the whole claim.
What sight loss actually costs
Usually the larger part, and calculated across the rest of your life:
- Lost earnings, and a career that may no longer be possible
- Assistive technology, from screen readers to magnification
- Support at home, whether paid for or given by family
- Mobility training, and the cost of a guide dog where appropriate
- Adapting your home, and the cost of getting around without driving
- Counselling and psychological support, which matters more here than people expect
Why a bracket figure on its own is misleading. People often find a number online for the loss of an eye and take it to be what their claim is worth. In a sight loss case the future costs are frequently larger than the award for the injury itself, because losing sight changes how you work, travel and live for decades. Anyone settling on the strength of a bracket alone risks accepting far less than the claim is actually worth.
Where responsibility is accepted or clear, interim payments can sometimes be arranged so that equipment, adaptations and support do not have to wait for the claim to finish. That is not automatic, and it depends on the evidence and on a genuine need, but it is worth asking about early.
What a claim is built from
You are not expected to gather this yourself, and we can request nearly all of it on your behalf.
If reading and paperwork are now difficult, tell us at the first call. We can talk things through by phone rather than email, send documents in large print, and take your time over decisions. You should not have to fight your own solicitors for that.
No Win No Fee eye injury claims
A No Win No Fee agreement, properly called a Conditional Fee Agreement, means there is nothing to pay upfront. If the claim does not succeed, you do not pay us for our work, subject to the terms of your agreement.
If it succeeds, a success fee agreed with you in advance is deducted from your compensation, and insurance is usually put in place to cover the other side’s costs. The percentage is set out in writing before you sign anything.
Ask us to read the agreement to you and talk it through rather than sending it and leaving you to it. That should be normal practice on this page more than any other.
Eye injury and sight loss claims
your questions answered
The questions we are asked most, answered plainly.
Can I claim if a condition was missed rather than caused by an accident?
Often yes, and these are among the most common sight loss claims. The question is whether the signs were there to be acted on, whether the care fell below the standard expected, and whether earlier treatment would probably have preserved more of your sight. That last part matters: some conditions progress regardless, so a claim needs evidence that the delay made a real difference. An independent ophthalmologist gives that opinion.
How much compensation could I receive?
Nobody can answer that honestly at the start, and it is worth being wary of anyone who tries. It depends on how much sight was lost, whether one eye or both, what you can no longer do, and what support and equipment you will need. The courts use the Judicial College Guidelines as a framework for the injury itself, but in sight loss cases the future costs are often larger than that figure. Once the evidence is in, your solicitor can explain what your claim may be worth.
Can I claim if I already had an eye condition?
Yes, this is common and it does not prevent a claim. Where something has made an existing condition worse, or brought forward sight loss that would have come later, the claim looks at that additional harm rather than at your sight as a whole. Your medical history is examined carefully, so tell us about any existing condition at the start rather than leaving it to emerge later.
I wasn't given eye protection at work. Does that count?
It tends to help a claim rather than hurt it. Providing suitable eye protection, making sure it is right for the task, and seeing that it is actually used are the employer’s responsibilities, not yours. The same applies where goggles were provided but were scratched, ill-fitting or wrong for the hazard. If you raised it beforehand and were told to get on with it, say so, because that matters.
Can I get help before the claim finishes?
Sometimes, though it is not automatic. Where responsibility has been accepted or is clearly established, part of the compensation can be paid early as an interim payment, either by agreement or by order of the court. It is often used for assistive technology, adaptations at home, mobility training or replacing lost income. Whether it is realistic depends on the evidence about fault and on showing a genuine need.
How long do I have to make a claim?
Usually three years, running from the injury or, in a missed diagnosis case, from when you first knew that the sight loss was linked to the care you received. That distinction matters, because people often realise years afterwards. For a child the three years runs from their 18th birthday, and where someone lacks the mental capacity to conduct a claim there may be no time limit. Claims through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority have their own separate deadline.
Talk to someone, whenever you are ready
You do not need dates, paperwork or medical records to have a first conversation. Tell us what happened as best you can, and we will tell you whether there is a claim, and whether early help looks possible. If we do not think a claim is right, we will say so.
- Free, confidential and without obligation
- No Win No Fee available
- SRA-regulated solicitors
Check if you can make a claim
Takes less than 60 seconds
Other claims we handle
One conversation, no pressure
Losing sight is a great deal to take in, and a legal claim is rarely the first thing anyone wants to think about. You can ask what your options are without starting anything at all.
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