Office work carries its own risks: a badly set-up workstation, trailing cables, heavy boxes of files and wet floors at the entrance. This page explains the rules your employer must follow and how a claim works.
An office injury claim is a personal injury claim against your employer for an injury caused by an unsafe office or way of working.
It covers sudden accidents, such as a trip over a cable, and injuries that build up over time, such as neck, back, wrist or arm pain that a doctor links to your workstation.
Screen work is governed by Part 2, Chapter 5 of the General Application Regulations 2007. It applies to employees who habitually use a screen as a substantial part of their normal work.
Schedule 4 sets the minimum standard: a seat adjustable in height, a backrest adjustable in height and tilt, a footrest for anyone who needs one, a tiltable keyboard separate from the screen, and a screen that swivels and tilts.
Report the accident to your manager, ask for it to be recorded, and send a letter of claim to your employer within one month, as section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires.
Everything after the first item is claimed as "special damages" in addition to the injury award, so keep every receipt.
Contact us through our enquiry form, phone, or email. We’ll review your situation, answer your questions, and explain what to expect next. There’s no upfront fee to begin your claim.
Your case will be carefully reviewed by our legal team.
We assess the strength of your claim, advise on the documentation needed, and guide you through key steps such as attending an independent medical examination and preparing the information required for the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB).
Once you decide to move forward, we take care of everything. This includes gathering evidence, contacting the other party or their insurer, submitting your claim to the IRB, managing settlement discussions, and handling any court proceedings if needed.
Paul Kearney founded the practice and leads its personal injury work in Ireland. He is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland. Read Paul's profile.
We prepare your application to the Injuries Resolution Board, including the medical evidence, and advise you on any assessment before you decide whether to accept it.
You can meet us at any of our four offices, or deal with us by phone, email or video, wherever you live in Ireland.
There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we set out in writing how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. No Win No Fee explained.
A claim is possible where a doctor links the condition to your workstation and your employer did not meet its duties under Chapter 5 of the General Application Regulations 2007.
Useful evidence includes whether a workstation assessment was ever done, complaints you raised about your chair or screen, and how long you worked without breaks.
Regulation 72 requires an analysis of each workstation and action on any risks found, repeated when you move desk or get new equipment. A missing or ignored assessment is relevant evidence, but the claim still depends on medical evidence that the set-up caused your injury.
Regulation 73 requires your employer to make an eye and eyesight test by a competent person available before you start screen work, at regular intervals, and if you have visual difficulties that may be due to screen work.
Where the results show you need special glasses for screen work and normal glasses will not do, your employer must provide them. Section 8(5) of the 2005 Act says safety measures must not cost employees money.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 defines a place of work as any place where work is carried on, so your employer's duties, including the Display Screen Equipment rules, can reach a home workstation.
How much control your employer had over the home set-up is relevant to any claim, so keep any home-working assessment and emails about equipment.
The limit is 2 years from the date of the accident or the date of knowledge, if later, under the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991.
Under section 2 of that Act, the date of knowledge is when you first knew you had been injured, that the injury was serious enough to matter, and that it was linked to your work.
Get advice early, because the date is often disputed in gradual injury claims.
You can still claim. If a court finds you were partly at fault, for example by ignoring a cable you had already reported, compensation is reduced in proportion under section 34 of the Civil Liability Act 1961.
Most do. You apply with the application form, a medical report from the doctor who treated you and a fee of €45 online or €90 by post. Read how the Injuries Resolution Board works.
We can't give a figure until we have the medical evidence. The amount for the injury itself is set by the Personal Injuries Guidelines, adopted by the Judicial Council and in force since 24 April 2021. Lost earnings and treatment costs are claimed in addition.
Workplace claims are run by Paul Kearney, who founded the firm and is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland, with trainee solicitor John Deeney. We have offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Letterkenny.
No. There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we give you clear written terms explaining how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. Read No Win No Fee explained.
Regulated by the Law Society of Ireland
Kearney Law handles only personal injury and clinical negligence claims.
We act for clients across Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Letterkenny. See all the areas we cover.
Contact us to talk to a solicitor about your claim, or request a case review.
Email: [email protected]
Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday 8am – 8pm
Friday 9am – 5pm
