If you are injured when working as a volunteer in Ireland, you may have a workplace accident injury claim. You may be able to claim personal injury compensation for the workplace accident.

You deserve a safe working environment when volunteering at the local charity shop, community organisation or sports club. They employ you as a volunteer and have a duty of care to provide a safe workplace.

In this article, we will look at volunteer workplace accidents and the compensation you can claim for a personal injury while volunteering.

At PBN Litigation Solicitors in Dublin, we have the experience to make a personal injury compensation claim*.

Table des matières

What is a workplace accident as a volunteer?

A workplace accident as a volunteer is an injury you suffer when volunteering for an organisation that was not wholly your fault.

You could be volunteering at the local GAA match when you slip and suffer an injury, or be hit by a box falling off a shelf when volunteering in a charity shop. If you are recruited as a volunteer, then the organisation owes you a duty of care, and if they breach that duty of care, causing you an injury, you can have a claim.

In Ireland, over 650,000 people volunteer at least once a week for a charity, local community group or a sporting organisation. Over 7.5 million hours are provided by volunteers in Ireland each week, and 264,000 people volunteer for a sporting organisation. The volunteers at work are owed a duty of care, but can be injured in a workplace accident that is not their fault. 

PBN Litigation Solicitors can work with you if you are injured as a volunteer working for a charity, sporting organisation or local community group.

Réseau de sites miroirs Les avocats travaillent avec vous pour obtenir l'indemnisation que vous méritez.

Nous mettons un point d'honneur à éliminer le stress lié aux litiges en matière de préjudice corporel en offrant un service entièrement dédié au client.

What is a volunteer in Ireland?

A volunteer in Ireland is someone who willingly gives their time to work for a charity, sporting organisation or community group for a few hours without any financial gain.

You could give your time to a local charity for a few hours a week and be working as a volunteer.

Volunteers in Ireland can be:

  • Working in a charity shop
  • Helping at a homeless food shelter
  • Doing ground work for a local GAA club
  • Clearing litter for the Tidy Towns
  • Helping to steward a fundraising marathon

If you willingly give your time without receiving wages, you may be considered a volunteer in Ireland.

Volunteers work in many places in Ireland, and you can be in an accident at your volunteer workplace.

Common places where volunteer accidents happen

Common places where volunteer accidents occur in Ireland range from the charity shop to the local sports complex. If you are injured when working as a volunteer, you may have an accident claim.

Places where volunteer accidents happen in Ireland:

  • The charity shop
  • The local school
  • The sports field
  • The GAA club
  • The local youth club
  • The running track
  • An outdoor event organised by a volunteer organisation
  • The homeless care shelter
  • A soup kitchen

Accidents can happen anywhere. If you are a willing volunteer for the organising group, whether a charity or sports club, the group still has a duty of care to provide a safe place of work.

If you are injured in the volunteer workplace due to a breach of duty of care, then you may have a personal injury compensation claim*.

Common volunteer workplace accident claims

Common volunteer workplace accident claims are made in Ireland for the head, neck and shoulder injury at the charity shop or the slip, trip and fall at the sports club.

You may have a personal injury claim* for the impact of the injury on your life today and in the future.

Slip, trip and fall injuries at the sports club suffered by a volunteer can easily happen at a training session, on match day or when doing general volunteer duties.

Types of compensation claims by sports club volunteers:

  • Neck injury in a slip on the wet bathroom floor of the changing rooms
  • Broken arm in a trip on an uneven surface at the GAA club
  • Twisted ankle in a fall when volunteering at the soccer club

PBN Litigation Solicitors will work with you to form a strong personal injury compensation claim*.

A manual handling injury can happen at a charity shop when there is furniture to be moved and boxes of donations to be cleared away.

Types of compensation claims for manual handling injury at a charity shop:

  • Back injury from shifting furniture in the store room
  • Shoulder injury from lifting boxes and bags on the shop floor
  • RSI in the arm from stacking shelves in the charity shop

PBN Litigation Solicitors in Dublin can be with you when making a personal injury compensation claim*.

Upkeep and replacement of training equipment and maintenance equipment used by volunteers is the responsibility of the GAA club when the volunteers give their time each week.

If you are injured due to a faulty grass strimmer, lawnmower or power tool at the GAA club, you may be able to make a compensation claim.

Training equipment must be safe to use, and any injury to a volunteer working at the GAA club can impact their life.

Every volunteer, when beginning their volunteer work for an organisation, must get training in all activities they do for the charity.

Any lifting and manual activity must be supervised, and a qualified member of staff should be in attendance whenever possible.

Types of lack of training claims by a volunteer:

  • Lack of training in manual handling at the charity shop
  • Lack of welfare training for volunteers at the local sports club
  • Lack of supervision of volunteers leads to an injury at the Tidy Towns

You can make a personal injury compensation claim* for the injury suffered while volunteering in Ireland.

A road traffic accident can happen on the street, in a car park, or anywhere a volunteer is driving or is a passenger when working for a charity or other organisation.

Types of road traffic accidents by volunteers:

  • Injury due to a lack of maintenance of the charity van used for collections
  • Injury to a passenger due to poor driving by the driver of the charity car
  • Injury when the sports organisation’s bus crashes on the way to a match

A volunteer can make a road traffic accident claim if they are involved in a road traffic accident while volunteering.

PBN Litigation Solicitors have years of experience in making personal injury accident claims for volunteers in Ireland.

Common workplace injuries sustained by volunteers

Common workplace injuries among volunteers in Ireland are seen in A&E departments and hospital consultant rooms regularly.

The organisation responsible for the volunteers has a duty of care to keep them safe while in the workplace.

Types of injury suffered by volunteers in Ireland:

  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Eye injuries
  • Facial cuts and bruises
  • Sexual assault
  • Assault injuries
  • Broken bones
  • Head injuries
  • Back and spinal injuries
  • Hip and pelvic area injury
  • Head, neck and shoulder injury
  • Psychological injuries

If you suffer an injury when working as a volunteer, you could have a personal injury claim*.

PBN Litigation, personal injury solicitors in Dublin, will work with you and for you when making a compensation claim in Ireland.

What injury compensation can I claim after a workplace accident as a volunteer?

You can claim compensation after a workplace accident as a volunteer in Ireland for injuries like a head, neck and shoulder injury, and you can make the claim against the organisation responsible.

There is not one fixed compensation award, and your solicitor can only give you an idea of what is possible in any personal injury accident claim when working as a volunteer.

Every compensation claim is different, and you claim for the effect of the personal injury on you and its effects on your life.

PBN Litigation Solicitors can explain how the process works and how your compensation claim will be a combination of two types of damages.

Damages in a workplace accident as a volunteer compensation claim

Damages in a workplace accident as a volunteer compensation claim are a combination of:

General Damages in a workplace accident as a volunteer claim are for compensation for the pain and suffering you experience due to the injury when moving furniture at the charity shop or when painting the clubhouse.

For example, you can claim General Damages for the pain from torn back muscles, the soft tissue injuries or the broken bones in a workplace accident.

Des dommages-intérêts généraux peuvent être réclamés dans toute affaire de préjudice corporel lorsque les blessures causent de la douleur et des désagréments et nuisent à votre capacité à faire de l'exercice, à conduire, à pratiquer des sports et à mener d'autres activités.

Special Damages in a workplace accident as a volunteer claim are for the financial effects on your life due to the injury, such as when making adaptations to the home if severely injured.

Avec les dommages intérêts spécifiques, vous réclamez : 

  • La perte de revenus
  • Les coûts des soins aujourd'hui et à l'avenir
  • Frais non remboursés tels que les déplacements, les rendez-vous médicaux et les traitements ultérieurs 

Special Damages are for the financial effects of a loss of income when recovering from a personal injury or if you can only take lesser-paid employment in the future. 

You claim Special Damages to offset the financial costs of the personal injury, so you will not be out of pocket due to the actions of others. 

Each personal injury accident claim is different from another one. The financial effects may be heavier on you than on someone in a similar situation. 

You may claim for what is needed to maintain a similar quality of life as before the personal injury. 

Your PBN Litigation Solicitors Litigation personal injury solicitor can guide you on what to expect in compensation.

In your workplace accident injury claim, the solicitor can advise you on how the two types of damages are relevant to your claim for compensation. 

Start your workplace accident as a volunteer claim today

Start your workplace accident as a volunteer claim today by contacting PBN Litigation Solicitors in Dublin. 

If you have suffered a head, neck and shoulder injury when working as a volunteer or any other personal injury, then PBN Litigation personal injury solicitors have the experience and expertise to manage your compensation claim. 

You, the client, are the one injured and in recovery. The last thing you should have to worry about is dealing with the Injuries Board or the courts when recovering from a personal injury. 

Contact PBN Litigation Solicitors today to start making a workplace accident as a volunteer compensation claim.

Contact Réseau de sites miroirs avocats aujourd'hui pour tous vos besoins en matière d'indemnisation pour préjudice corporel.

Frequently Asked Questions about workplace accidents as a volunteer

Yes, volunteers can claim compensation after a workplace accident when working for a charity, community group or sports club.

The organisation has a duty of care to all employees, whether paid or unpaid, employed by it.

If they breach their duty of care, causing an injury, then the volunteer may have a compensation claim.

Yes, a charity is responsible for the safety of volunteers who are in the workplace. Just like any other shop owner or warehouse operator, the charity must ensure the safety of volunteers in their workplace.

The same health and safety rules apply to charities as to other organisations, and proper training and supervision must be provided.

There is a two-year time limit for making a workplace accident claim in Ireland. You should start the process of engaging a solicitor and applying to the Injuries Board before the two-year limit is reached.

You should make a personal injury accident claim as soon as you have a diagnosis.

Remember, the two-year time limit begins on the day of the injury’s diagnosis, not the day of the accident.

A workplace accident claim can take anywhere from a few months to a few years, depending on the evidence and circumstances of the accident.

A claim through the Injuries Board may take up to nine months, depending on the circumstances.

If going through the courts, the claim may take longer, or if the employer refuses to accept blame for the accident.

No, you do not need a solicitor to make a personal injury claim*, but having one on your side can make all the difference.

A solicitor will know how to handle a workplace accident as a volunteer claim and will be on your side throughout the process.