Did you suffer an injury after falling from a height on a construction site? If so, you might wonder whether you’re eligible to begin a personal injury claim following an accident at work. This guide will discuss the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to do so. It will also outline the evidence you could collect to support your case.
Can You Claim Due To Falling From Height On A Construction Site?
Additionally, we discuss the duty of care employers owe and the steps they must take to reduce the risk of injury posed by working from a height. You can also find examples of how a breach of this duty could lead to a fall from height and the injuries that could be sustained as a result.
Later in our guide, we outline how accident at work settlements are calculated and what they could comprise.
Finally, we discuss how a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you seek compensation.
If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor using the details provided below. They can offer free guidance, 24/7.
- Call on 0161 696 9685
- Use the ‘contact us‘ form on our site.
- Start a conversation through the live support feature below.
Choose A Section
- Can You Claim Due To Falling From A Height On A Construction Site?
- How Could Falling From A Height On A Construction Site Occur?
- Working At Height Accidents – How Much Compensation Could You Receive?
- Evidence That Could Help In A Workplace Accident Claim
- Make A No Win No Fee Work Injury Claim Using Specialised Solicitors
- Learn More About Claiming Due To Falls From Height In Construction
Can You Claim Due To Falling From A Height On A Construction Site?
The duty of care placed on employers that they owe their employees is set out in Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). It states that it is every employer’s duty to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees at work.
Additionally, the Work at Height Regulations 2005 applies to employers or those who control work at height and must be adhered to in order to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from height. This involves ensuring any work performed at a height is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people. Additionally, the correct equipment needs to be used. To ensure this is complied with, the risks of working from a height must be assessed before any work is started.
If there is a failure to adhere to this duty, and you sustain harm in a fall from height on a construction site as a result, you might wonder whether you could seek compensation.
To have an eligible compensation claim for a personal injury, you need to show that you meet three criteria:
- A duty of care was owed to you at the time and location of the accident and injury.
- This duty was breached.
- You experienced injuries as a result of the breach.
Together, these three points define negligence in tort law and if proven could mean you are able to launch a personal injury claim following an accident at work.
Call an advisor for further guidance on the eligibility requirements for accident at work claims.
How Could Falling From A Height On A Construction Site Occur?
Examples of how falling from a height on a construction site could occur include:
- Defective equipment: Your employer might fail to ensure equipment used to carry out work from a height, such as ladders, is safe and fit for purpose. As a result, you fall and sustain a head injury.
- Inadequate training: Failure to provide proper training on how to work from a height safely could lead to an employee falling and sustaining a broken back.
- No risk assessment: Your employer might fail to carry out a risk assessment before instructing you to work from a height. As a result, they fail to put up a guard to mitigate the risk of falling. This leads to you falling and sustaining multiple injuries, including broken and fractured bones, lacerations and bruising.
Not all falls on construction sites are automatically the fault of the employer. As such, it might not always be possible to start a personal injury claim.
To discuss your specific case and find out your rights after an accident at work, get in touch on the number above.
Working At Height Accidents – How Much Compensation Could You Receive?
A successful personal injury claim can see a settlement awarded comprising two types of damages. General damages compensate for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
A medical assessment of your injuries can help establish the physical and psychological impact after falling from a height on a construction site. Legal professionals can then compare these findings with injuries and their corresponding guideline compensation brackets listed in the Judicial College Guidelines.
Below, you will find an excerpt from this publication. Please note that these are only guidelines as payouts will vary depending on your specific case.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Award Bracket - Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | (a) Very Severe | £282,010 to £403,990 | Little response to environment of a meaningful nature, double incontinence and little to no language function. Full-time care is required. |
| (c) Moderate (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | Significant epilepsy risk, no employment prospects, a change in personality, effect on senses and intellectual deficit ranging from moderate to severe. | |
| Back | (a) Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Nerve root and spinal cord damage, |
| (b) Moderate (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | Reduced mobility due to a damaged intervertebral disc with nerve root irritation. | |
| Neck | (a) Severe (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Incomplete paraplegia from an associated neck injury. |
| Pelvis | (a) Severe (i) | £78,400 to £130,930 | Extensive pelvis fractures involving a ruptured bladder and low back joint dislocation, for example. |
| (b) Moderate (i) | £26,590 to £39,170 | Pelvis or hip injury that's significant but any disability that's permanent is not major. | |
| Leg | (b) Severe (ii) | £54,830 to £87,890 | Injuries that lead to permanent problems with mobility. These are usually very serious in nature. |
| Arm | (c) Less Severe | £19,200 to £39,170 | Significant disabilities but a substantial level of recovery is made or is expected to have been made. |
| Wrist | (e) Uncomplicated | In the region of £7,430 | Colles' fracture of an uncomplicated nature. |
Claiming Special Damages After Falling From A Height
In addition you could receive a payout made up of special damages which compensate for the financial losses incurred due to your injuries. For example:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical costs.
- Costs for domestic help at home.
- The costs for adaptations to your home or car.
- Travel costs.
You need to provide evidence of these losses in the form of pay slips, invoices and receipts.
Find out more about how accident at work compensation payouts are calculated by calling an advisor on the number above.
Evidence That Could Help In A Workplace Accident Claim
Evidence could help support your accident at work claim for injuries sustained after falling from a height on a construction site. As such, you could benefit from taking the following steps:
- Obtain a copy of the accident book entry detailing your accident and the injuries you sustained.
- Take photos of the scene of the accident and any visible injuries.
- Request any available CCTV footage showing your accident.
- Ask witnesses for contact details with a view to providing a supporting statement at a later date.
- Request a copy of your medical records, including scans and other test results.
It is important to note that you are free to represent yourself in a personal injury claim. However, working with a solicitor can offer several benefits. The solicitors from our panel have experience handling workplace injury claims and could assist you in collecting evidence to support your case.
Call our advisors today to learn whether a solicitor could represent your claim for workplace injuries after falling from a height on a construction site.
Make A No Win No Fee Work Injury Claim Using Specialised Solicitors
Our advisors offer a free case check and if valid, can connect you to solicitors on our panel offering a version of the No Win No Fee contract. Typically, they may offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). An arrangement such as this usually means you won’t pay any fees for the solicitors work:
- As your claim begins.
- While your case proceeds.
- If your claim fails.
Following a successful claim outcome, a small and legally restricted percentage will be paid to your solicitor from your compensation as their success fee.
Our advisors are available to discuss No Win No Fee agreements in more detail and offer further guidance on whether you’re eligible to make an accident at work claim after falling from a height on a construction site. To get in touch, you can:
- Call on 0161 696 9685
- Use the ‘contact us‘ form on our site.
- Start a conversation through the live support feature below.
Learn More About Claiming Due To Falls From Height In Construction
More of our guides:
- Learn if you could be eligible to start a warehouse accident claim and how much your settlement could potentially be worth.
- Find out when you could begin an accident at work claim for scaffolding injuries and how payouts are valued.
- Discover the steps you could take after falling down the stairs at work and whether you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim.
More external resources:
- Information on working at a height from the Health and Safety Executive.
- Guidance on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from GOV.UK.
- Information on falls from the NHS.
Thank you for reading our article on claiming compensation for workplace injuries sustained after falling from a height on a construction site. If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor on the number above.