When erected properly, scaffolding can make it much easier for construction projects to be carried out safely. Whether retiling a roof or replacing windows on a multi-storey building, scaffolding usually provides a much safer and more stable base to work from than ladders could ever offer. However, accidents involving scaffolding can and do happen. If you’re injured whilst working on scaffolding or if you’re hurt by items falling from a scaffold, you could be compensated for your injuries.
You can call upon the help of our advisors if you are thinking of making a scaffolding accident claim. During your first call, we’ll review your case with you for free. If the case appears to be viable, we could ask one of our personal injury solicitors to start your claim. If they agree to represent you, there won’t be any solicitors fees payable upfront. That’s because you’ll benefit from a No Win No Fee service. As a result, the claims process should be much less stressful from start to finish.
Can I claim compensation for a scaffolding accident?
Whether you’ve been injured on scaffolding on a building site at work or if you’re a member of the public who’s been injured, you could be compensated if:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care; and
- They were negligent in some way and, as a result, caused a scaffolding accident to happen; and
- You were injured in that accident.
If all of the above is true in your case, a personal injury lawyer from our team could help you get compensated. We’ll look at what duty of care you might be owed in the following sections.
Claiming compensation for scaffold accidents at work
If you work in construction, you might think accidents at work are par for the course or just one of those things. However, your employer will owe you a duty of care that means they must try and protect your welfare whilst working.
Health & Safety guidelines governing scaffolding and construction sites
After a spate of scaffolding accidents and fatalities in the past, various measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of construction workers across the UK.
- The ‘Work at Height’ regulations states that any work that is being done at height should be properly evaluated in terms of resources required, risks involved and skill/training requirements of the workers involved.
- The ‘Provision and Use of Work Equipment’ regulations lay out a firm set of instructions on using various equipment in the workplace and emphasises that all equipment should only be used by employees who are trained to do so.
- According to the ‘Personal Protective Equipment At Work’ regulations, employers must ensure that all equipment used on the job is fit for purpose. All equipment should be in good working order before use and properly maintained and stored when not in use.
The main purpose of all of these regulations is to ensure that all workers are provided appropriate and sufficient protection when doing jobs that involve a high risk of injury.
If you are an employed contractor or self-employed sub-contractor at a construction site and were injured in a scaffolding accident because one or more than one of these rules were not being followed, then you could be entitled to make a scaffolding accident compensation claim.
Causes of scaffold accidents at work
You may be able to claim for workplace injuries from a scaffold accident if they were caused because:
- The scaffolding was not designed or implemented properly.
- Inadequate safety training.
- You weren’t provided with the proper safety equipment.
- Inadequate risk assessments.
- The wrong type of scaffolding tubes, braces or locking pins were used.
- Too many people were allowed onto the scaffolding.
- The building site was not being supervised properly.
If you’ve been injured while working on or around scaffolding and the accident was caused by somebody else’s negligence, we could help you claim. Please get in touch today to find out more.
Claiming compensation for a scaffolding accident as a member of the public
Not all scaffolding accident claims involve construction workers. We could help pedestrians, homeowners, residents or bystanders who are injured through no fault of your own. Importantly, building site operators have a duty of care to try and prevent accidents to anybody who might pass by or under their scaffolding. For example, if you have to pass under the scaffold to enter a shop or your own property.
You could be entitled to compensation if you were passing scaffolding and something fell and hit you, if you tripped and fell on debris lying on the path or if the scaffolding collapsed (or partially collapsed).
Proving what happened is important and so we’ll spend some time discussing evidence you could use to support your scaffolding injury claim shortly.
What personal injuries could I be compensated for?
There are a variety of injuries that you could be compensated for because of a scaffolding accident. The list would be too long to include here but could include:
- Injuries to the spine.
- Bruises, cuts and lacerations.
- Fractured or broken bones.
- Ligament or tendon damage.
- Amputations (either surgical or traumatic).
- Head injuries including brain damage.
- Psychological injuries.
Whatever injury you’ve suffered, please get in touch if you’d like us to check if you could be compensated if the scaffold accident was not your fault.
Common accidents involving scaffolds
Let’s look at some of the more common accidents involving scaffolding that could lead to compensation. They include:
- Slips, trips and falls.
If you were told to work in hazardous weather conditions and slipped on wet scaffolding, you may be entitled to compensation. Similarly, claims might be possible if you tripped on uneven, split or damaged scaffold boards. Members of the public could claim if they trip on hazards left on a thoroughfare without adequate warning signs. - Falls from height.
These types of accidents should be prevented by proper safety measures and planning. However, when somebody does fall from scaffolding, the consequences can be horrendous. Injuries from falls from height can be life-changing and even fatal. If you’ve fallen from scaffolding due to a lack of safety equipment, missing barriers or damaged ladders, you could have the grounds to take action. - Scaffolding collapse.
Whilst unusual, scaffolding collapses can result in very serious injuries to workers and those passing by. Claims might be necessary if the collapse was caused by overloading, poor planning and implementation or defective equipment. - Falling items.
Anybody who is hit by an item falling from scaffolding is likely to be seriously injured. Examples of when you could take action if you were hit by a falling object include where an item was dropped to the ground deliberately, a hoist failed or because part of the scaffolding came loose during bad weather because it’d not been secured properly.
If you would like us to check whether you could be eligible to claim compensation for your injuries, why not call our team today on 0800 652 1345?
How much compensation for scaffolding injuries?
Compensation for injuries from a scaffold accident is designed to help you get back on your feet physically, psychologically and financially. Every penny of compensation you request must be fully justified. For that reason, if your claim is accepted, one of our personal injury solicitors will review your case fully to ensure everything is included.
While each claim is different, yours could include compensation amounts to cover:
- The pain you had to deal with because of your injuries.
- Any effect your injuries had on your domestic or social life (compensation for loss of amenity).
- Earnings you lost because you couldn’t work.
- Future loss of income if your injuries are long-lasting.
- Care arrangements.
- Travel expenses.
- Private medical treatment costs (including rehabilitation).
- Any changes needed to your home or vehicle to help you deal with disabilities caused by your scaffold accident.
If you’d like to discuss what you could include in your scaffolding accident claim, please get in touch today for more information.
Proving you were injured in a scaffolding accident
If you are going to take action for injuries sustained during a scaffolding accident, you’ll need to have proof to justify your compensation claim. This could include:
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports. Many workplace accidents must be reported to the HSE according to RIDDOR. You could use a copy of their investigation report to help establish what went wrong.
- Medical documents. To help prove the extent of your injuries, you could ask for a copy of your medical records and x-rays from the hospital that treated you. These would also show what treatment was necessary.
- Witness information. If anybody witnessed the scaffold accident, they could be asked to provide a statement of what they saw later on. As such, try to collect contact information after your accident where possible.
- If you’re able to, it’s a good idea to take pictures of the accident scene at the time you were injured. These pictures can often make it easier to explain how you were injured.
- CCTV camera footage. Where your accident was captured by a camera, you should ask for a copy of the footage. Usually, recordings aren’t kept much longer than a month so you should act quickly.
- Accident reports forms. As well as reporting the accident to the HSE, building site operators will need to keep an accident report book. It’s a good idea to keep a copy of your accident form as it can help to show when and where the incident took place.
Once you’ve finished collecting evidence, call our team and they’ll review it with you to establish your chances of a successful claim.
Medical assessment for your compensation claim
To prove how you’ve suffered from the scaffolding accident (and may continue to suffer in the future) you might need to provide an independent medical report to detail your injuries and your prognosis. For this reason, during the claims process, your solicitor can usually book a local appointment with a specialist for you.
During the meeting, you’ll discuss your injuries and how they have affected you. Also, the specialist will examine the current state of your injuries. Once the appointment has ended, they’ll forward their report to all parties involved in the claim.
How long do I have to claim compensation for my injuries?
All injury claims are time-limited in the UK. Usually, you’ll have 3-years to claim from the date you were injured. Our advice is that, although 3-years is a long time, you should take action as soon as possible. That’s because there is plenty of work for your solicitor to do before filing your scaffold accident claim. In basic terms, the more time you allow, the better.
Claiming on behalf of a loved one
If a loved one has been injured in a scaffolding accident, you could claim on their behalf if their injuries mean they don’t have the mental capacity to manage the claim themselves.
You could also claim compensation if they have died from a fatal accident. While no amount of money will ease the pain caused by their loss, compensation could help you to cope financially. As well as claiming for their death, you could receive a bereavement payment. Furthermore, you could ask to be compensated if you were financially dependent on the deceased or if you have any immediate expenses such as funeral costs to cover. Please get in touch to find out more.
No Win No Fee scaffolding accident compensation claims
Our solicitors provide a No Win No Fee service for all scaffolding accident claims they take on. That means there are no solicitors fees payable in advance and you won’t need to pay them if your claim doesn’t work out.
If your case is taken on and you are compensated, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your settlement to cover the cost of their work. The type of agreement you’ll sign is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). When using a CFA, the maximum success fee you can be charged by law is 25%, although this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be charged that percentage.
To see if you could claim using one of our No Win No Fee solicitors, please call today.
Start a scaffolding accident claim today
If you’ve decided to take action after being injured following a scaffolding accident, please call our team on 0800 652 1345 today. If your case is accepted, we’ll appoint a solicitor who will:
- Review your case in fine detail with you.
- Collect evidence to support your claim.
- File the scaffold accident claim with the defendant.
- Deal with any objections or queries from the defendant so you don’t need to.
- Provide you with regular updates about how your case is progressing.
- Aim to secure the maximum compensation possible in your case.
To keep the claim as efficient as possible, everything will be dealt with over the phone, online and by email.
This is the end of our guide on scaffolding accident claims, and if you’d like more information on your options, please use live chat to get in touch, or arrange here to have an advisor call you back.