Advice On Construction Injury Claims

By Cat Todd. Last Updated 26th June 2024. This is a guide on construction injury claims, including when you could be eligible to seek personal injury compensation after an accident at work. Due to the nature of construction sites, there are several hazards that could pose a risk of injury. Employers have a duty of care with regard to your health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace and while you carry out your tasks. If they failed to uphold this duty while you were working on a construction site, and you are caused an injury as a result, you could potentially make a claim provided you meet the eligibility criteria. Read on to find out more.

Later, we provide examples of the types of construction accidents that could occur and the injuries that could be suffered as a result.

Additionally, we explore accident at work compensation payouts, including what they could be made up of, and how they are calculated. We also discuss the evidence you could collect to support your case and how a No Win No Fee solicitor could assist you.

Please read on to see if you can claim for a workplace injury or contact our team of helpful advisors to have your questions answered. To get in touch, you can:

A construction worker lying unconscious on the ground with a colleague checking on them.

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Can I Make A Construction Injury Claim?

Your employer has a duty of care to take reasonable and practical steps to prevent you from becoming injured at work. This duty is placed on them by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Additionally, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 aims to improve health and safety in the construction industry.

Some of the steps they can take to uphold their duty of care include:

  • Conduct risk assessments of the workplace regularly and implement measures to address any hazards they become aware of.
  • Ensure all staff receive adequate training, such as manual handling training.
  • Provide workers with the correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where needed, such as goggles, hard hats, gloves, and steel-toe capped boots.

You may be entitled to make a personal injury claim following a construction accident if your employer failed to uphold their duty of care, and this caused you to sustain an injury.

For further guidance on construction injury claims, please contact an advisor on the number above.

How Could An Accident In Construction Be Caused?

Below, we have provided some construction site accident examples to show how an accident of this type could occur and the injuries that could be suffered as a result.

  • You may have sustained a severe head injury as a result of a falling or moving object after your employer failed to provide you with a hard hat.
  • You may have sustained a severe neck injury in a crash after being told to operate a forklift truck without any training.
  • After a fall from height caused by faulty equipment, you may have sustained a broken leg and spinal damage leading to paralysis.

To discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to make a claim following a construction accident at work, please contact an advisor on the number above. An advisor can discuss construction injury claims in more detail.

Construction Accident Case Study: £750,000 Compensation Payout

We’ve provided this figurative construction accident case study to show the steps you could take to seek compensation.

Mr Brown was working on a construction site. His employer instructed him to use a forklift truck without providing any training. As a result, he crashed the work vehicle and sustained several injuries, including a serious back injury, broken leg, and moderate head injury.

The injuries meant Mr Brown required time off work to recover causing him to lose income. He also experienced a substantial amount of pain and suffering due to his injuries.

After seeking legal advice, Mr Brown decided to claim against his employer and instructed a solicitor with experience handling workplace accident claims to assist him. His solicitor helped him gather evidence to strengthen his case, including pictures of the injuries, documents highlighting that no training had been given, and documents showing the financial losses he incurred.

Additionally, his solicitor arranged for him to attend an independent medical assessment as part of the personal injury claims process. The report that followed gave a more in-depth insight into the injuries Mr Brown had suffered which helped when valuing his claim.

Mr Brown’s claim succeeded and he was awarded a payout of £750,000 comprising compensation for his pain and suffering and financial losses caused by the injuries.

Call our advisory team on the number above to discuss your case. Alternatively, read on to find out when you could be eligible to make a construction accident claim against your employer.

What Evidence Could Help In Construction Injury Claims?

Construction injury claims should be supported by evidence. This is because it can help to prove how you’ve suffered, who caused your injuries and how your accident happened. Some examples of the evidence needed for a personal injury claim include:

  • An accident report form from the workplace accident book.
  • Details of any medical treatment you received, copies of X-ray scans, other test results and other medical records.
  • Contact details for any potential witnesses.
  • Photographs taken at the scene of the accident, and of your injuries.
  • CCTV or mobile phone footage of the accident if available.

If you have a valid claim and a solicitor from our panel offers to represent you, they can help you obtain evidence and build your case as part of the services they provide. Find out more about working with a solicitor from our panel by calling the number above.

Construction Accident Compensation Claim Payouts

Generally, a construction accident compensation claim can result in two kinds of compensation: general damages, and special damages.

First, we’ll talk about general damages. This head of claim is awarded to every successful claimant because it covers the pain and suffering brought on by your injuries. It also covers loss of amenity, which means loss of enjoyment. 

Often, this head of claim is calculated with help from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provides professionals with guideline compensation amounts for injuries of differing severities. You can find some examples that could be relevant to construction site injuries below.

Please note that these are only guideline amounts, and that the first entry is not a JCG figure.

Guideline Compensation Amounts

InjurySeverityFurther InformationGuideline Compensation Bracket Guidelines
Multiple Severe Injuries And Special DamagesSevereMultiple severe injuries and financial losses, like lost earnings.Up to £1,000,000+
Paralysis TetraplegiaParalysis of the upper and lower body.£396,140 - £493,000
ParaplegiaLower body paralysis.£267,340 - £346,890
BrainVery SevereLittle or no language function alongside little to no evidence of the person having a response to their environment that is meaningful. The person also has double incontinence and requires full-time nursing care.£344,150 - £493,000
Moderately SevereA very serious disability where the person requires constant professional care.£267,340 - £344,150
NeckSevere (i)Incomplete paraplegia as a result of a severe neck injury.Around £181,020
Severe (ii)Cervical spine fractures that are serious or damage to cervical spine discs causing considerably severe disabilities.£80,240 - £159,770
Arm AmputationLoss of One Arm (i)Where the arm is amputated at the shoulderNot less than £167,380
BackSevere (ii)Back injuries with special features such as nerve damage with an associated loss of sensation.£90,510 - £107,910
Moderate (i)Compression or crush fractures to the lumbar spine with a substantial risk of osteoarthritis. £33,880 - £47,320

What Are Special Damages?

The second heading, special damages, covers the financial losses caused by your injuries. For example, following a severe construction site injury, you might be unable to work in the future. Special damages can help cover the considerable lost earnings caused by this.

This heading can also help cover the cost of:

  • Travel to and from work or medical appointments. 
  • Mobility aids such as wheelchairs or canes.
  • Home adjustments, like the installation of a stairlift. 
  • Help with childcare or housekeeping.

Providing evidence of these financial losses with documents such as bank statements and payslips could help support you when claiming for special damages.

Our team of advisors are here to help. If you’d like to learn more about making a construction accident compensation claim, get in touch with our team of advisors today.

Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Claim For A Construction Injury

Now that you know more about the construction injury claims process, let’s discuss why we always recommend making a claim with a construction injury lawyer.

Moving through the process alone can seem stressful and daunting, and many people aren’t sure where to start. But when you make a claim with an experienced legal professional, they can help you claim construction accident compensation by guiding you through each step of the process.

A specialist accident at work solicitor can help you gather evidence, communicate with the defendant, and negotiate a settlement. They can even help you prepare your case to go to trial if negotiations fail.

Plus, our panel of expert solicitors do all of this on a No Win No Fee basis. They work under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which means that you can access all of their services without paying a fee:

  • Upfront
  • Ongoing
  • If the claim fails

If you make a successful construction accident claim, then a success fee will be deducted from your compensation. But don’t worry; this fee is limited by law, with a legal cap to help ensure that you keep the most of what you receive.

Contact Us

Our team of advisors are here to help if you are ready to start your accident at work claim. Get in touch today to learn more by:

Learn More About How To Make Construction Injury Claims

Here are some more of our helpful guides:

Also, you might find these external links useful:

If you would like more information about construction injury claims, please feel free to reach out to our team.