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:
- Call on 020 8050 2736.
- Ask about your potential claim online.
- Use the live chat feature below.
A Guide To Construction Injury Claims
Select A Section
- Eligibility For Construction Injury Claims
- How Could An Accident In Construction Be Caused?
- What Evidence Could Help In Construction Site Accident Claims?
- Examples Of Potential Compensation Payouts For Construction Injury Claims
- Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Claim For A Construction Injury
- Learn More About How To Make Construction Injury Claims
Eligibility For Construction Injury Claims
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.
What Evidence Could Help In Construction Site Accident 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.
Examples Of Potential Compensation Payouts For Construction Injury Claims
In successful construction injury claims, settlements can comprise up to two heads of loss. The first, general damages, is compensation for any physical or psychological suffering caused by your injuries.
As part of the claims process, your solicitor may arrange for you to attend a medical assessment with an independent medical professional. The report produced from this assessment can be used to help your solicitor value general damages. They may also refer to the guideline valuation brackets listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) which correspond to different types of harm.
Compensation Table
Figures from the JCG are included in the table below. However, please use them as a guide only because settlements are valued on an individual basis.
| Injury | Severity | Further Information | Guideline Compensation Bracket Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia | Paralysis of the upper and lower body. | £324,600 - £403,990 |
| Paraplegia | Lower body paralysis. | £219,070 - £284,260 | |
| Brain | Very Severe | Little 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. | £282,010 - £403,990 |
| Moderately Severe | A very serious disability where the person requires constant professional care. | £219,070 - £282,010 | |
| Neck | Severe (i) | Incomplete paraplegia as a result of a severe neck injury. | Around £148,330 |
| Severe (ii) | Cervical spine fractures that are serious or damage to cervical spine discs causing considerably severe disabilities. | £65,740 - £130,930 | |
| Leg | Amputation (iii) | One leg is amputated above the knee. | £104,830 - £137,470 |
| Arm Amputation | Loss of One Arm (i) | Where the arm is amputated at the shoulder | Not less than £137,160 |
| Back | Severe (ii) | Back injuries with special features such as nerve damage with an associated loss of sensation. | £74,160 - £88,430 |
| Moderate (i) | Compression or crush fractures to the lumbar spine with a substantial risk of osteoarthritis. | £27,760 - £38,780 |
Special Damages In Construction Accident Claims
The second head of loss is called special damages. It compensates for any expenses or costs linked to your injuries. For example:
- Medical expenses.
- Travel costs.
- Current and future lost earnings.
- The cost of home adaptations.
- Care costs.
For more information on how accident at work compensation is calculated, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Claim For A Construction Injury
If you have a valid claim, and wish to seek legal representation, you could be connected with a solicitor from our panel who has experience handling construction injury claims. They can offer to start work on your case under the terms of a No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). As per a CFA, there are typically:
- No upfront fees for your solicitor’s services and no fees for the solicitor’s work while the case is in progress or if the claim fails.
- A success fee will be deducted from your compensation as a legally capped percentage if the case is won.
If you’d like to check if a construction accident solicitor from our panel could help you, please get in touch with an advisor. They can assess your case for free. Also, they can answer any questions you might have regarding your potential claim. To reach them, you can:
- Phone 020 8050 2736.
- Chat with an advisor online.
- Ask about starting your claim online.
Learn More About How To Make Construction Injury Claims
Here are some more of our helpful guides:
- Learn about the steps you could take to make a manual handling injury claim and the compensation you could receive if you succeed.
- Find out whether you could claim following a slip, trip and fall accident in which you sustained an injury.
- Discover whether you could make a forklift accident at work claim and the steps you can take to do so.
Also, you might find these external links useful:
- Guidance from the Health and Safety Executive on planning construction work.
- NHS guidance on broken bones.
- Information from GOV.UK on statutory sick pay.
If you would like more information about construction injury claims, please feel free to reach out to our team.