Claim For Heavy Equipment Accidents On Construction Sites

This article explains when heavy equipment accidents on construction sites could lead to a personal injury claim.

At the start of the guide, we’ll review how compensation is calculated for injuries in construction. You’ll then read about the eligibility criteria your claim will need to meet in order for you to be eligible to seek compensation in a personal injury case.

Next, we look at the types of machinery accidents that can be caused by employer negligence in construction and the types of evidence you might be able to use to improve your chances of winning your accident at work claim.

Finally, you’ll read about how one of the construction accident solicitors from our panel could help you to claim on a No Win No Fee basis if your case is suitable.

So that you can get a better understanding of your options, our advisors provide a no-obligation consultation for all potential construction injury claims. To arrange yours, you can:

Call our advice line on 020 8050 2736.
Chat with one of our online advisors.
Start your claim online and we’ll call you back.

For more information about claiming for heavy machinery-related injuries, please read on. Should any questions arise whilst you’re reading, please feel free to call.

Heavy Equipment Accident Construction Compensation Claims

Jump To A Section

How Much Compensation Could You Receive From Heavy Equipment Accidents On Construction Sites?
What Are The Eligibility Criteria When Claiming For Heavy Equipment Accidents On Construction Sites?
Accidents With Heavy Equipment – When Could They Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
Potential Evidence In A Heavy Machinery Accident Claim
Claim For Injuries In A Construction Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis
Read More About Claiming For Machinery Related Injuries

How Much Compensation Could You Receive From Heavy Equipment Accidents On Construction Sites?

When claiming for injuries caused by accidents with heavy machinery, two heads of loss can contribute towards your payout. The first covering pain and suffering is called general damages.

To put a value on your claim, your injuries may need to be independently verified. Therefore, if you work with a solicitor from our panel, they are likely to arrange a medical assessment on your behalf.

After you’ve attended the meeting, a report detailing your injuries will be produced. Your solicitor may use this in conjunction with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to calculate how much compensation you could be entitled to.

The JCG is often used by legal professionals because it contains guideline compensation brackets for a range of injuries. The compensation table uses data from the JCG. However, you should remember that these are guideline amounts and not guaranteed settlements.

Compensation Table

Injury Type	Severity	Compensation Bracket Guidelines	Further Details
Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages	Severe	Up to £1,000,000 +	To cover the pain and suffering caused by multiple severe injuries plus care costs, lost earnings, home adaptations and other special damages
Injury Resulting From Brain Damage	Very Severe	£282,010 to £403,990	Little, if any, evidence of meaningful response to environment, a requirement for full-time nursing care, little or no language function with double incontinence.
Leg Injuries	Amputation (ii)	£201,490 to £270,100	Compensation at the top of the bracket is likely where both legs have been amputated just below the knees.
Neck Injuries	Severe (i)	Around £148,330	Despite wearing a neck collar for 24 hours a day over a period of years, the claimant will still have little or no movement in the neck and will suffer intractable severe headaches.
	Severe (iii)	£45,470 to £55,990	Neck injuries causing fractures or severe damage to soft tissues and/or ruptured tendons. This will result in permanent significant disability and chronic conditions.
Amputation of Arms	Loss of One Arm (iii)	£96,160 to £109,650	When a single arm is amputated below the elbow.
Back Injuries	Severe (i)	£91,090 to £160,980	The most severe injuries causing damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots, resulting in very serious consequences which are not normally found in back injuries.
	Severe (iii)	£38,780 to £69,730	Fractures of vertebral bodies or discs, disc lesion or soft tissue injuries that cause chronic suffering. Despite surgery or treatment, disabilities including continuous severe pain remain.
Knee Injuries	Moderate (i)	£14,840 to £26,190	Such as knee injuries involving torn meniscus, torn cartilage or knee dislocation that cause wasting, minor instability, or other mild disability in the future.

Please note that the first line in our table is not taken from the JCG. If you’d like to check how much you could be awarded following a heavy machinery accident, please speak to one of our advisors.

Special Damages In A Machinery Accident Claim

Further to any compensation for your injuries, special damages might also form part of any payout to cover any expenses incurred as a result of your injuries. As such, you could be awarded compensation for the following:

The cost of adapting your home to make it easier for you to deal with any ongoing disabilities.
Care and support costs at home.
Medical and rehabilitation costs (such as physiotherapy).
Lost income (covering both current and future losses).

Any special damages you claim for must be proven by evidence. Therefore, you should try to keep hold of any relevant bank statements, wage slips or receipts.

Our team can provide free advice about claiming for heavy equipment accidents so why not call them today?

What Are the Eligibility Criteria When Claiming For Heavy Equipment Accidents On Construction Sites?

On a construction site, there is likely to be a number of other companies and self-employed people all working at one time. So it is fair to say that you will be owed a duty of care by different parties. This duty of care will be to ensure your safety as reasonably as possible. If this duty is breached and you suffer an injury as a result, those responsible will be liable for your suffering. For this guide, we are concentrating on personal injury claims against employers, but they work in a similar way if claiming against a third party.

Generally, personal injury claims may be possible if:

The other party in your claim owed you a legal duty of care when your accident occurred.
That duty was breached by the defendant and was the cause of the accident.
You sustained injuries as a direct consequence of the accident.

While working on a construction site, many laws exist to secure your safety. They include:

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This states that your employer must take reasonable steps to keep you safe.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

More specific laws which set rules regarding equipment or machinery include:

These laws should make preventing accidents in the workplace easier if they are followed. To try and prevent heavy equipment accidents, employers could:

Ensure all staff are trained on how to use equipment safely.
Properly maintain all heavy equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Ensure heavy equipment is only used for its intended purpose.
Fix all problems with heavy equipment as swiftly as possible.

If you’ve suffered a heavy machinery accident in construction and believe that you are entitled to claim compensation, why not speak to a member of our team about your options today?

Claiming For Fatal Heavy Equipment Accidents

Unfortunately, heavy equipment accidents could lead to fatalities. If you can prove that a loved one has died as a result of a machinery accident caused by a lack of health and safety at work, it may be possible to make a claim for not only their fatal injuries but also compensation if you depended on them in any way.

Amongst other things, fatal accident compensation could cover funeral costs, financial dependency, loss of service and loss of a special person.

Please read our guide on claiming for fatal accidents or get in touch to speak with one of our specialists about your options.

Accidents With Heavy Equipment – When Could They Be Caused By Employer Negligence?

As explained earlier, heavy equipment accident claims are only possible if both the accident and any injuries were caused by a breach of duty. Some examples of the types of accidents with heavy machinery could be caused by:

If you were run over by a dumper truck because your employer had failed to train the driver on how to operate the machine correctly. As a result of the accident, you sustained a serious back injury.
Where you were involved in a forklift accident and suffered compression fractures after being pinned to a wall because your employer had failed to have the brakes fixed.
You suffered a serious head injury when a crane that was used in adverse weather conditions dropped its load due to the strong winds.

These are just some examples of heavy equipment accidents that could result in injuries. Even if we’ve not described your accident in construction here, please feel free to call us about your options.

Potential Evidence In A Heavy Machinery Accident Claim

We’re often asked what evidence is needed for a personal injury claim. Well, when claiming for heavy equipment accidents, you should try to supply evidence to prove liability for the accident, your injuries and the extent of your suffering. This could include:

Copies of your medical records and a diary of the treatment you received.
Details of anybody else who witnessed the accident.
Your copy of an accident report form or an investigation report.
Photographs of the accident scene and your visible injuries.
CCTV or mobile phone footage if the accident was recorded.

If you go on to claim with one of the solicitors from our panel, they may offer to collect further supporting evidence as part of their service.

We provide a free initial assessment of claims for accidents with heavy equipment. Therefore, why not call our advice line today?

Claim For Injuries In A Construction Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis

Claiming for heavy equipment accidents with a No Win No Fee solicitor can reduce the stress involved with claiming.

The solicitors on our panel work under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) for all accepted claims, which means:

No fees for your solicitor’s work are payable upfront, while the claim is in process or if it fails.
If you are compensated, a percentage of your compensation will be retained by your solicitor as a success fee. The success fee percentage is capped by law when using a CFA.

To see if you could make a No Win No Fee claim following a heavy equipment accident, you can:

Call 020 8050 2736 to speak with us.
Ask an online specialist for free advice.
Start your claim online and we’ll call you back.

Heavy Equipment Accident Claims