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Building Site Injury Claims – How To Claim For Construction Accidents

While construction/building sites are inherently more dangerous than some workplaces, employers must always try to ensure the safety of all staff, contractors and visitors. Due to the types of machinery and materials used, building site accidents can often lead to very serious injuries. If you have been injured in a building site accident because your employer was negligent in some way, you might be able to claim compensation for your suffering.

If you believe you should be compensated, we can help with the building site injury claims process. Firstly, we’ll review your claim and provide free legal advice in a no-obligation consultation. Then, if your case is suitable, we could refer you to one of our personal injury solicitors. They can help make the process less stressful by representing you on a No Win, No Fee basis. If your case is accepted, you won’t be asked to pay your solicitor upfront and you won’t need to pay for their work if you aren’t paid compensation.

Ready to claim for an accident on a building site straight away? If so, please call on 0800 652 1345. Alternatively, to read more on how building site injury claims work, please continue reading.

Statistics for injuries in the construction industry

According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics, the most common reasons for injuries in construction from 2020 to 2023 were:

This information relates to non-fatal injuries on construction sites. Whatever type of accident you’ve been involved in, we could help you claim. Please call today and we’ll review your options for free.

Can I claim compensation for being injured on a building site?

The criteria for making a personal injury claim for an accident on a building site means that you’ll need to show that:

  • The operator of the building site owed you a duty of care; and
  • They were negligent; and
  • Their negligence directly resulted in your injury.

Several pieces of legislation mean that you’ll be owed a duty of care if you were on a building site legally. For example, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 mean that anyone responsible for a building project must ensure that “construction work can be carried out, so far as is reasonably practicable, without risks to the health or safety of any person affected by the project”.

Once a duty of care has been established, proving how negligence caused you to be injured is all that is required. We’ll look at how that can be achieved throughout this article.

What accidents could I make a building site injury claim for?

To give you some idea of why you could claim compensation for a building site accident, we’ve included some scenarios below:

  • If you fell from scaffolding that hadn’t been erected correctly or maintained properly.
  • Where you fell down an excavation because poor lighting or warning signs made it hard to see.
  • If you were hit by a reversing vehicle where no banksman was used.
  • Where you were electrocuted by unsafe wiring.
  • If a crane dropped masonry on you because it hadn’t been loaded correctly.
  • If you suffer industrial deafness due to prolonged exposure to excessive noise and you weren’t provided with ear defenders.
  • Where you slipped on debris littered across an untidy building site.

These and other scenarios could all lead to building site injury claims. If you’re not sure if you’re entitled to claim, why not call a member of our team to check today?

If I was partially at fault for a construction accident can I still claim?

As we’ve explained above, you will be owed a duty of care by your employer whilst you’re working on a building site. As a result, you could be compensated if your employer’s negligence causes an accident. However, you could also be eligible to claim if you were partly to blame for the accident in some cases.

For example, if you suffered injuries because a steel joist was dropped and hit you on the head and you weren’t wearing a hard hat, you may be able to claim damages. That might be the case if the site foreman was aware that you weren’t wearing protective headgear but still allowed you to work.

In this scenario, the level of responsibility would need to be established. So, if the joist fell on you because it wasn’t secured to a crane properly, liability could be split on a 75%:25% basis i.e. you were only 25% to blame for your injuries because you would probably have been injured even if you were wearing a hard hat. In this scenario, your claim would be calculated as normal but it would be reduced by 25% before you were paid.

Common injuries from construction accidents on building sites

You could claim for any type of injury sustained in a construction accident on a building site if it was caused by the negligence of your employer, fellow worker, or a visitor to the site. We won’t list each and every injury here but some common injuries that compensation might be claimed for include:

If you’d like to discuss whether you could be entitled to claim for your injury, please call today.

Providing proof for a building site injury claim

Whatever type of injury you’re claiming compensation for, you’ll need to prove what happened, how you were injured in a construction accident on a building site and who was to blame. If you can’t do this, you might not be compensated or any settlement could be lower than you might expect. As such, you’ll need as much proof as possible to support your building site injury claim. The types of evidence you could supply include:

  • Accident report forms. As we’ll show below, you are entitled to a copy of an accident report and it could be used as evidence to prove that the accident occurred.
  • Witness details. Should liability for your accident be denied, your solicitor might ask any witnesses for a statement of what they saw. Write down the contact details of anyone else who was present like other construction workers.
  • Medical records. You should always attend A&E, a GP surgery or a minor injuries unit if you’re injured on a building site. By doing so, your injuries will be properly diagnosed and treated. If you go on to make a construction site accident claim, medical records and X-rays from your treatment could be used to ascertain the extent of your injuries.
  • Photos. It is always good to take pictures of the accident scene if you’re able to do so. Using your phone, you should try to take pictures from various angles. Ideally, you should do this before anything is removed or repaired.
  • CCTV footage. Some building sites use security cameras to protect equipment from being stolen. If your accident was recorded, you’re well within your rights to ask for a copy of the footage.
  • Financial records. If you incur any costs because of the building site accident, these could be claimed back. Keep a copy of any relevant receipts or invoices.

If you call to discuss your building site injury claim, we’ll review any evidence you have secured for free. So, get in contact with us and an advisor will review your options with you.

Reporting an accident on a building site

You must report any building site accident to the site foreman or supervisor as soon as possible. By law, they will need to keep a record of what happened. This can also be a useful piece of evidence if you do decide to claim. That’s because if you have a copy of your accident report, it would be very difficult for the site operator to deny that the accident took place. Your report will help to prove where and when your accident happened and what injuries you sustained.

Additionally, many building site injuries need to be reported to the HSE under RIDDOR regulations. If the HSE decides to investigate, their report could also be obtained and used as supporting evidence in your claim.

How much compensation for a building site accident?

When you make a building site injury claim, any compensation needs to be fully justified and explained during the claims process. If your case is successful, you could be paid compensation to cover:

      • The pain and suffering your injuries caused.
      • Any impact on your hobbies or social life.
      • Loss of income and future loss of earnings.
      • Private medical treatment.
      • Care costs.
      • Travel expenses.
      • Adaptations to your vehicle or home to help you cope with your injuries.
      • The cost of replacing personal items damaged in your accident.

If your claim is accepted, your solicitor will ensure everything is considered before filing your claim. This is important because if you were to settle your claim, you can’t request further compensation later on because you forgot to include something. Call us to see if we could help you claim, and how much your claim could be worth.

Building site injury claims time limits

As you may be aware, there is a 3-year time limit for personal injury claims. This limitation period usually starts from:

      • The date of your accident; or
      • When your injuries were diagnosed by a doctor.

Although 3-years seems like a long time, we’d suggest you begin the building site injury claims process as soon as possible. If you do, it will be much easier to obtain supporting evidence to back up your allegations. Also, if liability is agreed upon early enough, your solicitor could ask the defendant to make an interim payment so you can receive private medical treatment to speed up your recovery.

To check how long you’ve got left to claim, why not call or use live chat to get in touch?

No Win, No Fee claims

We understand that many people wouldn’t claim if they had to pay for legal representation up front. For that reason, our personal injury solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service. How No Win, No Fee works is no fees are charged in advance and you won’t pay for your solicitors’ work unless you’re compensated.

If your claim is accepted, you’ll receive a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is your contract and it will show you what work will be completed for you by your solicitor.

Within the CFA, there will be a section about success fees. This is a fixed percentage of your compensation that your solicitor will deduct if your case is won. If the case fails, you won’t need to pay the success fee. So that you cannot be overcharged, this fee is capped to 25% of your compensation when using a CFA.

Please get in touch if you’d like to see if you could claim for a building site injury on a No Win, No Fee basis.

Start a claim for a building site accident today

We hope this article on building site injury claims has been helpful. We also hope that you’ll get in touch if you have decided to claim. To do so, please call our advisors on 0800 652 1345 today, or contact us here for a free claims consultation.

If your claim is taken on, you’ll benefit from the experience and skills of one of our specialist solicitors. They’ll keep you updated throughout about any progress and they’ll fight your corner to try and secure the most compensation possible in your case.

Remember, whatever you decide to do, we’ll conduct a review of your claim along with free legal advice so there’s nothing to lose by calling.

Thank you for reading this article on building site injury claims, and please let us know if you have any further questions.

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