What the law requires
Construction sites are governed by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations in addition to the general duties owed by every employer. Those regulations place responsibilities on the principal contractor and the principal designer as well as on the direct employer.
Falls from height remain the leading cause of fatal injury in the sector, and the Work at Height Regulations require the risk to be avoided where possible before any question of protective equipment arises.
What decides a claim like this
Liability is established on records far more often than on recollection. In this kind of claim the documents that matter most are:
- The construction phase plan and the specific risk assessment for the task.
- Scaffold inspection records, which must be kept at set intervals.
- Who the principal contractor was, and what they were doing to coordinate safety.
- Whether edge protection, netting or a harness system was provided and usable.
What to do now
The evidence that decides these claims has a short life. If the accident was recent:
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1
Report it in the accident book Every workplace with ten or more staff must keep one. Ask for a copy of the entry you signed.
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2
Tell your GP An early medical record is what links the injury to the work, which is often the point in dispute.
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3
Note who saw it Colleagues move on. A name and a mobile number now is worth more than a perfect memory later.
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4
Keep what you were given Training records, the equipment involved, the rota and any risk assessment you were shown.
How long you have to claim
The general limitation period for a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the accident, or from the date you first knew the injury was significant and attributable to someone else. If you were under 18 at the time, the three years runs from your eighteenth birthday. Where the injured person lacks mental capacity, time may not run at all.\n\nThe practical deadline is shorter than the legal one. CCTV is overwritten, defects are repaired and records are archived, so a claim started early is almost always a stronger claim.
How we work
We assess the claim, obtain the records that decide it, instruct an independent medical expert and deal with the insurer throughout. Personal injury claims of this kind are run on a No Win, No Fee agreement: there is nothing to pay upfront, and nothing to pay us for our work if the claim does not succeed. A success fee is deducted from the compensation if it does, and we set that out in writing before you commit to anything.