This is a guide discussing construction injury claims, including the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to pursue personal injury compensation following an accident at work and the evidence you could gather to support your case.
Construction sites could pose a risk of injury to employees if known hazards aren’t addressed. We explore the duty of care placed on employers to keep their employees safe at work and provide examples of construction site accidents that could occur from a breach of duty of care and the potential injuries that could come from them.
Additionally, we explore the potential compensation payout that could be awarded following a successful workplace injury claim and how the value of payouts is calculated.
To end, this guide discusses the benefits of claiming on a No Win No Fee basis with a construction accident lawyer from our panel.
Please continue reading for more information on personal injury claims. Alternatively, you can contact our team of advisors for a free case assessment and ask any questions you might have pertaining to your potential case. For more information, you can:
- Phone us on 0800 408 7825.
- Submit your details in via our ‘Contact Us‘ form.
- Use our live chat box below.
Select A Section
- The Criteria For Construction Injury Claims
- Examples Of Construction Accidents At Work
- How Much Could Your Construction Injury Claim Be Worth?
- Claiming Compensation For A Construction Injury
- Construction Injury Claims And No Win No Fee Agreements
- Learn More About Construction Injury Claims
The Criteria For Construction Injury Claims
In order for you to be eligible to pursue a personal injury claim following a construction accident at work, you need to demonstrate that you meet the criteria below:
- A duty of care was owed to you by your employer at the time and location of the accident.
- Your employer breached their duty of care.
- You suffered an injury due to this breach.
The above criteria form the basis of negligence in claims for a personal injury. If you can demonstrate negligence occurred, you may be eligible to seek construction accident compensation.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets the duty of care for employers to take steps that are both practicable as well as reasonable in order to prevent employees from becoming injured in the workplace. Additionally, The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, outlines the responsibilities those have when working in construction to improve health and safety in this industry. For example, it helps those, whatever their role in construction, to:
- Sensibly plan the work so any risks involved are managed from start to finish.
- Have the right people for the right job at the right time.
- Have information about the risks and how they are managed.
- Consult and engage with workers regarding the risks and how they are managed.
If there was a failure by an employer to uphold the duty they owe and this caused you harm as a result, it could mean you’re eligible to pursue compensation.
What Are The Time Limits For Making Construction Accident Compensation Claims
As well as satisfying the personal injury claim criteria for claiming for an accident on a building or construction site, you must also bring your claim within the limitation period. The Limitation Act 1980 states that generally, a personal injury claim for an accident at work must have legal proceedings initiated within 3 years of the accident occurring. However, there are exceptions, such as:
- If a claimant lacks the mental capacity to bring forth their own claim, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. An adult who has the injured party’s best interest can make the claim on behalf of the injured party by applying to the court to act as a litigation friend. However, should the injured party regain mental capacity and no claim has been pursued by a litigation friend, the time limit is reinstated, and they have 3 years to initiate proceedings from the date of their recovery.
- Minors, those under 18 years old, cannot pursue a personal injury claim themselves until they reach adulthood. They then have 3 years until their 21st birthday to file the claim. While they are still under 18, a litigation friend can be appointed to make the claim on their behalf.
To learn more about your eligibility for a construction accident compensation claim or the time limit that will apply in your case, please contact an advisor today.
Examples Of Construction Accidents At Work
Below, we have provided examples of how construction accidents at work could occur.
- No warning signs – There may have been no warning signs placed to alert employees of hazards in a particular area of a construction site. As a result, when walking through this area, a falling object strikes an employee in the face causing them to sustain broken facial bones. Warning signs can also be useful in preventing slips, trips and falls on construction sites.
- Not being provided with adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – PPE, such as eye protective goggles, should be provided to employees free of charge when necessary. This can involve when the risk of known hazards cannot be completely removed. If there is a failure to do so, it could lead to an employee sustaining a serious injury to the eye due to having hazardous substances splashed in their eye.
- Working with faulty equipment – If a machine you use, such as a forklift, is poorly maintained, it could mean an employee crashes while using the faulty forklift truck and sustains a back injury and broken leg.
- A lack of training – For instance, if an employee is asked to work from a height without being given any health and safety training, it could mean they fall from a height and sustain damage to their spinal cord, as well as serious head injuries. In some tragic cases, it could even lead to fatal accidents.
- No manual handling support – If you’re tasked to lift heavy equipment or items around a construction site, without the right equipment or help from colleagues, you could suffer an injury.
To discuss the specific circumstances surrounding your construction site accident and personal injury, do not hesitate to speak with our team of advisors today. They can offer further insight into construction injury claims to help you understand when you could be eligible to seek compensation.
How Much Could Your Construction Injury Claim Be Worth?
When calculating compensation for successful construction injury claims, several factors may be considered. For example:
- Injury severity. For instance, a broken arm is more serious than a sprained wrist.
- Treatment.
- Recovery period.
- Future prognosis.
- The financial impact of your injury.
Generally, though, the payout awarded following a successful payout could comprise up to two heads of loss; general damages and special damages. General damages compensates for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, physical, psychological or both.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and medical evidence can help solicitors determine the value of general damages. The JCG contains a list of guideline award brackets which align with injuries of different types and severity. We have included some of these in the table below. However, it’s important that you use these figures as a guide only. This is because payouts can differ depending on the different factors, such as those mentioned above.
Injuries Table
| Injury | Severity | Compensation bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple very severe injuries plus financial losses and costs. | Very Severe | Up to £1,000,000 or more |
| Arm Amputation | Loss Of Both Arms (a) | £240,790 to £300,000 |
| Loss Of One Arm (b) (ii) | £109,650 to £130,930 | |
| Brain damage | Moderate (c) (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 |
| Moderate (c) (iii) | £43,060 to £90,720 | |
| Leg | Amputation (a) (i) | £240,790 to £282,010 |
| Less Serious (c) (i) | £17,960 to £27,760 | |
| Wrist | Complete Loss Of Function (a) | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| Ankle | Moderate (c) | £13,740 to £26,590 |
| Elbow | Moderate or Minor (c) | Up to £12,590 |
| Eye | Minor (h) | £3,950 to £8,730 |
Please note that the top entry is not part of the JCG.
If you’d like to check out our accident at work claim calculator, head here. You can find compensation payouts for a wide range of injuries. You can also head here to find more compensation examples for accidents at work.
You may also find our construction accident case study beneficial if you’d like to learn more about how the claims process works.
Special Damages In Construction Injury Claims
Special damages compensate for the money you have lost because of your injuries. This includes both past and future losses. Examples of the costs that could be reimbursed via compensation under this head of loss include:
- Lost wages.
- Travel expenses.
- Medical expenses.
- The cost of renovations to your home.
- Care costs.
Payslips, invoices, bank statements, tickets, and receipts can all be used as evidence to prove these losses.
For more information about the process of calculating compensation for successful construction injury claims, please contact an advisor on the number above. They could offer you a free and personalised estimate of your case.
Claiming Compensation For A Construction Injury
Evidence can help support construction injury claims by showing that an employer did not uphold the duty of care that they owed and, as a result, you sustained harm in a workplace accident. As such, you could benefit from gathering:
- CCTV footage of the accident.
- A diary of your symptoms and treatment.
- Photographs of the accident site and your injury.
- The contact details from potential witnesses.
- Copies of your medical records.
If you contact our team of advisors today about your specific circumstances, they may connect you to an accident at work solicitor from our panel, provided you have valid grounds to seek compensation. The solicitors from our panel could then help you gather evidence and support you through the personal injury claims process.
Construction Injury Claims And No Win No Fee Agreements
If you are eligible to pursue compensation, you could choose to instruct a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. They have experience handling construction injury claims and could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
A CFA is a specific kind of No Win No Fee contract, the terms of which mean that you do not pay for your solicitor’s services as your claim begins, while your claim continues, or if it has a failed outcome.
If your claim has a successful outcome, your solicitor will take a success fee from your compensation. This is deducted as a percentage which has a legal cap. Due to the cap, you are able to keep the majority of your compensation.
Find out whether you could be eligible to instruct a solicitor from our panel by getting in touch with an advisor. They can also answer any other questions you might have regarding your potential claim. To reach them, you can:
- Phone on 0800 408 7825.
- Submit your details via our ‘Contact Us‘ form.
- Use our live chat box.
Learn More About Construction Injury Claims
To read more of our guides, please see below:
- Read more about building and construction accident claims and the compensation payout you could be awarded for injuries if you succeed.
- Learn about your rights after an accident at work including when you could be eligible to claim.
- Find out if you could claim for a broken bone injury at work and the process involved in doing so.
For more external resources:
- An NHS guide on how to tell whether you have a broken bone and when to seek medical attention.
- Information from the Health and Safety Executive on hazards present in the construction industry.
- Guidance from GOV.UK about when you could be eligible to receive statutory sick pay.
We hope this guide on construction injury claims has provided you with all the information you need. However, if you have any other questions, please contact an advisor using the number above.