Construction Accident Claims: Worker And Visitor Compensation For Injury On Construction Sites

Discover what construction accident claims are; the types of person who can claim compensation for injury on a construction site; the specific dangers of construction sites; the health and safety rules designed to protect workers from injury; how to show your employer is legally at fault for your accident; with access to our specialist solicitor free legal help both online and by telephone.

What are construction accident claims?

A “construction site” or a “building site” is the name given to an area in which new buildings or other form of structure is constructed, which include houses, flats, bridges, motorways, roads , power stations, wind farms and other forms of structure which make up the infrastructure in the UK.

“Construction accident claims” are also known as “construction work accidents” or “construction site accident claims” – all of which describe a claim for compensation from an employer for injury and subsequent financial loss as a result of an accident suffered whilst working on a construction site.

Who can make a claim for injury on a construction site?

Employee

An employer’s prime duties of safety in the workplace, including construction sites, relate to employees.

An employee is clearly entitled to compensation, but in certain circumstances other individuals can make construction accident claims.

If you are an employee and suffer injury as a result of legal fault of your employer – you will certainly be able to claim compensation.

Watch out – you do not have to be an employee to make a construction accident claim.

Contractor, agent, self-employed, visitor, oversees employee and trespasser

You may also be able to make a claim against your de facto employer as a contractor, an agent or as a self-employed individual.

So long as your accident occurred on a construction site – you are owed a duty by the business immediately in charge of your system of work and the company in overall charge of the construction site.

In our building site accident claims we explain how the self-employed, visitors, trespassers and employees overseas can claim compensation.

Land owner’s liability

The owner of the land and of premises forming the construction site is classed as an occupier and as such can, in certain instances, be held liable for accidents on their land.

See our occupiers liability article – for a detailed explanation setting out the duty of the land owner.

What duty are you owed if you are a construction site worker?

As a construction site worker you are owed a duty by your employer to keep you safe from injury and accident. There are specific health and safety regulations provided in UK and European law to protect you, which include:

Working at height regulations

There are specific laws relating to how jobs must be done and safety equipment to be used if you are working anywhere other than ground level – whether it be on a ladder, on scaffolding, on a roof, etc.

For example, if you are on a ladder – the ladder should be secured or footed to prevent it from wobbling and causing you to fall.

Risk of falling objects

All workers on a construction site should have protective equipment at all times – including a hard hart to prevent injury from falling objects, which are typical construction worker accident claims.

Protection form defective and dangerous premises causing construction accidents

Defective and dangerous premises refers to any dangerous areas on the construction site – such as deep holes, etc. or unstable structures, which should be fenced off or clearly marked with appropriate warnings.

Defective machinery and work equipment

An employer is liable for construction site accidents causing you injury as a result of defective work equipment – you only need show that the equipment is defective not how the defect was caused.

In our defective work equipment compensation article we describe how to succeed in a compensation claim for defective machines and equipment.

Manual handling of objects on building sites

Many construction accident claims are caused from workers handling large heavy objects.

If workers are required to handle large objects or small objects on repetitious basis – the action is classed as manual handling and as such your employer must risk assess the task before a you do the job to ensure your safety.

Following any injury as a result of manual handling – the task should be further risk assessed and if your injury is serious (requiring more than three days off work) a RIDDOR report should be made and the Health And Safety Executive notified.

Excessive noise exposure

Noise from construction sites can be excessive – whether single massive sounds (such as from the use of explosives or large metal objects colliding) or constant excessive loud noise – such as the sound used by construction machines, diggers, power tools and large vehicles.

Noise exposure can lead to industrial deafness and health and safety regulations set out the maximum noise levels that you can be exposed to before risk of injury to hearing and hearing protection or noise reduction techniques are necessary.

Our industrial deafness claim article explains how to claim occupational hearing loss compensation.

Injury from work vehicles

Specific laws apply to the training and safety of workers using vehicles – whether it be forklift trucks, cranes, diggers, lorries, etc.

How do you show legal fault for your construction site accident?

Showing legal fault or legal responsibility of your employer is best left down to a specialist solicitor.

See our accident at work claim article for a detailed explanation as to how your solicitor can show fault.

Summary

In this article we have set out the specific health and safety laws your solicitor can rely on to show your employer is responsible for your construction accident claims and why you should use a specialist solicitor to claim compensation.

Free Online / Telephone Legal Help

See our specialist solicitor free help options – to select from our specialist solicitor free help, including asking an online question, having your claim assessed and arranging a specialist solicitor callback to discuss your construction accident.