What Could You Claim If Hit By A Falling Object At Work?

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Hit By A Falling Object At Work Claims Guide

Being hit by a falling object at work can result in serious injury. This guide will take you through how these accidents can happen, and the injuries falling objects could cause, as well as the possible compensation amounts those injuries could be valued at. Also contained in this guide is a breakdown of the evidence you could gather to support your personal injury claim. 

We will look at the employer’s duty of care surrounding health and safety and how breaches of this duty can cause injury.

At the bottom of this guide is an explanation of the No Win No Fee agreement and the benefits of working with a personal injury solicitor on your potential accident at work claim under these terms.

You can contact an adviser about your claim using the following:

Select a Section

  1. What Could You Claim If Hit By A Falling Object At Work?
  2. When Could You Claim If Hit By A Falling Object At Work?
  3. Injuries Caused By Being Struck By Something
  4. Proving Your Workplace Accident Claim
  5. How A No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Solicitor Could Help You
  6. Discover More About Claiming If Hit By A Falling Object At Work

What Could You Claim If Hit By a Falling Object At Work?

The table below lists types of injuries that could be consistent with being hit by a falling object at work, alongside guideline compensation bracket amounts that have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, a publication that is used by legal professionals when valuing personal injury claims. Each personal injury claim is assessed on its individual merits, so your personal injury compensation amount could vary from the examples below. Consequently, this information has been provided as a guideline only. Always seek medical attention if you are injured in a workplace accident.

If your personal injury claim after an accident at work is successful, you could be awarded both general and special damages. General damages compensate for the pain and suffering your injuries have caused, and the examples in the table are reflective of this.

Compensation Table

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Injury Severity Description Guideline Bracket
Neck (a) Severe (i) Incomplete paraplegia or permanent spastic quadriparesis or little or no neck movement. In the region of £148,330
Neck (a) Severe (ii) Serious fractures or damage to the cervical spine giving rise to substantial loss of neck movement and limb function. £65,740 to £130,930
Back (a) Severe (i) Damage to spinal cord and nerve roots causing severe pain and disability including paralysis and impaired bladder and bowel function. £91,090 to £160,980
Back (a) Severe (ii) Damage to nerve roots with associated loss of sensation, impaired mobility and impaired bladder and bowel function. £74,160 to £88,430
Shoulder (a) Severe Damage to the brachial plexus resulting in significant disability. £19,200 to £48,030
Shoulder (a) Serious Dislocation of the shoulder and lower brachial plexus damage causing pain, weakness of grip and restricted movement. £12,770 to £19,200
Leg (b) Severe (ii) Multiple fractures that required extensive treatment and have lead to permanent mobility problems. £54,830 to £87,890
Leg (b) Severe (iii) Serious compound or comminuted fractures resulting in instability and extensive scarring. £39,200 to £54,830
Foot injuries Severe Fractures of both heels or severe injuries to a single foot. £41,970 to £70,030
Foot injuries Serious Injuries causing continuing pain from traumatic arthritis or risk of future arthritis £24,990 to £39,200

As well as the general damages that could be awarded for the pain and suffering of your injuries, special damages may also be awarded for your monetary losses, for example:

  • You could be reimbursed for travel if your ability to drive to and from work is affected.
  • Domestic care costs, such as from a nurse.
  • Loss of future income: your injuries mean you can no longer work.

Retain any documentation such as your payslips, invoices or receipts as evidence of a financial loss. 

When Could You Claim If Hit By A Falling Object At Work?

All employers owe a duty of care to their employees as per the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974. An employer has a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety and well-being of all employees during their work activities. Per the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, an employer is required to carry out suitable and sufficient assessments of all manual handling operations and take the appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest practical level.

If you are hit by a falling object at work, you could make a personal injury claim, if you can satisfy the following requirements:

  1. You were owed a duty of care at the time of the accident by your employer.
  2. Your employer breached this duty.
  3. Your employer’s breaching this duty was the cause of your injuries.

Some examples of how an employer could breach their duty of care with regard to a falling object causing an injury are as follows:

  • An employer fails to carry out the proper maintenance on warehouse shelving, resulting in an object falling from a broken shelf and landing on a worker
  • An employer does not provide the relevant training to workers resulting in them overloading a forklift and objects falling from the lift onto another worker.
  • An employer failed to provide staff with the correct personal protective equipment meaning a falling object caused a serious head injury. 

If you are unsure whether your employer is responsible for causing your injuries, you can reach our advisers using the contact information above.

Time Limit

As a general rule, the time limit for initiating legal proceedings for a personal injury claim is 3 years from the accident date, per the Limitation Act 1980. However, certain exceptions can apply, for example

  • If the injured person is under 18, the 3-year time limit commences from their 18th birthday.
  • If the injured person is of a reduced mental capacity, the time limit is frozen until they regain their mental capacity.

In both instances, another can apply to be a litigation friend to start the claims process sooner.

Injuries Caused By Being Struck By Something

Falling objects of any size can cause injury. According to the Health and Safety Executive HSE, the British regulatory body for workplace health and safety, being hit by a moving object at work accounts for over 10% of major injuries at work. Some examples of how you could be struck and injured by a falling object are listed below:

  • You are working on a construction site but have not been provided with any steel-toe-capped boots. A toolbox is knocked from a scaffold, landing on your unprotected foot resulting in multiple broken bones.
  • A warehouse walkway has not been cleared of obstructions. A worker trips over the obstruction, causing the box they were carrying to fall onto you, resulting in a serious back injury.
  • Your employer has failed to carry out maintenance work on a forklift. The lifting mechanism fails, and the pallet falls, crushing your leg.

Proving Your Workplace Accident Claim

You will need to provide evidence that your injuries were caused by your employer breaching their duty of care. Below is a list of examples of possible evidence you could collect if hit by a falling object at work:

  • Records showing that manual handling or vehicle training was not provided or done incorrectly.
  • Collect witness contact details so a statement can be taken later on.
  • You can ask for copies of any medical records after receiving treatment to demonstrate the extent of your injuries.
  • If cameras are in place, you can request a copy of the workplace CCTV footage.
  • The report of the accident in the workplace accident book

Thorough evidence will not only help show if your employer breached their duty of care but also demonstrate the extent of your injuries and their impact on your life. This list is non-exhaustive; you do not need examples of all the evidence listed here to make a successful claim. If, for example, there were no witnesses to your accident, your claim can still succeed if you have provided other evidence that shows your employer’s breach of their duty of care caused you to be injured. 

If you need support in obtaining evidence or would like to query any aspect of your claim, you can contact our advisers. They could put you in contact with one of our solicitors, who could assist you with the collection of evidence. 

How A No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Solicitor Could Help You

Our Solicitors can offer to take your case on a No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Generally speaking, you would not have to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for the solicitor’s services, and in the event your claim is unsuccessful, there will be no fees to pay.

Prior to the start of your claim, you and your solicitor will agree upon a success fee. This fee will be deducted directly from your personal injury settlement as a percentage amount. By law, the percentage is capped, which means you will keep the majority of your compensation.

For more advice on potentially making a claim if you have been hit by a falling object at work, you can reach our advisers using the contact information below.

Discover More About Claiming If Hit By A Falling Object At Work

For more of our workplace accident claim guides:

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