Construction Accident Claims – A Complete Guide

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 21st August 2023. This guide will explain the eligibility criteria that must be met to receive compensation in construction accident claims. If you have been injured in an accident at work due to your employer breaching their duty of care, you could be able to make a personal injury claim.

Construction accident claims

Construction accident claims guide

Therefore, this guide will examine the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), which is the central legislation outlining an employer’s duty of care. It states that they need to take reasonably practicable steps to keep their employees safe. A breach of this duty of care, which causes you injury, is called negligence, which could lead to a compensation claim.    

This guide will examine how injuries could occur on a construction site and what safety measures could be implemented to minimise risks. Moreover, we will look at the compensation that could be awarded for different injuries sustained in construction accident claims. 

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of a No Win No Fee agreement, read on. Additionally, you can talk to one of our advisors, who are available 24/7 to provide free legal advice. They will not place you under any obligations to further your claim with our panel of solicitors.  

To get in touch, you can: 

Select A Section

  1. A Guide To Construction Accident Claims
  2. What Are The Consequences Of Accidents In Construction?
  3. What Is Health And Safety On A Construction Site?
  4. Construction Site Accident Statistics
  5. How Much Can I Claim For Construction Accident Injuries?
  6. Get Help Through A No Win No Fee Agreement

A Guide To Construction Accident Claims

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describe working in the construction industry as high-risk, as it could pose various health risks. For example, working with hazardous substances or carrying out manual handling tasks could cause injury. These injuries could range from minor scrapes and bruises to serious and life-threatening conditions.  

Further examples of accidents that could occur on a construction site include: 

  • Slips, trips and falls
  • Strikes from falling objects
  • Falls from a height
  • Vibration-related accidents
  • Prolonged loud noises
  • Vehicle accidents
  • Heavy machinery accidents

Furthermore, it is important to establish who was liable for the accident in order for you to make a claim for your injuries. Not all injuries sustained in construction accidents will be caused by an employer breaching their duty of care. Therefore, not all injuries sustained at work could lead to a successful compensation claim.   

If you would like insight into who could be liable for construction accident claims, contact a member of our team. 

What Are The Consequences Of Accidents In Construction?

There may be various injuries which could be caused by a construction accident. These may include:

  • Head injuries
  • Crush injuries
  • Broken bones
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Amputation, either traumatic or surgical as a result of injuries sustained
  • Fatal injuries
  • Noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus
  • Worsening of current conditions
  • Psychological injuries, such as stress, anxiety and depression

You may also suffer financial losses as a consequence of injuries sustained in a construction accident. If your injuries that were caused by employer negligence resulted in you missing work and suffering from a loss of income, you could be eligible to claim reimbursement. 

Please get in touch with our advisors to find out what construction accident claims could reimburse.

What Is Health And Safety On A Construction Site?

Your employer must adhere to the HASAWA and ensure you are safe at work. This can include doing the following: 

  • Providing proper training
  • Carrying out maintenance and repairs on equipment in an appropriate timeframe
  • Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) if it is deemed necessary to reduce risk 
  • Carrying out risk assessments to identify risks and hazards and acting on the results 

Under The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers are required to carry out risk assessments to identify and minimise, as far as possible, any risks to the health and safety of their employees. Also, The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 lays out health and safety guidelines that must be carried out by anyone managing, working on, contracting or visiting a construction or building site. This protects the health and safety of anyone who could be injured by construction work.  

Therefore, if your employer breaches health and safety legislation, it could cause an accident resulting in injuries that could have been prevented. For this, you could be eligible to claim compensation. Contact our advisors for more information. 

Construction Site Accident Statistics 

Employers are legally obligated to report certain accidents and incidents at work under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). The HSE compile these figures to provide workplace accident statistics. However, it is important to note that these statistics relate to accidents overall and not ones caused by negligence. 

According to the HSE statistics in 2020/21: 

  • Employers reported a total of 51,211 non-fatal injuries across all industries.
  • Employers reported 3,464 non-fatal injuries in the construction industry alone.
  • The main cause of injury in construction at 944 was slips, trips, or falls on the same level.   

How Many People Have Died In Construction In The UK?

Reported fatal injuries under RIDDOR in Great Britain in 2021/22:

  • 123 workers were killed in work-related accidents.
  • 30 of these fatal accidents occurred in the construction industry.

How Much Can I Claim For Construction Accident Injuries?

If you successfully claim compensation for a construction accident, your payout could include general damages and special damages.

General damages is the head of claim that would compensate you for the pain and suffering you’ve endured due to your injury. When assessing general damages payouts for a construction injury, legal professionals could refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for guidance. The JCG is a publication that provides guideline payout amounts for a range of different injuries at various levels of severity.

The table below contains some figures from the 2022 edition of the JCG. However, please remember these are only to be used as a guide.

Edit
Injury Details Compensation Bracket
Very Severe Injury from Brain Damage (a) The person will need full-time nursing care. They will show little, if any, meaningful response to the environment. £282,010 to £403,990
Moderate Injury from Brain Damage (c) (iii) The person’s concentration and memory will be affected, and dependence on others will be very limited. £43,060 to £90,720
Amputation of Legs (a) (ii) Both of the person’s legs will have been amputated below the knee. £201,490 to £270,100
Amputation of Arms (b)(ii) One of the person’s arms will have been amputated above the elbow. £109,650 to £130,930
Hand Injuries (c) The person will have totally or effectively lost one hand. For example, the hand may have been crushed, requiring amputation. £96,160 to £109,650
Severe Neck Injuries (a) (ii) The injury will give rise to disabilities of considerable severity and usually involve serious fractures or damage to discs in the spine. £65,740 to £130,930
Less Severe Arm Injuries (c) The person will have suffered from significant disabilities. However, a substantial recovery will have been made or will be expected. £19,200 to £39,170

As well as general damages, you could be awarded special damages for out-of-pocket expenses caused by your injury. These could include:

  •       Medical expenses.
  •       Care costs.
  •       Loss of earnings.
  •       Travel expenses.

You would need to be able to prove that these expenses were incurred due to your injuries. Receipts, bank statements and payslips could help with this.

If you would like to learn more about compensation payouts for construction claims, please contact an advisor. They could give you a free valuation of your claim.

Get Help Through A No Win No Fee Agreement

Entering into a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), a type of No Win No Fee agreement, with a solicitor could provide many benefits for your claim. Some of these include:

  • You will not pay for a solicitor’s services if your claim is unsuccessful.
  • There are no upfront or ongoing fees for a solicitor’s services.
  • Your solicitor will take, for a successful claim, a small percentage of the compensation, referred to as a ‘success fee’.
  • The law caps the amount of ‘success fee’ a solicitor can take. 

For more information regarding the use of No Win No Fee solicitors for construction accident claims, contact our team of advisors. If they find you could have a valid claim, they could put you in touch with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors. 

Go ahead and start your claim today by: 

Related Workplace Accident Claims

Below, you can find links to some more of our guides on accident at work claims:

External sources for further reading:

Thank you for reading this guide to construction accident claims.

Guide by JO

Edited by FS