How Much Compensation Can I Claim For Falling Off A Ladder?

By Danielle Griffin. Last Updated 10th November 2023. If you’ve fallen off a ladder, you may have suffered significant injuries that have left you in pain and unable to work. If the accident happened through no fault of your own, you could claim compensation for falling off a ladder. 

Below, we look at the criteria for making a personal injury claim after a ladder fall. We also look at compensation payouts, No Win No Fee agreements and how our solicitors can help you today.

If you’d like to enquire about claiming compensation for a ladder accident, you can speak with us now free of charge. You can reach us by:

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claiming compensation for falling off a ladder

Can I make a claim for a ladder fall?

Select A Section

  1. How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Ladder Fall At Work?
  2. Could I Claim For Falling Off A Ladder?
  3. What Are The Causes Of Ladder Accidents?
  4. What To Do After Falling Off A Ladder At Work
  5. No Win No Fee Claims For Falling Off A Ladder
  6. How Accident Claims UK Can Help You Make A No Win No Fee Claim After Falling Off A Ladder
  7. Helpful Resources On What To Do After Falling Off A Ladder

How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Ladder Fall At Work?

If you make a successful claim for falling off a ladder, your settlement could consist of two parts. These are called general and special damages.

General damages compensate for the physical and mental pain you experienced as a result of the ladder accident. When valuing general damages, those responsible for evaluating your claim may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provides guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries.

In our table below, we look at a few figures relevant to ladder accidents from the 16th edition of the JCG.

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Ladder Injury Notes Award Bracket
Multiple Serious Injuries and Related Financial Losses Awards may consider multiple serious physical and mental injuries plus any special damages. Up to £1,000,000+
Very Severe Brain Damage (a) The injured party demonstrates very little, if any, meaningful response to their environment and requires full-time nursing care. £282,010 to £403,990
Below-knee Amputation of Both Legs (a) (ii) The level of the amputation will be relevant in determining compensation for such injuries. £201,490 to £270,100
Severe Back Injury (a) (i) The most severe injuries to the back, causing damage to nerve roots and spinal cord. £91,090 to £160,980
Moderate Back Injury (b) (i) Examples include compression or crush fractures of spinal vertebrae. £27,760 to £38,780
Severe Neck Injury (a) (i) With incomplete cases of paraplegia or where even with immobilisation, there is severe pain. In the region of
£148,330
Moderate Neck Injury (b) (i) Fracture/dislocation that may need spinal fusion. £24,990 to
£38,490
Severe Arm Injury (a) Injuries short of amputation but leaving the injured person no better off than if the arm had been lost. £96,160 to £130,930
Less Severe Arm Injury (c) Significant level of disability but a significant level of recovery. £19,200 to £39,170
Severe Shoulder Injury (a) Often involving brachial plexus damage. £19,200 to £48,030

What Else Can I Include in My Ladder Injury Claim?

You may also be awarded compensation for any financial losses that have been caused by your injuries. This is under special damages, and may include compensation for:

  • Expenses for home modifications.
  • Care and nursing costs.
  • Cleaning and childcare expenses.
  • Loss of earnings, including pension contributions.
  • Medication costs, including prescriptions and over-the-counter pain relief.

You should submit proof of your financial losses, such as payslips, receipts, invoices, and bank statements.

If you would like a free valuation of your potential personal injury claim, speak to one of our team members.

Could I Claim For Falling Off A Ladder?

Falling off a ladder at work can have significant consequences, but it may not always lead to a valid claim. To be eligible to make a personal injury claim for injuries caused by a ladder accident, you would need to fulfil certain eligibility criteria. These are:

  1. Someone must have owed you a duty of care.
  2. They must have breached this duty of care towards you.
  3. The breach must have caused you to suffer harm.

When you are at work, your employer owes you a duty of care. This is set out under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Under this legislation, they must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that you are safe while working. Should they fail to do so, and you suffer an injury as a result, you could be eligible for compensation.

To check your eligibility to claim, why not contact one of our advisors? A member of our helpful team could evaluate your personal injury claim for free and can answer any questions you might have about the claims process. Additionally, if they find that your claim could be valid, they may connect you with one of our solicitors.

How Long Do I Have To Claim After Falling Off A Ladder?

When making a claim after falling off a ladder for your injuries, you will need to ensure that you start proceedings within the correct limitation period. The Limitation Act 1980 states that you will have three years to start a personal injury claim from the date of the accident.

However, the time limit may be suspended under certain circumstances. For example:

  • A minor who has suffered injuries after falling off a ladder will have the time limit supsended until their 18th birthday. From then, they have until their 21st birthday to bring forward a personal injury claim.
  • The limitation period is indefinitely suspended if a claimant lacks the mental capacity to make their own claim. If they were to regain this mental capacity, they would have three years from the recovery date to start a claim.

During limitation period suspensions, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on the injured party’s behalf. A parent, legal guardian or solicitor are a few examples of people who could be a litigation friend.

Our accident claims solicitors have years of experience, which they can utilise to ensure your claim is submitted in full and within the time limit. Get in touch with our advisors at any time for more information.

What Are The Causes Of Ladder Accidents?

There are various ways a ladder accident could occur. These could include:

  • Your employer provided the wrong ladder for the task. For example, the ladder may have been too short, resulting in overstretching from the top rung and a fall from a height, which could cause a brain injury. As part of their duty of care, your employer should ensure that the equipment provided to complete work-related tasks is appropriate for the job.
  • The environment is not safe. Risk assessments should be carried out before the task is started. For example, falling off a ladder because it was not steady due to uneven ground could result in suffering multiple injuries, including broken bones and a back injury.
  • Improper ladder usage due to lack of training. Your employer must provide you with appropriate and free training if it is required to carry out a task safely. For example, your employer should ensure that you are trained to keep three points of contact with the ladder while using it. Failure to do so could result in a neck injury in a fall. You might be eligible to make a personal injury claim if you can prove that your employer failed to adhere to relevant health and safety legislation, and this caused your injury.

If you would like to discuss the incident that caused your injuries and find out if you meet the eligibility criteria, speak to one of our team advisors.

What To Do After Falling Off A Ladder At Work

The primary advice that we give to people who have suffered from an injury is to treat their health as a priority. Seeking medical attention may not only be beneficial to your health, but any treatment or assessment you receive could help you if choose to later start a claim.

Once you have sought treatment for your injuries, you could begin to gather evidence of liability for your fall from the ladder. This is evidence that can show how your employer may have acted negligently. You could for example collect:

  • Pictures of faulty equipment that may have led to your injury
  • Contact details of witnesses to your cause of injury
  • Work documents that could support your claim

Following this it is important to maintain evidence of your injury’s effects to your health, your life and your finances. You could gather:

  • Personal testimony of any loss of amenity you are suffering
  • Receipts of any spending towards your treatment
  • Payslips, work contracts or material that could show the harm caused to your income

Our advisers can provide you with a free consultation to inform you of the actions you could take to strengthen your ladder accident claim. You can reach out now by using the contact information provided at the top and the bottom of the page.

How Accident Claims UK Can Help You Make A No Win No Fee Claim After Falling Off A Ladder

If you are eligible to claim compensation for falling off a ladder, you might want to seek the help of a legal professional. A solicitor could help you gather evidence and negotiate a compensation settlement for you that reflects your pain and suffering, as well as the extra costs and losses incurred as a result of your injuries. 

One of our No Win No Fee solicitors may be able to help you claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This typically means you wouldn’t have to pay anything upfront for a solicitor to work on your claim, nor would you pay any fees for them to continue their work. Additionally,  If your claim was unsuccessful, you would not typically have to pay them for their work.

However, if your claim for falling off a ladder succeeds, then your solicitor will receive a success fee. This is a small percentage of your compensation that is capped by law, to help ensure you keep the larger share of what you receive.

Contact Our Team

To learn more about whether one of our solicitors could help you with a ladder accident claim, please contact an advisor. If a member of our team finds that your claim could be valid, they may connect you with one of our personal injury solicitors. To get in touch:

Helpful Resources On What To Do After Falling Off A Ladder

We hope you have learned a lot about how to claim compensation for a fall from a ladder.