If you work on a building site or any other place where construction work is carried out, there are a number of potential dangers which could caused an accident at work. Building and construction sites are particularly dangerous places as there are often several companies working on a single site, with different workers, machinery, tools and working practices.
If you have been involved in a building site accident in the past three years and the accident was not your fault, you may be entitled to make a building site accident claim. Providing you have suffered injuries as a result of the accident on a building site, and have received medical attention, you should contact a personal injury solicitor who will be able to discuss your compensation claim.
Contact National Accident Helpline on 0800 6783 601 or complete our online personal injury claim form.
Whenever working on a building site or carrying out any other construction work, your employer has a duty of care to ensure you are provided with all of the necessary personal protective clothing (PPE). Your employer also has a duty to provide safe systems of work throughout the building site, suitable and safe machinery and competent and appropriately trained staff.
The main types of building site accident claims are:
- Falls from heights, such as scaffolding
- Lifting and manual handling accidents
- Accidents involving building site machinery
- Trips and slips due to untidy or uneven surfaces
- Accidents involving falling materials and debris
- Accidents caused by poorly trained workers
Who pays the compensation for a building site accident claim?
If you make a successful no win no fee personal injury claim for a building site accident that you have had, the compensation you are awarded would be paid by your employer’s insurance company. This is known as Employers Liability Insurance.
How long do I have to make a claim for an accident on a building site?
If you suffer an injury due to a building site accident, the claim must be made within three years from the actual date of the accident. If you are under the age of 18 at the time of the building site accident, the three year period within which to make a no win no fee claim would begin on your 18th birthday. If your injury only becomes apparent at a later date after the accident, the three year limitation period would begin on the date you became aware of the injury.
Is my job at risk if I make a claim against my employer?
Your employer cannot dismiss you for making a compensation claim for an accident that you have had on a building site at work. This is not a legally justifiable reason to dismiss an employee, so could amount to unfair dismissal.
Example of a potential building site accident compensation claim
Falling off scaffolding - Lee is a bricklayer working on a building site. Whilst working on scaffolding that had been erected the day before by a scaffolding company, Lee slipped and fell off the edge of the scaffolding. The scaffolder had forgot to connect safety barriers on this section of scaffolding, which would have prevented Lee from falling off. The fall was witnessed by several other workers and was recorded in the site accident book. Lee was taken to hospital by ambulance and sustained broken ribs, concussion and torn ligaments in his ankle. Lee was unable to return to work on the building site for 8 weeks.
Our team of work accident solicitors work on a no win no fee basis. No win no fee means that if your claim is not successful, you do not pay your solicitor a penny.