Construction Worker Injury – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

While it’s true that construction workers face many hazards at work, accidents are not simply something that can be brushed under the carpet. In fact, if you are injured while working in construction, you may be entitled to sue your employer and claim compensation for your suffering. Therefore, this guide explores how construction worker injury claims work and what you can do to build as strong a case as possible.

Our legal advisors are ready to help if you have any questions about construction worker injury claims. If you or a loved one has been injured at work, we’ll assess your case for free and offer no-obligation legal advice about your chances of being compensated. Crucially, all accepted claims are managed on a No Win, No Fee basis by our solicitors. As such, you will only need to pay for their services if you receive a compensation payout.

If you’re interested in claiming for an injury at work, you can:

• Call 0333 241 2519 to speak with a legal advisor.
• Use our live chat service to connect with an online advisor.

There’s lots of useful information about claiming compensation throughout the rest of this guide. If any questions crop up as you’re reading, please get in touch.

Can I Make a Construction Worker Injury Claim?

Employers of construction workers in the UK must abide by the rules of various laws. Together, these laws can form a duty of care towards construction worker safety. Some examples include the:

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
• Work at Height Regulations 2005.
• Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).

These laws and others mean that construction site operators must make practical and necessary changes to working practices to try and reduce the risk of staff being injured. Failure to do so could be classed as negligence which, in turn, could lead to a construction worker injury claim if it can be proven that:

• At the point of your accident, the defendant (usually an employer) owed you a duty of care; and
• The defendant caused an accident because they were negligent i.e. they failed to uphold their duty of care; and
• You were a construction worker injured in that accident in the last three years.

Of course, it’s one thing to claim you were injured because of your employer’s negligence, it’s another thing to prove it. Therefore, we’ll explain what types of evidence could strengthen a construction worker injury claim shortly.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to a Construction Worker Injury?

Here are a few scenarios of negligence at work that could result in a construction worker getting injured:

• A labourer fell into a deep excavation and shattered his pelvis because the site operator had failed to install warning signs and safety fencing.
• An engineer on a construction site suffered multiple leg fractures after she was crushed by a dumper truck that was being reversed without a banksman.
• A bricklayer fell from scaffolding and suffered a long-term back injury because they had been told to work in adverse weather conditions.
• A plasterer tripped on rubble that had been littered around the top of a stairwell and suffered a fractured skull in the fall.
• Because a groundworker had not been provided with safety gloves, he lost two fingers while cutting concrete with an angle grinder.

There are plenty of other scenarios caused by employer negligence that could lead to construction worker injuries. Why not give us a call to discuss yours and to see if you might be entitled to claim compensation?

What Should I Do If I’m a Construction Worker Injured at Work?

If you’re a construction worker who has been injured on the job, taking the following steps can support your personal injury claim and help prevent similar incidents:

• Ensure that your injuries are promptly treated by a medical professional. This not only ensures you receive the appropriate care but also officially documents your injuries.
• Inform your site manager or safety officer about the accident as soon as possible. Provide detailed information about where, when, and how the accident occurred.
• Make sure an accident report is filed and request a copy. This report should detail the circumstances of the accident, including the location, time, and a description of the injuries sustained.

Following these steps will not only help safeguard your health and rights but also contribute to improving safety measures on construction sites, potentially preventing future accidents.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Construction Worker Injury Claims?

You will always want to have as much evidence as possible to prove your case if you’re to be compensated for your injuries. In construction worker injury claims, the types of evidence that can help include:

• Video footage of the accident (mobile phone, CCTV, dashcam etc.).
• Medical records that prove your injuries.
• Contact information for potential witnesses so that statements can be collected if required.
• A copy of an accident report form (to confirm that the accident happened).
• Photographs from the accident scene and pictures of your injuries.
• Investigation reports, from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for instance, to prove the cause of the accident.

You may not need to collect all of this evidence yourself because, if you work with one of our work injury solicitors, they may offer to seek out supporting evidence as part of their service.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Construction Worker Injury Compensation?

Legally, personal injury claims in the UK have a 3-year time limit. As such, if you have been injured as a construction worker, you’ll typically have 3 years to begin legal action from the date of your accident.

In cases where the injury, disease or illness wasn’t immediately obvious, for instance, a vibration white finger or asbestosis, the 3 years may begin from the date of diagnosis. The Limitation Act 1980 refers to this as the date of knowledge.

Crucially, the Limitation Act 1980 enables claims to be dismissed if they become statute-barred i.e. if they are made outside of the 3-year claim period. As such, it is advisable to begin the claims process at your earliest opportunity so that there is enough time for evidence to be gathered and for your case to be prepared.

How Much Compensation for Construction Worker Injuries?

Compensation for construction worker injuries varies from case to case as you might expect. All we can say for definite at this point is that if a claim is successful, you’ll receive compensation typically formed of:

• General damages to cover the physical and psychological trauma from your injuries (pain, suffering etc.).
• Special damages for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred because of your injuries.

To value the general damages element of your claim, your solicitor will need to get a proper understanding of your injuries. Therefore, they’ll request copies of any relevant hospital records along with an independent medical report.

If you have suffered financially because of your injuries, special damages could also form part of your settlement and they can cover:

• Rehabilitation costs and medical expenses.
• The cost of adapting your home if changes are needed to make it easier to cope with your injuries.
• The costs of a carer or the time a loved one spends supporting you.
• Travel expenses i.e. to cover trips to and from medical appointments.
• Loss of earnings while you are injured.
• Future loss of income.
• Replacement property costs if anything you own was damaged in the accident.

If you start a construction worker injury claim with one of our solicitors, they’ll spend a lot of time with you to ensure all of your current and future losses are considered before your claim is filed.

Can I Claim Compensation On Behalf Of An Injured Construction Worker?

We understand that it may not be possible for the injured party to take legal action themselves. Crucially, so does the law. As such, the litigation friend process may enable you to claim compensation on behalf of a loved one. This will normally only be possible if the claimant hasn’t the mental capability to claim for themselves.

To become a litigation friend, you will need to be approved by a court. The application process is something our solicitors can help with. If you are approved, you’ll be able to begin a construction worker injury claim and instruct a solicitor in much the same way as normal. Please contact our legal advisors if you’d like to know more.

Can I Claim if I’m Self-Employed or a Subcontractor?

If you work in construction as a subcontractor, you can expect the same level of protection (when it comes to health and safety) as other workers. The same is true for consultants, the self-employed and zero-hours workers.

Therefore, so long as your injury was caused by the site operator’s negligence (or someone else who owed you a duty of care), you could be entitled to begin a construction worker compensation claim regardless of what type of employment contract you have.

Do You Need a Solicitor for a Work Injury Claim?

If you are injured at work and decide to claim compensation, you might decide to instruct a solicitor to help you deal with the complexities of the claims process.

If your claim is handled by a solicitor from our panel, some of the services they’ll provide might include:

• Searching for the evidence required to prove your case.
• Handling all communication with your employer’s insurers on your behalf.
• Building as strong a case as possible and filing it on time.
• Negotiating and arguing your case if any aspect of it is questioned.
• Sending you updates so that you know how your case is progressing.
• Seeking the maximum level of compensation possible so that all of your suffering is covered if the claim is successful.

Crucially, you won’t need to pay for any of the work carried out by your solicitor unless they win compensation for you. That’s because if your case proceeds and you sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), it will be a No Win No Fee service.

The CFA explains that you’ll pay a success fee if your claim is won. This is an agreed percentage of your settlement (as listed in the CFA before you sign it). Legally and for your protection, the success fee percentage (when using a CFA) is capped at 25 per cent of any compensation you receive.

To see if you could make a No Win, No Fee construction worker injury claim, please use the number above to contact a legal advisor.

How Long Will the Claims Process Take?

Construction worker compensation claims vary in length. The time it takes for your case to proceed (if it is accepted) will be determined by a range of factors.

For instance, if you suffered a broken arm at work after falling off of a ladder and have since made a complete recovery, you might be compensated in around 4 to 5 months so long as your employer admits they caused the accident.

However, more serious construction site injury claims can take much longer. For instance, if you’ve been paralysed at work because of your accident, it could take more than a year for your claim to be fully settled because experts may need additional time to properly understand how you’ll suffer in the future. In this scenario, you may receive interim compensation payments to help you deal with the financial implications of your injuries.

Contacting Us About a Construction Worker Injury Claim

To check now if you might be entitled to claim compensation for a construction injury, you can:

• Call us on 0333 241 2519 to discuss how you were injured.
• Connect to our online chat service that’s open 24 hours a day.

We offer free legal advice as part of a no-obligation claim assessment. In your call, you can talk over what occurred, ask questions and set out your case. If it looks strong enough, we could put you in touch with one of our accident-at-work solicitors. Crucially, any construction worker injury claims they agree to handle will be processed on a No Win, No Fee basis.