A Guide To Building and Construction Accident Claims
When you’re working on a construction site, your work may involve some risk of injury. As well as you doing everything you can to stay safe, other parties have a duty to protect you from harm. Our guide discusses construction accident claims, where a third party’s failures lead to a worker being injured on the job, and the worker has the right to claim compensation.
Read through this detailed article to learn important facts about construction site accident claims, including:
- What a legal duty of care is and how you know when it’s been breached.
- How compensation for a personal injury claim is calculated.
- The important role evidence plays in helping your case succeed.
We also outline how working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could improve a claim’s chances of success. We offer a fully free guidance and consultation service, which you can access by either:
- Calling 020 3870 4868.
- Write to us about making a claim online with our web form.
- Open the live support tab at the bottom of your page and send a message.
Select A Section
- What Are Building And Construction Accident Claims?
- What Are The Main Causes Of Building Site Accidents?
- Can I Claim If Injured When Visiting A Construction Site?
- How Much Compensation For Construction Site Injuries?
- What Evidence Can Help In Construction Accident Claims?
- Claim For A Building Site Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis
- More Resources Related To Personal Injury Claims
What Are Building And Construction Accident Claims?
The construction industry is different from many others in that a site often has numerous separate contractors working on it. Typically, the site will be overseen by a site owner or manager. All of these parties, including your own employer, owe you a duty of care when you’re working on-site.
The employer’s legal duty derives from Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). Under this legislation, it is an employer’s responsibility to take all reasonably practicable measures that prevent employees from being involved in accidents.
However, your employer isn’t likely to be responsible for everything that happens on construction sites. Other contractors wouldn’t owe you a legal duty under HASAWA, but they do need to adhere to legislation such as The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. For example, Section 8 of the Regulations states that any designer or contractor must be able to fulfil their role in a way that ensures the health and safety of anyone who might be affected by the project.
If you’ve suffered a construction site injury, consider how the accident happened. You could make an accident at work claim if someone else’s negligent actions were to blame.
You can prove negligence occurred by showing that:
- A third party owed you a duty of care under the relevant legislation at the time and place of the accident.
- They did not meet their responsibilities in line with this legal duty. For example, they ignored relevant health and safety rules.
- A breach of duty led directly to a workplace accident where you suffered physical and/or mental harm.
Call today to discuss construction accident claims and get a free consultation to see if you are eligible to claim for a workplace accident.
What Are The Main Causes Of Building Site Accidents?
Building site accidents are, unfortunately, not uncommon. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the workplace health and safety regulator in the UK, provides statistics based on self-reported employee injuries from 2020 to 2023 to show that an average of 2,640 workers in the construction industry suffered non-fatal injuries per year.
There are many possible causes where different parties would be at fault. For example:
- An employer failed to provide sufficient manual handling training to employees. Without proper training, an employee suffered bad back pain due to incorrectly lifting heavy equipment.
- Another contractor left cables strewn around a work area. An employee tripped on a trailing cable and suffered ankle and knee injuries.
- The site manager did not perform regular risk assessments and put inadequate safety measures in place as a result. This allowed unprotected construction site workers to pass below people working at height. Loose roofing material fell and landed on a passing worker, causing them to suffer a serious head injury and some brain damage.
If your construction site injuries happened in a similar way, or in any way where a relevant third party breached their duty of care, you could have the right to claim. If you take us up on our offer of a free case assessment, you could learn whether one of our panel’s expert personal injury solicitors could help you with claiming compensation.
Can I Claim For A Construction Accident If I’m Self-Employed?
Earlier in the guide, we discussed employee rights when it comes to making a building site accident claim. You might be wondering whether you’re similarly able to claim if you’re self-employed.
The answer is that a self-employed person has the same legal right to claim compensation against the contractor that employed them to carry out the work as a full employee.
When you call for a free consultation, discuss your experience and an advisor will help you learn if a construction site accident claim is possible.
Can I Claim If Injured When Visiting A Construction Site?
Not everyone on building sites is working. In some cases, people might be visiting the site. Rather than owing them a duty of care under HASAWA, the site owner or manager must follow the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
Under the Act, the individual or group that manages the space must take all steps necessary to keep visitors reasonably safe while on the premises. A failure to take such steps could give a visitor grounds to make a construction accident claim if they suffer injuries in an accident.
For example, if the site’s owner invited people to view the build but did not provide personal protective equipment like safety goggles or a hard hat, they would be liable if a visitor suffered a head or eye injury in an accident.
Just like with workplace accident claims, you can seek compensation for an accident in a public place if a breached duty of care led to the incident that caused you harm.
Were you hurt as a building site visitor? Learn whether a personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you make a construction injury compensation claim by calling our free helpline today.
How Much Compensation For Construction Site Injuries?
If you’re able to make a construction accident claim and then successfully prove that someone else’s negligent actions led to you suffering harm in an accident, you will be awarded compensation.
The main ‘head’ of your payout comes under what is known as general damages. This head compensates for physical pain and psychological damage you suffer due to an accident.
Those working out how much compensation you receive for your pain and suffering might look at your medical records. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can also help with the calculations. This document collates brackets to be used as compensation guidelines for all manner of injuries and illnesses, many of which could be sustained in construction accidents.
Apart from the top line, everything you see in the table below comes from the JCG. The only important thing to bear in mind is that the figures are only intended as a general guide, and they don’t guarantee what you would get from a construction accident compensation claim.
| INJURY | SEVERITY | AWARD |
|---|---|---|
| Numerous Serious Injuries Plus Financial Losses | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Paralysis | Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 |
| Head | Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Moderate (iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 | |
| Injuries Affecting Sight | Loss of Sight in One Eye with Reduced Vision in the Remaining Eye (i) | £117,150 to £219,400 |
| Arm Amputation | Loss of One Arm (i) | Not Less Than £167,380 |
| Severe Leg Injuries | Very Serious | £66,920 to £109,290 |
| Ankle | Moderate | £16,770 to £32,450 |
| Knee | Moderate (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 |
| Back | Minor (i) | £9,630 to £15,260 |
Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings Caused By A Construction Site Accident?
Payouts for construction accident claims can actually be formed of up to two heads of loss. The potential second head is called special damages. It focuses on financial losses that build up as a direct result of your injuries and accident. For example, you might:
- Miss work or have to turn down work opportunities, losing pay as a consequence.
- Be out of pocket for medical bills.
- Have to pay for necessary travel.
- Require adjustments in the home like a stairlift or safety rail.
While general damages are considered the main head of loss, it’s not unheard of for a special damages payment to make up most of a settlement. With that in mind, keep hold of anything that will prove a loss of earnings or other financial loss. This includes payslips, receipts and invoices.
Our advisors are available to give further guidance on compensation for construction site injury claims, so please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
What Evidence Can Help In Construction Accident Claims?
Unless the party you’re suing admits liability right away, you’ll need sufficient evidence to back up your case. Good examples of proof relevant to construction accident claims include:
- Witness contact information.
- A copy or photo of the entry in the site’s accident book.
- Pictures of the accident scene and any noticeable injuries. This could include a photo of, for example, faulty equipment that caused an accident.
- CCTV footage or a video taken on a personal device of the accident taking place.
- Evidence of your medical treatment, which you can request a copy of from your GP.
If you work with a personal injury solicitor, you can instruct them to help you collect evidence. Please call if you’d like to know more about proving liability or how our panel’s solicitors can help throughout the claims process.
Claim For A Building Site Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis
The expert support in collecting evidence for a building site injury claim is one of the reasons why many people choose to work with a solicitor from our panel. Those who are concerned about the financial risk of making a construction injury claim find that the Conditional Fee Agreement our panel’s solicitors offer works well for them.
Under this agreement, you:
- Don’t pay a solicitor fee in advance or as the case goes on for their services.
- Are not asked to cover any of the solicitor’s service fees if the claim fails.
- Only pay a small percentage of your compensation as their success fee if the claim wins.
Our panel’s solicitors discuss their payment, known as a success fee, before the case begins. In any case, the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 imposes a clear limit to the percentage of your construction injury compensation that they can take as this fee.
There’s no need to wonder whether you can seek building site accident compensation. All you need to do for a quick and free consultation is either:
- Call 020 3870 4868.
- Write to us about your claim online so we can call.
- Drop us a live chat message.
More Resources Related To Personal Injury Claims
As well as sharing expertise on construction injury claims, we have this further guidance for other types of claims:
- Our review of scaffolding accidents and how to make a No Win No Fee claim.
- We explain whether you are entitled to full pay if injured at work.
- Our accident at work claim FAQ guide answers common questions.
These sites may also prove useful:
- GOV.UK – Statutory Sick Pay information.
- NHS – When to call 999 for emergency care.
- HSE – How to report a safety issue in your workplace.
If you want to learn more about construction accident claims or find out whether you can claim, please just call today.
