Falls From Height At Work Claims

As specialists in accident at work claims, Liddy’s Solicitors’ personal injury team are ideally placed to help you make a successful compensation claim if you were hurt in a fall from height at work.

Falls from height are one of the most common causes of fatalities and serious injuries in the workplace, but most such accidents could have been avoided if the proper safety measures were in place.

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 set out in great detail what steps employers and others controlling those working at height are required to take in order to safeguard staff.

If you have been hurt in a fall from height at work because the Regulations were not followed, you are likely to have a strong case to claim compensation for your injuries.

Liddy’s is one of the top firms of personal injury solicitors in Yorkshire and has extensive experience of handling compensation claims related to falls from height at work, and our experts can guide you through every step of the claim and help you to secure the financial settlement you are due.

Types of accident involving falls from height at work

Accidents involving falls from height are most common in the construction and refurbishment, agriculture, manufacturing, transport and warehousing industries, but the Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all workplaces.

Most falls that occur when a person is accessing a place of work at height whether indoors or outside, undertaking work at height or moving around the workplace at height will be covered by the Regulations, along with injuries caused by falling objects.

The types of accidents that typically lead to the most serious injuries are falls from roofs – either through skylights or unsafe tiles, or because edges do not have the correct guards in place – machinery, moving vehicles or scaffolding.

Falls from ladders are another common cause of injury; such accidents can range from a tradesman or window cleaner falling from two or three storeys up to a shopworker falling while changing a lightbulb or reaching for stock stored on a high shelf.

There are many causes of falls from ladders, including being provided with the wrong type or size of ladders for the job, the ladders being in a poor condition, the lack of secure handholds or anti-slip feet, and uneven surfaces.

In 2012/13, 46 people were killed and more than 2,500 suffered ‘major injuries’, such as fractures, dislocations, and head and spinal injuries, in falls from height at work. Many thousands more suffered less severe medical problems, including sprains, contusions and lacerations.

If you, or a member of your family, has been injured in a fall from height at work that was not your fault, the personal injury experts at Liddy’s Solicitors will be able to advise you on how to claim compensation.

Can I claim compensation for injuries suffered in a fall from height at work?

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 give specific responsibilities to dutyholders to prevent falls. In most circumstances the dutyholder will be your employer, but if you are a self-employed contractor, it is likely to be the owner of the premises you were working at.

Under the Regulations, dutyholders must avoid work at height where they can, but if the task is necessary, they should use the correct equipment and other measures to prevent falls.

There are some tasks where it is impossible to entirely eliminate the risk of a fall from height and in those cases, steps must be taken to minimise the distance and consequences of any fall.

In practice, that means dutyholders must ensure all staff involved in work at height are competent and fully trained, that risk assessments are completed, access to fragile surfaces is strictly controlled, the correct equipment is selected for the job and that it is properly maintained and inspected.

If your employer, or other dutyholder, fails to do all of that and you are injured in a fall because of it, you are likely to have a strong case to claim compensation for pain from your injuries, immediate medical expenses, the cost of ongoing care, loss of earnings and damage to your job prospects and pension.

However, the law states that employees must take “reasonable care” of themselves while at work, so it may be more difficult for you to make a successful personal injury claim if your fall happened at a time when you were not following the training you had been given or had chosen not to use the safety equipment available.

Here at Liddy’s Solicitors, we have substantial experience of handling compensation claims resulting from falls from height at work, and our experts can help you with every stage of the process, including arranging specialist medical assessments, establishing which party was at fault and what the failings were that led to your accident.

How to make a fall from height at work compensation claim

The first step towards making a successful compensation claim following a fall from height at work is to contact a specialist personal injury solicitor for expert advice.

Liddy’s Solicitors has a wealth of experience of handling such claims and securing compensation payments for those injured at work, and can guide you through every stage from the initial consultation to negotiating a settlement.

Our solicitors realise the law can appear confusing and that making a claim is a daunting prospect, so will do everything they can to make the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible, including keeping you informed of progress and using clear language rather than legal jargon.

For initial advice about your fall from height injury compensation claim, complete the ‘How Can We Help You?’ form, call us at our Wakefield office on 01924 780753 or contact our Barnsley office on 01226 731314.