Building Site Accidents

Of all everyday occupations, there is no doubt that building sites represent one of the more dangerous types of workplaces. The hazards are obvious: working outdoors in all types of weather, completing dangerous tasks at height or with vehicles, using heavy machinery, exposure to toxic chemicals and hard to manoeuvre power tools. It stands to reason that the threat of serious injury and even death is high when compared to other jobs.

However, if you have suffered a recent building site accident, either as an employee, a contractor or a site visitor and the incident was not your fault, you may be eligible for a personal injury claim.

Claim for a Building Site Accident

A personal injury award can’t return your life to exactly the way it was before your accident but it can compensate you financially for the physical, financial and emotional losses you’ve suffered and help with the cost of your recovery.

All construction industry employers are required by law to take special measures to protect workers – including sub-contractors, visitors and delivery drivers – and anyone else who visits their building sites.

Although construction accounts for just 5% of the total UK workforce, our building sites are responsible for over a quarter (27%) of our work-related deaths. Looking at the health and safety profile of workplaces in the UK today one statistic really stands out: 10 per cent of reported major injuries at work occur on building sites, according to The Health and Safety Executive.

There were 39 deaths on building sites in the last calendar year according to The HSE. This compares with an average of 53 annual deaths over each of the previous five years. The fact that these numbers are decreasing must be applauded of course, but there is no sense that building sites are a safe place to be employed.

There were an estimated 1.4 million working days lost in the UK construction industry in 2011/12, in construction jobs. Of those, 818,000 resulting from ill health and over half a million – 584,000 – occurred because of building site accidents.

Though no building site-specific statistics are currently available, according to the HSE, in the Yorkshire and The Humber region specifically:

  • There were 7,260 reported injuries to employees at work, 9% of the overall GB total.
  • In 2012/13, total rate of reported injuries at work was 335.4 per 100,000 employees, compared with a Great Britain average of 312.0 per 100,000 (RIDDOR).
  • In 2012/13, local HSE inspectors issued 635 notices to employers and prosecuted 46 cases, all of which led to a conviction (100%).
  • In Yorkshire and The Humber during 2012-2013, The HSE recorded 101,000 people suffered from work-related illness. That equates to a rate of 3,900 people per 100,000 of the population in the relevant 12 months – almost 4 per cent of the local working population suffered a work-related illness in this period.
  • In 2011/12, there were 2.7 million local working days lost due to workplace injury and ill health, a figure that equates to 1.4 days absence per worker in the Yorkshire and The Humber region.

These local figures clearly underline the need for all construction industry employers to take their Health and Safety obligations seriously.

As well as the more general workplace safety requirements, construction site employers must also:

  • Maintain unrestricted access to building sites and manage access with clear boundaries.
  • Prevent unauthorised access through effective security procedures on building sites.
  • Control all on-site traffic and traffic within the site’s periphery to ensure that no-one is injured by on-site vehicle incidents.
  • Maintain building site safety by keeping all areas and their fixtures and fittings in good order.
  • Ensure effective management and disposal of hazardous substances on the site.
  • Dispose of all construction site and employee-generated waste appropriately.
  • Provide on-site facilities such as toilets and drinking water to conform to the current Health and Safety regulations.

Employers must also follow a complex system of risk assessments, inspection reports and notices that site employers must adhere to under Health and Safety legislation.

While accidents on a building site may be the responsibility of the construction company that owns or manages the site. However, other individuals may be liable to pay you compensation if you make a successful claim. The list could include, for example:

  • A contractor responsible for specific on-site equipment and machinery that has been hired for use on the site.
  • Your own employer if you are employed in a secondary capacity as a sub-contractor.
  • Any company responsible for injuring you in the act of delivering materials to the worksite.
  • A supplier of any materials or equipment which is substandard or malfunctioning to the extent that you are caused injury through their use.

We are highly experienced in dealing with building site accidents and the bitter legacy they leave behind for clients and their families. We have built up our experience of construction site injury claims over thousands of successful cases and happy clients resolving their cases with us since 2002.

Every year we help and continue to help construction industry employees just like you. Good people who find themselves confronted by the serious and debilitating aftershock of an on-site accident. For every case we maintain the same strategy. We believe in the positive effects of sympathy and sensitivity, intent listening, demonstrable expertise and tenacious legal work on behalf of clients.

We have 12 years of experience of managing claims by thousands of individuals in a vast array of different circumstances. That’s accident victims based all over the UK. We work with a network of the best solicitors in the UK and we also operate a No Win No Fee* service as a funding solution for clients.

Expert Guidance From Beginning To End

Call us today for immediate, professional guidance on your claim. Our friendly, knowledgeable and helpful care staff will guide you through every aspect that your claim could entail. We also will ensure that right away, the most appropriate expert, personal injury solicitor is allocated to work on your case.

Having the right lawyer for the job is the cornerstone of every winning claim we have and it is the key component in our winning strategy. Finding the right solicitor is a vitally important factor in deciding whether your claim wins or loses – and with our extensive network we always know exactly which solicitor is best qualified to fight your case.

All the staff we employee, throughout our organisation, are fully trained in personal injury procedures. Each staff member completes regular training updates so that they remain demonstrably up to speed with fast-paced Personal Injury law as it relates to building site accidents.

When you sign with us you can be confident you are getting the right guidance in respect of your personal injury claim as well as the right guidance for you and your family as you plan your recovery. Our clients consistently confirm that we can be trusted – our testimonials prove that. Here is a selection of some recent feedback.

Client Testimonials

They answered all of my questions and I am pleased with the all-round service“. Mr T, Nottinghamshire

They were very supportive throughout my claim“. Miss G, Bristol

They were very polite and professional. Thank you“. Mr G, Norfolk

Contact our Specialist Accident Claim Solicitors Wakefield

Call us on 01924 961 567^ or if you would like to contact us online please complete our enquiry form.

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