In recent news, two workmen from Reading fell to their death after an unsupervised colleague mistakenly loosened bolts on a crane they were working on. The crane was in the process of being dismantled after its use in building work at Durrington High School in Worthing.
Working in construction is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous jobs in the UK, and these latest deaths serve only to highlight this fact. According to government statistics there were 72 fatal injuries to construction workers in 2007/8 and over 3,700 major injuries.
The on site health and safety officer was not present on this occasion and this lack of supervision seemingly led to a breakdown in communication between workers. Employers have a responsibility to look after their employees under the law, and must report serious work accidents to the Incident Contact Centre of the Health and Safety Executive.
If you work in the construction industry and have been unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident and are wondering what to do next, the Health and Safety Executive provides the following advice:
* Make sure the injury is recorded in a work accident book
* Make sure the incident has been reported to the HSE
* Check your contract for information regarding sick or accident pay
In this case the fatalities were a result of a fall from height, however there are numerous other circumstances in the construction injury that can lead to injury. These might include working with dangerous materials or even the actions of other work colleagues.
Following an accident you may be forced to take time off work and this can be a worry financially. As injury lawyers, part of our job is to try and make sure that you are compensated for any loss of income caused by your injury. Remember, the idea of the law is to recover damages to put you in the position that you would have been in but for the accident.
If you work in the construction injury and have suffered an injury then we might be able to help you claim compensation.
