A fair few years back, as a recent graduate in an economic meltdown, I did a little light renovating work for a family friend that involved scaffolding to reach the high ceilings in a former swimming hall being turned in to a modern dance studio. It was good work – I enjoyed getting my hands dirty – but as a former rock climber as well, with a little instructing experience, my knowledge of dangers at height is pretty good!
This hands on experience combined with my hands on legal knowledge allows me to write a nice little blog about scaffolding injuries and whether you can claim compensation for them.
The dangers surrounding scaffolding are obvious – it’s commonly used for working at height, so falling off could be disastrous. Anyone who works with scaffolding is probably well aware of the numerous risks involved. Scaffolding should be safe to use, secure, free of hazards in walkways, and easy to navigate and access. A loose scaffolding board that slips under your feet could end up in disaster; especially if you are carrying something heavy at the time. A platform collapsing inwards due to it being loose, or from the material being poorly maintained, can again result in some pretty nasty injuries as well. You’re likely to hit at least one bar or part of the scaffolding structure as you fall, and they’re usually made of metal.
Any rails should be safe and secure too. The catwalks should be wide enough and safe enough to navigate. It all sounds pretty obvious, but we have taken on more than our fair share of scaffold injury claims where the scaffolding has been poorly erected. Workers leaving hazards around, such as buckets, bricks, or other potential tripping hazards, are also likely to cause an accident.
Now, setting all the obvious stuff aside – can you make a claim if you are injured due to scaffolding? If the accident was caused through no fault of your own, the answer is yes.
It’s more than likely that the case is an accident at work. However, the company or persons responsible for the accident may take a little investigation. If the scaffolding is poorly erected and maintained, and it’s the scaffolding itself that causes the accident, your claim is against whoever is responsible for the scaffolding itself. Normally in a building site situation we find it’s a contractor responsible. If the accident was caused by employers from the company you work for leaving hazards around the scaffolding, causing you to trip or slip, it is your employer who is at fault. The employer is primarily responsible for the negligent actions of an employee.
To find out if you have a claim for compensation, call our free claims helpline today on 0800 634 75 75 for friendly, expert legal advice. We are a firm of specialist accident compensation lawyers, and we can tell you in minutes if we think you have a claim. As we are an actual genuine law firm, we can take your case on on the very same day as well.
We’re well aware that the injuries you can end up with from a scaffolding accident can be serious. Private medical options are normally available for you to use if you need any help with physiotherapy or otherwise.