No-one would doubt that a building site is a dangerous place – and unfortunately with danger always comes the high possibility of injury. If you are brave enough to enter this ‘mechanical jungle’ it is imperative that both you and your employer take responsibility to ensure your workplace is as safe as possible. To not do so can easily result in serious injury and even fatalities.
Employees working on building sites are faced with a number of dangers, such as operating and working with heavy machinery, and a lot of manual handling, for example. It is because of these hazards that health and safety measures are extremely strict.
One of the common problems with any building site claim is discovering where the duty lies to prevent accidents. However, the key to this is merely determining who was in control?
This will be, in the majority of cases, your employer; and consequently they will have a duty to ensure the work environment is safe. This duty is also imposed in relation to any self-employed people who are likely to affect any persons/matters that are also under that employer’s control. If this duty is breached and as a result you suffer from an injury- seek medical attention immediately!
However, the nature of building site does mean that there could be a number of other possible defendants. There could be a main contractor, sub contractors, sub contractors to these and so on and so forth!
But again, it’s all about CONTROL – and this will be a question of fact in each individual case. Even if someone deals with some relating matter, it has to be shown that they have control over how the particular task that has caused your injury is performed.
How will pursuing a claim affect my employment?
One of the major things stopping people from pursuing a claim is without a doubt the possible repercussions of suing your employer- an understandable worry in the current economic climate.
HOWEVER, if you have suffered an injury and it was not your fault, you have the right to claim compensation and the above worry should not take away from this.
The law is on your side! If your employer did seek to end your employment you have an extremely large case against them. Also, many big companies will have been sued several times- THIS IS WHY THEY HAVE INSURANCE! And you may find your company even encourages you to bring a claim.
So, if you have suffered an injury on a building site, seek the help of a professional personal injury solicitors as soon as possible – and whilst you’re here you may as well ask us! Just fill in the short form below and one of our expert team will give you a friendly call as soon as possible!
