Falling from height can cause very serious damage and can potentially cause fatal injuries. This is why there are specific laws and regulations set up for anyone who is ‘working at height‘ as it is understood how serious a fall from height can be.
At work, your employer has a responsibility for when you may need to work at height and you are exposed to a risk of being injured.
What is ‘working at height’?
Working at height is not just when you are tiling someone’s roof – it applies to a lot of different situations and a lot of varying workplaces. The official ruling for what ‘working at height‘ means is normally as follows: ‘
‘Work at height means work in any place where if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.‘
Here are some examples of when you would be classed as ‘working at height‘:
- If you are working on a ladder or a flat roof
- When you could fall through a fragile surface
- Where you are working on scaffolding or raised platforms
Usually, you’re not to blame!
When suffering a fall from height, although a lot of people can put it down to being clumsy, most of the time it’s not actually you who’s to blame for your injuries. Knowing where and how your injury took place are obviously the main things we need to know to assess where the blame lies; but many injuries of this sort occur at work and, more often than not, are a direct result of the employer not providing right equipment or safety measures. Classic examples are not providing harnesses or not having guard rails to protect you, or not giving you the proper training to avoid risks when working at height.
There are plenty of regulations in place to protect you when you are working at height, and if your employer has been found not to be following these regulations then they may have put anyone who works at height at serious risk.
I don’t know the regulations so how can I tell if they were ignored?
That’s where we can help! As a specialist compensation law firm, we here at The Injury Lawyers will be able to assess your claim and find out for sure if you entitled to compensation or not.
If ever you are unsure about your claim then all you have to do is give The Injury Lawyers a call on 0800 634 7575 and we will help advise you and make sure you get the maximum compensation you deserve!
