If you have fallen from scaffolding at work then it is likely that you can bring a claim for personal injury compensation. There are specific regulations that cover the use of work equipment and working at height and where these are breached accidents can happen.
So if your fall from a scaffold platform could have been prevented and was caused through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to thousands of pounds in work accident compensation.
The law is strict!
Because of the obvious risks associated with working at height, there are a lot of health and safety rules and regulations that your employer must abide by in order to protect employees from being injured at work. The most obvious one is The Work at Height Regulations and these cover all of the clear and obvious duties an employer has.
The responsibilities can extend to:
- The safe organisation and planning of work at height activity
- Competence of those who need to work at height
- Work equipment – relevant here as the scaffolding is classed as work equipment
- Fragile surfaces and falling objects
- Danger areas
- Inspecting work equipment
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations say that all equipment needs to be maintained in an efficient state and in good repair. Scaffolding is classed as work equipment. On top of that we have The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations which are designed to enforce a duty on employers to provide safety equipment which can be relevant here for the purposes of harnesses, for example.
These sets of regulations mean that you can be covered as an employee – so here are some circumstances where there may be a clear breach of these important health and safety rules and regulations:
- You fall through a loose or defective platform on the scaffold
- The frame collapses during use
- You trip over a dangerous defect or lip
- You slip due to a wet platform on the scaffolding
- You fall because of the construction and layout of the scaffolding is not safe (e.g. gaps and large spaces)
In these kinds of scenarios you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation after suffering an injury at work. All you need to do is call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 7575 today.