Working in construction or manual labour has its obvious risks which is why it’s important to ensure every worker is properly trained to handle equipment and materials safely without putting themselves – or others – at risk.
Risk assessments should be carried out to check if working at a certain height requires a barrier or a harness to stop people from accidentally falling off. Where ladders are needed, staff must be trained and the ladders must be appropriate for the task and safe to use. So, when we were contacted for help after a worker suffered injury due to a fall from a ladder at work, we were only too happy to help
In this case, the claimant was assisting with portable cabin installation at a site. A colleague was using a crane to move the cabin and the claimant was on a ladder guiding the legs to sit flush on top of the lower cabin. Unfortunately, the apparatus slipped and the metal spike was forced out, knocking the claimant straight off the ladder. The claimant fell and was subsequently injured.
The risks of climbing a ladder are clear. Anyone falling from a height can easily suffer serious and even fatal injuries. Falling on your head or neck could paralyse or even kill you. Landing on your legs could cause permanent mobility problems.
The claimant was lucky in this case to have not been more seriously injured. However, they did suffer a lot of pain as a result of the fall, and time off work was required to rest and recuperate. As is common with this kind of injury, there were a number of daily struggles to cope with during the initial period of suffering. Things like needing assistance with household chores or personal hygiene are factored into claims.
The claimant contacted our team here at The Injury Lawyers to help bring a claim against the employer’s insurer. We determined that there was a case to answer and launched the claim. Once we had procured all the necessary evidence, we negotiated the maximum work injury compensation amount possible for this type of claim on behalf of our claimant. Instead of going to court and paying expensive court fees, the claimant was pleased to settle the claim for just under £2,000.00.
