According to statistics released by the Health and Safety Authority, approximately one in fifty people working in the construction industry will suffer a building site accident that results in a serious injury and long term absence from work. The nature of the building site accident is more than likely to be a slip, trip or fall on an uneven surface, from a ladder, scaffolding or whilst working on a roof, or associated with manual handling of building materials.
In many instances, the injuries sustained from a building site accident could have been prevented. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act includes regulations to ensure risk management and that adequate planning operations are undertaken before a project is commenced, appropriate training is provided for anybody who will be working on a building site, and that protective clothing and equipment of good standard are provided where necessary.
The Act goes on to say “An employer shall ensure that work … … is properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a manner that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health”. Where an employer displays a “lack care” in following these procedures which subsequently leads to a building site accident in which you are injured, you are entitled to claim for compensation.
Claiming Compensation for a Building Site Accident
Prior to worrying about claiming compensation for a building site accident, your first concern should be your health. It is important that no matter how slight an injury you receive, you seek professional medical attention. Minor injuries from a building site accident can sometimes develop into more serious long term health issues, and a visit to your local hospital or family doctor is recommended to ensure you receive a precautionary examination in sterile surroundings.
Your attendance at the hospital or doctor´s surgery will be recorded on your medical notes which, together with the corresponding entry in your employer´s “Accident Report Book”, are submitted with your application for compensation to the Injuries Board Ireland. However, before starting this procedure, it may be to your best advantage to speak with a specialist personal injury claims solicitor.
It is estimated that 90% of people making claims for compensation after a building site accident use a solicitor due to the number of obstacles that sometimes hinder the process of your application. Amongst these stumbling blocks may be your employment status, your employer´s reluctance to accept liability for your building site accident, an under-assessment by the Injuries Board Ireland of your claim. You may be in such a poor emotional state after your building site accident that your ability to compile a thorough application is impaired.
Therefore, it is recommended that before claiming compensation for a building site accident, you call our legal claims advice helpline, where you will be able to speak directly with an experienced personal injury claims solicitor and discuss the merits of your claim. We will be able to offer practical and impartial advice and make objective suggestions about how you can proceed. All calls to our free telephone service are completely confidential and there is no pressure on you to proceed with a claim once you have spoken with us.
Call us now or if you cannot speak now please fill in the form below and we will call you back.
What You Can Expect When You Call
When you call our legal claims advice helpline, we aim in the initial conversation to establish that there is an injury claim for a building site accident which is worth your while to pursue, determine an approximate value of the claim and offer you advice on your options going forward.
In order to do this, we would like you to tell us about your building site accident – the circumstances surrounding the accident, what injuries you received and how they were medically treated. If you are still undergoing medical treatment, we need to know that also.
We would also like your opinion on why you believe your employer was negligent and caused your building site accident and how it could have possibly been avoided. It also helps if you have witnesses to the event who will substantiate the events.
Other information that we need to know surrounds your quality of life and how it has been affected by your building site accident. Claims for compensation can factor in “special damages” to account for impaired interaction with family and loss of social life due to your employer´s negligence.
If you have any questions that are not covered in our general conversation, you are more than welcome to ask them at any point. We like to use plain English wherever possible, but if there is something you do not completely understand, please request that we explain it again.
We feel that during our initial discussion, we should have put your mind at rest about suing an employer for a building site accident, but we will not put any pressure on you to pursue a claim for compensation. If you need time to think things over and discuss them with your family, that is fine.
We recommend that you do not put off calling our legal claims advice helpline. Although you have two years from the date of your building site accident in which to make a claim, the memories of witnesses can fade over time and physical evidence can be mislaid.
Our lines are open seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, and if you would rather that we called you, please complete your details in our call-back form below and one of our friendly team will get back in touch with you.