According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office, working on a construction site is the second most hazardous occupation (after agriculture) that you can be involved in. The potential for accidents on a construction site is very high due to the risks involved in working at a height, lifting and carrying loads, and working with power tools, heavy machinery and toxic substances. Employers are bound by rules published in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006 to provide a safe environment for you to work in and should you suffer an injury on a construction site where the employer is in breach of these regulations, you are entitled to make construction site injury claims.
The most common accidents leading to non-fatal injuries are associated with temporary working platforms, scaffolds and ladders. Most of these construction site injuries could be avoided by good design, good planning and the use of tried and tested techniques for building safely. Complete sections of the Regulations are dedicated to risk planning and equipment management, and your employer has a “duty of care” to ensure you are protected from accidents which could lead to construction site injury claims.
If you have the misfortune to be injured in a construction site accident, your first consideration should be for your health. The most serious accidents will be attended by an ambulance, but there are many trips, slips and falls where people pick themselves up and get on with their job. Although you would go to the accident and emergency department of your local hospital if you had broken your arm, there may be internal injuries which you are unaware of until they manifest as much more serious health issues. Therefore, even when you think you have nothing more than a slight bump, it is recommended that you have a precautionary examination by a doctor as soon as possible.
Making Construction Site Injury Claims
Making construction site injury claims is always best done with the assistance of a specialist personal injury claims solicitor. Although you may be clear about the procedures involved, and your employer is happy to admit full responsibility for your injuries, there are a number of potential issues surrounding construction site injury claims that you need to be aware of. Not least is your employment status.
Many people who work on a construction site are under the impression that they are “employed”. However, a high proportion of construction workers are classed as self-employed, sub-contracted or on a fixed term agency contract, and the same level of protection that is received by employed workers may not necessarily apply to you. Your employment status will not disqualify you from making construction site injury claims, but it is always best to check with an experienced solicitor about the best way of proceeding.
For these reason, and many more issues that can arise in construction site injury claims, we have set up a claims advice telephone service. This service enables you to give us a call and speak with a specialist personal injury claims solicitor who will be able to answer all your questions relating to construction site injury claims. We will also be able to provide you with helpful and practical advice in respect of making your claim and offer accurate and up-to-the-minute information on how to go about it. You are under no obligation to proceed with a claim once you have spoken with us and all calls to our claims advice service are completely confidential.
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
Many clients who have called our claims advice service in the past have commented on our understanding nature and the interest we take in you as an individual. We appreciate that you may have just been through a physically traumatic experience and will treat you with courtesy throughout our conversation.
We would like you to start by telling us how your accident occurred, what injuries you sustained and how they were treated. If you believe you know where your employer was negligent in your accident, or what actions might have prevented it, please let us know this as well to help us assess your case.
As construction site injury claims are fairly common (trips, slips and falls accounted for 44% of all work injury compensation claims received by the Injuries Board Ireland last year), we should be able to assess quickly if you have a claim which is worth your while to pursue and how long it is likely to take.
Once we have discussed with you the effect your accident has had on your quality of life, future work prospects and factored in any ongoing medical costs and out of pocket expenses, we may also be able to advise you of the general level of compensation we would expect you to receive.
If you have any questions that we may not have covered, please do not hesitate to ask. Furthermore, if we have explained something and you are not entirely sure you understand the advice we have just given, do not worry about asking us to rephrase it for you -we try to use plain English all the time!
We frequently conclude our initial conversations by suggesting a selection of options to you, depending on your personal circumstance. You are not under any obligation to act on any of these and most clients prefer a couple of days to discuss what they are going to do with their families before getting back to us.
Construction site injury claims can be quite complex affairs, and even though you have two years from the date you sustained your injury to file your claim, we would advise that you call us as soon as possible. Our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and we also operate a call-back service. So, if you would rather that we called you, please enter your details in the form below and one of our friendly and helpful team will get back in touch with you.