With the UK building industry back in full swing, and with new initiatives to boost home building, work related accidents on building sites are and have always been a serious concern. So if you are a contractor and have sustained an injury, what compensations options are open to you?

The UK construction industry is big business, contributing around £120 billion to the UK economy in 2020. To help bring some perspective of the size of the industry here are a few more statistics:

• In 2018 there were 325,736 registered firms in the construction industry.
• That’s around one construction company for every 200 people in this country.
• Typically, around 99% are SMEs.
• Around 1 in 5 SMEs in the Uk are construction companies.

As with any large industry, there are many incidents of work related accidents and injuries. tis is probably not surprising given  the nature of the construction industry and the high risk of injury through the extensive use of large machines and dangerous working conditions.

If you are a construction worker or a contractor supplying workers to a larger construction firm, it’s essential that you understand the risks involved and the circumstances that can lead to injury and have a plan in place to cover such inevitabilities.  In the construction industry, it’s not a case of ‘if’ an accident happens, it’s just a matter of when. Even with the best accident prevention measures in place, humans make mistakes, as is borne out by the following accident statistics:

• In 2019/2020 there were 40 fatal injuries
• Nearly 50% of accidents were as a result of falling from height
• Around 61,000 workers were involved in non-fatal construction injuries - most were slips, trips or falls.
• Around 81,000 workers were suffering from work-related ‘ill health’, which includes new or leg-standing injuries.

What should you do if you’ve been involved in a construction related accident?

As with any critical injury, you should first consult your doctor or have attended a local hospital to understand the nature and seriousness of your injury. If your injury was critical or life threatening, then you’ve undoubtedly been admitted to hospital and be under the care of a specialist. It’s at times like these that seeking legal recourse seems a distant prospect, and for good reason, your health comes first.

However, time is important, as details of the accident and those involve tends to fade quite quickly, especially if the fault is likely due to the negligence of others. For instance, the scene of the accident, been a place of work or part of a construction site, is likely to change and the elements involved in the event moved or removed and those involved, moved on. Essential then, just as soon as you can, or through the help of others, is to have somebody working for your own interests, to assess those events and ensure details are accurately recorded, especially if the construction firm involved is an SME.

This is something the specialists at CCH & Co. can assist you with. Our team will investigate the circumstances of your accident and compile the necessary evidence for use in a claim agains those responsible. You can find more information about making a claim for an injury at work here:

Making a claim for an injury at work

Site owners responsibilities and you

It’s important to note that the operators of the site should have an emergency response plan for serious or fatal injuries. For large construction companies and the clients they work for, this is almost certainly the case. Under these conditions, such accidents will be reported and investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (and the police, if there has been a fatality). 

For smaller companies though, while they may have adequate insurance, practices maybe less well defined and those injured may not receive fair treatment as the building company operators seek to limit the damage to their company and investigations may not be as thorough as those in the larger national construction companies.

Under these circumstances, you or a family member should contact us as soon as possible to we can take necessary steps to preserve the details surrounding your injury. 

Is there time limit on claiming for a construction related injury?

The short answer is, yes, there is. In most cases the there is a limit of three years of the accident event. Tis is important to consider because for many accidents where somebody walks away without sustaining serious external injury, other injuries may take time to appear, particularly if the event was traumatic - physically and emotionally. For some, even physical injuries take time to show themselves, particularly muscular/skeletal injuries and trauma to these aspects of the body can have a significant impact on the quality of life in years to come. 

However, this definitely doesn’t mean that you should simply accept and offer of compensation if one is presented by the responsible party’s insurance company. It can be tempting, especially if your ability to earn an income has been affected. This is why it is essential to have a firm like Romain Coleman working for you. We have had a great deal of experience negotiating settlements for clients that greatly outstrip the original sums offered.

Also be aware that in circumstances where a catastrophic injury has occurred, perhaps due to a head, brain or spinal injury, you may be able to obtain a longer period in which to make you claim - we will be able to advise you or your family about this.

CCH & Co. is a highly experienced work related injury claims solicitors

We have many years of experience in these types of claims, so contact us now for a free review of your claim. You can call us on 020 8520 1021 if you are using a mobile phone. Alternatively email us on office@cch-solicitors.co.uk or complete our Free Enquiry Form online and one of our team will be happy to help with your construction injury work claim.