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JF Law

Make A Scaffold Accident Claim

100% No Win No Fee

National Claims Service

Experienced And Specialist Solicitors

When Can You Make A Scaffold Accident Claim?

This guide explains when you might be able to claim compensation following a scaffold accident at work. As an employee working for a scaffolding company, you could be entitled to start a personal injury claim if you can show that an employer was negligent and this led to a scaffolding accident in which you were injured. However, we discuss the specific criteria you need to meet in order to have valid grounds to proceed later in this guide. Also, we’ll show you the types of evidence you might use to support a workplace injury claim.

scaffold accident
When Can You Make A Scaffold Accident Claim?

We’ll explain the duty of care your employer owes in the workplace and look at some scenarios where you could be injured in an accident at work involving scaffolding.

Falling from scaffolding can cause serious injuries, such as those to the head, neck and back. Other scaffolding accidents can result in broken bones, soft tissue injuries, cuts and bruises. In this guide, we discuss the compensation you could be awarded to address the way the injuries you sustained in an accident at work have affected you.

Finally, we discuss how one of our specialist solicitors could help you seek personal injury compensation by providing a No Win No Fee service.

Continue reading for more information on accident at work claims. Alternatively, please contact an advisor. Our team offers a no-obligation initial consultation where you’ll receive free legal advice about your case. To arrange your consultation, you can:

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When Can You Make A Scaffold Accident Claim?

As an employee of a scaffolding company, your employer owes a duty of care to you under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This duty of care requires them to take reasonable and practicable steps to prevent you from experiencing harm at work or as you perform your work-related duties. Some of the ways they could uphold this duty include:

  • Provide you with adequate training to put up and take down scaffolding correctly and safely.
  • Ensure scaffolding equipment is safe to use for it’s intended purpose as well as maintained in a safe condition.
  • Carry out risk assessments and implement any measures to reduce the risk posed by working from a height.

You could be entitled to begin a personal injury claim following a workplace scaffolding accident if:

  • The employer owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident;
  • A breach of that duty occurred.
  • You sustained injuries as a direct result of the breach.

Why not get in touch with an advisor today and find out whether you’re eligible to pursue a workplace accident claim? You can reach them on the number above.

What Are Causes Of Scaffolding Accidents?

As shown through the criteria above, personal injury claims for injuries sustained in scaffolding accidents may be possible if caused by your employer’s breach of duty. Below, we have provided some examples of how a scaffold accident could occur and lead to an injury.

  • There may have been no training given on how to erect scaffolding correctly and safely. As a result, the scaffolding collapses on you while you’re working and you sustain multiple injuries, such as a head injury and crushed chest injury.
  • The scaffolding equipment you were provided may have been faulty but your employer instructed you to use it anyway. As a result, you fall at work through a faulty panel when constructing the scaffolding and sustain a back injury and broken bones.

If you’ve suffered any form of scaffold injury caused by your employer’s breach of duty, please get in touch to discuss your potential claim with an advisor.

Potential Compensation From A Scaffold Accident

Following a successful personal injury claim, you could be awarded a settlement that comprises up to two heads of loss. The first is general damages which compensates for the pain and suffering your injuries, both physical and psychological, have caused you.

When valuing general damages, solicitors and other legal professionals could use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. This document contains a list of guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries.

The table below contains figures from the JCG. However, please bear in mind that the amount of compensation you might receive following a successful scaffold accident claim will be based on several factors, such as the extent of injury and the impact on your quality of life. Therefore, the amounts listed here may not reflect the settlement amount you receive and should be used as a guide only.

You could also use our compensation calculator which also uses figures from the JCG.

Compensation Table

Injury TypeLevel Of SeverityCompensation BracketAdditional Notes
BrainVery Severe£282,010 to £403,990 The impact on life expectancy, physical limitation, sensory impairment, care needs, behavioural problems, epilepsy and the degree of insight will all be considered when calculating compensation amounts.
Brain Moderately Severe£219,070 to £282,010The person will be very seriously disabled. As a result, they will need a substantial level of care from others. Disabilities can include physical impairments as well as intellect or personality impairments.
ParalysisTetraplegia£324,600 to £403,990Also called quadriplegia, this type of injury will result in the inability to control both upper and lower parts of the body.
ParalysisParaplegia£219,070 to £284,260Where the claimant will not be able to control the lower parts of their body.
BackSevere (i)£91,090 to £160,980Damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots causing a combination of very serious issues, such as severe pain and disability.
BackModerate (i)£27,760 to £38,780An example of a back injury that could align with this bracket is a crush fracture of the lumbar vertebrae causing constant pain and discomfort and where there is a high risk of osteoarthritis as a result.
NeckSevere (i)Around £148,330The types of neck injury that are linked with incomplete paraplegia or where little or no neck movement is possible even after a period of years wearing a neck collar.
NeckModerate (i)£24,990 to £38,490This category includes neck dislocations or fractures leading to severe immediate symptoms. As a result of such injuries, spinal fusion might be required.
LegSevere (ii)£54,830 to £87,890Very serious injuries are included in this bracket. For example, where extensive treatment was required because of multiple fractures that have taken years to heal.

Special Damages After A Scaffolding Accident

In addition, you may receive compensation to cover any financial costs linked to your injuries. This is awarded under special damages.

For example, after a scaffold accident you could incur the following:

  • Lost income (including any future losses).
  • The cost of adapting your home to help you deal with any permanent disability.
  • The cost of a carer at home.
  • Travel expenses.
  • Medical and rehabilitation costs.

You should keep hold of any receipts, payslips, invoices and travel tickets as evidence of these costs.

To see what level of compensation you might be able to claim, please get in touch with a member of our team.

What Evidence Do You Need In Scaffolding Accident Claims?

Securing evidence to support scaffold accident claims is an important part of the claims process. Evidence can help prove employer liability as well as give an insight into the injuries you suffered and how they have affected you.

Therefore, if you are involved in a scaffold accident, the types of evidence you could collect include:

  • Photographic evidence of the defect, fault or problem that caused your accident. You could also provide pictures of any visible injuries.
  • A record of any medical treatment including hospital reports, doctor reports, diagnosis letters and treatment plans.
  • Your copy of the accident report form from the workplace accident book that can prove where and when you were injured.
  • Mobile phone or CCTV footage if your accident was recorded.
  • Contact details for anyone who saw the accident as your solicitor may ask them for a witness statement later on.

Additionally, accidents caused by the collapse of scaffolding may be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). As such, you could request a copy of their report to substantiate your claim.

If one of our personal injury solicitors handles your claim, they could help you collect relevant evidence to strengthen your case. Also, they could ensure all correspondence for your case is submitted within the relevant limitation period.

Is There A Time Limit To Claim For A Scaffold Injury?

The Limitation Act 1980 sets a 3-year time limit for personal injury claims. Therefore, you’ll typically have 3 years from the date of your accident to begin a legal proceedings. However, there could be exceptions in some circumstances.

For example, a loved one has suffered injuries that mean they lack the mental capacity to claim compensation themselves, you could apply to the courts to become their litigation friend and handle the claim for them.

In this situation, the time limit is paused indefinitely. However, if the person recovers their mental capacity and no claim has already been started for them, they will have three years to begin legal proceedings from the day of recovery.

For more information on the time limits for starting a scaffold accident claim, please call the number above today.

Claim For A Scaffold Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis

If you’ve suffered an injury in a scaffold accident at work, and you’re eligible to begin a personal injury claim, you might benefit from working with one of our solicitors. They offer a No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Under a CFA, solicitors don’t ask for fees for their services to be paid upfront, as your claim progresses or if the claim is lost. You will need to pay your solicitor if you are awarded compensation. If that happens, a success fee will be deducted as a percentage. This percentage is legally capped which means you’ll still receive the bulk of any damages awarded.

Some of the services our solicitors could provide include:

  • Help you to collect supporting evidence.
  • Send any correspondence on your behalf.
  • Use their previous experience handling accident at work claims to help you seek compensation.
  • Send regular updates to you as your claim proceeds.

If you’d like to see if one of our solicitors could represent your case, please:

Read More About Making Scaffolding Accident Claims

Below, we’ve provided links to some more of our guides below:

We’ve added a few external resources that could also prove useful:

For free legal advice about making a scaffold accident claim, please feel free to contact our team today.

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