There are a lot of personal injury claims for accidents at work in this country. Let’s take a look at Britain’s major industry, construction, which employs over two million people. Compared with the rest of the European Union, the accident rate here in the United Kingdom compares very favourably, but accidents at work are far too common. In the British construction industry alone there have been nearly 3,000 fatalities over the past 25 years. During that period, many more workers have suffered serious injury as well as industrial related illnesses.
What is a construction industry accident? Generally speaking it is one which takes place on a building site. The most common form of work accidents in the building industry are those involving scaffolding with people or items falling from a height, and accidents involving power tools, lifting equipment and any number of incidents involving faulty equipment.
You don’t have to be working on a building site to suffer personal injury. People just walking past are also open to danger. Whoever is at risk, whether building site personnel or on the site or passers by, they do have a legal right to make compensation claims, albeit under different laws, if they suffer injury.
The employer has obligation to ensure health and safety regulations are observed. He should make sure the site is covered by adequate insurance, and ensure his workers have had the proper training and receive correct supervision when machinery is in use. So if you are the victim of a construction site injury, just what should you do?
First, after the injured person has been seen to by first aiders or other medical agencies, the person in charge should be informed of the accident. It is important that a detailed information as possible is entered into the site accident book. This will be crucial when you make your personal injury accident claim.
To prove that the employer is responsible for the accident at work, you should gather and keep a written record of as much evidence as possible. You should also gather the names of any witnesses to the work accident and enquire if this has happened before with this company. You should then enlist the services of a solicitor in specialises in work accident compensation. He will advise on the amount of what you should claim and your chances of success.
Should your personal injury claim meet with success, the compensation you receive will not be based only on your injuries. It will be accessed on the loss of current and future wages owing to the injuries suffered by the work accident, as well as any damage to your personal property. A successful personal injury claim could see you awarded a significant sum. The solicitor may even save you further financial strain by agreeing to represent you on a no win now fee basis.
You may, at first, be reluctant to claim against your employer, fearing repercussions following your claim, but if you are certain the accident could have been avoided had proper safety measures been in place, you should certainly proceed, and to make every effort you possibly can to ensure this kind of accident at work does not happen again. You do, after all, also have a responsibility to those persons who you work alongside regarding their safety too.
