Have you been injured in an Accident Working at Height?
Many injuries are caused when workers fall from a height whether from ladders or scaffolding. Many employers do not know the law, or if they do, they fail to put the law into practice.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, your employer should avoid the need for you to work at height. If the job can be done without working at height, then why take the risk of working at height.? This may sound obvious but sometimes we find that employers do not think about how a job could be safely done without working at height. For example a painter might be able to paint a ceiling using a roller on a pole rather than by using a stepladder.
If a job cannot be done without working at height, then your employer must properly plan and supervise the work at height and provide appropriate equipment. Your employer must take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent you from falling, as far as reasonably practicable. If you fall, it will be for your employer to put forward evidence to show that suitable and sufficient measures had been taken.
Typical work at height accidents include:
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Using stepladders when a stepladder is not appropriate to do the job
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Using stepladders in an unsafe way
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Using a ladder without ensuring that the ladder is properly footed
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Using a ladder at a too steep or too shallow angle
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Using a tower scaffold which has not been erected properly, for example failing to fit outriggers
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Failing to fit toe boards when scaffold is erected
In our experience employers rarely stop to think about how a job is to be done and quite often unsuitable equipment is used. If a stepladder is to hand, it seems convenient to use it but great care needs to be taken when stepladders are used.
Did you know?
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That you should not stand on the top shelf of a stepladder? You are more likely to overbalance and fall.
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That you should not position a stepladder sideways against a wall you are drilling into? When you apply pressure to the wall as you drill, the stepladder is more likely to topple over.
Our team of specialist work at height accident solicitors have won many claims for injuries caused by falling from height.
Some of the worst injuries ever seen are caused by work at height accidents at work including:-
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Fatal Injuries
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Head injuries caused when the head strikes the ground
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Spinal cord injuries resulting in paraplegia or tetraplegia
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Wrist fractures caused when the hands are put out instinctively to break the fall.
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Foot, ankle and leg fractures caused when the foot strikes the ground.
Our team of specialist solicitors deal with many work at height accident claims. We can often pursue your claim for compensation on a no win no fee basis. We will advise you on the merits of your case. We will gather the evidence and advise you on how best to put your case forward. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
We offer a genuine 'no fee' service*, taking nothing from our client's compensation and making no charges for our services, insurance, loans or credit agreements.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
*Except in Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) claims against Untraced Drivers where because not all costs can be recovered from the MIB a fee may be charged.
Related Falling from Height Accident Claims NewsA father and daughter who own and run a farm in Hertfordshire have been fined a combined sum of £8,000 after an employee fell through a fragile barn roof and suffered multiple fractures. A welding company has been handed a fine of £4,000 after an incident in which a worker who fell off a barn roof was seriously injured.
A company that makes animal feed has been fined £5,000 after a worker fell from an excavator bucket and suffered head injuries.
A farm business in Nottinghamshire has been fined £4,000 after a worker suffered a broken pelvis and a number of other injuries in a roof fall. A farmer from York has been fined for safety failings after a labourer was seriously injured in a 3m fall through a fragile roof light. A steeplejack's fall from a church roof has left the Stoke-on-Trent building maintenance firm responsible facing thousands of pounds in fines.
Falling from Height Accident Claims Case StudiesLevenes Birmingham work accident claim team secure settlement of £5,000 for caretaker, Joe
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