Falling Construction Debris Injury Claim for Compensation
Injuries which are sustained from falling construction debris are often serious – sometimes fatal – and a falling construction debris injury claim for compensation should fully reflect the extent of an injury and the impact it has on the victim´s life and the lives of the people closest to him or her.
No amount of falling construction debris injury compensation can make up for a permanent injury or the loss of a loved one, but by securing compensation for a falling construction debris injury the victim and their families can be assured of long-term financial security.
This guide to making a falling construction debris injury claim for compensation is intended to provide general advice for establishing your entitlement to compensation for a falling construction debris injury, but is no substitute for seeking individual and specific legal advice from a lawyer.
Prioritise Your Health after Sustaining a Falling Construction Debris Injury
Providing advice to prioritise your health after sustaining a falling construction debris injury may seem obvious to many, and for those most seriously injured would not have been a choice. However some people who have sustained a falling construction debris injury wait until their condition has deteriorated before seeking medical attention.
Not only is this harmful to your health, but it may damage a claim for falling construction debris injury compensation if the person against whom your claim is made argues that your injury was not caused by their negligence but by your own lack of care. A delay in seeking medical attention may mean that you only receive compensation for a falling construction debris injury which reflects your injury at the time of the accident – even if your health has significantly deteriorated thereafter.
Consequently, it is in your best interests to seek professional medical attention at the first possible opportunity after sustaining a falling construction debris injury and, even if you have received First Aid at the site, attend the accident and emergency department of the nearest hospital or make an urgent appointment to see your GP.
Establishing Entitlement to Make a Falling Construction Debris Injury Claim
In order to make a falling construction debris injury claim for compensation, it has to be established that your injury was sustained due to the negligence of an employer or construction site manager who had a duty of care to provide you with a safe environment in which to work. The “person of responsibility” has the obligation to introduce a “safe system of work” on a building site which includes:-
Establishing clearly marked exclusion zones where the risk of injury from falling construction debris is at its highest, providing covered walkways so that falling construction debris does not cause injury and training workers on the site to make them aware of the hazard presented by falling construction debris.
Scaffolding should be erected with brick guards and netting to eliminate accidental falls of construction debris, and chutes should be used to provide safe passage for any construction debris and prevent “bombing” – where debris is intentionally dropped from a height into a skip or pit below.
All supervisors and site managers must be aware of their responsibilities for health, safety and welfare and their obligations under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
If an employer or person of responsibility fails in any of the above obligations, and you sustain an injury from falling construction debris as a result, you are entitled to make a claim for falling construction debris injury compensation against the employer or owner of the site.
How Much Compensation for a Falling Construction Debris Injury?
When a lawyer is calculating how much compensation for an injury from falling construction debris you should be entitled to, he or she will consider the severity of your injury in relation to your age, sex and general state of health prior to your falling construction debris accident.
If, for example an older man and a younger woman were struck on the head by the same mass of falling construction debris, the woman is likely to receive a higher level of compensation for a falling construction debris injury due to her weaker neck muscles and the fact that she may have to life with her injury from falling construction debris for much longer.
The effect that an injury from falling construction debris has on your quality of life will also be taken into account. Consequently, if you are unable to drive, perform day-to-day activities or participate in social events and leisure pursuits, your “loss of amenity” will be included in your claim for falling construction debris injury compensation.
Any expenses that you have incurred or loss of income which is attributable to your falling construction debris injury can also be recovered in a falling construction debris injury claim. Your lawyer should ensure that you are no worse off financially in this respect than if your falling construction debris accident had never occurred.
Falling Construction Debris Injury Claims and Contributory Negligence
One of the many other factors which might affect how much compensation for a falling construction debris injury you may be entitled to is “contributory negligence”. You hear a lot about contributory negligence in car accidents when a person has been injured through no fault of their own, but their injury was made worse by failing to wear a seat belt, and – if you have either contributed to the cause of the accident or made your injury worse by not visiting a doctor at the first possible opportunity – how much compensation for a falling construction debris injury you may be entitled to receive could be adjusted to reflect your own lack of care.
Time Limits for Falling Construction Debris Injury Claims
In the USA, there is a limit of three years in which you can make a claim for falling construction debris injury compensation from the date of your falling construction debris accident. This may sound like a long time, but often a claim for falling construction debris injury compensation may be delayed to see if certain medical conditions manifest or to wait for a condition to heal to determine whether plastic surgery can remove a scar injury. The length of time that you have available in which to make a falling construction debris injury claim for compensation should not deter you from seeking professional medical or legal advice as soon as possible after a falling construction debris accident has occurred..
Falling Construction Debris Injury Claims and Third Party Capture
Third party capture is the act of an insurance company successfully talking you into accepting an offer of compensation for a falling construction debris injury without first speaking with a lawyer. Insurance companies make these offers in return for an immediate settlement and although you may not fare any worse than if you had undergone a professional assessment of your falling construction debris injury claim, there is no way of knowing if you could have got more. Should a third party settlement of falling construction debris injury compensation prove to be inadequate for your medical costs and to support your family, you cannot go back to the insurance company and ask for more.
Free Advice on Falling Construction Debris Injury Compensation
If you or somebody close to you have sustained an injury from falling construction debris for which you were not wholly to blame, you are invited to call our free legal advice telephone service on 0800 044 3256 to discuss the circumstances of your injury and the consequences it has made to your life directly with an experienced lawyer.
There is no charge for using this service and no obligation on you to proceed with a claim for falling construction debris injury compensation once you have spoken with us – our free legal advice telephone service is designed to help you get practical and impartial advice from a knowledgeable source and to answer any questions you may have.
Our lines are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and if now is not a suitable time to speak with us, please complete your contact details in the box at the side of the page and one of our helpful team will call you back when it is more convenient. A falling construction debris injury can cause you to miss out on so many opportunities in life – do not miss out on this one!
Additional articles about work injury compensation claims: Compensation for Construction Sub-contractor Claims, Compensation for Falling Debris Injuries, Compensation for Welding Fume Poisoning.