I was recently injured falling off construction scaffolding, although I was not wearing a safety harness at the time. Is compensation possible?
While you normally may be entitled to claim compensation for being injured falling off construction scaffolding, you may not be entitled to claim compensation if contributory negligence was a factor in your injury. Your employer has a duty of care to fulfil to you – however this duty is not absolute and your compensation for falling off construction scaffolding can be affected if you have been negligent. Claiming compensation after an accident falling off construction scaffolding is not necessarily impossible – however you may find that the compensation you can claim may be reduced to reflect your own negligence. For this reason, you are advised to consult a personal injury lawyer at the earliest opportunity to determine whether a claim for fall off construction scaffolding is worth your while to pursue.
To determine whether you can make a claim after being injured falling off construction scaffolding, your lawyer will need to analyse the circumstances of for your accident and injury. Contributory negligence may have been a factor if a safety harness was provided but you failed to wear it, resulting in your accident falling off construction scaffolding. It is also possible that if you had noticed a fault with a safety harness but failed to report it, you may not be entitled make a claim for fall off construction scaffolding due to your failure to raise the issue with your employer. Contributory negligence does not always disqualify a claimant from seeking compensation for falling off construction scaffolding – however the amount of compensation which you may be able to claim can be reduced, perhaps to the point where making a claim is no longer feasible.
If contributory negligence is a factor after you had been injured falling off construction scaffolding, your compensation can be reduced in order to reflect the amount of liability you share for your injuries. For instance, if you are determined to be thirty per cent liable for your injuries your compensation may be reduced to reflect this, meaning you will only be entitled to receive seventy per cent of the compensation you would otherwise have received if you did not share any blame for the accident. Whether a claim for fall off construction scaffolding should be pursued if you are to blame for your own accident and injuries may depend on the amount of compensation to which you may be entitled in the situation of a successful claim. However, as claims for an accident falling off construction scaffolding involving contributory negligence can be more complex, you are advised to consult a personal injury lawyer at the earliest opportunity.
As a claim for fall off construction scaffolding involving contributory negligence may take some time to prepare, a lawyer should be consulted sooner rather than later. It should be remembered that a time limit of three years exists in which to seek compensation for falling off construction scaffolding, as per the Statute of Limitations. Gathering strong evidence in support of your accident falling off construction scaffolding will take some time. For this reason, you are advised to contact a personal injury lawyer at the earliest opportunity to ensure that you have sufficient time in which to make a claim and that your claim for being injured falling off construction scaffolding is handled professionally.