Falls From Height Claims

If you’ve been injured in a fall from height while at work, and it wasn’t your fault, you might be entitled to compensation. Falls can result in serious or sometimes permanent injuries, which can require expensive lifestyle adjustments or long recovery periods. Making a fall from height claim can help you to manage at such a difficult time, and relieve your financial worries so that you can focus on your recovery. 

At Clough & Willis, we understand how difficult it can be to cope with serious injuries sustained in a fall. If you’re unable to work because of your injury, or if you require expensive medical treatment, compensation can cover your expenses and allow you to focus on getting better. We’ve helped many clients to make fall from height claims and receive the maximum amount of compensation that they were entitled to, enabling them to adjust to their new circumstances and recover comfortably. 

It’s important to contact a solicitor if you feel that your employer was negligent in their duties and that this was the cause of your accident. Solicitors at Clough & Willis are understanding and compassionate, with significant expertise in the law around accidents at work and falls from height. 

Get in touch with our expert work injury solicitors to find out if you may be owed compensation. Call us today on 0800 083 0815, or fill out the online enquiry form on this page to request a call back at your convenience.

How we can help with fall from height claims

At Clough & Willis, our specialist solicitors can offer expert legal advice and support in the event that you are injured in a fall from height. We can help you to understand your rights, estimate how much compensation you might be entitled to, and guide you through the process of making a claim to ensure your greatest chance of success. 

We’ll make it as easy as possible because we understand that recovering from an injury can be a long and difficult process without the added stress of complicated legal proceedings. Thankfully, a majority of fall from height claims are settled before they’re taken to court. With our expertise, we’ll try to secure the compensation you deserve without going to court, and if that’s not possible, we’ll do everything we can to make the process as stress-free as possible. 

There are several steps you can take that will help us succeed in pursuing your fall from height claim. If you’ve been injured in a fall, or by a falling object, your first priority should be to seek medical attention. You should ensure that your employer is aware of your accident and has recorded it in their accident book. If possible, you should also gather contact details of any witnesses to the accident, and photographs of the area where you were injured and any equipment that was involved. 

We understand that claiming compensation from your employer can be an uncomfortable experience, especially if you previously had a good relationship. However, your employer has a responsibility to keep you safe, and if they have failed in their duty, they have an obligation to make things right. 

If a loved one has suffered fatal injuries, either because they fell from a height or they were struck by a falling object, their family might be entitled to claim compensation. The pain of losing a loved one in this way can be hard to overcome, but compensation will at least cover funeral expenses, loss of income, and other financial burdens that may accrue while you take the time to grieve.

Can I make a fall from height claim?

Falls from height are the single biggest cause of death and major injury in the workplace, according to the Health and Safety Executive, and they’re often entirely preventable. Your employer has specific legal responsibilities to make sure that any risk of accidents is kept to an absolute minimum if you’re working at height. They must give you appropriate training and safety equipment, and must undertake a realistic risk assessment to help avoid putting employees in dangerous situations. 

Fall from height claims can be made in response to a variety of situations; they do not only apply to situations where someone is working high in the air. You can also claim for a fall from a broken ladder, or if you’re struck by an object that falls from a high shelf. Some of the most common employer failures which can result in claims are: 

• Use of an unsteady or unsecured ladder
• Inclement weather
• Failure to carry out an appropriate risk assessment
• Unfit protective or safety equipment
• Failure to secure loose objects
• Inadequate training 

Clough & Willis has been successful in cases that resulted in relatively minor injuries, such as arm fractures, right through to serious head, neck and spinal injuries caused by falls from height. 

Employers have a responsibility to prevent injuries wherever they can. Some of the steps an employer can take to minimise the risk of falls from height in the workplace are: 

• Properly planning and organising work ahead of time;
• Taking account of weather conditions that could endanger health and safety;
• Ensuring all employees are properly trained and competent;
• Assessing the safety of the place where the work is to be done;
• Inspecting all equipment;
• Managing risks from fragile surfaces; and
• Controlling danger from falling objects. 

Usually, you must make a claim within three years of the date of your accident. To give your case the maximum possible chance of success, you should contact a solicitor as soon as possible after your accident if you wish to make a fall from height claim.

Falls from height - FAQs

What are my employer’s legal responsibilities when I’m working at height? 

Working at altitude can be extremely dangerous and there is a specific set of statutory regulations dealing with this type of work - The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (as amended by the Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007.) These regulations apply if work involves the risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. 

Every employer has an overriding duty to do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent anyone from falling. They must: 

• Avoid this type of work where they can;
• Use equipment or other methods to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height;
• Where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use special equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur. 

If you have been injured from a fall at height, or by a falling object, you should be able to claim compensation for your injury and all associated financial losses including loss of earnings, private medical treatment, and care provided by friends or relatives. 

How much compensation can I receive from a fall from height claim?

The amount of compensation you’ll receive will vary, as it is based on the severity of your injuries, the circumstances surrounding your accident, and the financial losses you’ve suffered as a result. 

If you’ve pursued private medical treatment to help you get better, or had a friend or family member step in as a primary carer at any point during your recovery period, you may be able to claim for the expenses that this accrued. 

If Clough & Willis is pursuing your claim on a no win, no fee basis, our fee will be drawn from your compensation payment, meaning that there will be no additional financial burden for you to bear, whether your claim is successful or not. 

If you’d like more information about how much compensation you are owed, and what you should expect from the process of pursuing a claim, speak to a member of our fall from height team using the enquiry form on this page, or call us on 0800 083 0815. 

Can I claim if I’m hit by a falling object?

Just as employers have an obligation to keep you safe when working at height, they must also make sure that they have appropriately assessed the risk of injury by falling objects. 

You can be injured at work by a falling object in a variety of situations, whether you work in construction or at a supermarket. Whether an object falls from a top shelf, a scaffold or a crane, if you’re injured and the accident wasn’t your fault, you can claim compensation. This also applies in situations where you’re injured by part of the environment where you work; a piece of masonry, or a collapsed ceiling or wall, for example. 

Will I have to go to court?

The vast majority of accident at work claims are settled without the need to go to court. This means you are likely to be able to receive the compensation you deserve, without the stress of having to go through the entire court process. 

If you do need to attend court to pursue your claim, Clough & Willis will be there to help you throughout. We’ll make sure you know your rights and are fully prepared, to make sure you get the maximum amount of compensation to which you are entitled.