Claiming compensation for scaffolding claims is not new. The problem you encounter these days is too much choice. Many legal firms or ‘claims advisers’ offer no win no fee but the problem you have is finding a lawyer who specialised in this sector of construction claims and can help your specific circumstances. At kenneth elliott + rowe solicitors we deal with a number of claims in this field and can help you negotiate around the common issues specific to your industry. We can give you a few examples of how we have recently assisted our clients in claiming.
Our expert knowledge of Heath and Safety Laws can help your claim…
Some of the claims we deal with lead to admissions of liability by the scaffolding company or their insurers at an early stage if we are able to present evidence that the methods used in the workplace breach regulations. This can speed up the claims process or enable us to get a payment on account (technically referred to as a ‘interim payment’) to help you while the full extent of your injuries and needs are assessed.
Take the example of Mr B. He was aged 19 years and was injured whilst carrying 2 x 6ft long capped steel scaffold poles up an aluminum ladder which had been placed by his employers up against a scaffold.
The total climb was about 20 feet. The ladder was one piece. The poles were heavy and the ladder was not footed, supported.
The aluminium ladder rested against the steel support bar on the scaffold. As a result of the metal on metal contact, the movement of the Claimant and the weight of the poles, the ladder fell and the Claimant fell.
As the Claimant fell he was impaled on the raised spikes of a metal fence suffering serious injuries to his chest and face.
His employers, the scaffold company, admitted liability on the basis that they should have provided him with a mobile extendable working platform and had failed to do so. They also failed to take into account the fact that Mr B was working at height and admitted that they had not carried out a risk assessment as to how best he should carry out his job.
The Claimant’s treatment will take place over a period of several years. He has received interim payments, but being young and fit has been able to return to work. Final compensation will be assessed in due course.
Construction sites are complex places….
Part of the problem is that you either need to sue a company that is substancial or who is properly insured. Building sites may contain many different parties. Often there are uninsured sub-contractors on site who may cause the accident and it is our job to find and sue not only those at direct fault but those who can be held indirectly liable and can pay any claim. Again take the example of Mr H. Mr H was a scaffolder who was working on a construction site in South London. It was his first day on site.
He parked his car in a car park and walked through an access door and tripped over on a rod that was projecting some 12inches from the floor in front of him. He fell forward landing on a piece of mobile work equipment which was fortunately non-operational at the time.
Mr H was a large heavy man. He was carrying some of his own personal safety and work equipment. He fell heavily and suffered serious injuries to his right knee, chest and face.
The spike in the floor was part of several hundred spikes which had been put in place by a small concern known as X & Co. The spikes were intended to be part of the foundations for a temporary set of cabins. The spike which caused the accident had been put in the wrong place a couple of yards from an access door.
X & Co were uninsured but the main contractor, ABC & Co, who had overall responsibility for the site were, of course, insured.
Mr H sued ABC & Co and X & Co and the case went to court in early 2013.
In a 5-day trial Mr H won his case against both Defendants and received compensation of just over £400,000.00.
Though ABC & Co were not principally liable to Mr H, the court held that they were liable to Mr H to the tune of 5%. X & Co were liable to the tune of 95%.
However, there was no point in enforcing judgement against X & Co but by law Mr H was able to enforce 100% of his judgement against the insured ABC & Co and has now received all of his compensation.
Those who are sued will seek to reduce their damages by blaming you…
Often this arises through an argument that you were partially at fault – this is known as ‘contributory negligence’. We often need to fend off such claims to avoid substantial reductions in the amount you receive in compensation. Sometimes we have to put forward mutiple explanations to avoid the chance of sucess by the defendent.
Take Mr S’s case. On the 1st June 2011 Mr S, a laborer, was working on a construction site in North Kent.
Unknown to him several stories above ground a firm of scaffolders were setting up. Mr S was working on the ground floor of a mezzanine. A large scaffold support pole fell, bounced and struck him on the side of the head.
Mr S, a Sikh, was wearing a turban and not wearing a hardhat.
Mr S unfortunately suffered brain damage and requires a significant amount of care. This is provided by his wife and family to a great extent, but he also receives outside care. He prefers this mixed regime to a more formal care regime.
Liability was conceded by the scaffolders but they alleged that Mr S was contributorily negligent for failing to wear a hardhat.
We tackled this in two ways by obtaining medical evidence that though the hardhat might have
buy finasteride online, Mr S would still have suffered very significant injury indeed even if he’d been wearing a hardhat and we also
succeeded in proving to the Defendant that Mr S’s religious obligation to wear a turban overrode any argument that he should have been wearing other forms of headgear and the Defendant accepted that argument.
Mr S’s case was settled out of court for a very significant sum of money. Mr S who was also assisted by the charity Headway received every penny of his compensation.
Every claim is different….
We may be specialists in scaffolding claims but every circumstance is different so the best thing to do is to call or email, Neville Fiilar on 01708 757575 or neville.filar@ker.co.uk for a no obligation chat about your circumstances and to see how we can help. Neville is a partner and specialist personal injury solicitor with many years experience with construction claims.
We hope that we can help you back on the road to recovery and claim the compensation you or your family need to put matters right.
