Or call free on:
0800 678 3483
We take your data seriously. See our privacy policy & terms.
By submitting this form you agree to be contacted by our partners.

Construction Site Accident Claims

Claiming for construction and building site injuries

Working on a construction site means there’s a certain level of risk involved in your day-to-day job. Construction sites can be dangerous places – heavy machinery, working at height, uneven ground and falling objects are just some examples of the hazards you’re likely to face on a daily-basis.

In fact, according to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 39 cases of fatal injuries in the construction trade during the period of 2020/21 – the highest of any industry in Great Britain.

A huge number of injuries can be avoided if employers take safety measures to make the working environment as safe as it can possibly be. In fact, they have a legal obligation to do so.

If you’ve been injured on a building site and think your accident happened because your employer failed to take steps to prevent it, then you might be able to get compensation through a personal injury claim to cover the impact your injury has had on your life, and the expenses it’s caused.

If you think you’re owed construction injury compensation, get in touch with a trained legal adviser for free on 0800 234 6438. Or, if you’d prefer, you can fill in one of the secure contact forms on this page and they’ll call you back.

DID YOU KNOW: In the period 2018/19-2020/21, around 183,000 construction workers in Great Britain sustained an injury at work because of a building site accident.

In addition to injuries due to accidents, approximately 74,000 workers are suffering from illness or disease caused by working in the construction industry.

Causes of building site and construction accidents

There are a lot of hazards on building sites, and if your employer fails to follow health and safety rules then serious injuries are more likely to happen.

For example, accidents can happen if there’s a lack of safety briefings or training – especially where dangerous machinery is involved.

You should also be given personal protective equipment (PPE) such as a hard hat, eye and ear protection as necessary.

Other causes of construction site injuries can include: incorrectly erected scaffolding, poor site layout, holes not being fenced off, electric shocks, or being hit by a falling object.

Faulty or defective machinery or equipment can be a serious hazard on construction sites – for example, if tools, scaffolding or ladders fail then the consequences can be extremely serious. Your employer should regularly inspect equipment and replace it if necessary.

It’s important for all workers to be given regular breaks and rest periods, because operating machinery while tired can increase the chances of an accident happening.

Chemical injuries

Working on construction and building sites can involve handling dangerous substances, such as asbestos.

If you’ve been exposed to asbestos without the proper training or safety equipment, then this can put you at risk of suffering from a serious, permanent condition called asbestosis.

If you or a loved one is suffering from asbestosis or another condition as a result of exposure to a dangerous chemical or substance, then you may be eligible for claiming compensation.

We realise your condition might not have developed until a long time after you were exposed – don’t worry, it’s likely you can still make a case if you get in touch with a solicitor within three years of first becoming aware of your condition.

Other dangerous chemicals can cause injuries such as burns or damage to the eyes. If you suffer an injury due to a chemical spill, and you weren’t provided with adequate protective equipment or properly trained in the correct way to handle dangerous substances, then you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

If you work on a construction or building site, you are protected by law

There are a few different laws in place to protect construction site workers from being unfairly injured. It is the job of the Health and Safety Executive to make sure these laws and regulations are followed correctly by employers and employees.

A few of the main ones include:

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015: governs the way all sizes of construction projects should be planned, and aims to bring health and safety into building site practices from the start.

The Work at Height Regulations 2005: states that work at height should be properly planned and supervised. This includes using the right equipment.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: sets out the duty of employers regarding the health and wellbeing of their staff.

The bottom line is that all employers have a duty of care to keep workers safe while they’re at work. This is especially important on construction sites where hazards are a part of the day-to-day environment, and accidents can happen.

Injuries on construction sites

Construction site accidents can cause a wide range of different injuries – starting from a soft tissue injury like a strain or sprain, to life-changing head injuries or spinal damage.

No matter what type of injury you’ve suffered, if you’ve had an accident on a building site, you may be entitled to claim construction accident compensation.

If your building site injury claim is for something that happened in the last three years (or you first became aware of it within the last three years), and if it was caused by somebody else’s negligence, get in touch with expert construction accident lawyers today.

Poor health and safety on building sites can also lead to:

If I claim against my employer, is my job at risk?

If you’re worried about making a work accident claim because you think you’ll lose your job or be treated differently because of it, put it out of your mind. It’s against the law for your employer to dismiss you because of your construction injury claim – and if they do, you might be able to take further legal action against them for unfair dismissal.

Also, your compensation claim won’t be directly against your employer – it will be made against their insurance company, so the company won’t have to pay your compensation out of their own pocket.

It’s important to remember that making a compensation claim not only covers you for the impact and expense your injury has unfairly caused to you – for example medical treatment, it can also help to flag health and safety breaches in your workplace so that your colleagues don’t have a similar accident.

How do I find a construction accident lawyer?

Our partners have expert legal advisers and solicitors providing free advice for workers who’ve suffered with construction accident injuries that weren’t their fault.

You can speak to an adviser for free by calling 0800 234 6438 – or simply enter your name and phone number in the contact form on this page to request a call back.

How much construction site accident compensation will I receive?

Every construction accident claim is different. The first thing you need to do is talk through what happened with construction accident solicitors to determine if you have a claim or not.

If you go through an expert legal adviser, any advice you receive will be impartial, plus they will never push you to make a claim if you don’t want to.

The amount of compensation you are eligible for will depend on the type and severity of the injuries you’ve suffered, plus the financial losses caused by those injuries. A personal injury solicitor will be able to advise you how much compensation you might receive.

I want to make a construction site accident claim, but I can’t afford legal fees

Don’t worry! Through our partners you will find experienced construction accident lawyers who operate on a no win no fee claim basis. This means they only get paid when you win your case and receive compensation. The amount you will have to pay if successful will be agreed before the solicitor takes on your case.

Making a no win no fee construction accident claim

An expert work accident solicitor will be able to help you make your claim on a no win no fee basis. No win no fee agreements takes the financial risk out of claiming, because it means that if your claim isn’t successful, then you won’t have to pay your solicitor’s fees.

If you do win your claim, you’ll pay your solicitor a percentage of the compensation you receive – but this will only ever make up a small amount of your money, so you’ll have the financial help you need to move on following your accident.

When you submit your details, you'll be in safe hands. Our partners are National Accident Helpline (a brand of National Accident Law, a firm of personal injury solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority). They are the UK's leading personal injury service. Their friendly legal services advisers will call you to talk about your claim and give you free, no-obligation advice. National Accident Law may pay us a marketing fee for our services.

By submitting your personal data, you agree for your details to be sent to National Accident Law so they can contact you to discuss your claim.

If you win your case, your solicitor's success fee will be taken from the compensation you are awarded - up to a maximum of 25%. Your solicitor will discuss any fees before starting your case.