This guide on claiming for injuries caused by a broken ladder at work will look at health and safety legislation that forms the basis of a personal injury claim. We’ve assembled this article to inform you whether you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation.
There’s also a section on how long you have to begin ladder accident claims, as well as a section on the evidence you could gather to prove your workplace accident claim and how compensation is calculated in such an instance.
If you have any questions, our advisors are always available to answer them for you. To complete this guide, we look at how an accident at work solicitor could represent you and your case on a No Win No Fee basis.
Read on for more information. You’ll also find out contact details just below:
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us through our website
- Connect with an advisor in the online conversation in the corner of the screen
Claim For An Accident Caused By A Broken Ladder At Work
Choose A Topic
- Could I Claim For An Accident Caused By A Broken Ladder At Work?
- What Evidence Could Help Make A Successful Claim?
- What Is The Average Broken Ladder At Work Accident Settlement?
- Could I Make A No Win No Fee Claim For A Broken Ladder Accident?
- Discover More About Ladder Safety And Accident Claims
Could I Claim For An Accident Caused By A Broken Ladder At Work?
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer owes you a duty of care. Your employer must take all reasonable steps to prevent you from sustaining an injury at work. Proving that you were owed this duty when injured in a workplace ladder accident is an important factor when making a valid claim.
An eligible personal injury claim for a broken ladder accident at work will satisfy the following criteria:
- At the time of the accident, your employer owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty through action or omission.
- This breach caused an accident in which you were injured.
In addition, you generally need to have started your claim within 3 years of the injury being sustained. This limitation period can be found in the Limitation Act 1980. However, the same Act also makes exceptions to this time limit under certain circumstances.
Call today to find out if you’re within the time limit to claim for an injury sustained due to a broken ladder at work.
The Regulations On Working At Heights
The legislation relating to this topic is known as the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Employers must adhere to these regulations to ensure that they are taking the steps required to keep employees safe while they are working at a height. The regulations state that competent people must carry out work at heights, and the work must be properly supervised and planned.
Call our team if your employer has breached their duty of care to you, and this has led to your injury. For example, if they provided inadequate training before asking you to undertake certain tasks.
What Evidence Could Help Make A Successful Claim?
If you want to make an accident at work claim because a broken ladder at work has caused you an injury, and you believe that your employer is liable for this, you need to gather evidence. Depending on your circumstances, various forms of evidence may be available to you. However, we have provided a few examples in the list below.
- Work accident log book – Your employer should complete this after the accident that caused your injury. Details such as the date and time of the accident, as well as the nature of your injury, should all be included.
- CCTV footage – Request footage if it shows the accident. Video evidence of the ladder accident that caused your injury can be very useful.
- Photographs – You can take pictures of an unsafe ladder or unsafe working conditions, as well as any visible injuries caused by a broken ladder at work.
- Witness contact details – If you’re having a solicitor assist you with your claim, they can approach witnesses at a later date to ask if they’d consider submitting a statement regarding what happened.
- Hospital discharge letter – You should receive one of these when you leave the hospital after being treated for your injuries.
- Your medical records – These should include pertinent information such as dates, times, and details of your injury.
Get in touch to learn more about supporting a claim for injuries sustained at work due to a broken ladder.
What Is The Average Broken Ladder At Work Accident Settlement?
Compensation for a workplace accident claim is always calculated on an individual basis. This is because the circumstances surrounding each claim are unique, and so the figure that’s calculated needs to reflect the level of pain and suffering endured by the claimant.
The amount that accounts for pain and suffering is called general damages. During the valuation process, certain resources are used to assist in these calculations. One of these is a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which was last updated in 2022 and consists of figures based on past successful court cases.
Examples of Judicial College Guideline Amounts For General Damages
The amounts in the table below have been taken from the JCG. They are useful for getting a rough idea of how much general damages could be worth. However, your circumstances will inform how much your specific claim is worth, so the amount you could be eligible to receive will vary from what’s shown here.
This table is merely a guide, and amounts are not guaranteed.
| Injury | Severity | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paralysis | Quadriplegia | At the higher end of this bracket, the claimant will be fully aware of their condition and be in physical pain. They may also need assistance with bodily functions. | £324,600 to £403,990 |
| Back | Severe (i) | An injury of unusual severity, where there is damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Neck | Severe (i) | Causing incomplete paraplegia or spastic quadriparesis. | In the region of £148,330 |
| Chest | Traumatic injury | Lasting and permanent damage injury to chest, lung(s), and/or heart. | £65,740 to £100,670 |
| Hip/pelvis | Severe (i) | Fractures that are extensive and cause other injuries such as a ruptured bladder or a dislocated lower back joint. | £78,400 to £130,930 |
| Elbow | Severe | A disabling injury. | £39,170 to £54,830 |
| Arm | Simple | Forearm fractures. | £6,610 to £19,200 |
| Shoulder | Serious | Dislocation of the shoulder and damage to the lower part of the brachial plexus causing pain. | £12,770 to £19,200 |
Other Types Of Damages
Included in your personal injury compensation could be special damages. This is when you could be reimbursed for the financial impact an injury has on you. For example, you may experience:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical costs.
- Travel expenses.
The above list is comprised of just a few examples. You’ll also need to provide evidence of these losses for the claim. Reach out today, and our advisors can value your claim for you following an injury caused by a broken ladder at work.
Could I Make A No Win No Fee Claim For A Broken Ladder Accident?
If you want to make a claim after being injured due to a broken ladder accident at work, then you may want to consider working with a solicitor to help you pursue an accident at work claim. A solicitor may offer you a type of No Win No Fee arrangement under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
With a CFA in place, you don’t have to pay your solicitor an upfront fee to access their legal services. If your personal injury claim is successful, your solicitor will take a percentage of your payout. This is called a success fee, and it’s capped by law. If the personal injury claim is not successful, you do not pay this fee.
How To Talk To Our Team
Contact us to learn whether you’re eligible to make a workplace accident claim. Our advice is free. Our advisors are available 24/7 to provide information specific to your circumstances.
If you have a valid claim, our advisors will appoint a No Win No Fee solicitor to help you with the claims process if you want this.
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us through our website
- Connect with an advisor in the online conversation in the corner of the screen
Discover More About Ladder Safety And Accident Claims
If you’ve been injured due to a broken ladder at work, we hope you now have a better understanding of whether you could be eligible to make a claim. Below, we’ve included some links to extra reading material.
More of our guides:
- See how much could be awarded for an arm injury
- This guide looks at foot injury compensation amounts
- Advice about head injury compensation claims.
- If you have been injured while working for Network Rail this guide can help you.
External links:
- Ladder safety advice from the HSE.
- More advice from the HSE on safety use of ladders in construction.
- HSE look at safety regulations when working from a height.