Falls from Height Case Study

£70,000 pay out for a fall from height

Our client was a self-employed carpenter working on a construction site in Warwick.

The main contractors had sub-contracted some work to a smaller building firm which in its turn had sub-contracted the erection of scaffolding in various locations throughout the site to yet another specialist firm.

On the day of the accident our client was working at height, but as he put his hand back on the ladder, suddenly and without warning the ladder moved. He fell heavily and although able to land on his feet, he suffered a comminuted fracture of the right heel bone. He was unable to work for six months and because he was self-employed, that had serious financial implications.

The other side at first denied liability, suggested that the accident was our client's own fault. A reconstruction of the accident was carried out by the HSE and confirmed that the ladder was indeed moving as a climber neared the top. The right hand side was loose and was not adequately secured and should have been tied with a thick rope.

We could show that his employers had been negligent in their duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Work at Heights Regulations 2005 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Negotiations ensued and in March 2014 an offer of £70,000 pay-out was accepted by our client.

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