You can often make a personal injury claim when you can prove that someone else was responsible for your accident. Most falls from height are workplace accidents that happen because safety procedures weren’t followed or safety equipment was missing.

Employers must follow the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005, which means:

• Performing a thorough risk assessment before any work begins
• Providing appropriate training to all employees
• Maintaining all safety equipment, including harnesses and guardrails
• Providing safe scaffolding and ladders
• Finding alternatives to prevent workers from the need to work at height, where possible

If your employer failed to provide safety equipment or ignored the risks involved in your task, this would constitute negligence and enable you to make an accident at work claim. Any workplace injuries arising from a failure to meet this legal duty can entitle you to compensation.

There are several common circumstances in which an injured person may claim. For example, fall from height claims often involve:

• Falls from scaffolding that wasn't properly maintained or erected. Scaffolding must be erected by trained people and checked regularly. If it’s unstable or lacks proper boards and rails, a worker can easily fall and this could lead to a compensation claim.
• Falling through a fragile roof. Workers can step onto a roof light or a weak sheet, not realising it can’t support their weight, if their employer didn’t provide enough protection or clear warnings.
• A workplace fall from a ladder that was damaged, wasn’t secured or was the wrong type for the job.
• Falls from mezzanine floors where a missing guardrail was the cause.
• Falling from vehicles or machinery.
• Faulty equipment, such as harnesses that snap, guardrails that give way or lift platforms that fail.

This is not a comprehensive guide to the circumstances in which it is possible to claim. Whether you’ve been hurt because of a tool or safety device that wasn’t properly maintained, or because other health and safety guidelines were not followed correctly, we can help you hold the responsible party accountable and prevent any associated financial losses.

It's also possible to claim for an accident in a public place. In these cases, the local council or operator of the space has similar obligations and must make the location as safe as possible. If they have failed to take steps to prevent a fall from height accident, any injured person (or their family members, in the case of a fatal accident) could claim.

Even if you think you were partly at fault for the accident, you can still claim compensation. Your compensation may be reduced if you are found to have been partly responsible under a principle called contributory negligence, but you’ll still receive the support you need for your injuries.

There’s a strict time limit for starting legal action in most cases. You typically have three years from the date of the fall to start your claim, although if you are claiming on behalf of a loved one who died in a fall, the time limit may start from the date of their death.

There are limited exceptions to this rule, although they apply in some cases:

• Mental capacity: if the injured person lacks the mental capacity to make a claim themselves, there’s no time limit unless they recover their capacity.
• Children: if a child is injured, the three-year limit doesn't start until their 18th birthday. A parent acting as a litigation friend can claim on the child's behalf at any time before they turn 18, or they can start the claims process for themselves until they turn 21.

It’s always best to start your fall from height claim as soon as possible while the evidence is fresh and witnesses can remember the accident clearly. When you speak to our solicitors, we can file your claim with the court early to avoid missing any deadlines, and then take the time we need to gather evidence without the limitation period looming.