If you have been injured by a crane while at work, you may be wondering about the crane accident claims process and whether you could receive compensation. To be eligible to receive compensation following an accident at work, you must first meet the personal injury claims eligibility requirements. We will explain what these are, as well as provide examples of different crane accidents you may be able to claim for and the common injuries they could lead to.
You may also be wondering how much compensation you could be entitled to receive should your claim be a success. Therefore, we also discuss how your compensation could be calculated if you make a successful claim and the different forms of harm you could be compensated for. We also discuss how the personal injury solicitors on our panel could help you with claiming compensation and the benefits that come with working with them
If you would like to discuss your potential compensation claim and receive free advice on the steps you could take, you can contact our advisors:
- Call them on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us online to receive a callback.
- Ask a question using the live chat pop-up.
Jump To A Section
- How To Make Crane Accident Claims?
- What Incidents Could Lead To A Crane Accident?
- What Do You Need To Make Crane Accident Claims?
- How Much Compensation For A Crane Accident?
- Why Choose Us To Make A Crane Accident Claim?
- More Useful Resources About Accident At Work Claims
How To Make Crane Accident Claims?
All employers must take reasonable steps to help prevent their employees from harm. This is their duty of care, as stated under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. These steps could include performing regular maintenance checks and risk assessments and ensuring all staff have received appropriate training to complete their duties.
Construction is one of the main industries for which cranes are used. Therefore, it is important to note that while working on a construction site, another party may owe you a duty of care.
Various different companies may be working on a construction site at one time, such as electric and scaffolding. If your employer does not perform these duties themself, there may also be a site manager and main contractor. While working on a construction site, a duty of care will be owed to you by these individual parties. Furthermore, the Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015 sets out how overall safety can be improved by those responsible for construction sites. Who owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident would affect who you make your claim against.
Additionally, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 provide guidance for people and companies who own, have control over or operate lifting equipment, such as cranes.
The following criteria must be met for your crane accident compensation claim to be considered valid:
- At the time and place of your accident, you were owed a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You suffered psychological or physical injuries as a result of this breach.
If you have any questions regarding crane accident claims, such as ‘How long do you have to claim for an accident at work?’, you can contact our advisors. They can also offer you free advice if you were involved in a construction accident.
What Incidents Could Lead To A Crane Accident Claim?
There are various ways that an employee could be injured by a crane while at work. Some examples of accidents that could potentially lead to crane accident claims include:
- A crane went into mechanical failure due to it not being regularly maintained. This causes the crane operator as well as other employees to suffer various injuries.
- An employee is required to overload a crane, despite raising their concerns. Due to this excessive weight, the boom of the crane collapses, causing the load to fall onto the employee. They then suffer multiple serious injuries, including a serious head injury and back injury. This could also lead to fatal injuries in certain cases.
- An employee was asked to operate a crane, despite receiving no training on how to do so. Due to this lack of training, the employee lost control of the crane and hit another employee. This caused them to suffer a shoulder injury.
These are only a few examples. To discuss your particular case and receive free advice, you can contact our advisors.
What Do You Need To Make Crane Accident Claims?
Collecting evidence is an important step in crane accident claims. The evidence should be such that it highlights the extent of your injuries, their impact on your life and the fault of the other party.
Some examples of the evidence you could use to seek crane accident compensation are:
- CCTV footage of the accident
- Photographs of your injuries/accident site
- Medical records
- Details from the accident book
- Inspection records or maintenance records of the crane in question.
- Training records of crane operators.
- Relevant risk assessments.
As a crane is a substantial piece of work equipment that could cause catastrophic injuries or even death if it is defective or malfunctions it could be that any accident would need to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
The HSE is the health and safety regulator in Great Britain and has the power to investigate serious accidents and near-miss events. This could generate documents in support of your case.
If obtaining these documents sounds daunting, a solicitor from our panel could help you with this task. Speak to our advisors now for a free consultation to determine the eligibility of your claim.
How Much Compensation For A Crane Accident?
How much compensation your crane accident claim could be worth is dependent on the various factors affecting your case, such as the type of injury you suffered, what treatment it will require and whether you have suffered any financial losses.
General damages will be awarded for all successful crane accident claims. This head of loss provides you with compensation for the injuries you suffered and the pain they have caused you.
Medical evidence can be used by those valuing your claim for general damages. They can also refer to the compensation brackets listed within the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document provides compensation guidelines for a range of different injuries.
Using some of these guidelines, we have created the following table. Please note that the first entry has not been taken from the JCG.
| Injury | Classification | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries plus financial losses | Serious | £1,000,000+ |
| Injuries involving paralysis | (a) Tetraplegia | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Head injury | (a) Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Back injury | (a) Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Arm injury | (a) Severe | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Leg injury | (b) Severe (iii) Serious | £47,840 to £66,920 |
| Pelvic injury | (b) Moderate (i) | £32,450 to £47,810 |
| Hand injury | (g) Less Serious | £17,640 to £35,390 |
| Shoulder injury | (b) Serious | £15,580 to £23,430 |
What Could Special Damages Compensate You For?
In addition to general damages, you may also be able to receive special damages. This head of loss aims to provide you with compensation for the financial impacts your injuries have created. This could include:
- A loss of earnings due to taking time off work.
- The cost of any medical treatments or medications.
- The cost of travelling to and from medical appointments.
Evidence will need the provided to be able to claim for these losses. This could include bank statements, payslips and invoices for example.
To discuss your personal injury claim and receive a free valuation of your potential compensation, you can contact our advisors.
Why Choose Us To Make A Crane Accident Claim?
One of the solicitors on our panel who has experience working on crane accident claims may be able to help you with your case. Provided you meet the eligibility requirements, they could help you with gathering evidence, negotiating compensation for you and keep you informed of all developments in your case.
Furthermore, they may offer these services to you through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. With this in place, your solicitor will work on your case without asking you to pay anything upfront or through the claiming process for their services. Additionally, you will not need to pay them for the work they have provided should your claim fail.
Should your No Win No Fee solicitor succeed with your claim, you will pay them a success fee. This will be taken out of the compensation awarded to you as a percentage that is legally limited.
Contact our team today to discuss your case and to see whether you could be eligible to work with a solicitor on our panel. Pur team can be reached by:
- Calling 0800 408 7825
- Contact us online to receive a callback.
- Ask a question using the live chat pop-up.
More Useful Resources About Accident At Work Claims
Some additional accident at work claims guides by us:
- This guide looks at how the accident at work claim process works.
- Find out if you could claim compensation for lost wages due to a work injury in this guide.
Finally, here you can find examples of trusted external resources.
- Learn when you could claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from Gov.UK.
- Some answers to questions regarding crane safety from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Guidance on when to administer first aid from the NHS.
If you have any persisting questions regarding how to make crane accident claims, you can contact our advisors.
