Alison Spriggs is a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, having qualified in June 2000. She is also a Practitioner Member of the Association of Personal Injury Law. Alison has in excess of 16 years’ experience of running personal injury claims and joined Hayward Baker in 2004.
esearchers carried out an in-depth study into the conditions of Britain’s workplaces and discovered a staggering 87% of construction workers claim their building site to be a health and safety hazard.
Almost half of the builders and construction workers (48%) surveyed said they had suffered from an injury at work, with almost a third (30%) having been to hospital due to a work-related illness or injury.
The research reveals that the average builder or construction worker has had two accidents at work, with one of those accidents having happened in the last 12 months.
More than a quarter (26%) of those surveyed said that manual handling large, heavy items incorrectly – and without the right equipment to do so – contributed to their injury.
Other findings to have emerged from the study regarding their injury on site include slips and trips (19%), obstructions (15%), working at height (11%) and falling objects (9%).
The serious issue of builders’ health and safety on site – or lack of it in this case – only worsens and comes into question.
Over half (54%) of the builders and construction workers polled have regularly complained to their bosses about the poor safety of the construction site they work at, with a further 27% saying their foreman did nothing to rectify the situation.
The research was commissioned by the solicitors following the launch of its new interactive injury compensation calculator, which provides builders and construction workers with an estimate of how much compensation they could be entitled to following an accident or injury.
Alison Spriggs, Chartered Legal Executive of Hayward Baker, said: “Going to work could seriously damage the health of builders working on construction sites, especially if their site manager fails to take working conditions and safety seriously enough.
“Our free-to-use injury compensation calculator gives builders easy access to information that can really help them decide if they have a valid claim against their employer.”
According to the research, almost a fifth (17%) have sought legal advice after suffering from an injury that happened on site, claiming an average of £17,600.
Common ‘minor’ workplace injuries often occurring to builders might seem obvious with 33% saying they had cut themselves, although enough to warrant medical attention. Strained backs counted for 30% of injuries, with a quarter (25%) regularly going home with bruises, sprains (19%) or small burns (10%).
However, the majority of accidents among the sample were considered ‘moderate’ and serious enough to make a claim, with either a broken bone or fracture (26%) as the direct result of their injury.
The more ‘severe’ accidents that followed an injury at work on a construction site include dislocations (8%) and 4% said they had lost a limb or body part as a result of their injury.
Over one in four (26%) said that the accident that happened on site was their work’s fault, while just over a fifth (22%) said they had an accident at work on site that was their fault.
