If you work as a roofer, you may think that falling or injuring yourself is par for the course. However, just like in any other job, your employer will have a duty of care to try and keep you as safe as possible. Therefore, if you fall from a roof or injure yourself because of something your employer did or didn’t do, you could be compensated for your pain and suffering. Our guide to claiming compensation as a roofer injured at work will show you when a claim might be possible and how much compensation you could receive.

We can help you get the ball rolling if you’re thinking of claiming. By calling our advice centre, a specialist will review your claim for free during a no-obligation consultation. They shall explain what your chances are of being compensated and could connect you with one of our personal injury solicitors if there’s a reasonable chance of success. What’s more, if your claim is accepted, you’ll be represented on a No Win No Fee basis meaning there won’t be any legal fees payable if the claim doesn’t work out.

To speak with an advisor about making a roofer injury claim, please call today on 0800 6524 881. To find out more about the types of roofing injuries that could lead to a claim, please read on.

Common Injuries To Roofers

Before looking at what types of accidents roofers can be involved in, we’ll show you a few of the common injuries to roofers in that could lead to a personal injury claim. They can include:

• Head injuries including traumatic brain injuries and concussions.
• Spinal injuries that may cause paralysis.
• Bone fractures.
• Lacerations, cuts and bruises.
• Tendonitis and other Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs).
• Tendon, muscle, ligament strains, sprains or pulls.

It is important to note that some roofing accidents can be quite traumatic and cause mental health problems like distress or anxiety. If you sustain life-threatening injuries, you could also go on to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). If your claim is successful, any compensation would also cover any psychological injuries.

Am I Eligible To Make A Roofer Injury Compensation Claim?

To check if you could claim for an accident at work while working on a roof, try to answer the following 3 questions:

1. Was your employer negligent in some way (through their actions or inaction)?
2. Were you involved in a roofing accident due to that negligence?
3. Did you suffer an injury or injuries during the accident?

If you have answered yes to all of the questions, you may have grounds to make a roofer injury claim with one of our personal injury solicitors. They will try to present as strong a case as possible by providing plenty of supporting evidence. Therefore, we’ll explain what could be used to prove liability in a roofer injury claim a little later on.

Your Employers Duty Of Care

As explained above, a roofer injury claim must be based on employer negligence. Legally, this means when they breach a duty of care they owe you through an act of negligence.

The overarching piece of legislation that provides that legal duty of care is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This law means that employers must make regular checks or risk assessments to try and ensure that your workplace is as safe as possible. If any dangers are identified, steps should be taken to remove them. If that’s not possible other actions like training or providing Personal Protective Equipment should be taken to reduce them.

As roofing has several obvious risk factors associated with it, other laws are in place to try and protect workers. They include:

The Work at Height Regulations 2005

According to this law, working at height is defined as any job where, without precautions, a worker could fall from a height likely to cause personal injury. Obviously, roofers have no option but to work at these heights so precautions must be taken by employers to minimise the risk of falls from heights. These could include:

• Providing safety harnesses and other PPE where necessary.
• Training roofers adequately on how to complete their role safely.
• Using scaffolding, safety nets or guard rails that are properly constructed or fitted.

Failure to follow the rules imposed by this legislation could be classed as negligence and allow roofers to claim for injuries sustained in a subsequent fall from height.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1988 (PUWER)

PUWER is legislation that means employers must ensure any equipment they provide for work purposes must be safe and suitable for the job. Therefore, the ladders and tools provided by your employer must be:

• Fit for purpose.
• Properly maintained ladders in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
• Repaired if a fault develops.
• Inspected regularly by a competent (properly trained) person.

If you fell from a ladder due to your employer’s negligence, you could be eligible to claim compensation.

RIDDOR – The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013

Finally, RIDDOR is the law that means employers must report certain workplace injuries to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). For roofer injury claims, some of the reportable incidents will include:

• Fractured bones.
• Loss of consciousness caused by a head injury.
• Fatal injuries.
• Amputations.
• Crush injuries to the head or torso.

If the HSE investigated your fall at work, their report could be used as evidence to support your compensation claim.

Essentially, if you’ve been injured in an accident at work and your employer’s responsibilities were ignored, you may be entitled to compensation.

How Much Compensation As A Roofer Injured At Work Could I Claim?

Any roofer injury claim is usually based on two heads of loss:

• General damages – based on how much you’ve suffered.
• Special damages – based on any financial losses caused by your injuries.

The differences between these types of damages are explained in this guide.

Essentially, no two roofer injury claims will be the same as each claimant will have been affected differently. However, in principle, any compensation awarded could cover:

• The physical pain and suffering you’ve gone through from the injury.
• Any impact on your mental health caused by anxiety, depression or distress.
• Loss of amenity – any negative impact on hobbies and your usual social or family activities.
• Loss of earnings caused by your injuries.
• Care costs to cover the time somebody else needed to support you because your injuries prevented you from doing so yourself.
• Private medical expenses or physiotherapy costs.
• Fuel, parking or public transport costs linked to your treatment, for example.
• Replacing the cost of any personal items damaged in your fall or accident.
• Making changes/adaptions to your home if you’ve been left disabled by your accident. In this situation, you could also claim future loss of earnings if a disability reduces your earning capacity.

It’s fairly clear to see that there’s plenty to consider when making a roofer injury claim. If one of our specialist solicitors takes your claim on you can rest assured they’ll do their utmost to try to secure the highest amount of compensation for you.

Roofer Injury Compensation Calculator

Until your injuries have been formally assessed by an independent medical expert (as needed in all personal injury claims), it’s not possible for us to say exactly what level of compensation might be claimed for your injuries. However, before that report is received, you can use our compensation calculator to get some idea of relevant compensation levels for a range of different injuries.

If you or a loved one has been injured whilst working as a roofer, please contact us to find out if you could be eligible to claim compensation.

Evidence To Support A Roofer Injury Claim

To support a roofer injury claim, your solicitor will try to secure evidence that shows how you were injured and who was responsible for the accident. For injury at work claims, the types of evidence that could improve your chances of being compensated include:

• Accident report forms from the HSE or your employer’s accident report system.
• Medical records and x-rays from the minor injuries unit or hospital that treated you.
• Details of any witnesses in case your solicitor needs a statement to help prove liability for the accident.
• Photographs of the cause of the accident. Ideally, the accident scene should be photographed before it is cleared.
• CCTV footage if the roofing accident was recorded on a CCTV system.
• Financial records to prove any losses or costs you are claiming for.

If you proceed with a roofing injury claim and you have already gathered some evidence, please let us know when you get in touch.

Work Injury Claim Time Limits

You may already know that there is a 3-year time limit when making a work injury claim in the UK. For most injuries to roofers, this will normally start from the date of the accident. However, if you’ve suffered injuries that were not immediately obvious (such as asbestosis, psychological injuries etc) the time limit would typically start from the date the injury was diagnosed.

If you begin your claim early, your solicitor will probably find it easier to collect the evidence needed to support your claim. Additionally, you may benefit from an interim payment before the claim is settled to cover any immediate financial costs like medical expenses or to cover a shortfall in your income.

Starting The Roofer Injury Claims Process

Please call 0800 6524 881 if you’d like to find out if you can start the roofer injury claims process. We’ll review your options for free and let you know your chances of being compensated.

Any roofer injury claim taken on by our solicitors will be managed on a No Win No Fee basis. That means that you’ll only need to pay their legal fees if you receive a compensation payout from your employer.

Our live chat service is available if you have any other questions about making a roofer injury claim so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.