If you have fallen from a ladder at work and your employer was fully or even partly to blame, there’s a good chance you are entitled to claim compensation.
Employers are legally obliged to keep you safe at work, including taking all reasonable precautions against you having an accident. Working at a height is expressly recognised by the law as posing an inherent risk of accident and is therefore regulated by several Acts of Parliament, including the Work at Heights Regulations 2005.
Using a ladder at work is classed as working at a height. Whether you use ladders as part of your daily job or to help with a one-off task, your employer must implement measures to ensure your safety. The nature and extent of the measures required depend on the circumstances but will involve, at the very least, your employer ensuring the ladder is strong and stable enough for its purpose and training you on how to use it properly. Other measures may include your employer trying to find alternatives to your working at a height and, where none exist, carrying out appropriate risk assessments.
Employers are under a duty to keep their employees safe at work and this includes providing them with adequate plant and equipment. If they provide an employee with a ladder that is poorly maintained and faulty and this results in the employee falling from the ladder, then the employer has breached the duty of care they owe the injured worker.
If your employer failed in their duty to keep you safe while using a ladder at work and you were injured as a result, you can likely bring an accident at work claim against them. Your claim will include a claim for damages for the pain and suffering caused by your accident and any financial losses you have sustained. Your employer should have employers’ liability insurance in place to deal with the matter.