Falls from Height Compensation Claims
Falls from height are the single biggest cause of fatal workplace accidents in the UK and one of the most common causes of serious injury at work. Construction sites, warehouses, factories, farms and even office buildings all see falls every year — most of them preventable. When an employer fails to plan, supervise, or equip a working-at-height task properly, the worker who is hurt may be entitled to compensation.
In this guide
- What Counts as a Fall from Height?
- Your Employer’s Legal Duties
- Common Causes of Falls from Height
- Why Falls from Height Injuries Are Often Severe
- What Compensation Could You Receive?
- Will I Lose My Job If I Make a Claim?
- Who Can You Claim Against?
- Time Limits
- Evidence That Strengthens a Fall from Height Claim
- No Win No Fee Falls from Height Claims
- Common Questions About Falls from Height Claims
- Related Guides
- Our Partner's Fees Explained
- Check If You Could Claim Compensation For Your Injury
This guide explains what counts as a falls from height claim, the legal duties your employer owes you under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, what compensation typically covers, and how to start a claim on a no win no fee basis.
What Counts as a Fall from Height?
A fall from height is any fall from one level to a lower level where the fall could cause injury. There is no minimum height — UK law treats a fall from a step ladder seriously if it could cause harm. The most common scenarios in claims are:
- Falls from ladders and step ladders
- Falls from scaffolding and tower scaffolds (see our scaffolding accident claims guide)
- Falls through fragile roofs, skylights, or roof lights
- Falls from mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) and cherry pickers
- Falls through unguarded edges on raised platforms, mezzanines, or partly-completed buildings
- Falls into unguarded openings such as lift shafts, pits, or service voids
- Falls from vehicles, including from the back of lorries or trailers
- Falls from stairs, walkways, or stepped surfaces — particularly where handrails were missing or inadequate
- Falls from stacked goods or storage racking in warehouses
For falls within a building that involve stairs or floor-level slips, see our staircase fall claims guide. For falling-object cases (where something falls on you rather than you falling), see our falling object injury guide.
Your Employer’s Legal Duties
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (often shortened to WAHR) set out a clear hierarchy of duties for any employer whose workers carry out work at height. The duties apply whether the work is at 30 metres or 30 centimetres if a fall could cause injury.
- Avoid work at height wherever reasonably practicable — for example by working from ground level, using long-handled tools, or pre-assembling on the ground
- Prevent falls where work at height cannot be avoided — using fixed platforms, scaffolds, guard rails, and other collective protection
- Mitigate the consequences of a fall where prevention is not reasonably practicable — using fall-arrest systems, nets, airbags, or safe landing surfaces
On top of WAHR, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 impose additional duties on construction sites, including planning the work at height, providing competent supervision, and ensuring suitable equipment. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) apply to ladders, scaffolds and MEWPs as work equipment. And the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a documented risk assessment of any working-at-height task.
Failure to do any of these — no risk assessment, no fall protection, no scaffold inspection, no training on ladder use — is usually a breach of duty and can support a personal injury claim. See our proving liability guide for the broader legal test.
Common Causes of Falls from Height
Most successful claims involve one or more of the following:
- No edge protection or guard rails where workers were exposed to a fall
- Defective or poorly-maintained scaffolding, including incomplete decking or missing toe boards
- Use of a ladder where a fixed scaffold should have been provided
- Unsuitable ladder for the task — too short, on uneven ground, or used at the wrong angle
- No safety harness provided where one was required, or a harness with no anchor point
- No supervision or no inspection of scaffold or work equipment
- No training in working at height, including correct ladder use
- Working through a fragile roof without crawling boards or fall protection
- Unsafe access to or egress from the working position
- Time pressure forcing workers to skip safe access methods
Why Falls from Height Injuries Are Often Severe
Even falls from modest heights can cause life-changing injury. The pattern of injury depends on how the worker lands but commonly includes:
- Traumatic brain injury from head impact (see our serious injury hub)
- Spinal cord injury, sometimes with paralysis
- Multiple fractures — particularly of the pelvis, hips, legs, wrists and ankles
- Internal injuries including organ damage from blunt force trauma
- Crush injuries when the worker lands on objects below
- PTSD and other psychological injury, particularly where colleagues witnessed the fall
- Fatal injury — falls from height account for around a quarter of all UK workplace fatalities
What Compensation Could You Receive?
Falls-from-height compensation typically covers two strands — general damages for the injury and special damages for the financial impact. Typical ranges for common injuries:
- Moderate back injury with full recovery — typically £8,000 to £30,000
- Severe back injury with permanent symptoms — typically £40,000 to £170,000
- Multiple fractures with prolonged recovery — typically £15,000 to £60,000
- Severe traumatic brain injury — typically £210,000 to over £490,000
- Spinal cord injury with paralysis — typically £230,000 to over £400,000
- Pelvic fracture with ongoing symptoms — typically £25,000 to £85,000
- Fatal accident — bereavement award (£15,120 in England & Wales) plus loss of dependency under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976
Special damages cover lost earnings (past and future), pension loss, rehabilitation, prosthetics, home and vehicle adaptations, professional care, and any private medical treatment. For working-age claimants forced into early retirement, the loss-of-earnings component is often the dominant figure. You can get a directional estimate using our workplace accident compensation calculator.
Will I Lose My Job If I Make a Claim?
No. You cannot lawfully be sacked or disciplined for making a personal injury claim against your employer. Every UK employer is required by the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 to carry insurance specifically to pay these claims. The money comes from the insurer — not your employer’s pocket. See our Can I sue my employer? guide for more.
Who Can You Claim Against?
The defendant depends on the structure of the workplace:
- Your employer — the most common defendant, vicariously liable for breaches by managers and supervisors and directly liable for organisational failures
- The main contractor — on construction sites, the principal contractor often owes a duty of care to subcontractors and self-employed workers under CDM 2015. See our self-employed accident claims guide
- The site occupier — under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 for visitors and 1984 for trespassers
- Equipment hirers and manufacturers — where defective equipment contributed to the fall
- Scaffold contractors and erectors — under TG20:21 and other industry standards
Time Limits
You generally have three years from the date of the accident to start a claim. For children, the clock does not start until their 18th birthday. For someone who lacks mental capacity (which can be a consequence of severe brain injury), time may be paused indefinitely. In fatal cases the three years run from the date of death. See our time limits guide for the rules in full.
Evidence That Strengthens a Fall from Height Claim
A solicitor will obtain the evidence for you, but the strongest claims include:
- The accident book entry from your employer
- Any RIDDOR report submitted to the HSE
- The employer’s risk assessment for the task (or proof that none existed)
- Method statements for the work
- Scaffold inspection records (legally required weekly inspections for scaffolds, plus inspections after weather events)
- Equipment inspection and maintenance records for ladders, MEWPs, harnesses and other gear
- Training records for working at height
- Photographs of the scene immediately after the accident
- Names of colleagues who witnessed the fall or who carry out similar work
- Any HSE investigation report or prohibition notice
- Your medical records, scans, and specialist reports
- A diary of how the injury has affected daily life, work and sleep
Our evidence guide explains the wider picture. If you have not gathered any of this, do not worry — a solicitor will obtain most of it through formal disclosure.
No Win No Fee Falls from Height Claims
Falls from height claims run on a no win no fee Conditional Fee Agreement. You pay nothing upfront, nothing during the case, and nothing if the claim fails, provided you keep to the terms of your agreement. If the claim succeeds, the success fee — capped by LASPO 2012 at 25 per cent of general damages and past losses (future losses excluded) — is deducted from your compensation. After-the-Event insurance protects you from the other side’s costs if the case is lost. The ATE premium is normally payable only if you win, deducted from your compensation — it is no longer recoverable from the defendant — and your solicitor must explain how the premium and disbursements are treated before you sign (see how ATE insurance works). See our how no win no fee works guide.
Interim payments are often available early in the case for serious injuries — to fund rehabilitation, private treatment, or home adaptations before the case is finally settled.
Common Questions About Falls from Height Claims
I fell off a ladder while working at home for my employer. Is that still a workplace accident?
It can be. If you were working at home on your employer’s instructions and using equipment or doing a task they had arranged, the same duties under the Work at Height Regulations apply. The case may be more complex than a site-based fall, but you may still have grounds for a claim. A specialist solicitor can advise on the specifics.
I am self-employed but was working on someone else’s site. Can I still claim?
Yes. Main contractors and site occupiers owe duties of care to self-employed workers on their site. CDM 2015 imposes specific duties on construction sites that benefit self-employed workers and subcontractors. See our self-employed accident claims guide.
I fell because I did not use the harness provided. Can I still claim?
Possibly, although your compensation may be reduced for contributory negligence. The question is whether your employer ensured the harness was usable (correct fit, working buckles, suitable anchor point) and whether you had been trained on its use. Many “failure to use PPE” cases still succeed because the underlying duty to provide a safe system of work has been breached. See our contributory negligence guide.
I had a near-miss but was not hurt. Can I do anything?
You cannot bring a personal injury claim without an actual injury — UK law requires harm. But you can (and should) report the near-miss internally and to the HSE under RIDDOR if it was a dangerous occurrence. Many near-misses lead to changes that prevent serious injuries to others.
How much is a falls from height claim worth?
It depends entirely on the injury and its impact. Minor falls with full recovery may be worth a few thousand pounds. Serious back and brain injuries can be worth hundreds of thousands. Catastrophic falls causing paralysis or permanent disability can run into seven figures when lifetime care, lost earnings, and accommodation needs are included. Use our workplace accident calculator for a directional estimate.
How long does a falls from height claim take?
Straightforward cases that settle without court can take 12 to 18 months. More complex cases with severe injury or disputed liability can take 2 to 4 years. Serious-injury cases often have interim payments during the case to fund rehabilitation. See our how long does a claim take guide.
Related Guides
Accident at Work Claims — UK Compensation Guide
Construction Accident Claims UK
Ladder Fall Compensation Claims
Can I Sue My Employer? UK Worker Rights
Workplace Accident Compensation Calculator
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