Fall From Height Claims For Compensation - Personal Injury Claims Scotland Co.

In this guide, we’ll be discussing the fall from height claims process if you’ve suffered injuries as a result of third-party negligence in Scotland.

Fall from a height claims guide

Later we’ll be exploring the different types of fall from height claims that you could make, including those following accidents in a public place and accidents at work. We will also address the compensation that you could be eligible to receive following a successful claim.

If you have any further questions in regard to your personal injury claim, then you can use the following contact details to discuss this further with our team of advisors. In just one call you can get an understanding of whether your circumstances could entitle you to make a compensation claim.

Entering your details into the contact us section of our website
Calling us on 0800 073 8805
Talking with a member of our team of advisors by using the live support bubble

Choose A Section

When Are You Eligible To Make Fall From Height Claims?
Fall From Height Claims – What Compensation Could You Recieve?
What Evidence Could Be Used In A Personal Injury Claim In Scotland?
How Long Do You Have To Make Fall From Height Claims?
Make A Personal Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis Using Our Panel Of Solicitors
Learn More About Claiming For Fall From Height Injuries

When Are You Eligible To Make Fall From Height Claims?

In order to make a successful claim, you’ll have to prove the following:

Had a duty of care to you
Breached their duty of care in their actions or inactions
Caused or contributed to your injury because they breached their duty of care.

Below, we look at some of the scenarios in which a duty of care is owed to you and how this can be breached, resulting in an injury.

Accidents In A Public Place

Occupiers of public spaces have a duty of care to every member of the general public using their facilities. They need to consider any injury or damage that could arise because of the conditions of the property or because of anything that was done or omitted by the occupier that was their legal responsibility. This is outlined in The Occupiers’ Liability (Scotland) Act 1960.

Examples of accidents in a public place could include:

An occupier fails to mark a wet floor in a reasonable time, resulting in a member of the public slipping and falling.
A railing was not being sufficiently maintained, resulting in a member of the public leaning on it and falling from a height.

Accidents At Work

Your employer will always have a duty of care to you as an employee. This means that an employer has to take practicable and reasonable steps to ensure that an employee’s workplace, environment, facilities and equipment are all safe to be used, without any real risk of injury within reason. This duty of care is outlined in detail in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Examples of accidents at work caused by negligence include:

An employer fails to provide sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where necessary, resulting in an employee being injured.
An employer fails to provide adequate maintenance to a piece of equipment, such as a ladder, which an employee falls off hurting themselves.

If you would like an assessment of how much your claim could be worth, speak

Fall From Height Claims – What Compensation Could You Recieve?

Providing that you make a valid claim, your compensation total could be made up of two separate heads of claim. These are general and special damages. General damages aim to compensate claimants for the pain and suffering that they’ve experienced as a result of their injuries.

It can take into account the severity of your injuries, the impact they had on your quality of life, the loss of enjoyment they caused you, the treatment that was necessary, and the recovery period.

Solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines from Judiciary UK to help them calculate the value of your injuries. The figures shown in the table below may differ from the amounts that you could receive, however, as we’ve only included them as a guide.

Injury	Severity	Compensation	Notes
Brain and Head Injury	Moderately Severe (b)	£219,070 to £282,010	Little if any evidence of a meaningful response to their environment. They will require around the clock professional care.
Neck Injuries	Severe (a) (i)	In the region of £148,330	Neck injury associated with incomplete paraplegia, where the injured person will have little to no movement left in the neck.
Leg Injuries	The Most Serious Injuries Short of Amputation (b) (i)	£96,250 to £135,920	Injuries that are so severe that damages awarded at a similar level to amputation.
Chest Injuries	Serious damage (a)	£65,740 to £100,670	Traumatic injury to the chest, lung(s) and/or heart which causes permanent lasting damage.
Back Injuries	Severe (a) (ii)	£74,160 to £88,430	Cases involving nerve root damage with an associated loss of sensation, impaired bladder, bowel function, mobility, and unsightly scarring.
Shoulder Injuries	Severe (a)	£19,200 to £48,030	Injuries associated with the neck, and including damage to the brachial plexus
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips	Moderate (b) (i)	£26,590 to £39,170	Significant injury to the pelvis and hips but there is no major permanent disability.
Achilles Tendon	Most Serious (a)	In the region of £38,430	Injuries resulting in restricted ankle movement that necessitates the cessation of active sports.
Knee Injuries	Moderate (b) (ii)	Up to £13,740	Less serious injuries that include continuous aching or discomfort, with occasional pain.
Ankle Injuries	Modest Injuries (d)	Up to £13,740	Less serious ligamentous injuries, sprains, and undisplaced fractures.

Special Damages In A Fall From Height Claim

Special damages aim to reimburse claimants for any financial losses that they have experienced as a result of their injuries. This can come in the form of:

Loss of earnings
Cost of care
Medication costs
Travel expenses
Cost of renovations to a home in aid of recovery.

You’ll have to provide evidence to receive special damages, which can come in the form of invoices, bank statements and receipts. For guidance on how much this head of your compensation claim could be worth, speak with a member of our team today.

What Evidence Could Be Used In A Personal Injury Claim In Scotland?

You would have to provide evidence to prove that your injury was caused by third-party negligence. This can include:

CCTV footage of the accident
A diary of your treatment and symptoms
Asking for copies of any records produced as a result of seeking medical care for your injuries
Photographs of your injury and the accident site
Contact details of potential witnesses so a statement can be taken

If you’d like help with the process of collecting evidence in support of your claim, speak with a member of our team today. If you do have a valid case, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel.

How Long Do You Have To Make Fall From Height Claims?

The standard time limit to start a fall from height claim is three years. This begins from the date of the accident. This time limit is established in The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1984. It’s important to note that you may be able to claim outside of these time limits, under certain circumstances.

For more information on this, use the contact details above to discuss this further with our team of advisors.

Make A Personal Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis Using Our Panel Of Solicitors

Providing that your case is valid, you can choose to make a claim through our panel of solicitors. If you do so, you could be offered representation under a Speculative Based or Damages Based agreement, as per the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018.

This typically means that you won’t be expected to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for your legal representation. As well as this, in the case that you’re unsuccessful in your claim, you won’t generally have to pay anything to your lawyer for the work they’ve done.

However, in the case that you’re successful in your claim, you’ll have to pay a success fee. This percentage is legally capped and should be discussed between your solicitor and you before you begin to receive any representation.

If you’d like to discuss fall from height claims in more detail or begin the process of claiming compensation, then you can do so by using the following contact details.

Entering your details into the contact us section of our website
Calling us on 0800 073 8805
Talking with a member of our team of advisors by using the live support bubble

Learn More About Claiming For Fall From Height Injuries

If you’d like to learn more about fall from height claims, then you can read more of our guides below:

Alternatively, you can use the following links to learn more:

We hope that this guide has been helpful. If you have any further questions about fall from height claims, then you can learn more by getting in touch using the contact information above.

Writer Louis Ping

Publisher Fern Sheen

Fall From Height Claims Guide