Contractor Building Site Accident Claim*
It’s vital to put in place all the appropriate safety measures on construction sites to avoid accidents on building sites because their nature poses challenges to operating safety which can be assessed when building projects are planned.

Construction sites present the highest rates of injury of all places of work by a substantial margin.
Every employer at a building site has a duty to ensure optimal safety precautions are set up and followed at all times to prevent accidents in the workplace.
Unsafe systems or practices at work can result in injuries occuring.
What is a Contractor?
Under Section 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Construction Regulations 2013, a contractor is defined as:
- A contractor or employer whose employees undertake, manage or perform construction work, or
- A person who performs or manages construction duties for a fixed or other amount and supplies materials, workforce, or both for doing the work
Safety Requirements
Contractor obligations are defined in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Construction Regulations 2013 Section 24. They include:
- Cooperating with the supervisor for the building phase to enable them to adhere to relevant statutory arrangements.
- Informing the supervisor promptly on any site-specific details that are likely to impact the safety, health or welfare of construction site workers.
- Giving the project supervisor information relating to any accident or danger happening the contractor is required to report.
- Promptly giving relevant information required to prepare a safety file to the project supervisor.
- Adhering to directions provided by the project supervisor for the construction phase or design process.
- Bringing to the attention of the employees of rules that apply to them in the safety and health arrangement.
- Adhering to the safety and health arrangement and possible rules in the plan that apply to the contractor or his or her employees
- Applying the general prevention principles consistently in order to guard the safety, health and welfare of anyone at work.
Section 26 of the Regulations gives guidelines on the appointment of safety officers. Contractors controlling over 20 people on a building site or 30 people involved in construction work should appoint at least one competent person as a safety officer.
The duties of the safety officer are to:
- Advise the contractor on the adherence to relevant statutory requirements.
- Exercise overall supervision of the acknowledgement of the requirements of the appropriate statutory provisions and promotion of safe work conduct.
- Collaborate with any safety adviser in relation to workplace safety, health and welfare.
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Construction Regulations 2013 Section 27 defines contractor duties for plant or machinery erection and installation. Relevant contractors are required to:
- Erect, install, change, work or utilize any plant or equipment in a way that complies with relevant statutory provisions
- Erect or modify any scaffold in a way that adheres to relevant statutory requirements, having regard to the scaffold’s purpose
For a consultation, Section 28 requires relevant contractors to ensure consultation on construction sites with the employees, safety representatives and site safety representatives.
Additionally, contractors have the following responsibilities in relation to site safety and access to construction sites under Section 30 of the Regulations:
- Contractors responsible for building sites should take all necessary precautions to ensure a site is safe and free of injurious risks.
- Contractors responsible for construction sites should ensure site surroundings and perimeter are clearly visible and have the relevant signboards.
- Ensure safe entry and egress means are offered, maintained and indicated where necessary.
- Ensure relevant precautions are implemented to protect persons at or in the construction site’s vicinity from risks posed by the site.
When it comes to emergency routes and exits, contractors have the following legal obligations under section 31 of the Regulations:
- Ensure emergency routes and exits for a construction site stay clear of obstructions and lead people directly to a safe zone.
- Ensure it is possible for employees to evacuate workstations fast and safely.
- Make sure that emergency routes and exits are enough in terms of amount, distribution and dimensions.
- Ensure emergency passageways and exits are marked by signs in compliance with appropriate statutory provisions.
- Make sure that emergency and traffic passageways and doors providing access to them are obstruction-free.
- Ensure emergency routes needing illumination are equipped with the lighting of sufficient intensity in the event of lighting failures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Work accident Claim Form?
This is termed Form A which is simply the application form to the Injuries Board that can be made by completing and submitting Form A with the application fee of €45 or €90 and a medical report.
An injured party must apply to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board by filling out an Injuries Board Assessment Form A.
If any costs have been incurred, remember to attach receipts for any financial losses related to the personal injury* with the application to the Injuries Board. Include a copy of correspondence from the person you deem responsible for the injury, and send the application fee. The Board will write back to acknowledge receiving your documents and to give you your application number.
How do accident claims* work?
An initial step for any injured party who wishes to initiate a personal injury claim* is to make an application to the Board. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board is a statutory body that carries out its own private, independent assessment of a persons personal injury claim*. It will not assess claims regarding the provision of any medical or surgical procedure in relation to a person, or the provision of any medical advice or treatment to a person.
A purely paper-based system, it never carries out oral hearings but assesses claims with regard to medical evidence, such as the medical report furnished by the injured party to the Board.
If the person who caused the injury consents to the Injuries Board assessing the application, or if they fail to state in writing whether they consent to the assessment or not, the Injuries Board will proceed to carry out the assessment.
If the person who causes the accident states in writing that they do not consent to the Injuries Board making an assessment, the Injuries Board will issue what’s termed an authorisation, which permits the applicant (injured party) to bring legal proceedings.
How do I claim for an accident at work?
This is answered in the paragraphs above.
What should I do after an accident at work?
After you attend to the medical care, report the accident to the employer.
While you are considering your options, it is very helpful if you write out the details of the facts to keep in case you are thinking of taking a case.
Facts and evidence get lost and it is to the detriment of many people who subsequently decide to take cases when it doesn’t need to be an issue.
How long do accidents at work claims* take?
There is no one singular answer that can be given which works for everybody.
It depends on the individual case for many reasons, but we will give a general guide here.
Accident at work claims* must be submitted to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board for assessment. On average, claims made to PIAB are assessed within 9 months from the date the Board notifies the party to who the claim is taken against.
If the case is dealt with and concluded at this point to the satisfaction of the parties, the entire timeframe could be 9 months to one year. If the matter is not dealt with by the Injuries Board, the injured party may have the option of proceeding to court to seek a Judgement from the court.
Some factors that may affect how long a case takes include:
- Once an application has been made to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, it usually takes between 9 months to 1 year before it is concluded.
- If one of the parties does not agree to the Injuries Board making an assessment, the matter can proceed to court.
- If an assessment sum is not agreed to by one party, the matter can proceed to court.
- How long will the court case process take depends on various factors, such as, is the case straightforward for complex ?.
- Is there one injury or multiple injuries ?.
- What is the attitude of the defendant to the case ?.
- Has liability been admitted or is it contested ?.
- Has the injury stabilised ?.
- Has the treatment concluded ?. Has the injured party doctors recommended further treatment ?. Detail of the further treatment is then required.
- What number of experts reports are required ?.
- Is it easy or difficult to obtain expert reports ?.
- Is it easy or difficult to obtain medical records ?.
- Have the legal pleadings concluded? In the High Court, the defence must be provided to the injured parties solicitor within 8 weeks from the time the summons is served. This is not a long time, and in personal injury* cases one must proceed step by step in conjunction with the guidance of the doctor(s) assisting the injured party. Medical care can take time, recovery can take time, and guidance from the doctor and the patient’s thoughts on their own rehabilitation are important considerations in terms of assessing controlling the speed of a case.
Can I claim for an accident at work that was my fault?
If you are the cause of your own injury and no negligence arises, then in our opinion, it is imprudent to commence such an action.
What happens if an accident at work is not reported?
If an employee does not report an accident to an employer and subsequently decides to take a case, this can be problematic for the employee when the question is asked as to why it was not reported.
Do I get paid if I am injured at work?
Is there provision for this in a clause in the Employment Contract ? or is there a custom and practice with the particular employer to do so ?.
How do you record accidents at work?
Employers should have Accident Report Forms that can be completed and the employer should be notified also by any means possible.
What accidents should be reported to HSE?
The Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Regulations 2016 require reporting of accidents and record-keeping in certain circumstances such as:
- Where an employee dies as a result of an accident at their place of work or in the course of carrying out their work in a location other than their normal place of work;
- an employee, as a result of an accident at their place of work or in the course of carrying out their work in a location other than their normal place of work, is prevented from performing their normal work for more than 3 consecutive days, excluding the day of the accident but including any days which would not have been working days;
- an employee dies within one year as a result of an accident at their place of work or in the course of carrying out their work in a location other than their normal place of work;
- any person who is not at work but who as a result of an accident related to a place of work or a work activity dies, within one year of the accident;
- any person who is not at work but who as a result of an accident related to a place of work or a work activity suffers any injury or condition which, due to the nature or severity of the injury or condition, results in the person being taken from the location of the accident to receive treatment in respect of that injury in a hospital or medical facility, or
- there is a dangerous occurrence.
Can a job (employer) fire you for getting injured?
The Unfair Dismissals Acts govern this area of the law and if you are injured and operating under a disability, an employer who terminates employment of an injured employee may contravene the Equality Acts in addition to possibly contravening the unfair dismissals legislation.
What are the accident reporting procedures?
Different employers may have different reporting procedures as some places of employment evidently operate under a higher risk of accidents occurring than others.
Accidents at work – who is liable?
This can only be answered by applying the principles of tort law and negligence after examining the facts.
Case Assessment Advice
If you are suffering from a construction accident at work, you can contact us by telephone or email and we will have an initial meeting with you to explore the facts and furnish a case opinion to you in respect of a building site accident claim.
Disclaimer
Please be advised that the above-mentioned material is intended as an overview and as a broad outline of the topic discussed. It should not be considered as complete and comprehensive legal advice, nor act as an appropriate substitute.
Due care has been taken in the publication of this article and we do not accept legal liability as a result of reliance on any material covered in the above article.
In contentious business, a Solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
