Self employed and injured at work, unable to make a claim?
Not necessarily. If you are self employed and injured at work, it does not mean that you are unable to bring a claim.
Many trades associated with the building industry work for themselves. If, for example a self employed builder has an accident at work, he may think that he is unable to bring a claim.
Of course, he is unable to claim against himself.
However, if the building project is under the control of another contractor who is directing the work and giving instructions on how the job is to be done, then they may be responsible for the accident and their insurer may pay compensation.
The key issue is control and supervision.
For example, if the main contractor has prepared all of the risk assessments and tells the builder how to do the job, and the accident is brought about due to this direction, then the main contractor would be responsible.
Due to the number of different trades on a construction project, somebody must be responsible for overall control.
That does not mean that the self employed builder is not responsible for his own safety, but the main contractor would need to ensure compliance with all of the employment and construction site regulations.
>> Find Out More About Claiming Compensation For Building Site Accidents
We represented a self employed carpenter who was injured when he fell through a hole in a first floor. This was not cordoned off and people were not prevented from walking in the area.
Our client suffered serious head injuries and did not think that he would be able to claim. However because he was under the control of the main contractor, he was able to claim against them and we recovered over £150,000 for him. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was off work for months and we obtained an interim payment for him as he was not able to work. We also helped him to claim industrial injuries disablement benefit.
If you are self employed and involved in an accident at work, contact one of our specialist personal injury lawyers.
