Cherry picker injury
compensation claims

If a cherry picker injury has set you back, we'll help you move forward

If your life, or the life of a loved one, has been affected by a cherry picker accident, we can help. If your injuries were caused by your employer or a co-worker, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

You can make a No Win, No Fee work accident compensation claim with the help and support of a personal injury solicitor.

What is a cherry picker?

A cherry picker is a hydraulic crane with a railed platform at the end for raising and lowering people to work at height, typically used for building site or utility work.

Cherry pickers are also referred to as boom lifts, man lifts or basket cranes, and they are widely used in the construction industry, as well as various other roles like window cleaning and fruit picking, where workers are required to work at height.

Scissor lifts and similar machinery are also used in similar circumstances, and are equally likely to cause injury. Collectively, these machines are referred to as Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs).

You are not alone

Cherry Picker Injuries often occur from falls, equipment collapses, or electrical contact.

Falls from height were responsible for 8% of non-fatal workplace injuries, with 4% of injuries caused by contact with moving machinery, including cherry pickers and crane mechanisms (hse.gov.uk).

According to the HSE, 17% of falls from height are linked to lifting vehicles, including fork lift trucks (FLTs) and cherry pickers. Cherry pickers are far safer than FLTs, although an estimated 3% of all fatal construction accidents still involve cherry pickers.

Work accident claims represent the majority of claims for injuries involving cherry picker injury claims, but claims involving injury to members of the public are also made.

If you decide to make a cherry picker injury claim, your work accident solicitor will take you through every step of the claims process. Your solicitor will be with you until you win your claim and get the compensation you deserve.

See also:

Work accident claims

Do I have a cherry picker injury claim?

If you've been injured in an accident that was caused another person or organisation in the last 3 years, you will be entitled to make a claim for financial compensation.

Use our injury claim calculator to find out if you can claim. Alternatively, you can speak to a claims advisor on 0800 376 1001 and find out if you have a claim in minutes.

Is a claim still possible if I am partly liable?

Ascertaining who is liable for an accident is not always straightforward and can often involve blame on both sides.

In our 2024 Work Injury Claimant Survey, 26.02% of injured workers said they either were unsure of which party was responsible, or believed they were partially responsible for their injuries.

Even if you think you might have been partly responsible, you could still be eligible to make a claim. With workplace injuries, it's often possible to claim compensation from your employer, regardless of whether your own actions or those of a colleague played a role in the incident.

Read more:

Can I claim if I feel I was partly responsible for my accident?

How much compensation can I claim for a cherry picker injury?

The amount of money you could claim for your injury will depend on:

• the seriousness of your injury, and
• any financial losses or costs you have incurred.

At the start of your claim, your solicitor will consider the many ways your injuries have affected your life. Your solicitor will take these considerations into account to calculate the correct compensation award.

General damages

General damages are awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA).

Awards for general damages are set by the Judicial College (judiciary.uk) and published in their guidelines for personal injury awards.

How is compensation calculated if I have multiple injuries?

Special damages

Special damages is compensation for quantifiable financial losses you've incurred as a result of your injury. Compensation can include loss of wages, commission and any other income, damage to your car, and any additional expenses directly related to your injury.

These damages will also cover any medical or treatment bills, such as emergency care, diagnostic imaging tests, surgical intervention and physical therapy.

Read more:

A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim

Cherry picker injuries at work

Cherry pickers are typically operated in the workplace. Employers are primarily responsible for the cherry picker and ensuring that operators are appropriately trained.

Employers would be held liable for injuries resulting from the operation of the cherry picker. The legal principle under which employers are held responsible for the acts of their staff is called vicarious liability.

Causes of cherry picker accidents

There are a number of ways accidents commonly occur when working with cherry pickers.

Inappropriate use

Accidents can occur when the cherry picker is used by an untrained person, or when it is used for a task which causes a breach of the applicable workplace safety regulations. The risk of an accident is greater when the cherry picker is used for a task it is not intended for.

Examples included use of a cherry picker for an extended time period when scaffolding would be more appropriate, to reach across a gap, or in a dangerous environment involving live wires or other hazards.

If you have been injured in a cherry picker accident as a result of poor or unsafe use, you should have a case to make an injury claim.

Faulty or badly maintained cherry pickers

It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that any equipment used is maintained to a high standard. If a badly maintained cherry picker results in an accident, the employer may be at fault and liable to pay compensation for injuries that result from the fault or poor maintenance.

Operator negligence

Those operating cherry pickers have a level of responsibility to ensure that they are used safely and do not put others at risk. There have been cases of workers being crushed against equipment, buildings and other structures due to the negligence of a trained cherry picker operator. In these cases, the Courts will examine all of the evidence to establish who was responsible and therefore potentially liable to pay compensation.

Insufficient training

Working at height has a level of risk associated, and necessary safety precautions should be in place to prevent accidents. The cherry picker should always be secured on level ground, and only used by fully trained operatives.

Anyone using a cherry picker should be sufficiently trained in operating the machine safely. If you were not sufficiently trained before being allowed to operate a cherry picker, and this resulted in an injury, you may have a claim against your employer for failing to ensure that you had sufficient training.

If someone else was operating the cherry picker and was not fully trained, and you were injured as a result, you should also have a claim against the operator or the employer. The Courts will look at all of the evidence in order to decide who was responsible for the accident.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 came into force on 6 April 2022.

This legislation means that employers have an obligation to provide free Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all workers, including workers who are self-employed or on a zero-hours contract.

Under the previous 1992 regulations, employers were only required to provide PPE to employees with a formal employment contract.

If you are injured by a cherry picker at work and your employer failed to provide you with suitable PPE, you may be entitled to claim compensation even if you are self-employed.

What happened?

The claims process will vary depending on how your cherry picker injury happened. Click the icons below to learn more:

Work accidents Public places Road accidents Other accidents

Citations

Author:
Gaynor Haliday, Legal researcher

About the author

Gaynor Haliday is an experienced legal researcher and published author. She has had numerous articles published in the press and is a legal industry commentator.