Crane injury
compensation claims

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

Crane accidents can be catastrophic and often result from safety procedure oversights. If your life, or the life of a loved one, has been affected by a crane accident, we can help. If your injuries were caused by your employer or a co-worker, you may be entitled to claim compensation for long-term care, rehabilitation, and lost income.

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

You are not alone

In the UK, crane accidents are rare, but due to the nature of working at height accidents can lead to extremely serious and fatal injuries.

Falls from height caused 8% of work injuries in 2022-23, with 4% of injuries involved contact with moving machinery, according to data published by HSE (hse.gov.uk).

Building sites, in particular, are inherently dangerous places to work, and these dangers are reflected in the official building site accident statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive ('HSE'). The figures reveal that here were 45 fatal injuries to workers in 2022/23

Although construction workers are most likely to be involved in a crane accident, members of the public may also be at risk. Whether you are a crane operator, construction worker or passer-by, if you have been hurt in a crane accident, you could have a case for claiming compensation.

Do I qualify for crane injury compensation?

You will usually be eligible to claim compensation if you have been injured in the following circumstances:

• within the last 3 years, and;
• another person was to blame, and;
• that person owed you a duty of care.

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.

Am I still eligible to claim if I was partially responsible?

Determining legal responsibility for a claimant's injuries can involve myriad factors.

In our recent 2024 Work Injury Claimant Survey, 26.02% of injured workers believed they may have been partly (or wholly) 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 crane accident 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 are for financial losses and expenses you have incurred because of your accident. In addition to paying for loss of earnings, special damages can cover any care costs and medical procedures you need, such as emergency care, diagnostic imaging tests, surgical intervention and physiotherapy.

Read more:

A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim

Your employer's duty of care

Your employer has a duty of care to all staff. This includes a duty to ensure that all equipment, including cranes, is maintained to a high standard and inspected at regular intervals. Organisations which employ people to operate cranes are also responsible for ensuring that those people are fully trained.

You should be provided with comprehensive training on all aspects of using the crane, and given practical advice on safety measures, including what action to take in an emergency.

What should I do if I have been injured in a crane accident?

Your first priority should be to seek medical advice. A doctor can assess the extent of your injury, prescribe treatment, and advise on pain relief and rehabilitative care.

Having sought immediate treatment, you should then report the accident formally to your employer. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you will probably be entitled to time off work.

Having begun your recovery, your thoughts might turn to compensation. If you have lost earnings because you haven't been able to work, or have had to spend money on support and treatment, you might be struggling to manage your finances.

If you have been in a crane accident, it is likely that someone else is to blame. A claim for compensation can restore your finances so that you can concentrate on your recovery.

How does claiming compensation work?

If you are considering pursuing a claim for compensation for a crane accident, it is vital to seek expert legal advice. The Quittance panel of solicitors will help to gather all the evidence you need to make a claim. They gather this evidence to prove to the court that someone else was at fault for what happened, and to demonstrate the impact this has had on you, the claimant.

What counts as evidence?

Your solicitor will advise you on evidence specific to your case. However, as a general rule, the following proof of your accident can be useful:

• Photographs of your injuries
• CCTV footage of the accident, or witness accounts
• Details of the training you received for using the crane
• Receipts for expenses relating to mobility requirements, prescriptions, or physiotherapy
• Details of how your injury has affected your day to day life: do you find it difficult or impossible to have a shower, for example?

What happened?

The compensation claims process will depend on where and how your crane accident injury occurred. Click the icons below for more information:

Work accidents Public places Road accidents Other accidents

Author:
Chris Salmon, Director

About the author

Chris Salmon is a co-founder and Director of Quittance Injury Claims. Chris has played key roles in the shaping and scaling of a number of legal services brands and is a regular commentator in the legal press.