Scaffolds are temporary structures, but they carry people, materials and tools high above the ground. When they are not designed, built or inspected properly, the results can be catastrophic.
What causes scaffolding accidents?
Missing or removed guardrails and toe boards; loose, damaged or missing boards; overloading with materials; inadequate ties to the building; poor foundations or base plates; damage from weather or vehicles; unauthorised alterations by other trades; erection or dismantling without proper fall protection; and objects falling from platforms onto people below.
What does the law require?
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005:
- Scaffolds must be erected, altered and dismantled under the supervision of a competent person, following a plan, with strength and stability calculations unless the scaffold is a recognised standard configuration (Schedule 3).
- Working platforms must have suitable guardrails, toe boards or other edge protection (Schedules 2 and 3).
- Where someone could fall two metres or more, a scaffold must be inspected before first use, after any event liable to affect its safety, such as high winds or alterations, and at intervals of no more than seven days, with a written report (regulation 12 and Schedule 7).
- Steps must be taken to prevent materials and objects falling (regulation 10).
Industry guidance, including the NASC's TG20 guidance on tube and fitting scaffolds, sets out good practice. On construction sites, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 require the principal contractor to plan, manage and coordinate health and safety across the whole site.
Who is responsible?
Potentially several parties: your employer; the scaffolding contractor that designed, erected or inspected the scaffold; the principal contractor in control of the site; and another contractor who altered it without authority. You do not need to work out who is to blame first. Your solicitor can bring the claim against the right defendants, who can then argue among themselves about how to share responsibility.
What evidence helps?
Photographs of the scaffold and the failure, scaffold inspection reports and tags, handover certificates, the scaffold design or TG20 compliance sheet, site induction records, witness details, RIDDOR reports and any HSE investigation.
What injuries are common?
Falls from height can cause fractures, spinal and head injuries; falling objects cause head and shoulder injuries. See fall from height claims, struck by a falling object, head injury at work and construction site accident claims.
Sources
Browse every plain-English guide in the work accident guides hub, or read the main guide to how a claim works.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a regulated solicitor.