Fell From a Ladder at Work? What a £24,000 Fine Means for Your Claim
Quick Answer: Can You Claim if You Fell From a Ladder at Work?
Yes. If your employer failed to provide a safe system for working at height and you were injured as a result, you may be entitled to compensation. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005, employers must plan, supervise and provide suitable equipment for any task involving a risk of falling — even from a stepladder.
Typical ladder fall compensation: £3,000–£30,000+ depending on injury severity | Timeline: 3–12 months | 99% settle without court | No Win No Fee
You’re standing on a stepladder. Five feet off the ground. You’ve done it a hundred times before.
Then you fall. And in the time it takes to hit the floor — roughly half a second — your life changes completely. Crushed elbows. Fractured forearm. Dislocated wrists. Months of surgery. That’s not a dramatic hypothetical. It’s exactly what happened to a construction worker in London.
His employer had already been warned. The Health and Safety Executive had already visited the site and served a formal notice telling them to stop unsafe work at height. They carried on anyway.
What Happened on This Construction Site?
According to the the HSE prosecution report covered by the Construction Index, a construction company was carrying out a refurbishment project in Islington in August 2021. The work involved converting a property and a former factory into a single dwelling, including installing a new concrete staircase between floors.
A worker was standing on a stepladder using a gas-powered nail gun to build temporary timber formwork when he fell approximately 1.65 metres to the floor. He suffered crush injuries to both elbows requiring multiple surgeries, a fractured forearm, dislocated wrists, and injuries to his right leg and left knee.
The HSE investigation found there was no safe system of work for working at height on this site. Wider failings included inadequate edge protection, incorrectly assembled tower scaffolds, staircases without edge protection, and uncontrolled use of ladders. Most damning of all: the HSE had already visited the site a month earlier and served a Prohibition Notice for unsafe work at height. The company ignored it.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at Southwark Crown Court on 13 February 2026. They were fined £24,000 plus £4,101 in costs.
“A fall of less than two metres doesn’t sound dramatic. But when you’re landing on concrete with nothing to break the fall, the injuries can be devastating. And when your employer had already been told to fix the problem — that’s not an accident. That’s a choice.”
— Chris Carter, Managing Solicitor
📊 Falls From Height: The Numbers That Matter
35 workers were killed by falls from height in 2024/25 — making it the leading cause of workplace death in Great Britain for the third consecutive year, according to the HSE.
Falls from height account for over 25% of all fatal workplace injuries. In construction alone, more than half of all deaths over the past five years were caused by falls.
Up to 44,000 workers self-reported a fall from height injury in 2024/25. Many of these happen from ladders, stepladders and low-level platforms — the kind of everyday equipment people assume is safe.
Can You Claim Compensation After a Ladder Fall at Work? (Even if the Fall Was “Only” a Few Feet)
Yes — and the height of the fall doesn’t determine whether you have a claim. What matters is whether your employer failed in their duty of care.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, employers must avoid work at height wherever possible. Where it can’t be avoided, they must plan the work, use the right equipment, and supervise it properly. A stepladder isn’t automatically the right tool — it depends on the task, the duration, and the risk.
In this prosecution, the worker was using a gas-powered nail gun while standing on a stepladder. That’s a task requiring stability and two free hands — exactly the kind of work where a ladder is insufficient. A properly planned system would have used scaffolding, a mobile platform, or tower scaffold.
“People sometimes think they can’t claim because they ‘only’ fell a short distance. But the law doesn’t set a minimum height. If your employer didn’t plan the work properly, didn’t give you the right equipment, or didn’t supervise the task — you may have a claim regardless of how far you fell.”
— Chris Carter, Managing Solicitor
What Should You Do After a Fall at Work? (The First 48 Hours Matter Most)
Get medical attention straight away — even if the pain feels manageable at first. Fractures, ligament damage and soft tissue injuries often feel worse in the days that follow. A medical record created at the time is the strongest single piece of evidence in any workplace injury claim.
⚠️ Time-Sensitive: Preserve Your Evidence
Immediately: Report the accident to your employer and make sure it’s recorded in the accident report book. Take photographs of the scene — the ladder, the floor, whatever you landed on.
Within 48 hours: Note the names of any witnesses. If there’s CCTV covering the area, ask for it to be preserved — footage is typically overwritten within 14–30 days.
Don’t delay: Evidence disappears quickly. Ladders get moved, scaffolding gets changed, paperwork gets lost. The sooner you act, the stronger your claim.
✅ Your Rights After a Fall From Height at Work
✓ Your employer has a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 to plan, supervise and provide safe equipment for any task involving a risk of falling
✓ You can claim compensation separately from any HSE prosecution your employer faces — they are independent processes
✓ You have 3 years from the date of the accident to bring your claim
✓ You don’t need to have fallen from a great height — any fall caused by employer negligence may qualify
✓ Claims are handled on a No Win No Fee basis — you pay nothing unless your claim succeeds
🔗 Related Guides from Carter & Carter
Falling From Height Compensation Claims — Your Full Guide
Construction Injury Claims — What You Need to Know
What Is the Duty of Care of Employers?
Accident Report Forms — Why They Matter for Your Claim
Fell from a ladder or height at work?
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