Our QLD construction accident lawyers can explain your eligibility to claim compensation for a workplace injury, including cover for income and medical expenses.
If you have been injured on a construction siteFar North Queensland to Tweed Heads, our personal injury lawyers offer a free, no-obligation consultation that can explain:
The Splatt Lawyer’s workplace injury team offers legal support backed by a 100% no-win, no-fee, no-risk guarantee. Pay when you win, and zero if you lose, with no upfront legal fees.
It’s free to know where you stand. Call 1800 700 125 or email us
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Queensland workplace legislation states all employers have work health and safety (WHS) obligations, including:
These obligations extend to all construction and mining employees, whether employed full-time, part-time or temporarily, as contractors or site visitors. Consequently, you may be entitled to seek compensation when employer negligence causes an injury.
An experienced construction accident lawyers can explain the claim process and your legal rights.
If you’ve been injured on a construction site (or offsite in some cases), experienced workers’ compensation lawyers can advise you on your entitlements, including monetary compensation
You could make a legal claim in Queensland when injured on a construction site because someone else failed their duty of care.
The specific circumstances of your case will determine your eligibility to claim fair compensation for a construction site injury. Key factors include:
Our Queensland construction accident lawyers provide an obligation-free initial consultation for injured workers that can explain:
Pay for when you win and nothing if you lose. Call 1800 700 125
Accredited Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers have completed additional legal training and successfully completed an extensive assessment process. The Queensland Law Society has recognised their expertise in compensation law.
Our Brisbane-based personal injury lawyers can help injured workers understand their rights and navigate complex legal pathways Queensland-wide.
If you are injured on a construction site (or during employment-related activities), you might face financial difficulties due to lost income. In that case, you may be concerned about the cost of legal representation from construction accident lawyers.
Splatt Lawyers offers a 100% No-Win, No-Fee, No-Risk guarantee, which means the following:
Splatt’s no-win, no-fee legal services mean you only pay legal fees if your claim is successful. Our accident compensation lawyers can explain our legal funding policy during an obligation-free case review. Call 1800 700 125
How much compensation you receive for a workplace accident at a mine or construction site depends on a range of factors, including the type of claim.
Approved statutory workers’ compensation claims can provide payments, including the following:
However, work injury damages claims consider both economic and non-economic losses, such as:
Workers’ compensation payments are designed to cover lost income for workers unable to work due to a construction injury and are typically calculated as a percentage of their average weekly earnings.
Our construction injury lawyers can provide a lump sum payment estimate during an obligation-free initial consultation.
Construction sites involve multiple liable parties, including general contractors, subcontractors, and equipment manufacturers. Furthermore, Queensland legislation protects the rights of mine and construction workers, including the following:
If you suffer psychological trauma or a physical injury in a mining or construction accident, you could be entitled to make a construction accident claim, including one or more of the following:
Construction sites pose major hazards for workers that can cause serious injuries and chronic pain. As a result, some work injuries result in lasting or permanent disability.
A worker with a physical or psychological injury nearing the end of a workers’ compensation claim typically has a WPI assessment. They can then be offered a permanent impairment payout (depending on the level of impairment). But some are also eligible to make a common law claim for work injury damages.
A work injury solicitor can explain your options, as what you do next will determine how much compensation you receive.
Injured construction workers can sue for common law damages in addition to statutory workers’ compensation benefits when they can prove employer negligence (or another party) caused their accident or injury
There can be multiple parties liable for construction site accidents, including:
Successful common law damages claims can provide compensation for a broader range of damages, such as:
The compensation process can be complex in these cases and often requires thorough investigation, medical records and expert legal guidance.
Data from Safe Work Australia shows that construction accidents account for 20% of national workplace deaths. The common causes of work-related fatalities for construction labourers are
In such cases, surviving financial dependents and family members can be eligible to make a death benefit claim.
The Civil Proceedings Act 2011 and the Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 determine who can seek legal damages for wrongful death.
In some jurisdictions, no-fault compensation systems allow workers to claim compensation for permanent injuries even if they were at fault for the accident. In Queensland, that will usually be:
Typically, insurance companies try to protect their financial interests by disputing how the accident occurred or claiming you contributed to the injury.
The compensation process for injured construction workers is as follows:
In Queensland, co-worker or employer negligence is the most common cause of construction or building site injuries. If this is your situation, you might question who pays work injury damages for employer negligence?
Sometimes, several businesses operate in a building or mining operation with a complex network of employment relationships.
Despite the safety laws, people still suffer serious injuries on the job in Queensland, particularly in the mining and civil construction industries.
Statistics show you have a higher-than-average risk of being harmed. If you are male, over 45 years old and work in one of these industries:
Stress, repetitive actions and heat can cause serious accidents on Queensland construction sites. In these situations, falls are a leading cause of broken bones and spinal injuries.
Other common construction injuries include the following:
You can also be injured as a bystander, with common causes being:
Under Commonwealth legislation, all workers have fundamental legal protections, including the right to a safe working environment, adequate training, and proper safety equipment. Consequently, OH&S is a crucial focus for employers in the mining and construction industries.
The Queensland workers’ compensation system is a no-fault scheme, which means there is no requirement to prove who was to blame if you suffer a mining or construction injury or illness. Common accident types for mining workers and construction employees include:
Case studies from Queensland Court Judgments
Daly v D A Manufacturing Co – QLD Supreme Court
The claimant was a self-employed builder based in Wakerley who was injured when he fell from a ladder from about four metres. The accident occurred on a Brisbane building site while he was installing panel ties between concrete wall slabs in a concrete tilt-up construction.
The dominant injury was a heel bone fracture with Whole Person Impairment Rating between 6% and 10%.
| Head of Damage | Amount |
| Past economic loss (agreed) | $7,517.00 |
| Future economic loss (two-thirds cost of hiring a labourer over 25 years) | final figure left to parties |
| Pain, suffering & loss of amenities | $50,000.00 |
| Future care (Griffiths v Kerkemeyer) | $40,000–$43,596 |
| Special damages (incl. $5,300 for vitamins/anti-inflammatories) | $17,409.74 (allowed in full) |
| Loss of consortium for his wife | $8,000.00 |
Sawyer vs Steeplechase Pty Ltd
The claimant was working at a construction site in Yabba St, Ascot. He was required to carry and lay about two dozen SL81 steel mesh sheets onto prepared footings with a co-worker. He injured his lower back while bending and manoeuvring a sheet into position. Despite the worsening pain, he kept working for almost a year before being injured again in a second incident. He suffered the following:
| Head of Damage | First Defendant (provisional) | Second Defendant (awarded) |
| General damages | $80,000 | $34,030 |
| Interest on general damages | $6,312 | N/A |
| Past economic loss | $289,515 | $289,515 |
| Interest | $59,860.14 | $26,248.67 |
| Past superannuation | $27,503.92 | $27,503.92 |
| Past special damages | $55,626.13 | $55,626.13 |
| Future economic loss | $363,800 | $363,800 |
| Future superannuation | $40,018 | $40,018 |
| Future special damages | $47,927 | $47,927 |
| Past gratuitous care | $40,148.68 | N/A |
| Interest on past care | $14,090.18 | N/A |
| Future gratuitous care | $106,810 | N/A |
| Past paid care | $600 | N/A |
| Fox v Wood damages | $25,443 | $25,443 |
| Gross Total | $1,143,564 | $910,111.72 |
| Less WorkCover refund | N/A | -$129,029.63 |
| Net Total | $1,157,654.05 | $781,082.09 |
Reddock v ST&T Pty Ltd
The claimant was employed as a concrete delivery driver at the Boral Coopers Plains concrete batching plant. Her employer, ST&T Pty Ltd, owned and maintained the truck she drove, but at the time of the accident she was receiving day-to-day instructions from Boral.
The claimant had reported to Boral that the swivel chute on her truck was stiff and hard to move. Her batching manager inspected the chute, applied some grease, observed that it was still stiff, but requested that she do another delivery (to a site at Juliette St, Annerley), during which she suffered a left wrist injury and secondary psychiatric injury.
The injuries were as follows:
Final assessed damages: $727,133.81
Building and construction sites can cause life-altering injuries because of heavy machinery, powerful tools, hazardous materials, and multiple moving heavy objects. If this is your situation, get immediate medical attention first; then seek legal advice early to help protect your rights.
If you have been injured at work, our construction injury lawyers provide qualified legal advice on a 100% no-win, no-fee basis. It’s free to know if you are eligible to make a construction accident claim. Call 1800 700 125
Splatt Lawyers provides legal advice for mining and construction compensation cases from ten QLD-wide locations.
The QLD WorkCover website states that “a lawyer will help you deal with the process and work out the best way forward” when making a work injury damages claim.
Insurance companies regularly rely on the financial desperation of injured, out-of-work labourers to offer fast, undervalued settlements. Consequently, workers without legal representation can risk receiving less compensation than they are entitled to or may have their claims denied due to a lack of understanding of legal procedures.
Here are the other ways an experienced team could provide support.
Any workplace injury that forces you to take time off work can be the basis for a successful WorkCover claim. Construction accidents often qualify because of severe injuries such as:
Workplace injury claims are strictly time-sensitive, and missing legal statutory deadlines can permanently forfeit a victim’s right to seek compensation.
Workers’ compensation claims in the construction industry are common, with thousands accepted each year. But strict time limits apply to seeking compensation. The deadline is generally 3 years from the date of the accident, with rare extensions.
There is no maximum compensation limit for work injury common law damages in Queensland, but there are maximum limits on workers’ compensation payments.
Public liability insurance for construction sites generally covers personal injury and property damage, including the following:
After a construction accident, you should gather all necessary documents, including the workplace accident report, medical records, witness statements, and any photographic or video evidence.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the most common work-related injury in Australia is caused by lifting, pushing, pulling, or bending and accounts for approximately a quarter of workers’ comp claims.
You could be eligible to make a workplace injury claim after falling on a building or construction site in Queensland.
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