Injured in a Fall From Height Due to an Inadequate Risk Assessment?

About Our Legal Expert: This content is produced with oversight by Michael Jefferies, Managing Director who has more than 30 years’ legal experience.

Written by Tanya Waterworth, Digital Content Writer

How to Spot Planning Failures Behind Falls from Height at Work

Have you been injured in a fall from height due to an inadequate risk assessment? Such an incident may involve an employer’s failure to identify, evaluate and control the hazards of a task before the work begins. In England and Wales, that failure may potentially be behind many workplaces falls from height. For example, if your employer skipped the assessment, copied a generic one or ignored its findings, you may have grounds to claim compensation.

In fact, poor risk assessment practices can affect every stage of a task, from planning and equipment selection to training requirements and personal protective equipment (PPE). If this has happened to you, or a loved one, you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim.

This guide explains what makes an assessment inadequate, how it creates real hazards around falls from height at work, and what to do next if you want to claim compensation.

What Should a Risk Assessment Legally Cover?

Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires employers to carry out a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the risks to their employees. Employers with five or more staff must record the significant findings. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 add specific duties: employers must plan the work, avoid working at height where reasonably practicable, select suitable equipment and reduce the distance and consequences of any fall. A breach of these regulations may result in an employer negligence claim.

Five Signs of an Inadequate Risk Assessment

Here are some known warning signs in inadequate risk assessment:

• Generic: the employer copied a template without inspecting the work area.
• Missing: nobody carried out an assessment for the task at all.
• Outdated: the employer never reviewed it after a near miss, an incident or a change in method.
• Unshared: supervisors never briefed workers on the findings.
• Ignored: the assessment identified controls that the employer never provided.

How Poor Risk Assessment May Create Hazards at Height

1. Inappropriate Equipment

A sound assessment compares safer options before choosing how to reach the work. A poor one defaults to whatever sits nearest. Employers who send staff up a stepladder for hours-long tasks, build platforms from pallets or erect scaffolds without edge protection have usually skipped that comparison.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 require employers to supply equipment that suits the task, stays maintained and gets inspected. Defective ladders, unstable access towers and damaged mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) feature regularly in successful claims.

2. Missing Safety Gear and PPE

Where guardrails and nets are not possible, workers need personal fall protection such as harnesses, lanyards and secure anchor points. Weak assessments overlook this. Employers issue harnesses with no anchor point, supply ill-fitting gear, or skip helmets and non-slip footwear. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 require employers to provide suitable PPE free of charge and keep it in good condition.

3. Insufficient Training and Supervision

Regulation 5 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires employers to ensure that anyone working at height is competent. Workers who have never learned to inspect a ladder, fit a harness or recognise a fragile roof light face serious danger. New starters, apprentices and agency workers carry the greatest risk when nobody supervises them. An employer should be able to produce training records or competence checks to show that proper training has taken place.

4. Other Overlooked Hazards

Poor assessments may also miss bad weather, unprotected openings, slippery surfaces, cluttered access routes, poor lighting and rushed deadlines. Each gap turns a routine task into a fall waiting to happen.

Real Life Example of Fall from Height Incident

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently reported on a fall from height fatality because ‘work had not been properly planned or measures put in place’. The accident occurred when a 59-year-old construction workers fell through an unsafe first floor during a refurbishment project in Gloucestershire.

Following the joint investigation by HSE and Gloucestershire Police, HSE principal inspector, James Lucas said, “every year, workers are killed or suffer life-changing injuries because work at height has not been properly planned or suitable safeguards have not been put in place”, adding that the employee’s death could have been prevented. The company were found to have breached Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations.

The latest HSE statistics showed that a quarter of work fatalities in 2025/26 were caused by falls from height.

How Assessment Failures Turn into Injuries

A worker climbs an unsuitable ladder that nobody secured, and it slips. A roofer steps on a fragile panel that nobody marked. A warehouse operative falls from a loading dock edge that lacked a barrier. These falls may all result in fractures, head and spinal injuries and, sometimes even permanent disability. Such accidents can be traced back to a decision, or a failure to decide, during the assessment.

Why Assessment Failures Matter to Your Claim

Your claim will depend on a breach of duty and causation. A weak risk assessment helps on both counts. This is because it shows that your employer knew, or should have known, about the hazard. It also shows that a reasonable employer would have taken precautions, such as safer equipment or better training, to prevent your fall.

What Evidence Proves an Inadequate Risk Assessment?

Evidence is crucial for a claim after a fall from height. Here’s our 30 Second Checklist for key evidence needed in a personal injury claim. This should include making sure the incident is recorded in the company’s accident book and if possible, photographs of the scene.

However, your priority is to get medical attention and these records often form the basis for your claim.

Your solicitor is likely to request inspection logs, maintenance records and any HSE investigation findings. Employers must also report specified injuries to the HSE under RIDDOR.

Time Limits

You normally have three years from the date of accident, or from the date you realised your injury is linked to the accident, to start a personal injury claim. Employers must hold employers’ liability insurance, so compensation usually comes from the insurer.

FAQs: Inadequate Risk Assessments in Fall from Height Claims

What is an inadequate risk assessment?
It is an assessment that fails to identify real hazards, ignores the actual work area, or recommends controls the employer never puts in place.

Can I claim if my employer did no risk assessment?
Yes, a missing assessment is strong evidence of breach, although you must still be able to show that this caused your injury.

Does a risk assessment have to be in writing?
Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings. Smaller employers must still assess risk, identify and manage workplace hazards, even if they do not write it down.

Can agency workers claim after a fall from height?
Potentially yes, your employment status affects who owes you a duty of care, so it may be worth speaking to a personal injury solicitor who can review the facts.

Free Consultation About Your Work Injury Claim

If you suspect poor planning caused your fall, it’s advisable to speak to a personal injury lawyer as early as possible while evidence remains fresh, such as CCTV footage which may be frequently deleted.

As a claims management company, we work with a panel of solicitors experienced in work injury claims. They offer an initial free consultation to assess whether you have a valid claim, as well as No Win, No Fee agreements.

We will give you the support and understanding you need at this difficult time.

📞 Call us today at 0333 358 3034 or visit our Contact Us Page

This article provides general information, not legal advice.