Life After a Roofing Injury: Understanding the Support Available

Roofing is skilled, physical work that isn’t without risk. Handling equipment, changing weather conditions and working at a height can mean that if an accident does happen, the consequences can be serious.

An injury can change everyday life in ways that are difficult to foresee. There may be a period of rehabilitation ahead, questions about returning to work, and financial concerns about paying bills and supporting a family. Therefore, understanding the support available if you have experienced an injury at work, can make everything that comes next a little clearer.

Recovery Looks Different for Everyone

After a serious injury at work, the immediate priority is, of course, seeking medical treatment. However, recovery from a life-changing injury can extend beyond the initial stage of hospital care and is different for everyone, depending on the level of injury an individual has experienced.

For some, ongoing rehabilitation could include physiotherapy as well as psychological support for emotional wellbeing, and, depending on the severity of their injuries, they could also require specialist equipment or adaptations to their home.

For scaffolder Steven, life changed in an instant when he suffered a serious electric shock while working on a construction site near overhead power lines. The incident caused catastrophic injuries, leaving him with severe burns, permanent damage to his hands and a lengthy recovery ahead.

Steven was unable to hold his newborn child for months because he had no feeling in his hands. Tasks many people take for granted, such as preparing food, tying shoelaces or driving a car, suddenly became major challenges. Like many families’ facing serious injury, Steven’s family was dealing with far more than medical treatment alone. They were navigating uncertainty about the future, adjusting to a new reality and trying to rebuild family life around Steven’s injuries. This is where specialist legal support can play an important role.

Early legal intervention can help facilitate access to services that support recovery, including rehabilitation programmes, specialist therapies, case management, care packages and assistive equipment. These interventions are often transformative, not because they change the injury itself, but because they help people regain control over their lives.

Dealing with Financial Concerns

A serious injury resulting in needing time away from work can understandably create immediate financial pressures. It may also cause anxiety around future earnings, especially if someone is expecting to work as a roofer for many more years, and suffers an injury that may leave returning to the same job in doubt.

Where an injury has been caused by somebody else’s negligence or a failure to maintain a safe workplace, a personal injury claim may help address some of these concerns. But i’s worth highlighting the purpose isn’t simply to secure a compensation payment at the end of a claim. In serious injury cases, there is also an emphasis on obtaining the rehabilitation a person may need to rebuild their life.

How Can Slater & Gordon Help?

At Slater & Gordon, we support with more than investigating whether somebody has a compensation claim.

Our specialist serious injury lawyers can look at the circumstances surrounding an injury, gather evidence, as well as help establish what happened and who may have been at fault. Our lawyers work with medical professionals, rehabilitation specialists and case managers to understand what someone needs now and is likely to need in the future. This could include specialist medical treatment and rehabilitation, specialist equipment, possible adaptations to someone’s home, loss of current and/or future earnings, and the possibility of returning to work.

Again, it’s important to know that the recovery process differs from person to person given it depends on a variety of factors, so it’s important not to feel pressure regarding the speed of recovery.

Life Continues, Differently

Whilst suffering a serious injury could mean life isn’t what it once was, we want to help those who have experienced an injury at work know that with the right support, it is possible to rebuild a life that is fulfilling. It may look different, but it can continue in a new way.

For more information, visit the Slater & Gordon website.