Construction accidents, legal liability and health and safety

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is to examine case law with an aim to establishing the principles involved in employment injury cases, establishing a chain of causation and identifying responsible parties in the construction process and examining health and safety regulations specific to the construction sector. As one will observe, it is not always a straightforward task to identify who should be held liable when a construction accident occurs. In contrast to employee-employer relationships, where an employer is duty bound towards his employee to provide a safe working environment and a safe system of work, in construction working relationships are in most cases more complex. This thesis attempts to tackle issues such as contracts of works and self-employed persons as well as contractors and sub-contractors and the relationship between different contractors on the same site. The new duties of the construction client and the project supervisor shall also be tackled, with the aim of establishing the level of duty that exists and whether such duties are equitable.