Forth Bridge v Wembley Stadium - 120 years of change

The Forth Bridge was one of the engineering wonders of the 19th century. Taking seven years to build and costing 3.2 million (an unparalleled fortune at the time), the bridge extends over a mile and a half and its rail tracks stand 150ft above the waves below.

It was built between 1883 and 1890 and more than 4,600 workers were employed to work on the bridge at the peak of its construction. Not surprisingly, operating so high above the water on a project that was revolutionary in its technological advancement, a number of work accidents occurred.

But it wasn't just one or two people that suffered personal injuries whilst helping to create the Victorian phenomenon. In fact, a work accident book recording all those who were hurt or suffered sickness during the seven years of construction is said to contain a mind-boggling 26,000 entries.

In addition to these thousands of injured men, recent research has revealed that 63 workers died during the construction of the Forth Bridge. The youngest, a rivetter's labourer called David Clark Russell was just 13 years old, whilst the eldest was a 61-year-old who fell into the Firth of Forth and drowned.

The days before personal injury claims
There were no such things as personal injury compensation claims back then. A generous employer might make some small payment to the widow or family of a deceased worker but this was not required by law and it is unknown if Sir William Arroll, the man who owned the company that built the bridge, was such an employer.

The number of individuals who were unable to work again because of injuries sustained during the building of the bridge has not been recorded but there is no doubt that for many of them their accident at work was the beginning of a life of hardship and poverty.

Without the provision of injury compensation, there was often no financial fallback for somebody suffering serious personal injuries as the result of a work accident and so the future would be somewhat bleak.

The new face of the construction industry
The conditions the workers constructing the Forth Bridge had to cope with in the late 19th century are a far cry from those faced by today's building site employees. To make a fair comparison YouClaim, the no win, no fee accident claim specialists, took a look at the building of the new Wembley Stadium and examined the safety of those working on it compared with construction workers of 120 years earlier.

Construction of the new stadium began in 2003 and, initially predicted to cost 757 million, was due to be completed in May 2006. At the time of writing (January 2007) the stadium has still not been completed and has already gone hugely over budget.

More than 3,000 workers of varying trades were employed on the building of Wembley at the peak of construction yet there has been nothing like the number of work accidents that took place during the erection of the Forth Bridge.

There have, of course, been accidents during the construction of Wembley and the entire workforce was evacuated from the vicinity of the site in March 2006 when a steel rafter in the roof slipped by a meter. Luckily, nobody was hurt on this occasion but two months earlier one man was killed and another suffered serious leg injuries when a raised platform collapsed without warning.

A century of changes
The reason for the reduction in the number of deaths and injuries over the past century is because health and safety regulations have been introduced for the purpose of preventing workplace accidents and limiting the number of personal injury compensation claims that are made.

As already discussed, there was no method of injured workers making accident claims for damages at the time of the construction of the Forth Bridge and, if there were, the number of workers that would have been able to make compensation claims could well have bankrupted the building firm.

There is no doubt that a 21st century building site is undoubtedly far safer than its 19th century counterpart and a comparison of Wembley and the bridge over the Firth of Forth demonstrate this perfectly.

Both projects have involved people working at great height yet Wembley has had no reported incidents of fatalities or even injuries caused by falls. The Forth Bridge, on the other hand, is quite a different story.

32 of the 63 men and boys that died during the construction of the bridge have had the cause of their death listed as a 'fall from height'; included in this number are three workers who lost their lives within less than a week. It was October 1888 (the same month that Jack the Ripper was on the rampage 400 miles away in London) and the exact reasons why these men fell to their deaths will never be known. It could have been that the last week of October was particularly windy or maybe the construction of the bridge had reached an especially tricky stage?

But whatever the reason, the fact remains that adequate safety methods were not in place and the result was a series of tragic work accidents.

It is unfair to judge the past by today's standards but thankfully things have changed and modern day construction sites, despite the use of highly advanced and potentially dangerous equipment, are probably safer than they have ever been.

This is because the majority of employers follow the strict safety guidelines that have been put in place by the authorities but there are still some who fail to adequately protect their staff and personal injuries often occur as a result.

Have you been injured in a work accident?
If you've been hurt in an accident at work you could be in a position to make a totally cost-free personal injury compensation claim with YouClaim.

The no win, no fee accident claim specialists, YouClaim help thousands of people every year to win the damages that they rightfully deserve. And the best bit about their services is that it won't cost you a single penny at any time.

Your case will be handled by some of the country's leading personal injury solicitors and you can rest assured that YouClaim's excellent success rate means you have a fantastic chance of winning your claim.

If you do win your claim you'll be able to keep 100% of the damages and neither YouClaim nor the personal injury solicitor that pursues your case will take a cut of the damages; everything you win is yours to keep.

For more information about making a no win, no fee personal injury compensation claim following an accident at work, get in touch with YouClaim today.

You can chat online to a personal injury advisor using your home or work computer or you can request a call back and YouClaim will ring you whenever it is most convenient for you. Alternatively, you can pick up the phone any time of the day or night and give YouClaim's friendly and experienced team a call on 0800 10 757 95.

If you want to make an accident at work compensation claim, there's nobody better to fight your corner than YouClaim.