Workers Comp and construction workers

Construction Accident? Get Legal Help for Compensation

Read­ing Time: 6 min­utes

Last Updat­ed on June 19, 2023 

Con­struc­tion Acci­dent? Work­ing in the con­struc­tion indus­try can be a dan­ger­ous job. Con­struc­tion work­ers are often exposed to var­i­ous haz­ards that can result in severe injuries or fatalities. 

Some of the most com­mon types of con­struc­tion acci­dents include falls, elec­tro­cu­tion, machin­ery acci­dents, and trench col­laps­es. Under­stand­ing the dif­fer­ent types of con­struc­tion acci­dents and their caus­es is cru­cial for pre­vent­ing these acci­dents from occur­ring in the first place.

Construction Accidents: Types and Causes

  • Falls: Falls are one of the lead­ing caus­es of con­struc­tion acci­dents. They can occur from heights, such as rooftops, lad­ders, or scaffolding.
  • Elec­tro­cu­tion: Elec­tri­cal acci­dents can occur when work­ers come into con­tact with live wires or faulty elec­tri­cal equipment.
  • Machin­ery acci­dents: Con­struc­tion equip­ment, such as cranes, bull­doz­ers, and fork­lifts, can cause seri­ous injuries if not oper­at­ed or main­tained properly.
  • Trench col­laps­es: Work­ers can become trapped or buried in trench­es if they are not prop­er­ly supported.

Employ­ers have a respon­si­bil­i­ty to pro­vide a safe work­ing envi­ron­ment for their work­ers. How­ev­er, acci­dents can still occur due to neg­li­gence on the part of the employ­er, sub­con­trac­tor, or equip­ment manufacturer.

Steps to Take After a Construction Accident

If you have been injured in a con­struc­tion acci­dent, there are sev­er­al steps that you should take to ensure your safe­ty and protection.

  • Seek med­ical atten­tion: The first step is to seek med­ical atten­tion for your injuries. Even if you do not think your injuries are severe, it is impor­tant to get checked out by a med­ical professional.
  • Report the acci­dent: Report the acci­dent to your employ­er or super­vi­sor as soon as pos­si­ble, and make sure that a for­mal report is filed.
  • Doc­u­ment the acci­dent: Take pic­tures of the acci­dent scene, your injuries, and any equip­ment involved in the acci­dent. Get the names and con­tact infor­ma­tion of any witnesses.
  • Con­sult a lawyer: Con­tact a con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyer who can help you pro­tect your legal rights and ensure that you receive com­pen­sa­tion for your dam­ages and injuries.

Common Injuries and Damages in Construction Accidents

Con­struc­tion acci­dents can result in a wide range of injuries, some of which can be severe or even fatal.

  • Bro­ken bones: Bro­ken bones are a com­mon injury in con­struc­tion acci­dents, espe­cial­ly in falls or acci­dents involv­ing heavy equipment.
  • Trau­mat­ic brain injuries: Head injuries can occur from falling debris or equip­ment, and can result in long-term cog­ni­tive or phys­i­cal impairments.
  • Spinal cord injuries: Spinal cord injuries can result in par­tial or com­plete paral­y­sis and can be caused by falls, machin­ery acci­dents or trench collapses.
  • Ampu­ta­tions: Work­ers can lose limbs or dig­its in machin­ery acci­dents or oth­er types of accidents.

In addi­tion to phys­i­cal injuries, con­struc­tion acci­dents can also result in sig­nif­i­cant finan­cial dam­ages, includ­ing med­ical expens­es, lost wages, and decreased earn­ing capacity.

What Can You Claim for in a Construction Accident Lawsuit?

In a con­struc­tion acci­dent law­suit, you may be enti­tled to var­i­ous types of com­pen­sa­tion, depend­ing on the cir­cum­stances of the accident.

  • Med­ical expens­es: You can claim com­pen­sa­tion for any med­ical expens­es relat­ed to your injuries, includ­ing hos­pi­tal bills, surg­eries, and rehabilitation.
  • Lost wages: If you are unable to work due to your injuries, you can claim com­pen­sa­tion for any lost wages or income.
  • Pain and suf­fer­ing: You can claim com­pen­sa­tion for any phys­i­cal or emo­tion­al pain and suf­fer­ing caused by the accident.
  • Puni­tive dam­ages: In some cas­es, you may also be enti­tled to puni­tive dam­ages if the employ­er or man­u­fac­tur­er’s con­duct was par­tic­u­lar­ly egregious.

How to Prevent Injuries in Construction Industry?

  • Reg­u­lar inspec­tions and main­te­nance: Con­struc­tion sites should under­go reg­u­lar inspec­tions to iden­ti­fy poten­tial haz­ards and ensure that equip­ment and machin­ery are in good work­ing con­di­tion. Any iden­ti­fied issues should be addressed promptly.
  • Pro­mot­ing a cul­ture of safe­ty: Employ­ers should fos­ter a cul­ture of safe­ty where work­ers feel empow­ered to report haz­ards, near-miss inci­dents, or safe­ty con­cerns with­out fear of ret­ri­bu­tion. Reg­u­lar safe­ty meet­ings and train­ing ses­sions can help rein­force safe­ty practices.
  • Imple­ment­ing fall pro­tec­tion mea­sures: Fall pro­tec­tion sys­tems, such as guardrails, safe­ty nets, and per­son­al fall arrest sys­tems, should be in place for work­ers who are work­ing at heights. Reg­u­lar inspec­tions of these sys­tems should be con­duct­ed to ensure they are in prop­er work­ing order.
  • Pro­vid­ing prop­er sig­nage and warn­ings: Clear sig­nage and warn­ings should be post­ed through­out the con­struc­tion site to alert work­ers to poten­tial haz­ards, such as slip­pery sur­faces, high volt­age areas, or areas with mov­ing machinery.
  • Man­ag­ing haz­ardous mate­ri­als: Employ­ers should have prop­er pro­ce­dures in place for the han­dling, stor­age, and dis­pos­al of haz­ardous mate­ri­als. This includes pro­vid­ing work­ers with appro­pri­ate per­son­al pro­tec­tive equip­ment and train­ing them on the safe han­dling of these materials.
  • Encour­ag­ing open com­mu­ni­ca­tion: Employ­ers should encour­age open com­mu­ni­ca­tion between work­ers and man­age­ment regard­ing safe­ty con­cerns. Work­ers should feel com­fort­able report­ing haz­ards or sug­gest­ing improve­ments to safe­ty protocols.

By imple­ment­ing these pre­ven­tive mea­sures and main­tain­ing a strong focus on safe­ty, the risk of acci­dents can be sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduced on con­struc­tion sites. It is cru­cial for employ­ers, super­vi­sors, and work­ers to work togeth­er to pri­or­i­tize safe­ty and cre­ate a secure work­ing environment.

People also ask

  • What are the safety procedures that can prevent construction accidents?

    Work­ers should always fol­low safe­ty pro­ce­dures, such as wear­ing per­son­al pro­tec­tive equip­ment (PPE), using the prop­er tools, and work­ing in a safe man­ner. procedures

  • Can better training help avoid construction accidents?

    Yes. Work­ers should be prop­er­ly trained on how to do their jobs safe­ly. This train­ing should include infor­ma­tion on how to oper­ate machin­ery, how to han­dle haz­ardous mate­ri­als, and how to work in a safe manner.

  • What is the leading cause of death and injury in construction industry?

    Falls are the lead­ing cause of death and injury in con­struc­tion. They can hap­pen from heights, such as lad­ders, scaf­fold­ing, or roofs, or from slips and trips on uneven surfaces.

  • How does Electrocution injury workers in construction industry?

    Elec­tro­cu­tion can hap­pen when work­ers come into con­tact with ener­gized elec­tri­cal wires or equip­ment. It can also hap­pen when work­ers work in wet or damp areas, where there is a risk of elec­tri­cal cur­rent arcing.

  • What is second leading cause of injury or death in construction industry

    Acci­dents involv­ing heavy machin­ery are a major cause of injury and death in con­struc­tion. These acci­dents can hap­pen when work­ers are not prop­er­ly trained on how to oper­ate the machin­ery, or when they are not using the machin­ery safely.

  • How to prevent construction injury from hazardous materials?

    Con­struc­tion work­ers may be exposed to haz­ardous mate­ri­als, such as asbestos, lead, or chem­i­cals. These mate­ri­als can cause health prob­lems, includ­ing can­cer, res­pi­ra­to­ry prob­lems, and skin irri­ta­tion. Prop­er safe­ty mea­sures can pre­vent these injuries.

The Importance of Hiring a Construction Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured in a con­struc­tion acci­dent, it is cru­cial to hire a lawyer who is expe­ri­enced in con­struc­tion acci­dents. A con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyer can help pro­tect your legal rights and ensure that you receive prop­er com­pen­sa­tion for your dam­ages and injuries.

  • Knowl­edge of con­struc­tion indus­try: A con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyer has a deep under­stand­ing of the indus­try and can rec­og­nize the unique haz­ards and reg­u­la­tions that apply to con­struc­tion sites.
  • Nego­ti­a­tion skills: A lawyer can nego­ti­ate with the insur­ance com­pa­ny and employ­ers to ensure that you receive the com­pen­sa­tion you deserve.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tion in court: If nec­es­sary, a lawyer can rep­re­sent you in court and ensure that your case is pre­sent­ed in the best pos­si­ble way.
  • Per­son­al sup­port: A good con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyer will also pro­vide per­son­al sup­port through­out the process, includ­ing emo­tion­al sup­port and guidance.

Hir­ing a lawyer can be a sig­nif­i­cant step in your recov­ery process after a con­struc­tion accident.

Workers’ Compensation vs. Personal Injury Lawsuits

Work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion laws pro­vide ben­e­fits to con­struc­tion work­ers who are injured on the job, regard­less of who was at fault for the acci­dent. How­ev­er, these ben­e­fits are often lim­it­ed and may not ful­ly com­pen­sate you for your dam­ages and injuries.

Per­son­al injury law­suits, on the oth­er hand, allow you to sue the respon­si­ble par­ty for dam­ages, includ­ing pain and suf­fer­ing, lost wages, and med­ical expens­es. How­ev­er, you will need to prove that the par­ty was at fault for the accident.

A con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyer can help you deter­mine the best course of action for your spe­cif­ic situation.

The Statute of Limitations in Construction Accident Cases

The statute of lim­i­ta­tions is the dead­line for fil­ing a law­suit. In con­struc­tion acci­dent cas­es, the statute of lim­i­ta­tions varies from state to state. It is impor­tant to file a law­suit with­in this time­frame to ensure that you do not miss out on com­pen­sa­tion for your dam­ages and injuries.

How to Find the Right Construction Accident Lawyer

Find­ing the right con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyer is essen­tial for ensur­ing the best rep­re­sen­ta­tion for your case.

  • Expe­ri­ence: Look for a lawyer who has expe­ri­ence han­dling con­struc­tion acci­dent cases.
  • Knowl­edge: A good lawyer should have a deep under­stand­ing of the con­struc­tion indus­try and the applic­a­ble safe­ty regulations.
  • Com­mu­ni­ca­tion: Make sure that the lawyer is respon­sive and able to com­mu­ni­cate with you through­out the process.
  • Results: Look for a lawyer who has a track record of suc­cess in con­struc­tion acci­dent cases.

In con­clu­sion, if you have been injured in a con­struc­tion acci­dent, it is cru­cial to seek legal help and get the com­pen­sa­tion you deserve. A con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyer can pro­vide guid­ance and rep­re­sen­ta­tion to help you nav­i­gate the legal sys­tem and receive prop­er com­pen­sa­tion for your dam­ages and injuries.

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Tags: #WorkersCompBenefits

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