California Construction Accident Lawyer
Everyone in the construction industry should be familiar with the serious risk of accidents and injuries while on the job.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has an entire set of regulations regarding construction work and a separate webpage dedicated to construction safety tips and risks.
Despite all of these safety efforts, thousands of construction workers are injured in accidents every year in the United States. Like any type of workplace injury, injured construction workers have important legal rights that should be protected following an accident.
At Injury Justice Law Firm LLP, we provide legal advice and representation to victims of construction accidents to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve for your medical bills and other losses.
If you have sustained an injury, call a Los Angeles personal injury attorney at our office to discuss how we can help you today.
Common Types of Construction Accidents
Injuries from construction accidents can result from a wide variety of reasons, including falling objects, explosions, safety violations, electrical accidents, crane accidents, vehicle accidents and falls from heights.
Depending on the cause of your accident, and depending on whether any laws were violated or negligence occurred, you may be entitled to more than just compensation for the medical bills, including compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and future rehabilitation.
Construction sites for residential construction, road work, bridge erections, demolitions, building repairs, and more are inherently hazardous places. Sites have structures in various stages of completion, unstable ground, and heavy machinery and materials everywhere you turn. While a wide variety of construction accidents can happen and cause injuries, the following are some of the most common:
- Falls – Many types of construction work involve working from heights such as from scaffolding, cranes, ladders, or roofs. OSHA reports that failure to provide proper fall protection for workers is the number one cited safety violation in the construction industry. Falls from any height can cause severe traumatic injuries, including broken or shattered bones, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injuries.
- Trench accidents – Many construction projects involve digging large holes or trenches for foundations or excavation purposes. The ground around such trenches is often unstable and the slightest mishap can cause the trench to cave in. If a construction worker is inside the trench at the time of a collapse, they can not only suffer traumatic injuries but also oxygen deprivation or even death from suffocation.
- Getting hit by objects – Construction sites have many moving parts and constant materials and tools are being used and moved around. If moving vehicles or building materials crash into a worker, they can suffer serious injuries and may even become trapped or crushed in between objects. In addition, tools and other objects can fall from scaffolding or higher locations where people are working and can land on top of a worker below. This can often result in serious head trauma and brain injury.
- Electrocutions – In construction, there are often electrical systems that are in various stages of completion. Unfinished or ungrounded electrical systems significantly increase the risk of someone getting electrocuted. Electrocution effects can range from unpleasant sensations of getting shocked to serious burns and disruption of bodily functions throughout the entire body. Often, electrocutions can be fatal.
- Equipment defects – Power tools, non-powered tools, heavy machinery, and safety equipment all have the potential to be defectively manufactured just like any other type of product. When equipment malfunctions, there is a serious risk of injury to construction workers.
Who is Liable for Your Construction Accident?
Construction accidents can cause victims to incur substantial medical bills, as well as miss work for an extended period while they heal, resulting in lost income. Accident victims need to identify all possible methods of financial recovery for these losses and more.
First, many construction injuries will be covered under an employer's workers' compensation insurance.
These claims can be complicated in the case of serious injuries and it is important to have the assistance of an attorney who knows how to ensure you are receiving the full amount of benefits you deserve for medical expenses, lost income, and any lasting disabilities.
In other cases, a third party may also be liable for your injuries, including equipment manufacturers or independent contractors on site. In such situations, our personal injury law firm will identify these parties and help you seek the compensation you deserve through the insurance process or by filing a personal injury claim.
Advocates For Injured Construction Workers
When an injury occurs at a construction site, most people assume that their options are limited to the workers' compensation scheme. Oftentimes, that is not the case. In the construction business, there are numerous different companies and sub-contractors involved and present at the site at any given time.
Chances are, there is a third party, not the employer, responsible for the victim's injuries. In that case, it is perfectly acceptable for the injured person to pursue recovery under both schemes: the workers' compensation and the third-party liability claim.
Our firm has a reliable team of experts, from medical experts to accident reconstruction experts, professional engineers, and vocational experts, ready to investigate your case. These experts will talk to witnesses, examine the scene of the accident, review reports, and conduct any investigation necessary. We have already helped clients recover millions of dollars in settlements.
No matter how your construction accident occurred, you deserve to have your legal rights to financial recovery fully protected. We regularly represent clients injured in all types of construction accidents. We will always thoroughly evaluate your situation and advise you of all possible legal options to seek compensation.
In construction accidents, evidence may become lost or destroyed over time. Witnesses forget the details and become unavailable. Insurance companies will do their best to pressure, scare or intimidate you into accepting a lower settlement than you might be entitled to.
Call our office immediately at 310-734-7974 for a case assessment and intervention so that our lawyers can protect your rights and ensure the maximum possible recovery for you and your family.