Construction Accident Injury Lawsuit
As a victim of a construction site accident, you have the right to seek justice. Filing a personal injury lawsuit against the individuals or companies responsible for the accident can provide you with the compensation you deserve.
This includes coverage for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of future income. However, navigating the legal process can be complex, underscoring the importance of seeking professional legal representation.
If someone is killed in a construction accident, the surviving family can file a wrongful death lawsuit against those responsible. When a construction accident happens on the job, workers' compensation should cover some medical expenses and lost income.
Despite stringent safety standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), construction sites are still among the most hazardous workplaces for injuries, often presenting numerous risks for workers, bystanders, and even passersby.
If you've been injured in a construction accident, you may be facing significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges. These incidents often result from someone's negligence—be it a lack of proper training, defective equipment, or unsafe working conditions.
California law clearly holds negligent parties accountable for their actions, but determining fault and obtaining compensation can be a complicated process. We are here to guide you through it.
Whether you're a worker injured on the job or someone harmed near a construction site, we are committed to protecting your rights and helping you get the full compensation you deserve. Despite all of the safety efforts, thousands of construction workers are injured in accidents every year in the United States.
Following a construction accident, it's crucial to protect your legal rights. Injured construction workers have important rights that should be upheld, and this underscores the need for professional legal representation. At Injury Justice Law Firm LLP, our experienced legal team is dedicated to providing expert advice and representation to victims of construction accidents.
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. Understanding these risks is crucial for construction workers, highlighting the need for legal protection in case of an accident.
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 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 materials and tools are constantly 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 between objects.
- Falling Object—Tools, materials, or debris falling from above can cause severe injuries. This is often due to unsecured items or lack of oversight. In addition, other objects can fall from scaffolding or higher locations where people are working and land on top of a worker below. This can often result in serious head trauma and brain injury.
- Electrocutions—Electrical systems in construction are often 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.
- Heavy Machinery Accidents—Cranes, forklifts, and other machinery are dangerous if not used or maintained properly. Malfunctions or misuse often lead to serious injuries or deaths.
- Slips and Trips—Uneven terrain, open holes, or misplaced equipment on construction sites often cause falls and injuries.
Common Injuries in Construction Accidents
The injuries that occur on construction sites can range in severity, but they are often catastrophic. These injuries not only hinder someone's ability to work but can permanently alter their quality of life. Below are some of the most common injuries sustained in construction-related accidents:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Workers struck by falling objects or involved in falls from heights often suffer severe head trauma, which can result in long-term cognitive impairments or coma.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Falls, equipment accidents, or structure collapses can cause damage to the spinal cord, potentially leading to partial or complete paralysis.
- Broken Bones: Construction accidents frequently result in fractures or multiple broken bones, especially in falls or incidents involving heavy machinery.
- Burns: Fires, electrical accidents, or chemical spills on construction sites can cause significant burn injuries, which can lead to infection, nerve damage, or permanent scarring.
- Amputations: When heavy machinery malfunctions or accidents occur near sharp tools, workers can suffer partial or complete loss of limbs.
Determining Liability
Establishing liability in construction accidents can be complicated, as multiple parties may hold responsibility. Additionally, the process for obtaining compensation is different for construction employees than for non-employees and site visitors.
Visitors, Passersby and Non-Employees
For non-employees who are injured on the construction site, determining liability and filing claims is reasonably straightforward, following a path similar to basic premises liability. Liability in these cases often falls on the construction company, property owner, or contractors who failed to practice duty of care and maintain a safe environment.
Construction Workers
For construction workers, most injuries on the job are covered by workers' compensation insurance. California law requires employers to provide this insurance, which helps cover medical bills, partial lost wages, and rehabilitation expenses.
Workers' compensation ensures that employees can receive benefits without proving employer negligence. However, it also means that workers cannot typically sue their employer directly except in cases of extreme negligence or intentional harm. When third parties are involved, the legal landscape changes.
For instance, if a worker is injured due to defective equipment, the manufacturer of that equipment could be held liable through a product liability claim. Similarly, site owners, contractors, or subcontractors may be held responsible if they fail to adhere to safety protocols. Key factors in determining liability include:
- Identifying whether workers' compensation covers the scenario,
- Evaluating whether a third party's negligence contributed to the incident,
- Gathering evidence, such as photographs, witness statements, and documentation of safety violations.
Because of the complexities involved in filing claims in construction accidents, your best hope of obtaining fair compensation is to hire a California personal injury attorney with specific experience in these scenarios.
At the Injury Justice Law Firms, we have abundant experience helping construction accident victims navigate complicated cases to help them obtain the full amount of compensation provided by law.
Legal 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. Often, that is not the case. In the construction business, numerous different companies and subcontractors are involved and present at the site at any given time.
Chances are, a third party, not the employer, is responsible for the victim's injuries. In that case, it is perfectly acceptable for the injured person to pursue recovery under both schemes: 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 interview witnesses, examine the scene of the accident, review reports, and conduct any necessary investigation. No matter how your construction accident occurred, you deserve to have your legal rights to financial recovery fully protected.
We 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, with the goal of securing the maximum possible recovery for you.
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.
Time is of the essence in construction accident cases, and our lawyers are ready to protect your rights and ensure the maximum possible recovery for you and your family. For more information, contact the Injury Justice Law Firm based in Los Angeles, CA.
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