Construction Worker Injuries and Your Legal Options
Were You Recently Injured in a Construction Accident? Let Us Evaluate Your Case
You work hard. You are dedicated to your job and your colleagues. As a construction worker, there are specific rules and regulations you must follow. To keep yourself and others safe, you must maintain situational awareness, follow established protocols, and wear the appropriate personal protective equipment. These are things that are under your control.
The company you work for also has a part to play in ensuring your safety. They must do all that they can to assess risk at the site and minimize it. If they do not, and you are sent into a hazardous situation or not given the instructions or equipment you need to protect yourself, it can lead to a construction accident.
If you have been injured on the job and you believe your employer is at fault, then you should hold them accountable. The best way to do so is to hire a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles. A lawyer will be on your side and will work to preserve your rights and pursue your interests.
Making a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Construction sites are filled with danger. As a worker, you must work with heavy machinery. You must also work on scaffolding or trenches in the ground. But companies know how to make such sites reasonably safe. It is right for you to expect your employers to mitigate the risk of accident and injury.
If you have been injured on the job, you are most likely eligible for workers’ compensation. To qualify for such benefits, you must prove that you were injured and that the injury occurred while you were working.
Workers’ comp benefits tend to include payment for:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Partial or permanent disability
When to File a Lawsuit
In addition to your workers’ compensation, you can bring a claim for damages against others that may be responsible for your injury. If subcontractors and vendors are also at the site, and they have taken action or failed to act on a hazard that led to your injury, then you can sue them. You can also sue architects, engineers, and suppliers who may not be on the construction site but whose design or delivery process contributed to the series of events that led to your accident.
There is no one size fits all approach for negligence. A variety of situations could arise on a construction site, including:
- Falling from a defective scaffolding
- Being run over by a reckless trolley or truck driver
- Suffering a fall because of faulty safety equipment
- Suffering electric shocks from defective equipment
- Exposure to toxic chemical leaks
- Injury from a trench that collapsed because of improper construction
You can also file a suit if you have been injured by a product defect in the construction tool you used. If you followed the instructions on how to use the equipment and it failed, leading to your injury, your attorney can help you build a case against the manufacturer.
In this instance, you would bring a product liability suit. The respondent could be anyone involved with the item production —from the designer to the manufacturer and supplier of its parts. No matter how far removed the persons and entities may be from the construction site, they can still be held accountable for your injury if their action or inaction played a part in your injury.
To win a product liability suit, you must demonstrate the following:
- The piece of equipment that caused your injury was inherently dangerous
- You used the tool according to the instructions
- The tool had a defect that led to your injury
Building Your Case for Compensation
If you have been badly injured and believe that you are entitled to money beyond your workers’ comp claim, seek advice from a severe injury attorney. To win a lawsuit, you must prove that you have been injured, that it was caused by a person or entity that acted in a reckless manner, the person or entity had a duty of care and failed to fulfill it, and that you are owed a certain amount of money.
The first thing your lawyer will do is investigate the circumstances that led to the accident. They will not simply rely on the police and insurance company report. They will employ private investigation professionals to go to the scene of the accident. The investigators will consult with experts and assess the possible hazards that could have led to your injury.
They will also speak to work colleagues for insight into whether the site was run properly. Supervisors and foremen who are alerted of dangers are liable for the construction crew’s safety. If they are considered unreliable, someone will want to speak about it. The public safety record of the company will also be reviewed. Any past citations and lawsuits over safety will be dug up and used to strengthen your case.
In the case of product liability, your occupational accident lawyer in Los Angeles will speak to independent manufacturers, designers, and product engineers. These professionals will assess how the item was designed and produced and give insight into what may have gone wrong.
Your legal counsel will also consult with medical experts. They will get testimony and statements from these professionals about the nature and extent of your injuries. They will also get documents that speak to your prospects for recovery.
The lawsuit you file need not go to court. The company or person you sue will probably want to settle out of it. Given your current physical state, lawyers will do their best not to drag you through such a process. They will use the evidence they gather to pressure the respondent into offering a fair and adequate statement. The most skilled legal professionals know how to get a settlement that is commensurate with what their clients have suffered. Call our trusted work dispute attorneys today!