Construction Accidents
Construction sites are dangerous by nature because of the work and materials involved. Accidents are unfortunately far too common, leading to many often serious injuries. Even though accidents may frequently occur on constructions sites, workers don’t deserve to suffer because of their jobs, and bystanders should never suffer because of others’ wrongdoings. Construction work needs to be done, but construction accident attorneys don’t believe that it should be done at the cost of the innocent people’s wellbeing.
Depending on the circumstances, it may even be difficult to determine who was at fault causing the injuries you suffered, and what type of attorney you may need for being fully compensated for all your losses. Construction accidents may happen during working hours on the job. In such a case, you may need to hire a workers’ compensation or a personal injury lawyer, or both. Alternatively, you could be an independent contractor who was working at construction on a contractual basis. If that’s the case, you may always file personal injury lawsuit against all liable parties. In another scenario, you could be a bystander, passerby, or pedestrian near a construction site, or merely a passenger of a car driving near a road construction zone. Here, you may consider hiring an attorney for claiming full compensation not only from the construction company and its employees, but probably from the city, county, or other government entities responsible for your losses. Finally, you me be a victim of a defective product or equipment used at construction. In this case, you may have valid claims against the manufacturer of the defective product, among other potential defendants.
Whether it is a road, building, or another constructions site, many parties can be involved in a single construction accident, such as contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, property owners, project managers, and the workers themselves, and even third-party defendants who were somehow responsible for the injuries you suffered.
Most construction sites try to keep people who are not involved off the site because sometimes bystanders are injured too. Depending on the facts of your particular matter, you may sue all liable parties under the theories of negligence, premises liability, vicarious liability (under which construction companies may be liable for acts of their employees) and product liability.
What Causes Construction Accidents?
The most serious construction accidents, accounting for more than half of construction site fatalities, tend to be caused by the same four hazards:
1. Falls are the biggest overall danger and can cause bruising, broken bones, head injuries, and fatalities. Workers may fall from ladders, scaffolding, roofs, and other structures.
2. The next most common kind of serious accident is caused by objects falling and hitting people. All site visitors should wear a hard hat, but even when they are careful, people can be seriously injured when something heavy falls on them. Unsecured objects can fall and strike an individual, causing brain or spinal injury.
3. Electrocutions account for almost 10% of the most serious injuries. Workers may be exposed to open or faulty wiring, leading to burns, heart damage, cell damage, or death.
4. Finally, many workers are seriously injured when they are caught in between equipment or objects, or when they are crushed in excavations or in a collapsing structure. These kinds of accidents can lead to broken bones, amputation, and death.
Additional acts or omissions contributing to construction site injuries may include improper head protection, inadequate fall or electrical safety conditions, or even an incorrect hazard communication. If these hazards could be eliminated, many people would avoid severe injuries and many lives would be saved. It is the duty of those in charge to make the worksite as safe as possible for every visitor. Even with various state and federal regulations, OSHA still issues many citations for violations such as failing to provide fall or respiratory protection and failure to provide the proper safety training to all workers.
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Who Is At Fault?
There are several parties who may bear all or part of the blame, including but not limited to the following individuals and/or companies:
- The site owner or occupier should have control of the property and may be liable if there is a dangerous situation.
- One of the duties of general contractors is to make sure the worksite is safe, and they may share responsibility with those they bring in as subcontractors.
- Construction site managers and foremen are charged with directly overseeing the work and preventing accidents where possible.
- Engineers and architects may be responsible for producing faulty, dangerous designs.
- Construction companies and all their employees should make sure construction sites are safe for everyone.
- The manufacturers of equipment and material are responsible for providing safe products and can be sued directly under the theory of strict liability when their products cause accidents. Examples of defective products in construction accidents can be saws or other cutting tools without appropriate protection, defective scaffolding or ladders, faulty heavy machinery or machinery without proper safety warnings, electrical machines and equipment that cause electrocution or electric shocks, leaking machines that cause fire, burns, explosions, toxics, chemicals or other hazardous materials.
- Insurance companies may ultimately be the ones who pay for your damages on behalf of liable parties.
If you or your loved ones were involved in a construction accident, you may be entitled for both economic and non-economic damages available for compensating for all the losses you or your family member had suffered, and even for punitive damages if your case involved gross or extreme recklessness, malice, fraud, oppression, or intentional activities.
How Do You Know Whether You Should Contact a Construction Accident Attorney?
If you were in the course and scope of employment when the construction accident happened, workers’ compensation may not pay for all of your claims, especially if you need ongoing care. There are limits to how much you can get for a workers’ compensation claim and there will likely be pressure on you to settle the claim and move on. While they may act as though they support you, your employer, the insurance company, and even OSHA don’t really have your interests in mind. If you were injured as a bystander at a constructions site, while you were not employed by that construction company, you definitely need to talk to a personal injury attorney to evaluate your claims against all individuals and companies responsible for your injuries.
A California Construction Accident Attorney can also help you determine if a third party was responsible for your injuries. If you have any questions about your case or just want some general advice, contact Legal Passkey so we can help match you with a knowledgeable, compassionate lawyer for a free consultation.
