Working at a construction site is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. Construction accidents injure or kill thousands of workers every year. These accidents occur when the safety engineers and safety programs that the construction companies are obligated to oversee are either negligent or absent. No matter what the cause or nature of the injury, the worker is entitled to some kind of compensation.
When a construction worker is injured on the job, he or she cannot, in most instances, sue the employer for work-related injuries. A third party, however, can be shown to be liable for negligence when an injury occurs on the job site, but even if the worker is injured due to his or her own carelessness, there is compensation available in most states through the Workers Compensation Act. Benefits such as weekly payments and medical expenses are awarded to an injured worker, but often these are not enough to cover the pain and suffering associated with an on-the-job injury. Weekly payments are based on a percentage of worker's weekly earnings and on the severity of the disability, whether it is a temporary total disability or a permanent partial disability. The medical expenses cover only those treatments deemed necessary and related to the specific work injury.
Certain circumstances can place blame on a third party for job-site injuries. The owners, architects, contractors, and equipment manufacturers all can be liable for insufficient safety measures when an accident occurs. The general contractor and all subcontractors are responsible for providing appropriate safety provisions to ensure that the construction site is reasonably safe. It is their obligation to warn of possible hazards on the site, to hire employees who will use caution while working, to coordinate job safety, and to check that the safety specifications are being followed.
Manufacturers of construction equipment are responsible for designing and maintaining safe products. Defective or dangerous products may be at fault in a construction accident. With all of the equipment used on a construction site, the chance for injury is great, but if the proper safety measures are not employed in production of this equipment, the chance of an injury or a death occurring increases greatly. Manufacturers of this equipment can be found liable when an accident occurs due to one of their products. Equipment used on a construction site includes the following: scaffolding, cranes, power tools, derricks, hoists, conveyors, woodworking tools, ladders, winches, trucks, graters, scrapers, tractors, bulldozers, forklifts, back hoes, heavy equipment, boilers, pressure vessels, gas detectors, and other types of construction equipment.
The Allen L. Rothenberg Law Firm can help you or a loved one who has suffered from an injury due to a construction accident.
Call us at 1-800-624-8888 or submit an InjuryLawyer.com free
online case evaluation. The initial consultation is
FREE of charge, and if we agree to handle your case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. In many cases, a lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a Statute of Limitations. Therefore, please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.
