A serious construction site accident creates both immediate and long-term barriers. Most construction and workplace accidents are usually caused by contractors not following basic safety rules. They are easily preventable. And when this happens, serious injuries will occur, including a series of physical and psychological trauma and psychiatric conditions.
If all this is happening to you, rest assured, it’s not your fault. If you’ve had an accident at work, there are many ways to recover. Not all injuries result in a case. To be sure, you should consult the best construction accident lawyer possible.
Who is Construction Accident Lawyer and What Skills Concern Him?
Receiving construction accident compensation can be very complicated. This is because some employers may get in the way of workers’ compensation and minimize the benefits payable. Here comes a lawyer experienced in such situations. An experienced accident lawyer of a construction site can help ensure that your application for workers’ compensation is appropriately filed. He will try to resolve and any disagreements with the employer.
He can help you in many ways. For example:
- Retirement for Accidental Disability: It occurs if the insured is the victim of a total and definitive incapacity for any kind of work.
- Accident Illness Allowance: The employee whose accident results in a temporary incapacity for more than 15 (fifteen) days is entitled to the benefit. The benefit is valid until the medical expertise attests to the ability to return to work.
- Accident Assistance: In this type of assistance, the worker returns to his professional activity but receives the benefit. It can reach up to 50% of what the company pays him.
- Pension for Death by Accident at the construction site: When a death occurs due to an accident, the benefit is paid to the employee’s dependents.
Common Causes of Construction Site Accidents
Finding the precise reason for a construction accident is important if you’re engaged in one. Knowing the actual cause will help your claim, as well as make future construction sites safer for everyone. Even worse, we discovered that the facility had been careless and had not followed the right safety protocols. Your argument will be considerably stronger in this situation.
Some examples include:
- Lack of fall protection for employees working on high constructions
- Any person on the ground has no protection from falling objects, and
- There are tripping dangers from construction materials and waste
- Power tools without guards or without sufficient safety precautions
faulty construction machinery - When working near electricity lines, workers don’t take critical safety precautions
- Working in tunnels without sufficient protection
- Other dangerous property conditions
- Chronic Pain Syndrome Causes
- Accidents that could result in torn ligaments
Types of Construction Accidents Lawyers Handle
Most construction zones are busy places. They usually contain specialized people carrying out different activities that require their specific knowledge, sometimes in large pieces of machinery.
Accidents often happen because of negligence. It can be because of the employee, the company, or the particular circumstances at the time. Some of the more common construction accidents are, but are not limited to:
- Bad danger signs
- Heatstroke or overexertion
- Exposure to toxic chemicals
- Burn wounds
- The collapse of a trench
- Structure collapse
- Crush accidents
- Welding accidents
- Excavator accidents
- Crane accidents
- Forklift accidents
- Scaffold accidents
- Power tool accidents
- Fires and explosions
- Electrocution
- Heavy machinery collisions
- Vehicle accident
- The tool with bugs and defects
- Lack of maintenance to machinery and equipment
- Falling objects
- Falls from Roofs, Ladders, and Scaffolds
- Lead poisoning
- Repetitive motion injuries (carpal tunnel syndrome)
- Respiratory diseases
There may be other people responsible for the accident besides the employee or their employer. Some other persons or entities that may be found liable are construction site owners, architects, manufacturers, construction managers, and other third parties.
Why do You Need a Construction Accident Lawyer?
Like we said before, an accident, in any form, is stressful- both mentally and physically. In such difficult times, it is impossible to get proper compensation all by ourselves. The insurance company and the employer will try to minimize the benefits you deserve. A work injury lawyer can guide you and make sure that you get the best.
Another important reason to contact a lawyer is to complete a private investigation into the accident. The lawyer will evaluate how the accident happened, what caused it, will preserve the evidence found. He will be able to identify the responsible entity. Suppose your case involves negligence by a third party. In that case, your attorney may be able to help you obtain compensation for it as well. In these cases, your lawyer should contact the insurers on your behalf.
Read Also: What does it take to have a Personal Injury Lawyer in Edmonton?
What is the Approximate Compensation You are Entitled to?
It is not easy to say the exact amount you may receive for the injuries you sustained. Compensations vary depending on the type of injury, circumstances in which the accident happened. And only a construction accident attorney with his team of investigators can give you an idea of what to expect.
In compensation, it is asked to cover:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages (past and future)
- Pain and suffering (for the approximate time the wounds may last)
- Loss of companionship (claimed by the family in case the victim dies)
- Lost earnings (especially if the victim was the breadwinner for the home)
- Therapy to deal with emotional stress.
What to do After Being Involved in a Construction Accident?
The first thing you should do is get immediate medical help. Your employer should have a list of doctors who can treat their employees under workers’ compensation. But your immediate care can be for anyone.
Go to a hospital even if you think you haven’t been injured, as some severe injuries can cause late symptoms. Waiting too long before receiving medical care can result in questioning how serious your injuries are.
Make sure to report your accident and injury to your employer as soon as possible. Gather evidence. If you know that the material or work equipment is in poor condition, it is best to take photos of it and report it to the superior. Take pictures of the injury. Gather witness evidence. These will be needed when the insurance company asks.
Finally, hire a construction accident attorney before speaking with any insurer.
Final Words
Accidents don’t come noticing beforehand. It comes suddenly and can cause damages beyond imagination. While being prepared and taking precautions is the best chance, thinking ahead may save your life and losses. If you are in any kind of accident while working, contact a construction accident lawyer in injury lawyer Edmonton. It will save you a lot of trouble and ensure to make the best of the situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I seek legal help after a construction accident?
Any accident causing injury or loss must need legal intervention. Construction accident is not excluded from the list. Unlike normal other accident cases, construction accidents are quite complex. Moreover, it’s not unexpected that the other party never wants to compensate you easily. So, as a victim, you must seek legal help for your compensation.
Is it worth getting a construction injury lawyer?
Yes. A construction injury lawyer will reduce your stress and hassles. It’s common sense that they know more than you about legal paperwork. Besides, a lawyer knows that how much you can get from a case. Thus, you can recover your expenses and losses due to the accident with the help of your lawyer. You can’t always decide what to do and what not to. Better get help from the right person.
What do you do after a construction accident?
At first, if you are injured, take the treatment as soon as possible. Don’t delay – immediately inform your employer. It will be wise if you can gather information and evidence. That will help you know that what caused the accident. Also, you can use them as evidence. Finally, get a good lawyer and try to provide information as detail as possible. The lawyer will do the rest for you.
Why do construction accidents happen?
Construction accident is not an unusual event. Because there are many reasons, and all of them are recurring in nature. Defects in equipment, slip and fall, electric shock, workplace noise, falling from a height, even vehicle accidents, etc., impel a construction accident. Sometimes these events take place solely. Sometimes more than one event occurs simultaneously.
