Construction jobs are known for being physically demanding and dangerous. Accidents can happen if construction sites are not kept safe, and injuries might be severe.
Construction accidents may vary based on the kind of work being performed, the tools involved, and the general nature of the job. Some common accidents include falls, caught-betweens, defective equipment, and hazards or unsafe conditions. When suing for damages, it is important to determine who should be held liable and what kind of damages you can claim. Liability is often complicated, as there might be numerous parties to blame for an accident. Evidence for your case might involve physical evidence, security camera videos, and witness testimony.
Our construction accident and injury lawyers are here to help you get compensation for your injuries. For a free review of your case, contact The Reiff Law Firm. Call our offices at (215) 709-6940.
How Construction Accidents and Injuries Can Happen in Pennsylvania
Some of the most common accidents on construction sites are falls. Workers on top of ladders, scaffolding, roofs, or other high places might fall and be severely injured. If the ladder, scaffolding, or other equipment keeping you aloft was defective or other unsafe conditions caused the fall, you might have a lawsuit on your hands.
Caught-betweens are another common construction site accident that refers to various crushing accidents. For example, if caught between a wall and a forklift, you could be crushed and badly hurt. Our construction accident and injury lawyers can help you determine if someone should be held responsible for your injuries.
Many accidents are caused by defective equipment or machinery. Power tools, heavy machinery, and various pieces of electrical or mechanical equipment are common on construction sites. If any of these tools or equipment are defective or faulty, they could injure the worker trying to use them.
Although construction sites are usually considered dangerous places, they should be safe enough for workers to do their jobs. Unsafe conditions that workers are not warned about can cause serious accidents and injuries. For example, a worker on top of a roof needs to know if water damage has made the roof unstable in certain places. If they are not warned, or the roof is not fixed before work commences, the worker could fall through and be injured.
Why Hire a Pennsylvania Construction Accident Attorney?
Contractors and construction firms know that construction workers will be injured, and they often have insurance policies and potentially even legal advisors in place to deal with these issues when they arise. On the other side, you might have union reps or managers you can turn to, but there is no one on your side who has a legal obligation to keep your best interests in mind and an ethical obligation to advise you of your options. That’s where our attorneys come in.
In a construction accident, no one will be on your side. Your union representatives might try to get dangers and potential problems resolved so no one else gets hurt, but they simply do not have the power to stand up for you in court or to fight for your damages like our attorneys can.
When the other side – the construction firms and contractors you might be suing in your case – have their own lawyers, you need one, too. Their attorneys will work all kinds of legal levers to slow down or stall your case, and they might even send you letters that feel threatening or pressure you to turn away from what they will tell you is a weak case. Our attorneys have an ethical and legal obligation to represent you, and we can second-guess their determinations, analyze your case independently, and when we find grounds to pursue a claim, we can aggressively pursue your claim before insurance companies and courts to get you the damages you deserve.
Never succumb to pressure from your boss or legal letters trying to turn you away from a lawsuit; always speak with a lawyer to help understand whether you have a case, what your case should be worth, what your options are, what your chances of success might be, and what steps you should take next. Once those decisions are made, we can fight the case for you, using our experience and skills to your advantage.
Suing for Damages After a Construction Accident in Pennsylvania
After a construction accident, you can speak with our construction accident and injury lawyers about filing a lawsuit for damages. Numerous facets of a lawsuit must be dealt with, and two of the most important facets are whom to sue and the damages to claim.
Ability to Sue
In Pennsylvania, work injuries are usually governed by Workers’ Compensation rules. These insurance rules make it so that there is typically an insurance policy available to cover injured employees, but they also cut off the right to sue an employer for your injuries at work. This extends to construction accidents, but the limitations might not apply to every construction accident case.
First, these rules only apply to employees. Many workers on construction sites are employees of some other contractor or construction firm, in which case they cannot sue their employer for their injuries. These rules do not constrict independent contractors, which include many general contractors and subcontractors. These insurance rules do not take away their right to sue clients or property owners whose unsafe conditions or negligent actions cause their injuries.
Second, liability makes a difference in who you would sue, meaning you might not have a case against your employer in the first place. You sue whoever caused your injuries, meaning other parties, like the subcontractors, property owners, and third parties discussed below, might be liable for your accident.
It is important to have a construction accident and injury lawyer analyze your case and determine whether or not you have the right to sue. Our attorneys can see if you are being properly classified as an independent contractor and help you preserve your right to sue or else take action against other parties to help keep your access to a lawsuit open.
In some cases, you might actually file an insurance claim and then later take your case to court. Our lawyers can help deal with the court side of things, advising you on how the insurance claim might affect your ability to sue and what damages you might get from the lawsuit.
Liability
Liability is a complex issue in construction accident cases because numerous parties might be responsible. Depending on the circumstances, an injured worker might sue general contractors, subcontractors, or property owners. Not only that, but injured general contractors and subcontractors might also be injured and be able to sue. Your accident might have even been caused by some third party altogether.
General contractors are often hired directly by property owners and oversee the construction project on a larger scale. General contractors often need to hire numerous subcontractors to perform more specific jobs on the construction project. An injured subcontractor might sue the general contractor who hired them after an accident.
Alternatively, an injured worker might have been hired by a subcontractor. In that case, the subcontractor might be the one to hold liable in a lawsuit. A significant determining factor is who had control over the job. When general contractors hire subcontractors, the subcontractors often control how and when they do their jobs, and general contractors have little say in the matter. In such cases, subcontractors can be sued. However, if the general contractor retained control over the job, you might sue them instead.
Suppose there are unsafe conditions or hazards on the property that the property owner failed to repair or remove before construction commenced. In that case, injured workers can sue for injured related to those unsafe conditions. Also, property owners sometimes like to have control over the construction project and might supervise your work. In such cases, they can be sued for accidents and injuries.
Other accidents can be caused by dangerous drivers, negligent equipment manufacturers, dangerous vendors/suppliers who cause accidents, and other parties outside your chain of employment. These parties can be held directly liable for the injuries they cause in many cases.
Damages
Damages represent the losses and injuries you experienced because of the construction accident. Often, damages are measured in money and compensation, although many are subjective and might not necessarily come at a financial cost. Our lawyers can help you calculate damages and maximize compensation.
Economic damages are often measured in dollar amounts. Medical costs are usually one of the biggest factors in economic damages calculations, especially if injuries are severe and require long-term care. You can also claim the value of lost wages if you cannot return to work.
Non-economic damages are subjective experiences that often do not have a set economic value demonstrated through bills and receipts. We often discuss these damages generally as “pain and suffering” damages. Physical and emotional pain and suffering can be huge factors in a construction accident case, and they deserve considerable compensation. Other examples of non-economic damages might include harm to your reputation or humiliation from the accident.
Keep in mind that if you do file an insurance claim with your employer and then seek out a lawsuit against a third party, you cannot get compensated for the same damages twice. Insurance might be available to cover your medical bills and 2/3 of your lost wages, but the rest of your lost wages plus non-economic/pain and suffering damages have to be claimed through a lawsuit. When you file both types of claims, the insurance carrier might try to claim back the portion of your damages they already paid you, while you should be entitled to keep the rest. However, you should speak with our lawyers first before taking any other legal action to ensure that we have the chance to maximize your damages, cut down on these “subrogation claims,” and see that your damages are primarily compensated by the at-fault parties.
Evidence to Support Your Claims in a Pennsylvania Construction Accident Case
Evidence is vital to any lawsuit, but it is sometimes hard to come by. Physical evidence from the accident may be extremely helpful. For example, if you were injured by a defective tool, we need to obtain that tool to present to a jury and demonstrate how it is defective.
Many construction projects, especially construction projects on commercial buildings, are monitored by security cameras. Often, these cameras record accidents and may shed light on how you were injured and who was responsible. It is important to act quickly when obtaining this footage, as the videos might easily be deleted.
Even if physical and other evidence is in short supply, our construction accident and injury attorneys can build a strong case based on witness testimony. Often, construction accidents are witnessed by numerous other workers on the construction site. These workers can testify about what they saw, and we can use their testimony to prove that the defendant should be held liable.
Common Construction Accidents and Injuries in Pennsylvania
Our lawyers see all kinds of injury cases, with many different types of injuries and many different causes. Some of the most serious construction cases involve falls from scaffolding, ladders, trucks, and other equipment, potentially leaving victims with traumatic brain injuries, back injuries, spinal cord injuries, and broken bones. Crane accidents and accidents involving backhoes, bulldozers, forklifts, and other equipment can also lead to serious injuries, as can other vehicle accidents, including simple things like auto accidents involving highway construction crews.
No case is too small or too serious for help from our lawyers. As long as you faced medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering from an accident at a construction site, our lawyers can help you whether you faced serious cuts, burns, electrocution injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, amputation, head injuries, and more. We can even help families with wrongful death lawsuits if a loved one was killed working on a construction site.
Our Pennsylvania Construction Accident Lawyers Can Help
Construction jobs might be risker than the average occupation, but workers should not have to endure serious accidents and injuries. Our construction accident and injury lawyers can help you get compensation. Call The Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940 for a free case review.
