A construction accident can leave you seriously hurt. When medical bills start to stack up and you lose out on wages because your injury interferes with your job, there are damages you need paid back. Depending on how the accident happened and who was responsible, different insurance policies might cover the accident.
If you were injured by construction or building projects, then the construction firm or property owner should have insurance to cover you. If you were injured while working on the site, then the same might be true, or else you might be covered by Workers’ Compensation. If the accident was someone else’s fault because they crashed into the construction site, their car insurance could cover. Ultimately, there are some other policies that might cover you as well, including – at the very least – your health insurance.
For help with an injury case, call the Philadelphia construction accident lawyers at The Reiff Law Firm right away at (215) 709-6940.
Construction Firm’s Insurance
The construction firm’s insurance might cover your accident if they were the one who caused it and you were not working for them at the time. When it comes to work injuries, there are special rules discussed below. However, anyone else who gets injured by a construction site should be able to make a claim – through insurance or in a lawsuit – against the company operating the construction site.
Construction firms are usually well insured, knowing that accidents can happen. Our Pennsylvania construction accident lawyers can seek out damages from their policies if you were hit by falling debris, if scaffolding collapsed on you while you were walking down the sidewalk, or if something more catastrophic like an explosion or fire injured you.
Property Owner’s Insurance
When construction firms start work on renovations or other jobs aside from new construction, the owner of the property might already have insurance that covers accidents on their property. Instead of the contractors and construction companies being responsible for some accidents, it might actually be on the homeowner or property owner to reimburse you through their insurance.
Employer’s Insurance
If your construction accident was a work-related injury – i.e., you were injured while working on the construction site – then Workers’ Compensation might cover you. All employers in Pennsylvania are required to carry this insurance, which allows you to get coverage for your injuries without even having to prove that the accident was your employer’s fault. In fact, you can even get coverage if you caused the accident and it truly was an accident. However, this insurance has some problems and does not apply to everyone.
First, you have to be an employee to get coverage. If you were an independent contractor, then you likely would not be covered unless your employer made a mistake in classifying you as a contractor. This is common in construction, as the job “contractor” is not the same as the legal classification of “independent contractor.” If your employer failed to cover you or if you were an independent contractor, you may be able to sue for injuries instead.
In these insurance claims, you can only claim 2/3 of lost wages and no compensation for pain and suffering, which can limit your damages. Because of this, it might be worth exploring other insurance policies and defendants who might be able to pay you full damages, and our attorneys can help you with that.
Car Insurance
If you were working on a roadside crew and a driver crashed their car into you, then you should be entitled to file a claim against their auto insurance for that crash. Just like with any other pedestrian accident, the driver who caused the crash is usually responsible, and their auto insurance’s liability coverage can be used to cover the injuries they caused.
Other Companies’ Liability Insurance
If the construction accident was caused by an outside third party, they may have insurance to cover what happened as well. A common way this happens is when the accident is caused by a defective product. This could involve defective safety equipment, a power tool with a faulty emergency stop, or even a defective chain supporting a wrecking ball. The companies that produce these items have insurance to cover their business’ faults, potentially including your construction accident.
Your Health Insurance
Our lawyers seek to get other parties – the parties that caused the accidents in the first place – to pay for our clients’ damages. However, in the meantime, you might still need treatment. It can often be in your best interest to use your health insurance when you go to the hospital to get treatment for your injuries, as this could help you in three ways.
First, your insurance will have discounts for the services, lowering the cost. Second, you will end up paying only certain percentages or copays for the services, leading to lower expenses out of pocket that you need to get reimbursed later. Third, this might help you reach your out-of-pocket maximum for the year, potentially reducing what you pay for other medical care.
If you later seek to get these bills reimbursed, you will also often have done anything you need to do on your end to “mitigate damages” by applying discounts and keeping them from getting worse over time. Getting medical care in the first place also helps mitigate damages, as your injuries would probably be more expensive to treat if you waited and your injuries got worse.
Keep in mind, however, that there are some situations where you might not want to pay with your own insurance at all. For example, Workers’ Compensation and auto insurance are usually billed straight to the insurance company, meaning that you shouldn’t usually use your health insurance.
Call Our Lawyers for Help with a Pennsylvania Construction Accident
For a free case review, call (215) 709-6940 today to speak with the Philadelphia personal injury lawyers at The Reiff Law Firm.
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