Legal Remedies for a Construction Worker Injured at Work

Legal Remedies for a Construction Worker Injured at Work

Construction jobs are precarious by nature and can be quite dangerous. From working in underground trenches to working on heights. The job entails the use of potentially hazardous equipment and tools. Irrespective of the danger zone that it is, you still have a right as any other worker to expect that your working station is reasonably safe.

You have a right to expect that you operate in a work environment equipped with protection from all possible risks and injuries. If you have suffered a work-related injury at a construction site, the following are various legal options for you to seek compensation from.

Worker’s Compensation Claim

As is the case with most occupations, you are likely eligible for worker's compensation benefits when injured at your construction workplace. Workers compensation regulations will vary in specificity from state to state; however, they all have some common elements.

As per the law, all employers need to provide compensation insurance to workers. Worker's compensation systems are “no-fault” systems. Such systems mean that the employees do not have to prove the negligence of the other party. The only thing to prove in a worker's compensation is that you were injured and that the injury took place during the discourse of your employment duties.

The law requires all employers to have worker's compensation insurance. When you claim damages via the worker's compensation claim, you can claim lost wages, medical expenses, and permanent partial disability. The ideology of the worker's compensation benefits is that in exchange for the no-fault liability laws, an employee claims for limited damages.

Personal Injury Claim

Your case may entitle you to put up a personal injury claim against other entities or persons. Typically, construction jobs entail working with other vendors or subcontractors. Therefore, there’ll often be many separate entities on job sites operating heavy trucks and heavy machines. Additionally, some parties participate in the daily activities without being on the job site—for instance, the architects, suppliers, and engineers. If either of the individuals caused your injury, you could claim against the individuals, entities, or even their employers.

When you suffer an injury caused by entities outside your employer, speak to an attorney helping injured construction workers to put up a personal injury claim for you. The attorney will use your case to prove these essential requirements, including, the entity or person who had a duty to act safely towards you then failed to perform this duty, leading to your injury due to their negligence.

Given below are the conditions under which an attorney can fight for the claim of a worker:

  • A truck driver was driving so recklessly that it led to an accident.

  • Electric shocks caused by defective equipment caused extensive burns.

  • You fell from an improperly erected scaffold.

  • Repetitive motion injuries are the result of doing the same action for long periods of time.

  • Injuries resulting from equipment with defective products put an employee in the hospital.

  • Improperly-built trench barriers that cause the collapse of trenches result in broken bones.

  • Toxic and hazardous chemicals were spilling or leaking due to negligent decisions of faulty equipment.

Product Liability Claim

Equipment malfunctioning may cause injuries due to poor manufacture or faulty design. In such situations, your attorney would help you put up a product liability lawsuit. In such cases, the defendant may be anyone who designed the tools, the supplier, or the manufacturer.

There are three primary elements to a product liability case:

  • The equipment that caused you the injury must have been in an unreasonably dangerous state when it left the manufacturer or supplier.

  • You were using the equipment for the use it is intended for appropriately.

  • The equipment’s dangerous defect caused your injury.

Speak to an Attorney

The construction industry plays a significant societal and economic role; however, it hosts some of the world’s most dangerous jobs. As much as construction workers may receive compensation through a workers compensation claim, you must know all your other legal options.

When you have suffered an injury, keep a medical treatment report record. Note down a detailed account of the events leading to your injury as soon as possible. Make sure you are as detailed as possible, then speak to an attorney about your case.

Conclusion: Injuries in construction sites are very common. The government has provided legal remedies for construction workers. As per workers' compensation regulations, a worker can claim various compensations like worker compensations, personal injury, product liability, and many others.