Construction consistently ranks as one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports over 200,000 construction workers suffer serious on-the-job injuries every year. Even experienced construction workers following safety protocols can become victims of accidents due to equipment failures, unsafe site conditions, the negligence of other parties, and countless other hazards on building sites.
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury in a construction accident, you may be facing mounting bills, lost income, and incredible stress trying to handle complex legal processes on your own. The good news is injured construction workers can often recover significant financial compensation through insurance claims, workers compensation benefits, personal injury lawsuits, or other legal filings. But the odds of securing full and fair compensation after a construction injury increase dramatically when you have an experienced construction accident lawyer advocating for your claim.
Specialized construction accident attorneys have the legal skills and resources to conduct thorough investigations, build strong negligence claims, establish full liability, negotiate optimal settlements, and take your case to court if needed. Putting a seasoned construction accident lawyer in your corner after a disabling work injury can substantially improve the outcome of your claim and your financial recovery.
How Can a Construction Accident Lawyer Help After an Injury?
Suffering a traumatic injury on a building site is enough stress on its own. The complex legal and insurance issues that follow a construction accident quickly compound the chaos. Handling multiple insurance adjusters, navigating unfamiliar laws and forms, compiling evidence and paperwork, and quantifying all current and future costs emerging from the injury becomes a tremendous burden. Construction accident victims and family members who try to handle settlement negotiations on their own are often taken advantage of by insurance providers and legal teams who want to minimize payouts.
But an experienced construction accident lawyer can provide invaluable help including:
- Conducting a Thorough Investigation of the Accident– An attorney will visit the accident scene, interview witnesses, review building plans and code requirements, check equipment involved, identify safety violations, and compile photographic and video evidence. Their team will gather police reports, employer records, medical details, and other documentation to build a detailed understanding of everything that led to the incident.
- Determining Liability and Negligent Parties– Lawyers will research the accident circumstances to identify all potentially negligent parties involved. This may include construction companies, general contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers or suppliers, architects and engineers, individual supervisors or co-workers, and property owners. Expert attorneys understand the complex web of liability that often exists in construction accidents.
- Navigating Complex Workers Comp and Personal Injury Laws– Between workers compensation, liability insurance claims, personal injury lawsuits, and other potential filings, the legal landscape after a construction injury is extremely complex. Lawyers know how to make optimal filings and handle paper work correctly on your behalf.
- Advising You on Your Legal Rights and Options– Experienced lawyers serve as trusted advisors explaining available compensation and your legal options at each stage. Their guidance helps you make wise decisions.
- Maximizing Your Settlement or Court Award– Attorneys use their negotiation skills and understanding of insurance practices to achieve full and fair settlements. If reasonable agreements can’t be reached, lawyers won’t hesitate to take cases to court when warranted to fight for maximum legal compensation.
- Handling Communication With Insurers and Defendants– Let your attorney handle calls, letters, filings, and legal actions while you focus on healing. Their forceful, authoritative advocacy garners results.
Why Hire a Construction Accident Lawyer Instead of Handling Your Own Claim?
In theory, accident victims and family members can try to handle settling insurance claims or legal filings on their own. But in reality, doing so is extremely difficult and places you at a huge disadvantage. Consider the benefits a construction accident lawyer’s representation provides:
Specialized Industry Experience and Knowledge
Construction accident cases involve specialized laws, insurance practices, terminology, commonly litigated issues, expert consulting needs, evidence types, and more. Even the most competent general practitioners may lack nuanced understanding of construction-specific issues. A construction law specialty lawyer has handled countless similar cases. Their job-site and liability expertise produces optimal results.
Objectivity and Distance from the Trauma
Coping with a disabling or fatal construction injury personally often clouds judgment with anger, urgency for relief, anxiety, or desire for vengeance. Seasoned lawyers rationally evaluate legal options without emotional entanglement. Their distance provides objectivity and perspective accident victims lack.
Substantial Legal Resources
Top personal injury law firms have teams of legal assistants, expert witnesses, accident reconstructionists, vocational damages experts, and other specialists to support your claim. Their resources far exceed your own.
Negotiation Experience
Insurance settlement negotiations aim to minimize payouts to protect profits. As an individual, you enter talks at a huge disadvantage. But construction law specialists know how to negotiate firmly and successfully to get you maximum allowable compensation.
Courtroom Trial Experience
If settlement talks reach an impasse, your attorney’s ability to take the claim to court and try it before a judge and jury provides major leverage. Their trial experience, persuasive skills, and litigation team demand higher settlements. Insurance companies know a capable trial lawyer won’t hesitate to defeat them in court if reasonable settlement offers aren’t made.
Favorable Settlement Track Records
Look for construction accident lawyers with long track records of delivering above-average settlement results. Their expertise directly translates into higher compensation for you.
What Types of Compensation Can You Recover After a Construction Injury?
Exact compensation types and amounts that may be available after a construction accident depend on many factors: accident causes, nature of injuries, responsible parties, applicable laws, and insurance coverage involved. But with an expert construction accident lawyer fighting for your interests, potential damages can include:
- Past and Ongoing Medical Expenses– Bills from hospitalization, surgeries, rehabilitation, physical therapy, adaption needs, prescription medications, assistive devices, and more.
- Future Medical Costs– Funds for probable future care needs like additional surgeries, long-term therapies, nursing assistance, wheelchairs, prescription needs, and other care necessitated by the accident.
- Lost Income– Wages lost due to missing work during recovery and any diminished earning capacity going forward if disabilities limit job prospects.
- Pain and Suffering– Monetary compensation for physical pain, emotional trauma, distress, diminished quality of life, and other intangible accident impacts.
- Wrongful Death Damages– In a fatal accident, family members can recover funeral costs, loss of future income, loss of companionship, and other applicable damages.
- Punitive Damages– In cases of gross negligence with clear disregard for safety, punitive sums can further punish and deter unsafe parties.
Lawyers also understand how to seek full insurance policy payouts, take tax implications into account, structure settlements to protect your best interests, and maximize the present value of future compensation. Their legal expertise translates directly into substantially higher financial recoveries.
How Do Construction Accident Lawyers Determine Who is Liable?
Identifying all negligent parties responsible for the accident is crucial. Multiple entities often share liability. Lawyers perform in-depth investigations and research accident circumstances to build viable negligence claims against possible defendants under legal doctrines like:
- Workers Compensation Laws– Employers can be liable for failing to provide safe workplaces, inadequate training or supervision, and other violations. Work comp insurance covers medical bills and lost wages.
- Third-Party Liability Laws– Beyond employers, other potentially negligent entities like subcontractors, engineers, architects, equipment manufacturers, property owners, or others can face liability claims.
- Personal Injury Laws– Individuals can be sued for negligence if their careless actions directly caused injuries.
- Product Liability Laws– If faulty equipment or products like power tools, scaffolding, trenches, vehicles, safety gear, or other items contributed to accidents, product suppliers and manufacturers can be held liable.
- Premises Liability Laws– Property owners must maintain reasonably safe construction sites free of known hazards.
- Wrongful Death Claims– In fatal accidents, multiple defendants may be liable for negligence resulting in death.
Identifying all parties potentially responsible and pursuing claims through every means possible maximizes recoverable damages.
Choosing the Best Construction Accident Attorney for Your Claim
After suffering a catastrophic construction injury, ensuring you have the absolute best legal representation is crucial to justly maximize your financial recovery. Here are important tips for choosing the right construction accident lawyer:
- Look for attorneys with extensive construction accident case experience specifically- general personal injury lawyers often lack the right job site expertise. Ask how many construction cases they’ve handled.
- Research lawyer credentials like bar memberships, awards, high verdicts and settlements recovered for prior clients, and trial experience.
- Select a firm with the resources and staff to take on large corporate defendants and insurers if necessary.
- Ask about success rates actually collecting settlements and verdicts for construction clients. Many boast wins that didn’t translate into client payouts.
- Make sure prospective lawyers will provide responsive, compassionate communication and personalized attention.
- Seek referrals from trusted trade group associations or labor organizations familiar with lawyer reputations.
- Compare fee structures – many construction attorneys work on contingency, collecting fees from final settlements.
- Discuss lawyers’ level of dedication to take cases to trial if fair pre-trial settlements can’t be reached.
- Look for sincerity and commitment to fight passionately on your behalf.
Take Control of Your Case with Trusted Legal Representation
Recovering physical and financial wholeness after a debilitating construction job injury requires experienced legal guidance. Don’t leave your settlement to chance – retain a construction law specialist with a proven record of delivering results for clients like you. With a top lawyer fighting in your corner, you can focus energy on your recovery, knowing experienced legal counsel is working diligently to secure the maximum compensation the law entitles you to. Invest in your peace of mind by hiring quality construction accident representation.
