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Construction Injuries
Construction injuries can be a devastating event for a person to have to experience when producing an income from employment is the sole means of support. When someone is injured at work in California, the employer should take full responsibility in providing assistance for the injured worker. However, this is not always the case. Many injured workers in California are left with no way to support themselves after they become injured at work. In addition, these types of mishaps are not limited to construction employees. Persons walking in or near construction zones can also fall victim to suffering bodily harm due to dangerous conditions on or near the property.
Have you suffered from a construction site injury that was due to negligence? An attorney can help. Contact a California construction site accident lawyer about your construction site injury today.
What are some of the more common mishaps and injuries that occur in and around construction sites and zones?
- Falls from an elevation including spills off a ladder, scaffold, or into a hole.
- Burns from chemicals, fires or explosions.
- Strikes to the head or body from swinging objects, re bar, tools, blocks, stone, cranes, dozers or other equipment.
- Falls on debris strewn about the area.
- Missteps due to incomplete construction of floor or ceiling joists, sky lights, elevator shafts or other hazards.
- Plunges from heights due to lack of railings or other barriers.
Oftentimes this results in fractures to hands, wrists, arms, legs and feet. It can also cause lacerations, abrasions, and blunt force trauma including internal damage as well as closed head injuries like concussions. Scalding can also occur in and around hot surfaces and materials such as tar.
Why do Cataclysms Happen so Often Near Building Sites?
In a current report taken by the CDC, more than 11,200 construction site injuries are reported every year. Furthermore, the fifth highest cause of accidents in the US is construction site injuries. Of the injured victims, there are many that have no other means to provide for their families during these traumatic events. If your family member has been a victim of an injury, contact an attorney.
Even if an accident may appear to be a single, isolated event, job site safety should never be something to be compromised. An unfortunate fact is that the consequences for companies that violate safety guidelines are very low in comparison to the damage that is realized by the injured worker. If you are injured at work due to the negligence or irresponsibility of your employer or a contractor, you will need an attorney that is skilled in handling personal injury law. At Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC, our attorneys are experienced in handling construction site injury cases and will fight to get you the compensation that you deserve. Call for a free consultation: Toll Free: 866-966-5240
As a construction worker injury lawyer in Los Angeles, I know that construction projects are ongoing all over L.A. as well as throughout Orange County and the Inland Empire. Major projects include such things as the $1 billion Metropolis project, the $1.2 billion Wilshire Grand project being completed by Korean Air and 10,000 residential units in downtown LA alone, among many others. As the death of a construction worker who was working on the Wilshire Grand project demonstrates, construction sites have high risks for injuries and deaths for the workers who are employed to work on the projects. When workers are injured or killed, the injured workers and the family members of those who are killed may have a couple of different ways to seek recovery of damages.
Construction Accident Statistics
In 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 49 construction workers in California were killed while they were working on the job. This number was 14.2 percent of the 344 total number of people who were killed at work in the state in 2014. Nationally, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported that 899 construction workers were killed at work in 2014, which comprised 20 percent of the total number killed across all industries. The statistics show the importance of workplace safety measures in construction sites along with how hazardous these sites can be.
Common Construction Site Accident Scenarios and Injury Types
There are a number of common scenarios that happen at construction sites and that lead to injuries. Some people are injured in falls because of faulty scaffolding or inadequate fall protection measures. Others are injured when they are caught in between objects. Still others are struck by falling objects, some are electrocuted and some are caught in equipment that is being used. Out of the different types of accident scenarios, OSHA reports that 39.9 percent of the worker deaths that occurred in 2014 at construction sites involved falls. The second highest percentage of deaths was the 8.2 percent of workers who were electrocuted. Rounding out the top four were workers killed by falling objects at 8.1 percent and workers killed when they were caught between objects or in equipment at 4.3 percent.
Workers’ Compensation and Construction Accidents
Like workers in other industries, construction workers who are injured while working and their families are able to seek benefits through the state’s workers’ compensation mandate. All employers, including those in the construction industry, are mandated to carry workers’ compensation insurance for the protection of the workers. When a worker is injured, he or she may seek coverage through his or her employer’s insurance carrier. If the worker is killed, his or her family may be eligible for the payment of monthly benefits to replace a portion of the worker’s prior income.
Liability for At-Fault Third Parties
At many construction sites, there are third parties who are responsible for completing different tasks, supplying equipment or installing different items. If a third party is at least partly to blame for the injury accident or the fatal accident, that party may hold liability under the state’s personal injury tort law. When this happens, the worker or his family is able to file a personal injury or wrongful death civil lawsuit against the third party. The worker’s employer may not be named as a defendant in the lawsuit, however. This is because the workers’ compensation program is meant to stand in lieu of lawsuits against employers, regardless of fault. Third parties are not protected from construction accident lawsuits as they are not the employers of the people who were injured or killed in the accidents.
Examples of how third parties may be partly or wholly at fault are several. In instances in which a worker falls because of defective scaffolding, all of the parties involved in the supply chain to bring the scaffolding to the market might hold liability. Subcontracting companies that installed defective scaffolding might also be liable, including ones that are the injured worker’s employer. Parties involved in doing such things as improperly installing equipment may be liable. A third party that fails to install proper supports for walls may be liable if the wall collapses and crushes workers. There are many other examples of possible third-party liability for construction site accidents.
Contact a Los Angeles Construction Site Accident Attorney
If you or your loved one has suffered catastrophic injuries while working at a construction site, you may want to consult with a Los Angeles construction site accident attorney. An attorney might investigate all of the potential parties who might be named in a lawsuit. He or she may also assist his or her client with seeking the maximum amount of benefits from the direct employer in addition to seeking recompense from all at-fault third parties. This may help the client to maximize the recovery amount so that he or she may receive fair compensation for his or her losses.