Construction is an extremely dangerous profession, and employees must often deal with hazardous working conditions. Work-related injuries are common in the construction industry, and can be caused by anything from toxic materials, defective products and falls. Due to the dangerous nature of the occupation, injuries that can occur on construction sites can be catastrophic or fatal.
How Do Construction Injuries Happen?
There are numerous ways in which an injury can occur on a construction site, including:
- Falling objects
- Slip and fall
- Power tools
- Heavy lifting
- Electrical injuries
Additionally, it is possible for construction related injuries to occur over long periods of time. For example, vibration white finger and hand-arm vibration syndrome injuries happen due to the long-term use of power tools and can result in loss of function or impairment of the hands.
Construction Accident Liability
Typically, workers’ compensation covers the injuries employees sustain while working on a construction site. However, there may be several entities involved in business on a construction site, and each has different legal responsibilities toward construction workers.
- Owners – Construction site owners are legally liable for any injury caused by a potentially dangerous condition that they either knew about or should have known about.
- Architects/engineers – These parties may have contractual duties to the site owner, such as profess observation and site inspection, and also must adhere to accepted standards in performing professional services.
- Prime contractors – Prime contractors are responsible for the work identified in their contract.
- Contractors/subcontractors – These contractors are responsible for providing a reasonably safe work environment, and have the duty to warn of defects and hazards and to comply with all safety regulations.
- Equipment manufacturers – These parties are responsible for the design and manufacture of construction equipment and can be held liable for defects or design flaws.
If a workers’ compensation award is insufficient to cover your needs following your accident, or if your injury is not covered under workers’ compensation, you may be able to file a third-party personal injury claim or a product liability claim, depending on the nature of your accident.
According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), the leading cause of construction related fatalities are falls. The survivors of a construction worker killed in a construction accident may be able to receive wrongful death compensation.
Phoenix Construction Accident Attorney
Witson Law offers free personal injury consultations to answer questions about your construction injury case and to discuss your legal options. During your initial consultation, we will take whatever time is necessary to listen to you and the facts of your construction accident at no charge to you. We can give invaluable legal advice regarding your options when dealing with the numerous parties that can be involved in construction accident lawsuits. All of our personal injury cases are taken on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no out of pocket expenses and only need to pay us if we win your case. Schedule your free consultation with a Phoenix construction injury attorney – (602) 358-8686 or fill out or online contact form.