Working in construction can be a very dangerous profession because of the number of things that could go wrong on the job. Construction workers perform operations involving physical labor, often with heavy machinery or at terrible heights. There are times that falling debris might injure pedestrians or bystanders. In 2012 alone in the United States, around 183,000 construction workers were injured and 775 died in construction-related accidents. But if certain parameters are adhered to construction work can be performed in a safe manner. According to personal injury law, construction safety can be upheld if unsafe actors are held accountable. If a person has suffered construction accidents, they may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Injuries Sustained in Construction Accidents
There are four main categories of injuries sustained by construction worker. These injuries account for about 60% of all construction-related deaths among workers. The injuries are electrocutions, falls, ‘caught in between’, and ‘struck by object.’ To be able to file a personal injury lawsuit, a person doesn’t have to be fatally injured on the job. Even minor injuries may entitle a worker to compensation for injuries. What determines and influences the potential recovery of a worker after a construction accident is whether or not their compensation rules apply.
Compensation of Workers
There is some form of worker’s compensation in all 50 states. These rules state that if an employee sustains injuries on the job, they are entitled to compensation for these injuries, regardless of the fact that the employer acted negligently or not. The fact does remain that an employee recovers less in a workers’ compensation case than they would if they filed a personal injury lawsuit. This is why a worker’s compensation is viewed as kind of a compromise to a personal injury case.
A Personal Injury Lawsuit
Every lawsuit that an injured worker is involved with or is contemplating doesn’t come under the workers’ compensation laws. While different laws apply to different states, workers’ compensation rules only apply between an employer and worker. So worker’s compensation will only apply in a case wherein say, an employee of a subcontractor is injured on a job, and the subcontractor is sued by the worker. Worker’s compensation rules will not apply if the worker wishes to sue the manufacturer of faulty equipment. A worker who has sustained construction accidents might want to explore every avenue of prospective liability besides worker’s compensation, since a personal injury lawsuit may offer higher damage rewards.
Settlement Claims
If a worker has been injured due to construction accidents, they may be entitled to compensation for the following types of damages:
- Lost wages, which result from work that has been missed due to the injuries sustained.
- Medical bills that might have arisen due to the injuries.
- Pain and suffering, which refers to the monetary value of having to deal with the discomfort and caused by the injuries, and
- Loss of normal life, which refers to the monetary value of the difference in the quality of a person’s life after the injury, compared to their quality of life before the injury.
