Kansas City Construction Site Accident Lawyer

Construction accidents happen often in Kansas City, with thousands being reported each year. The number of accidents that happen is understandable, given the huge amount of risks that construction workers are exposed to.

Construction companies are required to abide by safety regulations and they must have the necessary infrastructure and equipment required to keep you safe. When these regulations have not been put in place, and you are injured as a result, you are entitled to claim compensation for any injuries you have suffered.

If your construction company did take safety measures seriously and you suffered a construction site injury, you still may be able to recover damages for the harm you have suffered. Personal injury lawyers who are experienced in dealing with construction accident cases can help ensure that you get fair compensation for any injuries you have suffered.

Here at Wendt Law, we have a legal team who are highly experienced in managing personal injury claims. Our top priority is ensuring that injury victims get full and fair compensation for the pain they have endured. We offer a free case evaluation so that you can come and whether our work injury lawyers are the right fit for you.

Call us today to schedule a free consultation at 816-542-6734.

Why Choose Us?

Our lead attorney, Mr. Samuel Wendt, is a Top 50 Super Lawyer in Kansas City and a Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyer (Thomas Reuters).
Our Kansas City personal injury attorneys do what is right and fair for each client. We take a personal approach to personal injury law, putting our clients first in all that we do.
Our Kansas City construction site accident lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis. As our client, you will not pay for our services unless we win your case.

Our past case results show more than $100 million obtained for our clients. We do what it takes to achieve top results during construction site accident claims in Kansas City.

How Common are Construction Accidents in Kansas City?

Construction site accidents are among the most common type of workplace accident in the United States. According to the Missouri Department of Labor, 4,005 workers were injured in construction accidents in 2020. Further, statistics show that over 1,000 construction workers were killed in 2018.

The construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries to work in Kansas City, and workers put their lives at risk every day. Safety hazards such as uneven ground, unstable structures, and faulty equipment make the risk of an accident happening even more likely.

Even if you were involved in a minor construction accident in Kansas City, you may still be eligible to receive compensation, whether through your own work insurance policy or by filing a third-party claim. Schedule a free case evaluation with our legal team today to assess whether you have a valid claim.

Construction Site Accident Statistics

Demographics

Fatalities in workers over the age of 55 have risen by 8 percent between 2018 and 2019.
Fatalities in Hispanic and Latino employees were up 13 percent in 2019, a record high since 1992.
White (non-Hispanic) workers account for the most injured in 2019 with 3,297 documented injuries.
Women’s top concerns in the workplace include workplace violence and ergonomic problems, while men’s top concerns were falling objects and electrical hazards.
A worked died every 99 minutes in 2019.
5,333 workers died while on the job in 2019, with 20% (1,061) work-related deaths being in construction site accidents.

Types of Injuries

Trips and falls increased by 11% in 2019.
Too heavy equipment, inexperienced workers, and harsh conditions all contribute to a rise in accidents in gas and oil professions.
The exposure of harmful substances and environments led to 642 employee deaths in 2019.

Fatal vs. Non-Fatal Injuries

Missouri accounted for 106 fatal injuries out of 5,333 in the United States in 2019, with Texas having the highest number of fatal injuries at 608..
Fatalities due to fires and explosions decreased 14% in 2019.
In 2018, 21,710 construction laborers experienced non-fatal injuries

Employee Beliefs/ Safety Concerns

In a 2019 survey done by 360 training, it was revealed that 39% of workers surveyed were more concerned about on-the-job safety than they were the previous year.
Construction workers are 27% more likely to be worried about being injured on a daily basis.
58% of construction employees believe that safety takes a backseat to productivity and completing job tasks.
51% of employees believe that management only does the minimum required by law to keep their employees safe.
47% of employees are afraid to report safety issues.
67% of employees in the construction industry feel performance standards are higher for job tasks than safety.
In 2018, preventable workplace deaths totaled 4,493.

The top 5 workplace safety concerns in 2019 were:

Slip, trip, fall (36%)
Electrical hazards (13%)
Heavy lifting (9%)
Vehicle and equipment strikes (7%)
Falling objects (6%)

OHSA Violations

The top most frequently cited standards by Federal OHSA in 2020:

Fall protection
Hazard communication
Respiratory protection
Scaffolding violations
Ladder violations/hazards
Control of hazardous energy
Powered industrial trucks
Fall protection training
Eye and face protection
Machinery and machine guarding

More common OHSA violations include:

Conduct regarding electrical and wiring standards
Violations involving electrical designs

What Type of Accidents Can Happen on Construction Sites?

As construction sites are often quite dangerous environments, the probability of an accident happening is much higher, particularly accidents that cause serious injuries. Some of the most common construction accidents, which have been labeled as the “Fatal Four” accidents by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), include:

Slip and Fall Accidents

A large majority of construction injuries result from slip and fall accidents. It is common at construction sites to see a lot of obstructions and equipment that get in the way and create a hazardous environment, such as debris and work equipment lying around. As a result, many construction site accidents happen due to workers slipping and falling over objects, often causing serious and even fatal injuries.

Falling Objects

Construction workers come into contact with falling debris and objects quite often. For this reason, all workers are required to wear good-quality hard hats, which prevent serious head injuries from happening.

Often, however, workers are seriously injured by falling objects because their hard hats are not of sufficient quality or they do not have the proper uniform. Being injured by a falling object can lead to serious brain or head injury.

Electrocution

A construction site accident can also be caused by electrocution, which is the third leading cause of fatality in the construction industry, according to OSHA. Electrocution can be caused by exposed wires, improper equipment, or a lack of training.

Caught in Between

The fourth most fatal type of Kansas City construction accident is workers being caught in or between equipment and objects. Construction workers often have to operate in small spaces, between two heavy objects, or work within an unfinished structure. This can often lead to the structure collapsing on the worker, causing fatal injuries.

Common Construction Accident Injuries

Most construction accidents result in victims having more than one injury, as they are often quite severe in nature. Depending on the severity of the accident, however, injured construction workers may be able to get back to work within a few weeks, or be unable to work for a long period of time.

Some common construction injuries include:

Wrist and hand injuries.
Shoulder injuries.
Back injuries.
Spinal cord injuries.
Injuries to the head and brain, including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Broken bones.
Burns, cuts, and bruises.
Paralysis.

It is important that you seek medical care for any injuries you have sustained in a construction accident as soon as possible. Even if you think your injuries are not serious, medical professionals may discover internal damage which could cause you a lot of harm in a few years’ time.

What Should I Do After a Construction Accident?

If you have been involved in a Kansas City Construction accident, there are a couple of things you should do to ensure your own safety and ensure that any claim you make for compensation in the aftermath is not affected.

Inform your employer – Provided you are not severely injured, the first thing you should always do after a construction accident is to inform your employer of the incident. Your employer is required by law to file an incident report based on your account of what happened and the evidence at the scene. Ensure you remain neutral when giving a report and simply state the facts of what happened. Any self-blame or apologies could result in your claim being thrown out at a later date.
Document the incident – It is important that you document the accident scene yourself by taking pictures and videos and writing down what happened immediately. If you are unable to do this right away, you should try to write down what happened as soon as you feel able to.
Seek medical assistance – The most important thing to do after an accident is to seek medical assistance as soon as possible. A medical professional will conduct a thorough examination, write up a medical report, and provide you with a detailed recovery plan to ensure that you do not suffer long-lasting injuries. This medical report will be of huge importance to your personal injury claim.
Speak with a Kansas City work injury attorney – Once you have completed the above steps, you should contact a law firm as soon as possible to discuss your legal options. We highly recommend that you contact a law office that has experience dealing with construction accidents. At Wendt Law Firm, our personal injury lawyers have a lot of experience managing personal injury cases, and we offer a free case evaluation for you to discuss your options before committing to having us as your legal team.

The steps you take after a Kansas City construction accident will be instrumental in the outcome of your case. To have a successful outcome and to ensure you are compensated, it is highly important that you gather as much evidence as possible and, most importantly, contact a personal injury law firm right away.

Average Time Away from Work After an Injury

The average days an employee has to take away from work due to an injury or an illness, by age (2018):

16 to 19 years: 5 days
20 to 24 years: 5 days
25 to 34 years: 6 days
35 to 44 years: 8 days
45 to 54 years: 11 days
55 to 64 years: 14 days
65 years and over: 14 days

The average days an employee has to take away from work due to an injury or an illness, by nature of ailment (2018):

Punctures (excluding gunshots): 3 days
Chemical burns and corrosions: 3 days
Cuts, lacerations, punctures: 4 days
Heat (thermal) burns: 5 days
Bruises, contusions: 5 days
Multiple injuries with sprains: 7 days
Soreness, pain: 8 days
Multiple traumatic injuries: 9 days
Sprains, tears, strains: 11 days
Tendonitis: 14 days
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: 30 days
Amputations’: 31 days
Fractures: 32 days
Multiple injuries with fractures: 48 days

Do I Need to File a Personal Injury Claim?

The law in Kansas City requires that most construction workers carry workers’ compensation insurance. So, if you are injured in a construction accident at work, this compensation will most likely cover your medical expenses and part of your lost wages and provide benefits to surviving family members if the accident was fatal.

Workers’ compensation also operates mostly under a no-fault system. This means that even if you were partly at fault for the accident, you would still be able to recover damages under your workers’ compensation scheme. However, exceptions will apply to this rule if you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident.

Although workers’ compensation will cover some damages for construction accident victims, it does not cover all, which is why you might want to file a personal injury lawsuit. With a personal injury lawsuit, you can claim for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, a loss of enjoyment in life, mental anguish, and disfigurement and scarring.

So, if you believe you are entitled to damages for your construction accident that you cannot recover under your workers’ compensation, you should speak with one of the work injury attorneys from our law firm, who will assess whether you have a valid personal injury claim.

What Damages Can I Receive For a Construction Site Injury in Kansas City?

As noted above, your first point of call should be to recover damages under your workers’ compensation plan. Anything that is not covered under this plan can then be claimed through a personal injury lawsuit if your case meets the threshold.

The damages you can recover from an insurance company or through a construction accident claim depend completely on the particular harm you have suffered. One of our work injury attorneys at Wendt Law can help you claim the following:

Medical expenses – Your workers’ compensation should cover any medical expenses relating to your injuries, such as hospital bills, medical treatment, prescription costs, and transport to and from appointments. In a lot of cases, however, medical bills are expensive, and the insurance company may not cover everything. In these cases, you will need to speak with a lawyer experienced in personal injury claims who can help file a lawsuit to recover medical costs.
Lost wages – In most cases, you will be able to retrieve some portion of your lost wages through your workers’ compensation policy. However, this policy rarely ever compensates for the entirety of your lost income, so you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Pain and suffering – If you experienced physical discomfort or emotional distress due to a construction injury, you could make a claim for pain and suffering damages. These damages are considered non-economical, so you will need to file a claim against the responsible party.
Loss of consortium – Some construction accidents can, unfortunately, be fatal. If you have lost a loved one in a construction accident in Kansas City, you may be able to recover a loss of consortium, which is a loss of income to the family household. You may also be able to recover funeral expenses.

How Do I Win a Construction Accident Claim?

Like all personal injury cases, construction workers that have been injured in an accident must successfully prove that their injuries were caused by another negligent party. If you believe that your accident could have been prevented, you should first speak with an attorney who is experienced in dealing with these types of cases.

Your attorney will need to prove the following elements to ensure that your claim is successful:

Duty of care – It must be proven that another party had an obligation to ensure your safety. This party could be your employer, a contractor, or an equipment manufacturer.
Breach of this duty – If the other party acted negligently or recklessly when exercising this duty of care to you, such as failing to implement necessary safety measures, then they have breached their duty of care to you.
Causation- You must prove that this breach of duty directly caused you to suffer harm, i.e. that the failure of your employer to implement safety measures resulted in you suffering a head injury.
Damages – Finally, it must be proven that you suffered damages as a result of the breached duty, such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or loss of a loved one.

Proving negligence without legal representation can be a difficult task, which is why we highly recommend seeking the assistance of a law firm that is experienced in dealing with personal injury cases. Schedule a free consultation with Wendt Law today.

The Workers’ Compensation System

The state of Kansas requires employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. This provides workers with valuable compensation when they sustain an injury on the job. This system does not require that you prove your employer was at fault for your injuries, you just need to prove you sustained your injury at work. On the other hand, collecting workers’ compensation benefits limits your ability to seek additional legal recourse against your employer. When you collect workers’ compensation benefits, you essentially forfeit your right to sue them for negligence.

What to Do After a Construction Site Accident

To have a valid claim, you must take certain actions to protect your right to file a suit. A construction site accident case requires you to preserve evidence, report your injuries, and follow all the laws connected to filing a claim to damages. Immediately following a construction site accident, take the following steps:

Tell your employer. They will be responsible for filling out the paperwork and submitting it to their workers’ compensation insurance company. As soon as you notice symptoms from an injury or incident at work, inform a supervisor.
Seek medical care. Your company may want you to visit an in-network provider, so ask them where to seek medical attention. No matter which healthcare professional you visit, tell them you sustained your injury on the job.
Follow all doctors’ orders and keep all appointments. Your company’s workers’ compensation company might be keeping tabs on your compliance, which could affect your claim. Keep all your appointments for medical and rehabilitative care.
Contact a Kansas City construction accident attorney. Though the workers’ compensation system is no-fault, you may still be able to collect compensation in a third-party claim. A construction site accident attorney can help you decide if you have legal grounds.

Contact the injury attorneys at Wendt Law Firm as soon as possible after a construction site accident. You or your attorney must act before the expiration of your state’s statute of limitations. A Kansas City construction site accident lawyer can walk you through all the steps it will take to bring a claim, as well as connect you to the best doctors in Kansas City, MO.

What Benefits Are Available Through Workers’ Compensation?

Filing a workers’ compensation claim can provide an important source of income during a difficult time in the aftermath of an injury. Workers’ comp can provide much-needed benefits without the burden of proving fault or negligence. An approved workers’ comp insurance claim in Kansas City, Missouri could lead to the recovery of several benefits related to a workplace accident.

100% of your medical bills and health care expenses, including travel costs
Two-thirds of your average working wages, up to a maximum
Temporary partial or full disability benefits
Permanent partial or full disability benefits
Survivor benefits, including lost income and funeral and burial expenses

The full amount of your workers’ compensation benefits, as well as their duration, will depend on the specifics of your injury. Before you accept a workers’ compensation settlement, it is important to discuss the possibility of a personal injury lawsuit with an attorney. A lawsuit may result in greater compensation for your losses.

Third-Party Construction Site Claims

In certain instances, you may be able to file a claim above and beyond your workers’ compensation benefits. This applies when a third party may be responsible for your injuries. Examples of third parties on a construction site include vendors, sub-contractors, and manufacturers of heavy machinery. The following are examples in which you may be able to file third-party claims:

A subcontractor negligently installed roofing materials, causing you to fall.
A vendor failed to properly install scaffolding, causing it to collapse.
A manufacturer of a welding gun negligently distributed a defective batch and it malfunctioned, leading to injury.

These are simple examples of third-party construction claims. In reality, construction sites are busy places, and there is a chance that your injury may have been the result of third-party negligence. A construction site attorney can help you find the answers and help you gain compensation for your injuries and lost wages.

How Can a Kansas City Work Injury Attorney Help Me?

Many injury victims wonder if they actually need a lawyer to represent their case, and are unsure what a lawyer can do to help their claim.

Firstly, you should be aware that personal injury cases are rarely straightforward, particularly when it involves the construction industry. Most likely, you will have to file an injury claim against your employer, a contractor, the property owner, an engineer, or an equipment manufacturer. These parties almost always have strong legal representation and enough assets to ensure that they are not found liable for your injuries.

By having an attorney who is experienced in dealing with these claims, you will increase your chances of winning substantially. Going up against parties who have a lot of money can be quite difficult, particularly if you are trying to understand legal matters on your own while suffering severe injuries.

Lawyers can help you by taking over the case completely on your behalf and guiding you through the legal process. They will gather evidence on your behalf, speak with witnesses, examine CCTV footage, negotiate with lawyers from the other side, and build up a strong case on your behalf.

At Wendt Law firm, we have a team of lawyers who are highly experienced in dealing with these cases and are ready to take over and ensure that you get the highest standard of legal care possible. We highly recommend that you seek legal representation for your case and avoid fighting your personal injury lawsuit alone.

Contact Wendt Law Firm Today

Construction accidents happen too often in Kansas City, and in most cases, injury victims are left without adequate compensation to cover their medical bills and financial hardship.

If you or someone you love has been involved in a construction accident in Kansas City, you should contact a reputable law firm as soon as possible. An experienced work injury attorney can help ensure that you get the maximum amount of compensation possible for your injuries, whether through your worker’s compensation scheme or by filing a lawsuit on your behalf.

At Wendt Law, our team of lawyers is ready to fight your case and ensure that you get the compensation you deserve for your construction injury. Throughout our years of service, our law office has built up a strong attorney-client relationship because of our dedication to our client’s cases. We offer a free initial consultation so that you can first come and speak with us yourself and assess whether we are the right match for you.

Call us today at 816-542-6734 to schedule a free case evaluation.