Construction work is inherently dangerous. As a construction worker, you regularly interact with heavy machinery, use scaffolding, and work at dangerous heights. Hazards like the weather and even possible toxins like asbestos or lead can cause injury. When you’re working on a construction site, your employer has a responsibility to provide a reasonably safe environment. What happens when the employer fails in that duty of care to his employees? Our Kansas City construction site accident attorneys can help outline your possible legal options after a construction site accident.
Construction site accidents can involve confusing laws. These accident cases can invoke the rules of workers’ compensation, product liability, premises liability, vicarious liability, and more. You must also navigate statutes of limitations and comparative negligence laws. The easiest way to work through these laws while protecting your rights as an accident victim is with help from a construction site accident lawyer. Hiring an injury attorney gives you an edge during a construction site accident case. Your Kansas City construction site accident lawyer can effectively negotiate with insurance companies or take your case to trial in pursuit of fair injury compensation. You can focus on healing from your injuries while your Kansas City personal injury lawyer does the rest on your behalf.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Although many different types of accidents can occur at construction sites, the nature of these work environments lead to certain incidents and injury types more often than others. Statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration show the four most common types of fatal accidents for workers at construction sites.
Construction site accidents in Kansas City often happen due to broken federal safety rules. The most commonly cited safety standard is lack of fall protection, such as personal devices workers can use to help prevent injuries, such as broken bones, spinal injuries or brain injuries should they fall. Other broken safety standards involve hazard communications, scaffold construction, respiratory protection, industrial tools, electrical components, and machine guarding. The construction company or another party may owe you compensation after one of these accidents.
Your claim begins with an initial consultation. To see if you have legal grounds for a third-party construction claim, please contact us. The construction site accident lawyers at Wendt Law Firm have years of experience and the resources you need for a strong claim to damages. Call (866) 539-4415 for a free consultation today.