When you get injured on a construction site, it can be incredibly scary. It’s unfair. It was their fault in the first place for letting you enter their unsafe environment. You just want to focus on your recovery. You don’t want any more stress added on. It’s essential to know that you can file a personal injury lawsuit against the party or parties responsible for your injury. It’s also essential to know what your claims must be based upon.
Who is liable?
If you are injured in a construction accident then you have the right to file suit against the parties responsible for your injury. These parties (or parties) will have to pay you damages. Damages can include things such as medical bills and/or lost wages. The responsible parties for this type of suit are dependent on the type of accident and who was involved in the accident. Some examples of responsible parties include the city/government agency, the machine manufacturers, and/or the construction company.
What must claims be based on?
In order to file a claim in a construction accident, it must be based upon any of these characteristics. These characteristics are negligence, product defects, premises liability, and vicarious liability of an employee. In order to sue the other party for negligence, you must prove that they needed to provide you with a duty of care. You have to then show how that duty of care was breached by their negligence. You must show how this was a large factor that resulted in your injury.
If you make a claim based upon product defects, it’s essential to know there is strict liability for manufacturing defects, design defects, and inadequate warning defects. Examples of these product defects include heavy machinery with no warnings or labels, cutting tools that do not provide protection or faulty/defective ladders. In order to bring a claim on the basis of premises liability, you must prove the following elements.
The other party owned and controlled the property, they were negligent in the use or maintenance of that property, you were harmed, and their negligence was a large factor in causing you harm. There are several examples of premises liability that occur in the construction area that include tripping on loose flooring, no railing provided on an elevated area causing you to fall, or slipping and falling on a wet surface.
Construction site accidents can also bring claims based upon the vicarious liability of an employee. This means the accident was caused by the negligence of the employees of the construction company. An example of this would be if a construction employee did not properly fasten their tool while roofing and it fell and hit someone on the head.
It’s unfortunate that many people get injured every year on construction sites. It is their duty to provide a safe environment if they allowed you to enter it. When this doesn’t happen and you get injured, it can be catastrophic. You deserve someone to fight for you to get the proper compensation. You need someone with experience. The Law Offices of Howard Kornberg will fight for you and help to ease the burden. Schedule a free consultation today using this contact form or call us at 310-997-0904 for a free initial consultation.
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