Construction Accidents

Job Injury Lawyers Representing Savannah Workers

Construction accidents may happen as a result of negligence or misconduct. Accidents may involve falls, falling debris, broken equipment, inadequate warning signs, exposure to toxins, electrical shock, wall or trench collapse, explosions, and suffocation. Sometimes these accidents result in lacerations or soft tissue injuries, but they may also cause serious injuries like broken bones, brain trauma, spinal cord damage, burns, or even death. If you are hurt on a work site, you may have a right to bring both a workers’ compensation claim and a third-party claim for negligence with the assistance of an injury lawyer. At the Suthers & Harper, our Savannah construction accident attorneys are ready to advise you.

Explore Your Options After a Construction Accident

If you are injured on a construction site, there may be multiple parties at fault for your injuries. Most people turn to their employer’s workers’ compensation policy because it is a way to recover benefits without proving fault, but this policy will not cover general or noneconomic damages like pain and suffering. Often, moreover, it will not provide the total amount that you need to treat serious injuries. In addition to serious emotional losses, an injured worker is likely to experience wage loss, medical bills, a need for household service replacements, and sometimes a loss of earning capacity.

Unlike a workers’ compensation claim, a personal injury lawsuit requires you to establish the defendant’s negligence. Your own employer may not be the only party that is supposed to provide onsite safety. Sometimes multiple parties may be at fault. Parties that may be liable in a civil lawsuit include architects, engineers, laborers, construction managers or foremen, general contractors, subcontractors, and tool suppliers.

Safety measures on construction sites are supposed to be in line with the standards promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA investigates after construction accidents and has the power to cite parties for violations of its standards. There are standards for fall protection, scaffolding, ladders, hazardous energy, electrical and wiring methods, respiratory protection, hazard communication, machinery, and many other aspects of a construction site. A party’s failure to abide by OSHA standards may be evidence of negligence if that failure caused an accident.

If you are able to establish that another party’s negligence caused your injuries, you may recover special and general damages. Special damages include medical costs, lost income, household services, and other documented losses. Often, your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer pays for a portion of these types of losses. General damages are losses that are believed to naturally flow from an injury of the kind that you sustained. For example, if you suffer a disabling brain injury, most people will understand that this injury will alter the fundamental relationships in your life and place an immense burden on your family. If you suffer burns on your face, people will recognize that you are likely to experience humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety, depression, isolation, and other emotional harm. Workers’ compensation will not cover these losses. Your personal injury attorney’s ability to investigate and present the full scope of your harm in a convincing manner may make a dramatic difference in the amount of general damages that you recover.

Discuss Your Construction Accident Case With a Savannah Attorney

The Savannah construction accident lawyers at the Suthers & Harper may be able to represent you in a claim for damages. Our firm also assists injured people in Atlanta, Watkinsville, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Roswell, Athens, Marietta, Stone Mountain, Decatur, Pooler, Brunswick and Statesboro, as well as other communities in Oconee, Gwinnett, Clark, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Chatham, Glynn and Bulloch Counties. Contact us by calling 1.800.320.2384 or completing our online form to arrange a free appointment with a personal injury or wrongful death attorney.