Every iconic Pennsylvania structure — from Acrisure Stadium to the US Steel Tower — had a construction crew behind it. And, in many cases, some of those crew members were injured while working on these projects.
A career in the construction industry can be very rewarding. However, it can also be risky. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer a serious accident at work, you may be facing expensive medical bills and a long, painful recovery all while being unable to earn a living.
It’s easy to feel hopeless and alone after a major injury. But when you have an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side, you gain a powerful advocate who will fight for justice on your behalf. If you’ve been injured on a construction site, please call DelVecchio & Miller, LLC to set up a free consultation.
From a failure to properly train personnel to the creation of dangerous workplace hazards, construction injuries don’t just happen without a reason. In fact, most, if not all construction site injuries happen due to some type of negligence. Determining exactly who was at fault for your injuries and whether you can take legal action against them can be extremely complicated and difficult to determine. This is why you need an experienced attorney on your side to help navigate these waters.
Pennsylvania law requires most employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. If a worker is injured on the job — even if the employer is not at fault — the system will pay for medical bills and a portion of lost wages.
However, Pennsylvania law generally precludes an injured worker from filing a lawsuit against their employer for damages caused by personal injuries sustained while on the job.
While the Workers Compensation Act provides general immunity from suit to your employer, it is often times the case that other parties working on a construction site may be the cause of your injuries. These “third parties” are not immune from suit under Workers Compensation law. In other words, you can pursue legal action against them for negligently causing the injuries you sustained while on the job.
The attorneys at DelVecchio & Miller LLC, can help you determine whether you have a workers’ compensation claim, a third-party construction accident lawsuit, or both.
Examples of other third parties who may be responsible for your injuries but are not immune from a personal injury lawsuit include:
Often, many different contractors and subcontractors work together on a construction site, each within their own area of expertise. In some cases, it may be the negligence of these other contractors (as opposed to your employer) which caused the incident that leads to your injuries. Depending on their contractual relationship with your employer, you may be able to pursue legal action against these other entities.
When you and your employer use equipment on the job, you reasonably expect that the manufacturer has done its due diligence to ensure that it is safe to use. You should also expect that the companies charged with providing the equipment to you have followed the rules regarding training on the equipment and making sure you are being given the right tool for the job. If you are seriously injured while using a piece of machinery, you may be able to pursue a claim against the manufacturers or the distributors of these products.
A lot of times, the owner of a particular work or construction site is not your employer. Nevertheless, they are still responsible for your safety and well-being while you perform work on their property. This includes making sure that safety protocols are in place and being followed at all times. If the owner of a work site doesn’t follow industry standards and you are subsequently injured in an accident because of that failure, you may be able to pursue legal action against them.
In some cases, someone who is not affiliated with your employer or even your industry may be liable for your injuries. For example, if your employer sends you to pick up supplies and a drunk driver on I-376 hits your work vehicle and causes you to be injured, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the driver to recover damages.
Sometimes, at least one of the parties responsible for your injuries may not have been present at all. Construction projects begin as designs by architects, engineers and other project planners. If their designs are flawed, they may lead to serious accidents. If you and your lawyer discover that the project designs were not up to Pennsylvania building codes, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the responsible architects or engineers.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to determine who was at fault for your accident. That’s your attorney’s job! You just need to bring your lawyer as much information about your accident and injury as you can, and your lawyer will do the rest.
If you set up a consultation with us and we take your case, we’ll fight to get you the compensation you deserve by taking several steps:
The more we know about your accident, the more effectively we can represent you. We dig deep into the details of what happened so we can identify responsible parties and formulate a plan of action.
In construction accident cases, determining who caused your injuries is far from straightforward. We look closely at the particular circumstances of your case to make sure we identify all parties whose negligence may have caused your injuries.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit is much different from prosecuting a criminal case, but in both circumstances, you need evidence to back up your allegations. Once we’ve determined who is at fault for your injuries, we’ll get to work gathering evidence to support your case.
That evidence can include accident reports, hospital records, witness statements, police reports, CCTV footage, records of past OSHA sanctions or violations, and anything else that can illustrate negligence of the responsible parties.
If you are injured on a construction site, the first thing you should do after seeking medical treatment is get in touch with a construction accident attorney. Your attorney can help you determine whether you need to file a workers’ compensation claim, a personal injury lawsuit, or both.
At DelVecchio & Miller, LLC, our attorneys have a combined total of more than 60 years of experience helping injured people recover the compensation they deserve. If you’ve been hurt in a construction accident, please contact us right away! Call us to set up a free consultation.
