Construction Injury Lawyers

Construction jobs rank among the most dangerous in the U.S. Each year, thousands of Washington workers are killed or seriously injured in a construction site accident. A construction site accident may involve:

• Scaffolding accidents
• Falls
• Crane accidents
• Accidents involving compressed gases or chemicals
• Defective machinery or equipment
• Explosions
• Welding and cutting accidents

In many cases, the party identified as responsible for a construction site accident is the employer, a coworker, or simply the injured worker. Under these circumstances, a workers’ compensation claim is handled by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries, which determines benefits according to its own guidelines and regulations. However, when the negligence of someone other than the regular employer contributes to a construction site injury—or if an accident takes place off-site from the usual workplace—workers may be eligible to bring a third-party injury claim for additional compensation and benefits. Unlike workers’ compensation claims, there is practically no limit to the amount of awards in third-party liability claims. This means that an injured worker may receive further medical benefits, time-loss compensation, and additional damages for personal pain and suffering.

Construction site accident claims are often highly complicated because of the multi-faceted structure of the industry. Building projects can include multiple contractors and sub-contractors, rental businesses, workers hired by different companies, various property owners, and equipment manufacturers. This can make it challenging to identify a responsible party. Injured workers need experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated legal representation to evaluate the viability of their claim and aggressively pursue the benefits and compensation they deserve. Emery | Reddy, PLLC’s L&I attorneys can help clients recover the maximum compensation after a construction accident entitled by Washington state law.

Common Causes Of A Construction Site Accident

• Ignoring safety regulations: employers should establish and observe a safety policy from foundation to finish. Oftentimes employers rush to complete a job, ignoring or relaxing safety regulations in the process. While this might speed up the building process, it places workers at increased risk for injury.
• Car and truck accidents: automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for American workers on the clock. These accidents do not merely apply to cars and trucks, but also to tractors, cranes, forklifts, and other vehicles used in the construction industry.
• Inadequate training: employers should properly train all members of a construction crew on safety operations and procedures for a given building site. Emergency procedures should also be put in place, and all workers should receive proper training to fully understand how to do their jobs safely.
• Construction falls: safety harnesses do not always prevent injuries during a serious fall. The leading cause of serious injury and death in the construction industry is caused by falling to a lower level, which is often linked to an improper safety constraint. Construction site falls cause broken bones, back injuries, spinal and brain damage, and even wrongful death. In many cases, a safety rail or properly used safety harness could prevent these unnecessary falls.
• Defective equipment: workers often suffer from a serious or catastrophic injury after they are pinned, trapped, or crushed beneath machinery; in many tragic cases, these incidents cause amputation or death. Machinery such as forklifts, wood chippers, and augers are frequent culprits in amputation. Oftentimes a defective hydraulic lift causes hundreds of pounds of equipment to fall, resulting in life-threatening injuries to construction workers.

A Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Will Help You Recover:

• Current and ongoing medical costs
• Lost wages and lost potential income
• Damages for pain and suffering
• Lost quality of life from a permanent injury, disability or other factors

We understand that many families depend on the income of an injured worker, and our L&I workers’ comp attorneys are dedicated to winning the benefits and compensation you deserve. Our practice was founded on a commitment to advocating for workers’ rights, and we are proud of our record protecting the injured and disabled.

Contact Emery | Reddy today to find out how we can help you with your construction site injury workers’ compensation claim. Please remember to have your L&I claim readily available.