Birmingham Construction Accident Lawyer

The construction industry comes with inherent risks such as heights, harsh conditions, and heavy equipment, which can lead to accidents and injuries for workers. If you or a loved one has been injured on a construction site, it is essential to seek the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.

At Oros & Associates Attorneys at Law, we have the expertise to navigate various legal issues involved in construction accident claims, including premises and product liability, worker’s compensation, and worksite safety protocols.

Construction Site Perils

There is a push in the industry to complete projects quickly so that the next assignment can begin. This approach turns over profits in a hurry but can fail to protect the workers who are on the job site daily.

Sometimes, safety recommendations are ignored because they are time-consuming or expensive. Other times, the oversight to ensure protocols are followed needs to be improved. When this happens, injuries and even fatalities occur. Some of the most common construction site injuries occur in the following ways:

• Falls: Ladders and scaffolding can be particularly hazardous, especially in extreme weather conditions. When unsecured, they can fall or collapse.
• Nail guns: Without the proper training and safety procedures, nail guns can cause serious injuries. They are common construction injuries.
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations: OSHA’s job is to ensure the safety of workers by providing standards, outreach, and education. Accidents can occur when the standards they enforce are ignored or overlooked.
• Toxin Exposure: An unfortunate side effect of working with chemicals and materials that contain toxins is the exposure that can lead to illness and death.
• Interference of Traffic: Busy areas frequently have traffic issues, which can be deadly when paired with construction workers.
• Electrocution and burn injuries: When electricity is involved, particular care must be taken to avoid injuries. When those precautions are not observed, burns and electrocution injuries can occur.
• “Caught in” injuries: When a person is caught in machinery, they can become fatally injured or mangled. There should be precautions to avoid this ever happening, but sometimes, for various reasons, they have been ignored.
• Failure to Use Protective Gear: When construction jobs fail to provide protective gear, accidents abound. The people who manage the job have a responsibility to the construction contractors they are employing to provide a safe workplace, and requiring protective gear is an integral part of this.

A Birmingham Construction Accident Attorney will analyze your accident and determine what can be done to help you recover the damages you are owed. Investigating the accidents, job sites, and injuries sustained is the first step to determining the best legal strategy for a construction injury victim.

Premises Liability and Construction Site Accidents

If an accident happens on a construction site, who is responsible? In Alabama, property owners and general contractors are in control of the property they are overseeing. They are tasked with keeping the construction zone safe.

Contracts between the owners and contractors will note who is responsible for job safety. State and federal laws require certain actions to prevent construction site injuries. In the state of Alabama, the law holds the party in control accountable for keeping the property safe and protecting invitees from harm.

An invitee could be one of the following:

• Workers
• Guests
• People who were expressly or received an implied invitation by the entity or person in control of the property
• Delivery people

This duty is breached when the job site is unsafe. Dangerous conditions on the premises may lead to injuries and even death. These could be conditions that cause slip-and-fall injuries, electrical hazards, unsafe operation of equipment, or failure to require hard hats and appropriate footwear.

Who is Responsible for Injuries on the Job?

Property owners, general contractors, and managing contractors are all responsible for eliminating dangers. It is their responsibility to properly train employees, inspect for safety hazards, repair unsafe findings, restrict access to dangerous construction areas, and to ensure equipment works safely and is being operated properly. Failure to do these things may constitute negligent behavior.

Product Defects Leading to Construction Injuries

Construction workers are subjected to many on-the-job dangers. Some of these occupational hazards include the equipment they use to do their jobs. At times, machinery is defective, and equipment malfunctions, leading to injury.

These injuries could have and should have been prevented. When unsafe equipment enters the public marketplace, manufacturers are at fault. They have a responsibility to ensure that their products are safe before selling them.

The failure of a manufacturer to ensure their products are safe can lead to falls, burns, side effects to being exposed to toxins, injuries due to faulty power tools and equipment, electrocution, and “caught in” wounds. Flaws in design, manufacturing, construction, or packaging can create a dangerous, sometimes fatal, situation for the user.

Manufacturers are responsible for identifying and correcting defects and warning users of the possible dangers in meeting their legal obligations. If they failed to meet their legal responsibilities, they could be liable for those injured because of their negligence. Your Birmingham construction accident lawyer will guide you in evaluating your claim and the responsible parties.

Workers’ Compensation Due to a Workplace Accident

Birmingham employers are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage to their employees. Workers’ compensation furnishes benefits if a construction worker is injured on the job, regardless of who is responsible. Workers’ Compensation Provides wage replacement benefits, medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, and other benefits.

Your construction site accident lawyer in Birmingham understands the workers’ compensation laws and how they apply to your individual case. Though in addition to these benefits, you may be entitled to others through a third-party claim. Contact the Birmingham workers compensation attorney at Oros & Associates for assistance navigating the workers’ comp process after an accident.

Third-Party Claims Following Construction Accidents in Birmingham

When investigating a construction site accident, we may discover that a third party is responsible for your injuries. The property owner, general contractor, subcontractors, or product manufacturers could be liable for your accident. The process of determining who is liable involves an often lengthy investigation.

If a third-party suit is filed, the injured party must be able to demonstrate proof that the accident happened because of their negligence. Third-party suits allow for the opportunity to gain monetary recompense that is not available through workers’ compensation. The settlement that is due will encompass all liable parties, such as the negligent property owner, other workers, the contractor or subcontractors, and the employer. Also potentially included are engineers and product manufacturers who caused the injury through their negligence. Because there are so many possibly responsible parties, a civil suit may render a larger settlement than a payout from an insurance company.

Damages You May Be Entitled to Following a Birmingham, Alabama, Construction Accident

Injuries and the time lost from your job, everyday life, and the activities you enjoy are hard to put a monetary value on. But, if you have experienced an injury on a construction site, you are entitled to economic damages. Some of the damages you may be eligible for are as follows:

• Medical expenses: Ambulance trips, emergency room visits, hospital stays, prescriptions, procedures and surgeries, medical tests, and follow-up visits are some of the medical expenses you will demand in your settlement package.
• Therapy: Physical, occupational, and psychiatric or psychological therapy may be required after a construction accident.
• Home alterations: Wider doorways, ramps, staircase lifts, zero entry showers, handrails, guard rails, and level thresholds may be required after a traumatic injury.
• Vehicle customization: New or customized vehicles might be required, depending on the extent of your injuries.
• Loss of wages: Missing work and possibly being unable to return can cause undue stress on a construction injury victim as bills mount and money fails to come in.
• Loss of future earnings: If another job, perhaps a better paying one, was on the horizon because of training or because of gained experience, and the opportunity is lost because of the injury, you may be entitled to compensation for earnings you can no longer pursue.
• Pain and Suffering: One of the most challenging parts of recovering from a severe injury is the pain and suffering that the victim experiences. While difficult to determine a monetary amount, your Birmingham construction accident lawyer can help you come close to a suitable amount.
• Loss of enjoyment of life: When you cannot enjoy the things you once did because of your injuries, your quality of life suffers. This is one of the damages you may pursue following a construction site accident.

While not an exhaustive list of damages, it gives you a somewhat clearer picture of the damages you or your loved one might be entitled to following a work site accident.

Contact Us if You or a Loved One Has Been Harmed on a Construction Site

If you or someone you care about has sustained injuries on a construction site, you will want to speak with a Birmingham construction accident lawyer at Oros & Associates. Our experience with construction site accidents, premises, product liability, and workers’ compensation. We will thoroughly investigate your case to ensure you receive fair compensation for your injury.