Riverside Construction Accident Attorneys

Construction sites have many opportunities for injuries. There can be many hazards on a site at a time: electrical hazards, high spaces that both workers and visitors have to climb, and heavy equipment that can cause serious injury when operated improperly. Those hazards can lead to injuries with long-term ramifications for both workers and visitors on the site.

Did you suffer injuries due to hazards on a construction site? Do you need to file a personal injury claim? Contact Gomez Trial Attorneys today at (619) 237-3490 to schedule a consultation.

Common Construction Site Hazards

Riverside construction sites must adhere to strict safety regulations that are meant to reduce the risk of injury. Unfortunately, even minor negligence can lead to severe injuries on a construction site.

Exposed Electrical Wires

Many construction sites include work on or around electrical wires. A general contractor may even bring in an electrician to work specifically on those areas. Exposed wiring can present a serious hazard, especially if live wires are exposed and other workers do not know that power is still running to them. Contact with those wires can cause severe electrical burns.

Unlike traditional burns, which leave damage at the immediate site of the injury, electrical burns not only cause severe pain and damage to the skin and underlying tissue, they can leave damage throughout the body.

Victims with electrical burns may suffer from:

• Confusion and disorientation
• Breathing problems
• Muscle pain
• Seizures
• Heart rhythm problems

Hazardous Chemicals

Many of the products used on construction sites include dangerous chemicals. On a safe construction site, these chemicals get stored carefully and labeled to ensure that everyone knows what dangers those chemicals can pose. However, mislabeled chemicals or failing to store them properly can lead to severe illness and injury. Some chemicals can cause chemical burns immediately upon contact. Others may cause breathing difficulties or even long-term lung damage if not treated properly. Some chemicals can also cause blindness.

Fall Hazards

On many construction sites, workers must conduct their business at significant heights. Proper safety precautions, including harnesses and safety rails, can help reduce the risk of a fall. Some workers, however, may still fall despite these precautions.

Falls can lead to these severe injuries:

• Traumatic brain injury. If the falling worker or site visitor strikes his or her head, a traumatic brain injury may result. Even victims with mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI, may not show symptoms until a year or more after the accident. Traumatic brain injury can cause serious complications to the victim’s life. Immediately after the accident, victims may show signs of confusion and disorientation. Often, victims suffer from intense headaches, ringing in the ears, or sleep disturbances. Victims with a TBI may have trouble focusing and concentrating on the task at hand. They may also have severe emotional disturbances, including immense overreactions or inappropriate emotional reactions to given stimuli. Some victims of TBI note changes in personality, related to their injuries.
• Spinal cord injury. Victims with spinal cord injury can suffer from full or partial paralysis, depending on the location and severity of the injury. While incomplete spinal cord injury causes some loss of mobility, complete spinal cord injuries can cause full paralysis below the site of the injury. In addition to limb paralysis, spinal cord injury victims may also suffer from a loss of function below the site of the injury.
• Broken bones. Victims with multiple broken bones may struggle with self-care tasks. Many cannot return to their usual job responsibilities, especially immediately after the accident. Some victims struggle with ongoing pain and weakness related to those broken bones, even if they otherwise make a full recovery. During recovery, victims with multiple broken bones may need aid with self-care tasks.

Heavy Equipment

Heavy equipment on a construction site can pose a serious hazard to workers, especially if it malfunctions. Often, construction equipment has a weight measured in tons.

Workers injured by malfunctioning or improperly-used equipment may suffer lifelong consequences.

• Amputations. Construction equipment can generate enough force to lead to the immediate removal of a limb during an accident. After a construction accident, amputees often must relearn how to perform familiar tasks, including self-care tasks. Some cannot return to construction work after suffering severe injuries. Many victims choose to use prosthetic devices to help restore some independence and function; however, prosthetics cannot fully replace the functions of a healthy limb, especially the victim’s arms and hands. Amputations may also prevent the victim from returning to work after their injury.
• Crushing damage. Heavy equipment can cause severe crushing damage if it lands on or runs into someone on the construction site. Crushing damage can lead to severe mobility concerns and ongoing pain for the victim. In some cases, crushing damage can create such severe injury that the victim requires limb amputation after the accident.

Falling Objects

Workers on construction sites often complete their job duties while on a building. Unfortunately, this poses a hazard for falling objects that can impact visitors and other workers passing by beneath them.

Falling objects can cause serious injuries, including:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord damage
• Broken bones
• Death

Power Tools

Not only do power tools pose a risk of amputation or electrocution, many tools can cause items to fly through the air—the chuck key if someone forgets to remove it from a drill press, for example. Sometimes, these hazards can cause puncture wounds. Other times, if they fly into the eye, they can cause eye injury or blindness.

Claims for Riverside Construction Accidents: What Do You Need to Know?

Following an accident on a Riverside construction site, many victims have serious questions about their legal rights and the compensation they could receive. Consult an attorney to learn more about your specific claim. Contact Gomez Trial Attorneys today to get more information.

Workers’ Compensation Claims Versus Personal Injury Claims in Riverside Construction Accidents

If you suffered an injury on a construction site as a worker, do you have grounds for a personal injury claim or a workers’ compensation claim—and how can you tell the difference?

A workers’ compensation claim arises when any worker suffers an injury while performing his or her daily job responsibilities, regardless of who caused the injury. Unless you deliberately injured yourself, you can collect workers’ compensation benefits for your injury if you suffered an injury at work.

Workers’ compensation benefits usually include:

• Coverage for a percentage of your income during your recovery.
• All of your medical bills.
• Compensation for permanent losses and injuries suffered as a result of a construction site accident.

A workers’ compensation claim, unlike a personal injury claim, does not include compensation for pain and suffering. In some cases, even if you suffered injuries as a worker on a construction site, you may have grounds to file both a personal injury claim and a workers’ compensation claim. Your workplace, however, may require you to pay back some or all of the funds from your workers’ compensation claim out of a personal injury settlement.

Who Bears Liability for a Riverside Construction Accident?

Accidents can happen regardless of how safety-conscious construction sites are. Construction workers deal with substantial hazards every day. Many of these hazards can lead to severe injury after even a moment’s negligence or inattention.

Most often, the primary construction company working on the site bears liability for construction site accidents. If the accident involves a worker on the site, that worker has the right to file a workers’ compensation claim for compensation. On the other hand, if someone who does not work for the construction company suffers an accident with serious injuries, that party may file a personal injury claim.

However, more parties than just the primary construction company may bear liability for a construction site accident. Consult an attorney to learn more about whether these circumstances apply to your claim and how it can impact the compensation you may ultimately receive.

Contact the attorneys at Gomez Trial Attorneys today to see if you can hold any of the following responsible for your Riverside construction accident.

• Subcontractors. On many construction sites, the primary contractor will bring in subcontractors to take care of specialized tasks, from handling electrical wiring to pouring concrete. Construction sites may have multiple subcontractors working at any given time. Sometimes, the subcontractor may commit an act of negligence that leads to severe injuries. In this case, they may bear liability for the injuries suffered in that accident.
• Equipment manufacturers. Construction workers regularly work with heavy-duty equipment that can cause severe injury if it malfunctions. If the company properly maintains the equipment and uses it according to its specifications, but it malfunctions anyway and leads to serious injury, the company that manufactures that equipment may bear liability for the accident and for any injuries caused by that accident.
• The property owner. Most of the time, construction workers carefully walk over the property before they begin work, to identify any potential hazards. Construction workers may work on dangerous or hazardous properties, bringing them back up to code and making them safe for other visitors. If, however, the property owner fails to disclose a potential hazard, including a dangerous facet of the property or a part of the building with known safety concerns, and that hazard ultimately causes injury to workers or visitors to the site, the property owner may bear liability for those injuries.
• Equipment rental companies. Not every construction company owns and maintains every piece of equipment the company uses regularly. Sometimes, the company may choose to rent specific pieces of equipment, especially those needed only for specialized jobs. If those pieces of equipment malfunction and lead to severe injury, the company that owns the equipment may bear liability. This is especially true if the company failed to properly maintain that equipment or failed to note any problem with it.

Determining Compensation for a Construction Site Injury Claim

If you suffer injuries on a Riverside construction site, how much compensation should you expect? The answer can depend on the extent of your injuries and the party that bears liability. If you suffer injuries as a worker, you may not have the right to file a personal injury claim against your company unless the company committed a clear act of negligence.

For instance, if the company failed to provide proper safety equipment but insisted that you move forward with those responsibilities anyway, they may hold liability. On the other hand, if you suffer injuries due to another party’s negligence, or if you suffer injuries as a visitor to a construction site, you may file a personal injury claim. An attorney can give you a better idea of how much compensation you should pursue in an action.

Despite the numerous differences in the specific damages sought, many people include the same elements in their personal injury claim.

• Medical expenses. Medical expenses include the cost of any medical care related to your accident, from emergency care to long-term physical therapy following your injuries. Keep track of your medical bills so you can include them as part of your claim. Medical bills form the foundation of many construction accident claims.
• Lost wages. Following a construction site accident, you may lack the ability to immediately return to your usual job duties. You could include the cost of that lost time at work as part of your personal injury claim. If you suffer an injury that permanently prevents you from accomplishing job tasks, you may choose to include lost earning potential as part of your claim.
• Pain and suffering. Severe injuries not only cause immense physical pain, they can also cause ongoing emotional anguish related to the injury. Consult an attorney to learn more about how to include pain and suffering as part of your claim.

Keep in mind that the construction company’s insurance agent may contact you soon after the accident. The company will often offer a settlement designed to look appealing on the surface. Consult an attorney before accepting this offer, since it may not reflect the full compensation you deserve for your injuries.

Contact a Riverside Construction Accident Attorney Today

If you suffered injuries on a construction site, an attorney could help you seek the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Many accident victims find that working closely with an attorney increases the compensation they pursue and receive, while simultaneously providing them peace of mind throughout the claim. While no result is guaranteed, the team at Gomez Trial Attorneys is here to help.

Do you need a Riverside construction accident attorney? Contact Gomez Trial Attorneys today at (619) 237-3490 to learn more about your legal rights.