Legal Options After a Construction Injury

Construction work is inherently dangerous, however, this danger doesn’t prevent an individual from legal remedies. Due to the dangerous nature of work involved not only with the process involved with construction, but also with construction sites, there a multiple options available to an individual that finds his or herself injured as a result of construction. However you decide to proceed, it is advantageous to seek the counsel of a lawyer well-versed in personal injury law.

Legal Options After an Injury

There are two main legal options you have when you sustain a construction injury. The determination of which to utilize largely depends on whether you are a construction worker or a pedestrian that happened to become injured on a construction site of some kind.

For Employees

As an employee, an injury sustained at work, whether it involves construction or some other form of job-related injury, can trigger the application of a workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance afforded to employers that can be utilized to subsidize wages and medical benefits to individuals injured while on the job.

Filing a workers’ compensation claim prevents the individual from suing their employer for their injuries via a personal injury claim. The benefits of a workers’ compensation claim are that you do not have to prove negligence or any kind of fault on behalf of your employer as you would with a personal injury claim. You simply need to show that you were actually injured and that the injury occurred while fulfilling one of your duties as an employee or while acting within the scope of your employment.

Employers are required to obtain workers’ compensation insurance, especially in a construction setting. Typical benefits that would be sought are lost wages, medical expenses and disability benefits.

For Pedestrians

Filing a personal injury claim is another option available to any individual that sustains a construction injury. However, in order to file a personal injury claim, the lawsuit will likely be rooted in tort law, namely negligence. In order to prove negligence, there are several elements that must be proven. They are:

• Duty. It has to be proven that the construction worker or employer had a duty to not engage in some activity or act in a way that would not bring harm to others.
• Breach. The worker or employer had to breach that duty by their actions or failure to act in some way.
• Injury. The individual has to sustain an injury as a result of the breach.
• Causation. The breach of duty has to have caused the injury.

If you or a loved one has questions about their legal options after sustaining a construction injury, you will need a personal injury attorney that you can trust.  Call Campbell & Associates today for your free consultation at 704.333.0885.