San Jose Construction Injury Attorneys
Construction Accident Injuries
In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which empowered the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to enforce workplace health and safety regulations. Constructions sites are superlatively dangerous, according to OSHA. 100,000 dangerous chemicals are present in certain job environments, and the number of construction injuries and deaths that occur every year in United States comes to about 500,000. This essay boils down essential statistics and advice about how to handle construction injuries.
Distinguishing between bystanders and construction workers
If you have been hurt at a construction site, your status as a "bystander" or as a "worker" can impact your potential legal remedies. Personal injury law will apply if you are a bystander. Your situation gets more convoluted, however, if you are a worker. For instance, if your San Jose construction site injury lawyer fails to seek workers compensation from multiple sources, including both the general contractor and a subcontractor, you may get less money than you deserve.
Typical types of construction accident injuries
- Electrocution due to faulty wires
- Burns
- Explosions
- Falls (e.g. from scaffolding)
- Exposure to toxic chemicals and aerosolized pollutants
- Asphyxiation
- Damage caused by faulty safety equipment, dangerous site conditions, poor supervision or work methods, and other factors.
Multiple parties lead to legal confusion
Construction is a busy business. A general contractor will normally be held responsible for violations of OSHA regulations and other problems on the site. But subcontractors might also have obligations to protect workers and bystanders, as may the manufacturers, distributors, installers, and maintainers of equipment like cranes, ladders, scaffold, and heavy equipment.
In many accidents, multiple parties can contribute to the conditions of the accident. For instance, a worker who falls off a scaffold and breaks his collarbone may allege that the scaffolding company did not do adequate safety inspection. The worker may also have acted with negligence. Or maybe his supervisor did not properly train him. Perhaps the worker inhaled some toxic pollutant, which clouded his judgment and drove him to take unnecessary risks.
To untangle this potential mess, you should look to experts in personal injury, workers' compensation, and wrongful death law. A good team of attorneys will investigate the accident and the injuries. Your attorney will determine potential liable parties. The list can be long. It may include:
- General contractor or subcontractor
- Designer or installer of a piece of machinery
- Architectural firm
- Engineering contractors
- Owner of the construction site
- Manager of the site
- Manager of machinery
- The local, state or municipal government
- Insurers who represent any or all of the defendants
Your Northern California personal injury lawyer can help you seek compensation for lost past and future wages, pain and suffering, vocational training, medical bills and surgical costs, loss of life enjoyment and consortium, inconvenience and embarrassment, loss of future earning capacity, and more. Connect with the team at Van Der Walde & Associates to review your potential construction accident claim by calling 877-862-6288. You can also learn more at www.vanderwalde.com.
