A workplace accident can have a devastating impact on anyone, but if you’re a construction worker, an unexpected injury can be particularly damaging. Due to the type of equipment used on construction sites, any accidents which occur can cause serious injuries or even fatalities. Furthermore, construction workers may be forced to take weeks or months off work while they recover from an injury.
If you’ve been injured on a construction site, it’s important to know what your rights are. To find out what you can do to cope with the aftermath of a construction accident, take a look at these three ways to take action and obtain compensation now:
1. Get Legal Advice
When a workplace accident occurs, it’s always beneficial to get legal advice. Construction accident lawyers such as Oresky can help you to determine whether you’re eligible to make a claim for compensation, depending on how the accident occurred and who was at fault. If you do want to proceed with legal action, your attorneys will be able to determine liability and initiate a claim against the person or company responsible for the harm you’ve suffered.
2. Workers’ Comp vs Negligence Claims
Understanding the difference between workers’ comp and negligence claims can help you to navigate the legal process after a workplace accident. Workers’ compensation is typically available to employees who are injured during the course of their work, regardless of who was at fault. In contrast, a negligence claim asserts that your employer’s negligence caused or contributed to the injuries you sustained.
Crucially, workers’ compensation is only usually available to employees. As many constructor workers are classed as independent contractors, you may be ineligible for this type of compensation. However, some employers will incorrectly classify a worker as an independent contractor in order to avoid bureaucracy, so do check whether your working arrangements qualify you as an employee.
Your workplace accident lawyers will be able to determine what type of worker you are and, therefore, what type of claim you need to make in order to obtain compensation for your injuries.
3. Keep Any Evidence
If you have any evidence relating to the accident or your injuries, be sure to keep it in a safe location and submit it to your attorneys at the earliest opportunity. You may want to write down a chronology of the accident while the details are still fresh in your mind, for example. Alternatively, if anyone took photographs of the scene of the accident or you received any written correspondence from your employer in the days or weeks after the incident, this could be used as evidence in subsequent claims.
Claiming Compensation After a Construction Accident
If you’ve been injured on a construction site, your recovery and well-being is, of course, your top priority. By getting legal advice, however, you can ensure that you’re properly compensated for the injuries you experienced. In addition to this, taking legal action and raising awareness of accidents on site may help to prevent other workers from being injured in the future.
