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Construction accidents can involve construction workers and contractors on a job site, passers-by and vehicles near the construction site, and even neighbors to a construction site affected by falling cranes or vibrations. These kinds of accidents can cause serious injury, potentially requiring expensive medical care, forcing victims to miss work, and causing substantial pain and suffering.
If you or a loved one was injured in a construction accident in Arlington, Texas or the surrounding areas, call The Queenan Law Firm today. Our Arlington construction accident lawyers represent injury victims and their families, and the families of deceased construction accident victims, and we fight to get them compensation for their injuries. For a free legal consultation on your case, call our attorneys today at (817) 476-1797.
Common Causes of Construction Accidents
A construction accident can occur in many ways. Workers are at a constant risk of injury if their safety training or safety gear fails to keep them safe, potentially facing harm from malfunctions or mistakes involving power tools or machinery, slip and falls on debris or dangers at the job site, falls from ladders or scaffolding, explosions from breached fuel tanks, and other risks on the job site. Many of these injuries are substantial enough to justify a lawsuit for financial compensation.
However, construction workers are not the only ones at risk for injuries. People passing near the job site could also be injured. This could include drivers on the road outside the construction site, who could be injured by falling debris or collapsing structures or cranes, or passers-by who cross through the construction site or pass near it. If a mistake on the construction site causes any of these people to be injured, they may be entitled to claim compensation as well.
The construction site’s neighbors could also be injured. If you live next to a construction site, you might have to put up with the sound of power tools or hammering at early hours, but you should not have to put up with serious dangers. Companies operating construction sites have certain obligations to prevent the vibrations from machinery and tools from affecting nearby structures and neighbors. If your home was damaged or you otherwise suffered injuries because of a collapse, vibrations, or explosions on a construction site, you may be entitled to sue the construction company for injuries.
Suing for Injuries on a Construction Site in Arlington
How to proceed with your injury claim will depend on your relationship to the construction site and who caused the accident that injured you.
Injured Construction Workers
Construction workers are often governed by workers’ compensation rules, which means that they need to file injury claims from workplace injuries with their employer’s workers’ comp. policy instead of suing their boss. However, workers in Texas are usually allowed to opt out of workers’ compensation when they start a new job, allowing them to sue instead if and when they suffer injuries.
Some construction workers are not covered by workers’ compensation. Independent contractors are typically not covered by a construction company’s workers’ compensation because they are not actual employees at the company. However, if you are an employee on staff at a contractor’s construction firm, you might be covered under your direct boss’ workers’ comp. policy. Otherwise, you should be entitled to sue for injuries.
Injured Homeowners and Drivers
If you were injured in your own home or car, your homeowners insurance or auto insurance company might cover the injuries. However, the damages paid by insurance claims are often too low to cover the damages in full. Insurance policies with first-party coverage often limit the damages to cover only a certain percentage of medical bills and lost wages, they may require a deductible payment, and they usually will not cover pain and suffering. To get full compensation, you may need to sue the at-fault parties instead.
Injured While Crossing Through a Construction Site
Lastly, other people on the job site might be entitled to sue if they were passing through, whether they were allowed to be there or not. Passers-by are typically considered “licensees,” which means that they are legally allowed to be in the area. This is typical for construction sites along a sidewalk or inside a building that is open during construction. If something falls and hits you or you are otherwise injured because of mistakes or negligent acts committed by workers on the construction site, you may be entitled to sue them and their employer for your injuries. You may also be able to sue if the workers failed to take reasonable safety precautions, such as using safety nets to catch dropped debris or tool straps to prevent dropped tools from hitting people below.
Even if you were a trespasser on the construction site, you may be entitled to sue for injuries you faced. The law can be tricky in this kind of case, but unreasonable dangers that were left exposed, traps to harm intruders, or assault against a trespasser could entitle an injured trespasser to sue for damages.
As mentioned, victims of injuries can typically claim damages for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering related to the injury. To get these damages, they must prove that the at-fault party did something negligent to cause their injuries, and they must prove the value of the damages.
Call Our Arlington, TX Construction Injury Attorneys for a Free Case Consultation
If you or a loved one was injured in an accident on a construction site or a construction accident caused you injuries while you were walking, driving, or living near the site, call a lawyer to discuss the potential of filing a personal injury lawsuit. The Queenan Law Firm’s Arlington construction injury lawyers represent injured workers and other people injured by construction accidents, and we fight to get them compensation from the parties responsible for the harm. For a free legal consultation on your case, call our lawyers today at (817) 476-1797.