As the largest industry in the United States, construction is unfortunately very dangerous. Hundreds of workers each year are injured or killed on construction sites, despite safety measures and OSHA regulations. If you have been injured on the job, then you should contact a construction injury lawyer as soon as possible to start building your case.
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Ask a Construction Injury Lawyer: How to Start Building Your Case
1. Get Medical Attention
The first thing you should do after you have been injured on a construction site is seek medical attention. The guidelines for getting emergency medical attention include excessive bleeding, head trauma, loss of limb, or other significant pain. For example, if you were injured by machinery or you fell and hit your head, you will need to seek emergency medical attention.
You may be able to go to urgent care for other types of injuries. For example, muscle strains or dropping a heavy item on your foot may only require treatment at an urgent care facility. Regardless of where you go, you must get medical attention as soon as you have been injured at work.
The Importance of Reporting Your Injury
When you are injured on the job, you must report your injury to your supervisor or employer. Not only does reporting your injury allow you to clock out to get medical treatment, but it will also start the process by which you can file a worker’s compensation claim. If you do not report your injury to your supervisor or employer, your employer may try to deny that you were injured at work, which could compromise your worker’s compensation claim.
2. Contact an Expert Lawyer
After you receive medical attention, you will need to contact an expert construction accident lawyer Houston. A lawyer will guide you through the process of filing a claim and give you advice on how to talk with your employer about your injury. Your lawyer will also be able to evaluate your claim and estimate your settlement amount based on the severity of your injury.
A lawyer may also need to evaluate your case if the person injured in the construction accident passed away. Because it’s not uncommon for construction accidents to result in death, many families file wrongful death lawsuits against employers. A lawyer will look at the details of the construction accident to judge whether you or your family have a viable wrongful death lawsuit.
3. Identify Liability
One essential component of building your workplace accident case is identifying liability. For a construction injury, the person or entity responsible for your injury can include coworkers, your employer, or other contractors who are on the construction site. It’s important to identify liability so you know who to file your claim against.
How OSHA Noncompliance May Affect Your Case
OSHA non-compliance is a major problem on construction sites. Although OSHA safety regulations are designed to protect construction workers, some employers may not follow all of these regulations, which can create an unsafe work environment. For your case, this could mean that you can file a personal injury lawsuit based on OSHA non-compliance.
4. Keep All Records
To build a successful case, you should keep all records related to your employment and medical treatments. All documents can serve as evidence to prove your case. For example, medical records that are dated on the day of your accident can become evidence of when you were injured. Your employment records can include evidence of pay cuts or even termination if you were fired because you were injured on the job.
You may also want to keep other records, such as photographs of your injury. Photographs taken of your injury will have a digital time stamp that can also prove when you were injured.
5. File a Claim or Lawsuit
Finally, a lawyer can help you file a claim or lawsuit. For many Texas construction workers, because construction is done on government property, employers are obligated to provide worker’s compensation insurance benefits to injured workers. However, if your employer tries to deny your worker’s compensation claim for any reason, you will need to work with a construction injury lawyer to prove your claim.
What If Your Employer Doesn’t Have Workers Compensation?
In some cases, your employer may not offer worker’s compensation, which means you will not be able to file a worker’s compensation insurance claim. However, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against your employer to ask for the same compensation you would have received from worker’s compensation benefits.
Construction is a dangerous industry and construction injuries are very common. Whether or not your employer has worker’s compensation insurance benefits, you may still need the help of a lawyer who specializes in construction accidents to get the maximum compensation you are entitled to.
