One of the most dangerous industries for workers in the construction industry. Every year, the construction industry ranks number one with the most work-related construction site injuries. There are many ways for a tradesman or construction site laborer to be injured. Whether the injury happens from a slip and fall, lifting injuries, scaffolding injuries, falling objects, electrocutions, trench collapse, or malfunctioning construction equipment, these incidents could cause serious injuries or even deaths. In 2019 alone, there were 136 work-related deaths in the construction and extraction occupation industries in Texas.
When you suffer from a significant construction injury, it can turn your life upside down. You may have a lot of questions. Who’s going to pay your medical bills? How will you pay your bills, your mortgage, your rent, or put food on your family’s table? Or what if you have a family member who suffered a construction site injury and died? While you’re dealing with the psychological and emotional loss, you also have to deal with the financial loss.
But you don’t have to go through this alone. We are here to help you through this difficult time. If you have questions about a construction injury claim, our Denton construction accident lawyers are just a quick phone call away.
Contents
1. What to Do Immediately After a Construction Site Injury
2. Workers’ Comp vs. Third-Party Negligence Claims
3. Get Help from a Denton Construction Accident Attorneys Today
What to Do Immediately After a Construction Site Injury
No matter how the work injury happened, you should do the following things to protect your rights and protect your construction site injury claim:
- Tell your supervisor about the incident and injury and make sure an incident report was filled out. Some construction workers don’t do this immediately because they think they’ll get better in a few days and don’t want to cause trouble. But sometimes, injuries appear small at first but then become very serious. If you wait a week or two before officially reporting the injury, your employer and the workers’ comp insurance company won’t believe you and may deny your claim.
- Immediately seek medical care, even if you initially think the work-related injury isn’t that serious. Getting in to see a doctor will not only get you diagnosed and put on a treatment plan, but it will also help support your injury claim.
- Do not agree to provide a recorded or written statement to any insurance adjuster, attorney, or investigator for your employer, especially if you haven’t yet hired a construction accident attorney. Giving a recorded statement without your lawyer present can come back to haunt you if the case has to go to trial.
- Write down the names of any witnesses to the work accident so that, if necessary, they can provide their version of the facts and support the incident and injury.
- Immediately contact a law firm that focuses its practice on Texas construction accident injuries and claims. The law firm you hire should be very experienced in both personal injury law and Texas workers’ comp law.
You have to understand that your employer and their insurance companies may not be out to help you. They will have a small army of adjusters, investigators, and attorneys fighting against you. But you need to have your own aggressive legal team fight for your rights.
Workers’ Comp vs. Third-Party Negligence Claims
Everyone knows that if you get hurt at work, any wage loss and medical bills will likely be covered by your employer’s workers’ comp insurance company. But you can’t sue your employer for negligence under a straight workers’ comp claim. However, if a third party was negligent and caused your work injury, not only can you get workers’ comp benefits, but you can also file a construction injury claim against the negligent company. For example, let’s say a separate company set up the scaffolding on a job site and it collapsed while you were on it. If their negligence caused your injuries, you can file a separate lawsuit against the scaffolding company. Under that separate lawsuit, you can potentially settle your case for a lump sum amount.
The average settlement amount for a Texas construction site injury will depend on the facts and the severity of the injuries. Here are the types of damages you can recover under a third-party negligence claim that you can’t get under a straight workers’ comp claim:
- All past and future medical expenses not covered by workers’ comp,
- All lost income and diminished future earning capacity if your injury caused a permanent disability,
- Loss of consortium for your spouse,
- Pain and suffering and loss of life’s pleasures, and
- A wrongful death claim.
But remember that you have a limited amount of time to file a personal injury claim against a third party for negligence. In Texas, the statute of limitations is two years, meaning that you have two years from the date of the accident to file suit against the party responsible for your injury. Two years is also the limitation period for wrongful death claims.
Get Help from a Denton Construction Accident Attorneys Today
When you’re fighting for your rights after a construction injury, you need a law firm that focuses its practice on helping seriously injured construction workers. Let Hartley Law Firm use knowledge, skills, and resources to take on the big insurance companies and big corporations. We will fight for your right to receive the full and fair compensation you deserve.
We are here to help you seek compensation after a construction site accident in Denton, TX. There is no downside in contacting us to get your questions answered because the initial consultation is free. Call or reach us online today.
