Construction workers injuries may occur due to the use of powerful machinery, climb to high heights, or work on the edge of roads where traffic accidents may occur. Unfortunately, due to the inherent nature of work, construction workers face a serious risk of injury at work. If you are a construction worker injured at work, you may face serious medical problems, persistent pain, and financial problems due to missed work and medical bills. New York law provides many protections for construction workers injured at work. It is important to understand the rights that these laws give you.
Common Construction Workers Injuries
Construction sites are dangerous places and the job is very physical. This can cause many types of injuries on construction sites where construction workers face many different risks at work. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has identified the main causes of injuries on construction sites, including:
- Falling from a height – Workers may fall from a building, scaffolding, or machine to the ground below. Workers may also fall into holes in construction sites or
- Ditches collapsed – when the ditches collapse, the air supply for workers may be cut off, workers may be buried alive, or suffer crush injuries.
- Collapsed scaffolding – OSHA has strict regulations to ensure safety The stability of the scaffolding and scaffolding, but there may still be problems, causing workers to fall and die and
- Receive severe electric shocks and/or electric arcs/explosions – the use of generators, power tools, machinery, and wires all expose construction workers to dangerous electric burns.
- Failure to wear appropriate protective equipment – Safety helmets, safety glasses, and other personal protective equipment should be worn at the construction site at all times to avoid injury.
- Repetitive strain injury – by repeating the same thing over and over again, muscles and soft tissues will wear out and be damaged, limiting mobility and causing pain. These injuries usually develop over time and can cause pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness.
Construction workers injuries on construction sites may be also caused by
- traffic accidents
- collapsed ladders
- tool or equipment failures
- errors of other workers
- tool or mechanical accidents
Construction site workers who experience these or other accidents may suffer a variety of serious injuries, including:
- Burns,
- Electric shocks,
- Eye injuries, including visual impairment or blindness,
- Broken knees and ankles,
- Neck, shoulder, or back injuries,
- Spinal cord injuries, which can result in paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Diseases caused by exposure to toxic chemicals,
- Dead injury and/or brain injury
- In the most tragic case, the injury of the construction worker can be fatal.
Benefits Available for Construction workers injuries
When you are injured on a construction site, you need to pay for medical expenses. You may also need to take time off, switch to less physically demanding work, or even stop working permanently due to injury. Loss of medical expenses and income can be substantial and can lead to financial disaster; however, New York’s laws are designed to ensure that workers do not go bankrupt due to work-related injuries. People injured in a construction accident in New York have two possible options to obtain compensation:
Workers’ Compensation Benefits
All employers must buy workers’ compensation insurance for employees. These policies cover construction workers injuries who sustain a labor injury for any reason. If you are hurt by doing your job, your injury is covered whether it happened in your normal workplace or anywhere else you have to be. This is true even if your employer was not negligent. It is also true even if you made mistakes that caused your workplace injury, as long as you have not violated the company’s policy or intoxicating. workers’ compensation provides payment of their medical costs. It also covers lost salaries and provides disability benefits if you are permanently disabled or temporarily. If you can not work at all, then you are eligible for total disability benefits. If you have to change to a lower-paying job because you are presented with restricted service, you can receive partial disability benefits to compensate for lost money due to your forced labor change. In the event that death occurs, surviving dependents can also receive death benefits through workers’ compensation. workers’ compensation is the only way to take action against your employer. He can not sue his employer for a labor injury. However, the coverage provided is extensive and can make a compensation claim for workers due to acute injuries caused by an accident, repetitive stress injuries, or disease due to toxic exposure.
Third-Party Injury Claims
If someone other than your employer did something that caused your construction accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit. For example, if an architect participates in and supervises the project, and the architect’s negligence caused you to be injured, you may have a third-party litigation claim. If a tool or machine is defective, you may bring a third-party lawsuit against the manufacturer of the defective machine. Third-party litigation allows you to obtain the compensation that you cannot get through worker’s compensation, such as paying for pain and suffering. However, you need to prove that the product, machine, or tool is negligent or defective when used as expected in order to successfully file a third-party claim.
How Attorneys Can Help Injured Construction Workers
- If you or your loved one is injured while doing construction work, a lawyer can provide comprehensive legal representation and can help you:
- Determine whether to file a workers’ compensation or third-party liability claim (or both).
- If bills are not paid, if there is a dispute over health insurance, or if the insurance company tries, dealing with the workers’ compensation insurance company to force you to return to work prematurely
- Collect evidence to prove that you are eligible for compensation.
- Progress your claim process
- Appeal the rejection of workers’ compensation claims.
- If there is a dispute about benefits, negotiate a settlement.
- A third party claim will bring a lawsuit to the court and/or negotiate a settlement with a responsible third party.
These are just a small part of the many services that lawyers provide to injured construction workers
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