By: Russell Keener  —  September 19, 2011
 

Con­struc­tion site acci­dents are respon­si­ble for more injuries on the job than in any other indus­try, but often it is hard to deter­mine who is actu­ally to blame.  The nature of this type of work makes acci­dents inevitable; dan­ger­ous chem­i­cals, heavy machin­ery and equip­ment, falling debris and other fac­tors put work­ers at risk.  As expe­ri­enced Mari­etta con­struc­tion acci­dent lawyers, we under­stand that those who suf­fer seri­ous injuries on con­struc­tion sites have their hands full try­ing to deter­mine who may be held liable.

Here are some help­ful tips to help you under­stand which party/parties may be held accountable:

Con­struc­tion site owner — The owner of the con­struc­tion site shoul­ders the respon­si­bil­ity for mak­ing sure that the oper­a­tions are safe for work­ers.  How much con­trol the owner has over the premises and project fac­tor in to their lia­bil­ity, as well as whether they have prior knowl­edge of exist­ing or poten­tial haz­ards that could put work­ers (or vis­i­tors) at risk.

Gen­eral con­trac­tors — On occa­sion, gen­eral con­trac­tors assume respon­si­bil­ity over a con­struc­tion site, mean­ing they should take pre­cau­tions to ensure that acci­dents are avoided.  A gen­eral con­trac­tor may be respon­si­ble for imple­ment­ing safety mea­sures and mak­ing cer­tain they are fol­lowed.  Cer­tain fac­tors may limit the gen­eral contractor’s lia­bil­ity, includ­ing how much con­trol he/she has been del­e­gated, the extent of respon­si­bil­ity over work­ers, and knowl­edge of any poten­tial or exist­ing safety risks or dan­gers in the area.

Oth­ers who may be liable for injuries you sus­tain on a con­struc­tion site

Con­trac­tors, sup­pli­ers, engi­neers, man­agers and even design pro­fes­sion­als may be held account­able for injuries you suf­fer in an acci­dent.  In order to deter­mine which party/parties may be liable, it is to your ben­e­fit to con­sult with an expe­ri­enced Geor­gia per­sonal injury lawyer.

In order to recover med­ical and mon­e­tary dam­ages along with other ben­e­fits, it is rec­om­mended that you file a Work­ers’ Com­pen­sa­tion claim.  Again, this can be a con­fus­ing and com­plex process, so you may want to talk with an attor­ney who can guide you and answer any ques­tions you may have.

Gen­eral guide­lines regard­ing how to file a Work­ers’ Comp claim

1.  Report the acci­dent to your imme­di­ate super­vi­sor in a timely manner.

2.  Fill out a claim form.  Be sure to attach all doc­u­ments that help to sup­port your claim such as employ­ment records, a writ­ten report of the acci­dent and med­ical records/details.

3.  Sub­mit your claim form and sup­port­ing doc­u­ments quickly so that you can have access to med­ical cov­er­age or assis­tance pro­vided by the company.

It is essen­tial that you under­stand who may be liable for costs related to your injuries when you are hurt on a con­struc­tion site.  Depend­ing upon the seri­ous­ness of your injuries, you could be fac­ing finan­cial dev­as­ta­tion con­sid­er­ing lost wages and med­ical expenses.  Should you require ther­apy, reha­bil­i­ta­tion or extended med­ical treat­ment, the costs could lit­er­ally bank­rupt your family.

Know your options; when you are unclear about your rights, who is respon­si­ble or how to file a Work­ers’ Comp claim, con­sult with a skilled lawyer.  For a free con­fi­den­tial con­sul­ta­tion about your case, call The Keener Law Firm, 770–955-3000.