The California Construction Accident Guide was created by our attorneys to help residents obtain maximum compensation from the negligent party. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, contact our office for a free consultation.
In Los Angeles, there is construction all over the place. This is a busy city that we live in and it is sprawling. When construction accidents happen, they can be devastating for victims. Whether you were the innocent bystander struck down by construction equipment or you are a worker who was hurt due to someone’s negligence, you may be eligible for compensation. We know just how awful it can be to suffer injuries from these types of accidents and you should not be forced to suffer financially because of someone else’s mistakes. Our Los Angeles construction accident lawyer, Mindy Bish, is here to do one job and that is to get you justice.
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How You Get Compensation
Before you can do anything to get compensation, you have to make sure that this accident and these injuries are documented. You absolutely should tell your boss right away about what happened. If they do not write it down, as them to. Ask for a copy of the accident report and keep that for your own records. This is very important. Make sure that you collect evidence through pictures and videos from the scene as that can be used. Lastly, most importantly, get to the doctor so they can thoroughly examine your injuries so that we know the full extent of them.
The obstacle for injured workers is that you cannot bring a claim against your boss if you have workers’ compensation available to you. However, it is very common for these accidents to involve a third party. In these cases, you can bring a third party injury claim against the negligence party. It is very similar to bringing an injury claim like someone would for a slip and fall or a car accident claim. It is a claim against the insurance of the liable party and they will be responsible for your pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical bills.
If you are an injured worker and are relying on workers’ compensation to get you the money you need for your bills and lost wages, and your employer does not offer it, you might be worried. It is actually unlawful to not have workers’ compensation for construction workers. Your employer can get in a world of trouble if they do not provide you with workers’ compensation. It is also unlawful to knowingly withhold information about workers’ compensation and how you can get it. If for some reason, this is the case for you, call us immediately so that we can guide you through your next logical steps.
Types of Construction Accidents
There is no injury case without the accident that caused it. These injuries tend to be more severe than perhaps a slip and fall because there is usually heavy machinery involved and dangerous heights. It is important for us to understand how the accident happened and who or what caused the accident so we can effectively represent you. The most common types of accidents that happen on a construction site include:
- Crushing
- Falling from Heights
- Getting struck by falling objects
- Construction vehicle accidents
Negligence is a huge cause to these accidents. If someone acting negligently or maliciously, that affects your compensation ability. If there is an OSHA violation, that is something we would like to uncover. If there are workers without proper training, or blatant violations of safety rules and regulations, that clearly points to negligence and we want to figure out exactly who caused it. All of this is important information when we look at the cause of the accidents as they can be quite severe.
We see it far more frequently than we would like to, but there are articles upon articles about how construction workers are terribly hurt and are sometimes killed in these types of accidents. If you have lost your loved one due to a construction accident, please know that we are here to help you too. We have our best interests in mind and will dedicate our fight to getting justice for you.
An attorney is an advocate that you won’t want to go without. They understand the inner-workings of these cases and how insurance companies might try to make this difficult for you. With the help of your attorney, we will uncover every layer of protection that is afforded to you to recover damages including third party lawsuits and workers compensation. On your own, you may be missing out on vital aspects of this case that could help you truly get all you are entitled to.
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Frequently Asked Construction Accident Questions
What Should I Do If I’m Hurt on a Construction Site?
There are several things you should do if you’ve been seriously injured on a construction site. First and foremost, always seek medical attention immediately. You always need to report the incident to the job foreman or your supervisor. If possible, you should take photographs of the scene and your injuries. You should collect the names and phone numbers of any witnesses that may have seen what happened when you were injured. These things are extremely important. You also don’t ever want to give a recorded statement to anyone without first consulting with an attorney. If your injuries are serious, contacting an attorney is always a good decision.
How Do I Pick the Best Attorney?
There are a lot of different things that go into deciding what type of attorney is best to represent you and your interests. Like any other profession, not all attorneys are created equal. There are several attorneys that actually never set foot in a courtroom to try a case, so you should always ask whether or not the firm tries cases in courtrooms. Attorneys that try cases will get different results than attorneys that never set foot in a courtroom, because other attorneys and insurance adjusters know which firms are willing to take the risk and which ones are not. Also know that selecting an attorney is important because it’s a relationship, and it’s a relationship that will last from a few months to perhaps several years, so you always want to make sure that you feel comfortable with who you’ve chosen and that it’s a right fit for you.
What Mistakes Should I Avoid Making?
The other day, a client came into my office. He had been seriously injured on a construction site, and he made a mistake that I often see from clients. He did not immediately report the injury to his supervisor or job foreman. He believed he was going to get better with time and that he could deal with it. That wasn’t the case.
Common mistakes to avoid if you’re seriously injured on a construction site include waiting to tell someone that you got hurt.. You don’t want to wait to seek medical care and treatment either. You don’t want to miss getting names and phone numbers of other witnesses that may have seen what happened. You don’t want to miss your opportunity to photograph the scene and the site and the time of your injury.
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Should I Talk to the Insurance Company?
My advice is that you should never talk or speak with any representative or any insurance company without first consulting with an attorney, and it is never a good idea to do that on your own. Quite often, these insurance representatives will ask questions in a way that will lead you into giving answers that maybe are not entirely accurate and do not accurately reflect what actually occurred. Always seek the advice of counsel before giving any statement to any representative of any insurance company.
How Long Will My Case Take?
There’s no hard and fast answer for that. The truth is that it depends. Some claims can be resolved within a matter of months, some take several years. You have two years to file a lawsuit for injury claims. In that two-year period, we would gather evidence and investigate, and also speak with representatives from insurance companies.
There’s always the possibility that the case can be resolved prior to filing a lawsuit. However, quite often, insurance companies do not want to pay the full value of a claim unless a lawsuit is filed. Once you file a lawsuit, typically most cases will get to trial in about two years. Some cases can be resolved faster. Some cases, depending on the issues and the amount of parties in a case may take longer than that two-year time frame. Cases can resolve in a few months or it can take several years. It all depends.
How Much is My Claim Worth?
If you are to ask me this, I will tell you that the value of your case will depend on many factors. One is the gravity of the injury. A broken leg is different than a broken pinkie finger. Another thing that will affect the value of your claim is the extent of the injury. Will you recover from your injuries fully, or is it a life-long injury? How egregious was the conduct of your employer? Did the employer do something really horrible that injured you, or was this just a matter of somebody simply making a mistake?
The amount of medical treatment you receive affects the value of your case. Whether or not you can return to your employment affects the value of your case. Some people need to be fully retrained and go into a completely different career because of their injuries. That will also affect the value of your case. Quite often, initially at the beginning, we cannot really tell the full value of your case. It takes time and the expertise of medical professionals to help us determine that.
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Call Our California Construction Accident Lawyers Today
If you were terribly hurt on a construction site, you may be worried about how you are going to manage things financially. Our California construction accident lawyer, Mindy Bish, can help you get the compensation you deserve. Please call our office today for a free consultation to see how we can help you on the way to getting what you are entitled to.
About the Author
Stacey Cutting is an associate at Bish & Cutting, APC, dedicated to helping clients to recover from their catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. Stacey attended law school at the University of La Verne, and graduated at the top of her class. Since she began practicing in 2009, she has only ever represented injured plaintiffs, taking bold yet measured actions to root out those who violate the safety rules that protect us all.
Stacey has taken successful approaches to personal injury cases by always advocating for what’s best for her client, and never backing down. She is a faculty member at the Keenan Trial Institute, specializing in teaching other attorneys about taking meaningful depositions to help move their clients’ cases forward.
