Construction has a long and well-deserved reputation for being one of the most dangerous industries in this country. Extensive governmental regulations as well as exacting industrial standards exist to try and keep construction workers safe from harm while at work. For instance, basic federal safety regulations involving construction include (1) fall protection (29 CFR §1926.501); (2) hazard communication (29 CFR §1926.59); and (3) personal protective equipment (PPE) (29 CFR §1926.95).
However, the reality remains that in Illinois and Indiana, anyone on the job at any construction site (think industrial; commercial; residential; infrastructure (road); or institutional) still faces an unacceptably high risk of suffering catastrophic injuries or even dying in a work accident. Those imposed with legal duties of safety and care in the construction industry continue, year after year, to fail to respect and comply with these mandates.
For more, read: “Back to Basics: A Look at Construction’s ‘Fatal Four’ Safety Hazards,” written by Guy Burdick and published by EHS Daily Advisor on November 25, 2024; and “Construction had the most fatalities of any industry last year,“ written by Zachary Phillips and published by Construction Dive on December 19, 2023.
Construction Worker Has Right to Seek Justice After On-the-Job Accident
When a construction worker is hurt on the job, he is given protection under state and federal law in the form of personal injury and workers’ compensation laws. The worker victim has the right to seek recompense against all those (companies and individuals) whose acts, or failures to act, were breaches of legal duties that caused or contributed to the worker’s accident and resulting harm. Some family members, likewise, may have legal claims that can be brought for damages in these matters. Read, Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages.
1. Workers’ Compensation
The construction worker who has been hurt on the job can file for benefits under a workers’ compensation insurance policy held by their employer under statutory schemes. There is not any need to prove fault here.
The claims process and the benefits provided are defined and controlled by state legislation (and sometimes, federal law). This is not the same as pursuing civil claims against various other parties in a civil injury lawsuit. Read, Damages are Different: Workers Compensation vs. Third Party Personal Injury Claims.
2. Personal Injury Civil Claims Against Third Parties
The worker victim can file for workers’ compensation. He can then investigate and pursue separate civil personal injury claims. These are entirely different legal roads for the worker and his family to take in their pursuit of justice. To learn more, read: The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
Of importance, no matter how expert the worker is in the construction trades, the victim’s opinion on the circumstances that produced the accident will not be enough to support their claim for relief against any and all third parties that are legally liable. Under the law, only those who meet evidentiary standards of being an expert in their particular field will be able to give evidence on the causes of the construction accident.
Accident Reconstruction Experts in Construction Accidents
Most construction sites, in the aftermath of an accident, are chaotic. Debris can be scattered everywhere. Toxic substances may be involved. Equipment, machinery, tools, and site materials can be dispersed throughout. It can take a significant period of time just to get the site running again, much less analyze and confirm what the job site reveals as all the reasons for why the accident happened.
For construction accident matters, it is often imperative to have the appropriate construction accident expert (or experts) involved in the job of proving up the worker’s right to damages. These professionals have extensive knowledge based upon both their education and expertise in particular aspects of the construction industry.
Different construction accidents will need different experts to come on board and be ready to explain to the fact-finder (like a jury) exactly what happened that day. These are experts that are different from forensic accounting experts in construction projects, where they opine on things like financing issues, bonds, cost overruns, and the like.
A good construction accident expert will be able to take their education and expertise, apply them to the facts they have discovered during their independent accident investigation, and form an opinion. This opinion will be detailed in their formal expert’s report. In addition to that written opinion, they will be ready explain in person, in deposition or at trial, using easily understood, layman’s terms everything that occurred and the failures that caused the worker’s injuries.
These construction accident experts include the following professionals.
1. Construction Site Accident Experts: Motor Vehicle Accident Reconstructionists
Within the accident reconstruction expert arena, most people are aware of those who are dedicated to researching, investigating, and opining on the reasons for motor vehicle accidents on our roadways. At times, their skill may be invaluable in an accident case on a construction site involving traffic moving through a road work zone, for instance, or the failures of a specialized truck that causes one or more workers to get hurt. For more, read Accident Reconstruction Experts and Injury Claims.
2. Construction Site Accident Experts: Engineers and Designers
Engineers or designers will be needed to bring understanding to cases where the problems may lie in things like bad building designs regarding the project itself, or flawed product designs where things like heavy machinery, heavy equipment, or power tools fail and harm one or more construction workers on the site.
Additionally, construction site accident expert engineers and designers may be able to explain in great detail the exact reasons for a trench failure or collapse, as well as struck-by or crushing incidents that result from equipment or machinery breakdown.
3. Construction Site Accident Experts: Safety
There are experts dedicated to understanding all the various state and federal safety regulations as well as the industrial safety standards that apply to a complicated construction worksite. These safety experts will understand all the various legal and industrial protections that were in place on the date of the accident, and all the various companies and individuals who bore these legal duties of safety and care.
They can then identify the assorted safety violations that contributed, like a Perfect Storm, to the construction workplace accident. Were there failures in safety management on the site that day?
For instance, the safety expert may point out that (1) not only was the construction worker not provided with the correct Personal Protective Equipment, but (2) there was a lack of warning signs on the site that day, where (3) improperly built or (4) shoddily maintained scaffolding failed and caused a fatal fall.
See: NSC Safety Experts Warn of Dangers Facing Workers in the OSHA Top Ten List of Violations.
4. Construction Site Accident Experts: Doctors
Physicians are an obvious help in explaining the injuries sustained by the worker victim, and to detail the present and future medical care needs and expenses the construction worker will likely incur. However, medical doctors also have expertise in how the human body sustains an injury, which can be vital in explaining how an event impacted the worker.
For instance, a medical doctor will be able to explain to the jury how an underground live wire on a road work construction site caused the death of the construction worker who came in contact with it. Likewise, a physician will be able to explain how exposure to toxic fumes caused harm on the site.
Read: Electrical Injuries and Electrocution Accidents on the Construction Site.
Workers Seeking Justice For Serious Construction Site Accident In Illinois or Indiana
The sad truth today in our part of the country is that far too many lives have been, and will continue to be, forever altered by preventable accidents on a construction site. Regardless of known dangers and hazards, too many of those with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the construction worksite simply disrespect or disregard existing care and safety standards. When this happens, workers can suffer permanent harm or perish in a construction site accident caused by these breaches of duty.
Worker victims and their loved ones have a right to independently investigate the work accident, and to pursue justice against those who are legally liable for what happened. This is separate and apart from the filing of a workers’ compensation claim.
Pursuing these third-party claims can be complex, stressful, anxiety-ridden, and burdensome. Having an experienced construction accident injury lawyer advocating for the victims is often a blessing. And these lawyers or law firms will respect the need for particularized expertise in the worker’s situation and be able to help the worker victim find the right expert for the job.
As a team, the lawyers and experts, together with the victim claimant, work together so those who have legally responsibility (contractors, subcontractors, engineers, manufacturers, architects, etc.) for the accident can be held accountable for their legal liabilities. See, Chicago Road Construction Worker Accidents: List of Third Parties Potentially Liable for On-the-Job Injuries.
For more on selecting an attorney after a work accident, read:
- Why a Lawyer who is a Trial Attorney Is Important for Accident Victims in Personal Injury Cases
- Questions To Ask When Choosing A Personal Injury Lawyer In Illinois Or Indiana
- How To Choose the Right Personal Injury Lawyer for You and Your Family
- What To Look For in a Personal Injury Lawyer in Indiana or Illinois.
Having a construction accident expert witness substantiating the demands made by the worker victim is needed in many injury claims in order to meet their burden of proof. Construction sites are extremely dangerous. Please be careful out there!
