Riverside County Construction Accident Lawyer

Riverside County is growing and beautifying on a daily basis. Driving through any of the cities in the county, you are likely to come across numerous construction projects in progress. While this amount of development is necessary and desired in our county, it also increases the potential for injury to construction workers as well as bystanders and passersby. After all, the construction industry does have one of the highest rates of injury and death in the United States.

“The Fatal Four”

Sadly, according to figures from OSHA, over 4,400 workers in the United States were killed on the job in 2013, with 856 being attributed to construction site accidents. Nearly 4 percent of all construction workers across the country have suffered injuries that were serious enough to require them to lose time from work or have job restrictions imposed or transfers. An astonishing one out of every five worker fatalities was in the construction industry.

OSHA has labeled the “fatal four” leading causes of deaths on construction sites as falls, being struck by an object, electrocution or being caught or stuck in between two objects.

The Problem With Workers’ Compensation

A small percentage of your regular wages is generally all workers’ compensation insurance will pay. This mediocre sum is all that is offered to compensate a construction injury victim for a possible lifetime of disability and loss of work. This is typically not sufficient to support a family. An experienced construction accident attorney at the Law Offices of Brent. A. Duque will advocate on your behalf to ensure that you receive the medical care and monetary compensation you are entitled to.

Third Party Liability

Depending on the specifics surrounding the accident, a construction worker who is injured on the job site might be eligible to recover further compensation while also receiving benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Let’s say an electrician working for ABC Electrical Contractors was on a ladder working. Signs and warnings were posted in the electrician’s work area, but the ladder was hit by a van driven by XYZ Plumbing Contractors when the driver was distracted by his phone. He never saw the warnings, the ladder or the electrician. As a result of the fall, the electrician suffers a permanent injury.

Because XYZ is a separate business entity, California law permits the electrician to bring a personal injury lawsuit against XYZ and its driver at the same time he pursues his workers’ compensation claim. That’s called third party liability. Damages in the third party liability personal injury lawsuit aren’t limited like those in a workers’ compensation claim. While seeking damages in the lawsuit, the injured worker can also collect workers’ compensation benefits for purposes of paying medical bills and keeping their household and family going.

Others Get Injured Too

While it is easy to imagine that construction workers are at greater risk of injury due to increased exposure at a construction site, they are not the only ones who might get injured or killed in a construction accident. Others who might be injured include motorists, pedestrians or others just going about their daily activities. A pedestrian or bystander could be injured by a falling tool or piece of construction material. A motorist, using all necessary due care and caution around the site, could be injured by a truck or by a heavy equipment operator. Even though these people are independent of anybody working on the construction project, they are still permitted to file a personal injury lawsuit against any companies and employees on the site that they believe were responsible for their injuries. If you have been wrongly involved and injured, we invite you to contact us as soon as you can about this.

At the Riverside County Law Offices of Brent A. Duque, we maintain a staff of a highly professional, knowledgeable, aggressive and successful construction site accident attorneys who represent injured people through our offices that stretch across Southern California. Time limitations apply to any injury claim you might have, so for purposes of investigating a possible case and possibly preserving evidence, it’s best for you to contact us immediately after an accident. Contact the Riverside County law office of Brent A. Duque at 877-241-9554 for a free consultation and case evaluation. You can even use our online contact form, and we’ll reply to you quickly.