Tuscaloosa Construction Accidents

At Cross & Smith, our Tuscaloosa Construction Accident Lawyers have successfully represented many people injured at construction sites, and we understand how to approach a construction accident case.

Construction sites are extremely dangerous. As any construction worker knows, safety is listed as the top priority on any job site. Sometimes, however, safety is only given lip service, and management’s true priority is completing the job as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Even when safety is truly prioritized, construction sites remain inherently dangerous. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there were 816 fatal on-the-job injuries to construction workers in 2009 – more than any other single industry, and 19 percent of all work-related deaths in the U.S. in 2009. Serious non-fatal injuries on construction sites are also extremely common.

When a construction worker is injured on the job, sometimes his or her only source of compensation for injury is through workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance required for most employers, and provides compensation regardless of whose fault the injury is. Even a worker who accidentally injures himself can receive workers’ compensation, as long as the injury was in the course of his job. However, a worker injured on the job generally cannot sue his employer in a civil suit for his injuries, even if the employer failed to follow proper standards and was negligent.

Unfortunately the workers’ compensation system generally does not provide full compensation for injuries, and is an inflexible system that does not take into account all issues that may be unique to a particular worker’s claim. However, in many construction injury cases, other parties contribute to the injury, and those parties may be liable for those injuries. In these cases, a civil claim may be made against the third party, which typically results in greater compensation for the injured victim.

Even small construction sites often involve employees of multiple different companies – usually subcontractors – working on the same site. Where an employee of a different contractor is responsible for causing your injury, that employee (and his employer) may be liable for those injuries through a civil lawsuit. In other instances dangerous and defective products can cause serious injury on a job site, and poor design by an engineer or poor management of the site by the general contractor can also cause injury. Some contractors hire day laborers or treat their workers as independent contractors, which can alter the typical employer/employee relationship and create potential liability for the employer.

Construction sites can also be dangerous for people other than workers on the site. Construction sites frequently damage nearby roads, can create hazards of falling debris, and otherwise injure pedestrians who must walk near the site.

If you have been injured in a construction accident, it is important to hire an experienced Tuscaloosa, Alabama construction accident attorney. The world of construction has its own lingo, a unique culture, and an often complex set of federal and state safety regulations. Cross & Smith handles serious workers’ compensation claims as well as third party civil suits against other responsible parties. For advice and representation in your construction accident claim, call our office for a free confidential consultation at (877) 791-0618.