Shreveport Construction Accident Lawyer

Accidents can happen in just about any profession, but construction workers are particularly vulnerable. The higher occurrence of any personal injury during a construction accident is related to not only the essence of the job but also to the abundance of negligent management or hazardous workplace conditions. Construction accidents, however, usually result in significantly more catastrophic casualties than personal injury in other sectors, inflicting sufferers with grave, long-term disabilities or even sometimes death. That is why there is such an emphasis on construction safety.

A Shreveport construction accident lawyer at Greenwald Law Firm will provide extended service to help you understand your legal rights and tackle any action you decide to pursue to attain justice and other damages for a construction accident or any other related practice areas. Please contact us at 318-219-7867 today to get started on your claim.

What are Common Causes of Construction Accidents?

The construction industry accounts for almost one in every five work-related fatalities. According to OSHA, there were 4,779 deaths in the construction sector in the United States in 2018. Accidents on construction sites in central Louisiana, central Arkansas, and East Texas are commonly caused by the following factors:

• Workers on elevated sites do not have enough fall protection or safety supplies.
• Those on the ground are not protected from falling items.
• Construction materials and waste provide a tripping danger.
• On power tools, there are no construction safety products such as guards or precautions.
• Equipment and supplies that are unsafe, unclean, or not properly maintained.
• When working nearby electricity lines, there are no business or worker safety precautions taken.
• Workers in trenches are exposed due to a lack of protection.
• Property circumstances that are hazardous.
• Lack of respiratory protection from dangerous fumes or chemicals.
• Industrial powered vehicles, trucks, forklifts, etc. accidents.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety requirements are frequently found to be violated when a construction disaster is investigated thoroughly. Any contractor must follow the proper Stop Work Authority protocols, as breaches of the SWA are quite severe. As a result, it’s critical that you contact our lawyers as quickly as possible so that we can search, gather, and safeguard evidence of the possible violations that led to your injury. By bringing an injury case against your employer or any entity that was responsible in causing you injury, a dedicated Shreveport personal injury attorney like Joseph Greenwald, Jr. will ensure you get fair compensation for all you’ve suffered.

Construction Site Negligence

While construction is a notoriously dangerous industry, measures can and should be taken to help prevent accidents. Workers should receive adequate safety training, as well as wear safety equipment such as gloves, goggles, and hard hats.

However, it may be the case that not all workers were properly trained in safety or how to use the equipment. Perhaps the equipment being used had a malfunction, or maybe the conditions of the worksite were unsafe. In any case, if you were involved in a construction accident due to the negligence of another party, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Construction Safety Shreveport

Below are some important construction safety precautions and equipment you and your employer should certainly invest in when working in construction:

• Heavy-duty work gloves
• Face and eye protection (e.g., safety glasses)
• Respiratory protection (e.g., different respirators for different projects)
• Fall prevention system (e.g., lifeline or lanyard that is attached to a safety net, a strong surface, or guardrails)
• Head protection (e.g., hard hats that may need to be specialized for certain circumstances such as electricity)
• Foot protection (e.g., proper footwear such as steel-toed boots, slip-resistant, metatarsal protection, and puncture-resistant soles)
• Well-fitted clothing (e.g., flame retardant and high visibility material considerations)
• Hearing protection PPE (NOT plain cotton or earphones)
• First aid kits
• OSHA requirement meeting perimeter protections

Our Shreveport law firm strongly urges you to take every precaution you can with safety products and protective equipment and procedures to avoid injuries while in construction sites, as they can escalate in severity quickly. However, in the event that you find yourself injured and in need of qualified and experienced super lawyers, rest assured that our team here at Greenwald Law Firm will stop at nothing to help you obtain damages for your losses and seek justice against the at-fault parties.

What are Common Construction Site Injuries?

There’s no denying construction is a dangerous job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported roughly 4,500 job-related deaths in 2014. Of those deaths, one in five were construction workers. Every year there is an average of 26 construction-related deaths in Louisiana, according to The Louisiana Department of Health, Hospitals, and the Occupational Health Injury Surveillance Program.
According to OSHA, there are four leading causes of death in construction workers:

• Slips and falls
• Electrocutions
• Being struck by an object
• Being caught in or between equipment, structures, or materials

Construction site injuries can range in severity, from relatively minor injuries like sprains to catastrophic injuries such as permanent disability or even death. The most common injuries from on-site accidents often include:

• Broken bones
• Knee and ankle injuries
• Neck, shoulder, back, and spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis
• Burn injuries of all degrees
• Toxic and chemical exposure illnesses
• Brain and head injuries
• Eye injury and vision damage, impairment, or blindness

Personal Injury Claim vs. Workers’ Compensation

The main difference between a personal injury claim and a workers’ compensation claim is that personal injury claims require there to be a negligent party or entity to take responsibility for the harm done. Workers’ comp cases, on the other hand, don’t require a faulty party because each employee is entitled to those benefits with very few exceptions. You cannot sue your employers or colleagues for negligence or collect on pain and suffering damages if you accept workers’ comp. The only exception to this is if that party intentionally acted to cause you injury through more than just negligence.

Another significant distinction in damages among both personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation cases is that in every workers’ comp case, you are not guaranteed damages for pain and suffering. With injury cases, you get the right to be compensated for the whole of your losses. Some of these types of losses include lost wages, lost earning ability, medical costs, future medical costs, permanent disability, pain and suffering, and loss of pleasure of life. Only weekly comp, permanent or temporary disability payments, medical costs, and vocational rehabilitation are available in a workers’ comp claim.

Note that crewmembers of vessels and interstate railroad workers do not fall under any workers’ compensation laws, but rather under the Jones Act and the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) respectively.

Potential Construction Accident Claims:

Shreveport Workers’ Compensation Claim
Shreveport Product Liability Claim
Shreveport Premises Liability Claim
Shreveport Personal Injury Claim
Shreveport Wrongful Death Claim

Why Do I Need a Shreveport Construction Accident Attorney?

If you’ve been injured on a construction site, our experienced construction accident attorneys will assist you in comprehending the means and process to file a civil suit and which legal theories to launch the case, along with assisting you with just a workers’ comp claim, if appropriate. A skilled construction accident lawyer can assist you in recovering damages as a result of your incident while also reducing the volume of paperwork and stress involved with insurance and legal claims. Hiring an attorney might be the only difference between a fairly settled lawsuit or losing money treating your accident-related injuries.

The knowledgeable accident lawyers at Greenwald Law Firm can assist you in recovering compensation for any damages sustained as a result of what happened, including medical bills, missed earnings, and future medical needs. Furthermore, if a loved one lost their life on a construction project, our legal professionals in Shreveport, LA can help customers locally in recovering through a wrongful death lawsuit.

Call a Top Shreveport Construction Site Accident Attorney Today

Many workers may not be able to sue their employer for an injury sustained while on a job. However, if the accident was a result of third-party negligence, you may be entitled to more than just workers’ compensation. You need an experienced Shreveport personal injury lawyer who can review your case and determine the true cause of your accident. You need Joseph Greenwald, Jr. of the Greenwald Law Firm. Call (318) 219-7867 or complete our online intake form today to schedule your free consultation.