General Construction Site Accident InformationA guide to Construction Site Accidents and Injuries, including an overview of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplace safety, workers compensation laws, filing a construction accident lawsuit, and the statute of limitation in cases of construction accidents. Construction Accidents Defined · Workplace Safety · Liability and Fault · Occupational Safety and Health Administration-OSHA · Workers Compensation and Construction Accidents · Filing a Construction Accident Lawsuit · Statute of Limitations Construction Accidents DefinedRegardless of their type of work, construction workers deal with dangerous working conditions. Consequently, serious work-related injuries on construction sites are not uncommon. Both OSHA and state regulations, specifications, inspections, requirements, and job safety programs all seek to reduce or eliminate construction site accidents. Nevertheless, accidents occur and will continue to occur, due to the nature of construction jobs and the sheer numberof hazards faced by construction workers. Construction site hazards and types of construction accidents include falls from scaffolds and other elevations, welding injuries, trench injuries, being struck by machinery, electrocution, exposure to asbestos and other chemicals, injuries caused by defective or unreasonably unsafe equipment, and lifting and repetitive motion injuries. Workplace SafetyYou, as a construction worker, have the right to a workplace reasonably free of health and safety hazards. However, often on construction sites, due to negligence, willful disregard for the law, or some other reason, this is not the case. If you are a construction worker and believe that you are working in an unreasonably unsafe work environment, the first step should be to notify your supervisor, verbally and then in writing. If this type of complaint proves ineffective, and the unsafe work environment continues, then the next reasonable step would be to inform OSHA. Complaints can be filed online, over the phone, or by mail. You should also consider speaking with a construction accident attorney, who can help ensure that your work environment is safe. Liability and FaultIn Construction Site Law and Construction Accident Law, determining liability can be a very complicated task becuase of the number of laws and persons involved. Obviously, the larger the construction project, the greater degree of delegation by owners and construction site managers, and the more persons involved in any givern accident and potentially liable for damages. Persons involved with a construction project that may, depending on the details of the particular accident, bear some degree of fault include: The property owner on which construction is taking place Design professionals, including engineers and architects General Contractors Subcontractors Prime Contractors Construction site managers, foremen, and other persons in charge of workers Manufacturers and suppliers of machinery, equipment, and materials that turn out to be defective or unreasonable unsafe Insurance CompaniesThe degree to which any given party is at fault and responsible for damages is directly related to the extent to which that person or party had control over the construction site and the work being done where the accident took place. Occupational Safety and Health Administration-OSHAThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration aims to ensure employee safety and health in the United States by working with employers and employees to create better working environments. Since its inception in 1971, OSHA has helped to cut workplace fatalities by more than 60 percent and occupational injury and illness rates by 40 percent. At the same time, U.S. employment has increased from 56 million employees at 3.5 million worksites to more than 135 million employees at 8.9 million sites. Workers Compensation and Construction AccidentsOften, following a construction accident, the injured construction worker believes that he or she is only entitled to workers compensation. This is not always the case, and if you have been injured in a construction site accident, you should consider other legal remedies which enable you to recover compensation for damages, injuries, lost wages, etc, and thereby make it easier to provide for yourself and your family in a difficult time. Filing a Construction Accident LawsuitFiling an effective construction Accident Lawsuit begins immediately after you have been injured. Following these steps will ensure that you are prepared to protect your legal rights and present an effective construction accident claim, as well as deal with an workers compensation issues. Statute of LimitationsThe statute of limitations is the time limit within which you must legally file your construction accident lawsuit. It is dependant, to some extent, on the details of your particular case. However, the state in which the construction accident happened is even more important, as each state has different laws with regard to the statute of limitations for construction accidents. The strikingly wide range of possible statutes of limitations is most clearly shown with Minnesota state law. There, statute of limitations for a construction accident ranges from two (2) years to six (6) years, depending on which theory of liability applies. Other states differ from this. The statute of limitations is further complicated if a government body is in some way responsible. In these cases, the statute of limitations is even shorter. As with other personal injury lawsuits, if you do not file or settle your construction injury lawsuit within the statute of limitations, you lose your legal right to sue for third party damages. Consequently, if you have been injured in an accident on a construction site, it is advisable that you contact a local, experienced construction accident lawyer, in order to find out that statute of limitations on your case, and also because laws can change and different factors can affect the statute of limitations.  All content on Accidents.com is for informational purposes only and is NOT intended as legal or medical advice. Please seek advice from a professional on any related topics.
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All content on Accidents.com is for informational purposes only and is NOT intended as legal or medical advice. Please seek advice from a professional on any related topics.
