Construction is an extremely dangerous industry. If you or your loved one suffered an injury at a construction site in Augusta, Georgia, contact an attorney from Nicholson Revell Personal Injury Attorneys right away to discuss your legal rights. Our attorneys can help you obtain financial compensation from a careless party and move forward after a serious construction site accident.
We understand personal injury laws and doctrines, as well as how to prove them on a client’s behalf. Our Augusta personal injury lawyers have more than 100 years of combined legal experience.
Our law firm’s guiding principles are that everyone should have access to the civil justice system and that everyone deserves high-quality, compassionate legal representation.
We are leaders in the community and have a reputation for handling multimillion-dollar cases. We’ve recovered more than $140 million for our clients.
Common Construction Site Accidents
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in 2019 alone, 1,061 workers were killed in the construction industry. Every year, construction is where about one in five worker deaths in the U.S. occur. OSHA lists four top causes of construction worker deaths:
Falls
Struck-by objects
Electrocutions
Caught-in or between objects and equipment
At Nicholson Revell Personal Injury Attorneys, we offer our services to construction workers injured in these ‘Fatal Four’ accidents, as well as many other common types of construction site accidents:
Transportation accidents
Forklift accidents
Structural collapses
Crane accidents
Scaffold accidents
Elevator shaft falls
Power tool incidents
Exposure to toxic substances
Fires and explosions
Overexertion or repetitive motion
Our lawyers can represent clients with construction-related burns, broken bones, illnesses, traumatic brain injuries, lost limbs, back and neck injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other types of injuries. We also represent grieving families in Augusta during construction accident wrongful death claims.
Who Is Liable?
In a construction site accident claim, you may encounter the legal doctrine of vicarious liability. Vicarious liability stems from the phrase ‘respondeat superior.’ Literally translated, this means let the master speak. If a case involves vicarious liability, it means one party is accepting responsibility for the actions of another. It is most commonly used to hold employers responsible for the actions of their employees or parents responsible for their children.
If a coworker at your construction site job caused or contributed to your injury, you can most likely hold your employer vicariously responsible for losses. You may also be able to hold the construction company liable if its own negligence caused your injury, such as through inadequate worker training or lack of proper protective equipment. If your injury stemmed from a defective product, on the other hand, a product manufacturer may be liable.
Workers’ Compensation vs. Injury Lawsuit
If you are an injured construction worker in Augusta, Georgia, you may have two routes for recovery: a workers’ compensation insurance claim and/or a personal injury lawsuit. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, while you will need to prove negligence to obtain compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. A lawsuit, however, may result in a larger financial reward if you were injured as a result of negligence.
Note that you are unable to file a personal injury lawsuit against your employer after you have already accepted a workers’ compensation settlement. Accepting a settlement automatically gives your consent to give up the right to hold your employer legally responsible for the injury. If someone other than your employer is responsible, however, you may be able to recover through both legal systems in Georgia.
Contact an Augusta, Georgia Construction Site Accident Lawyer Today
A construction accident could give you a serious injury that impacts you for life. You may have to face high medical bills and lost past and future wages, as well as significant pain and emotional suffering. Find out if you have grounds for an insurance claim or lawsuit after a construction site accident today. Contact our attorneys at (706) 722-8784 or online for a free consultation. We are all local to the Augusta, Georgia area.
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