Lawrenceville Construction Accident Lawyer

Common Injuries from Construction Accidents

Given the heavy machinery, equipment, scaffolding, and other potential dangers in and around construction sites, a construction worker can sustain serious and debilitating injuries. These injuries can lead to significant amounts of medical treatment, as well as the need for physical therapy, surgeries, or injections (such as for pain relief).

Some of the most common injuries that can result from construction accidents that occur in and around Lawrenceville include:

• Crush injuries – At construction sites that use heavy machinery, workers can sustain a crush injury if a large piece of equipment tips over and smashes an arm, leg, hand, foot, or another body part.
• Burn injuries – It is very common for construction workers to use caustic chemicals while working near electrical wiring. This creates the possibility of fires and explosions at construction sites, potentially inflicting terrible burn injuries to those workers nearby, or even causing. Electrical accidents can also result in severe burns.
• Fall injuries – Many construction workers have to work from ladders and scaffolding at high elevations, significantly increasing their chances of suffering a fall injury. When construction workers fall from heights, they can sustain fractures, broken bones, spinal cord and back injuries, and traumatic head and brain injuries.
• Electrical injuries – Many construction workers perform their duties around electrical wiring, especially if they are building homes or other structures designed to house people, and run the risk of receiving severe electrical injuries, including burns, cardiac damage, other internal injuries, or fatal electrocution.

Individuals who work at or near construction sites may have to operate large vehicles, including dump trucks, cement trucks, diggers, and other construction equipment pieces. Those workers run the risk of being involved in a motor vehicle accident in which they sustain a soft tissue injury, bone fracture, traumatic head injury, back injury, or something equally as serious. Accidents involving construction vehicles can occur when the construction vehicle operator collides with another vehicle or stationary object, or when the operator of another vehicle collides with the construction vehicle.

If a construction site accident has injured you or someone you care about, you may file a claim for workers’ compensation or file a lawsuit against one or more third parties, depending upon your circumstances. The experienced Lawrenceville construction accident attorneys at Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC can help you decide on the best legal course of action for your particular case.

Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim after a Lawrenceville Construction Accident

Unfortunately, accidents on construction sites are not uncommon. If a construction site worker sustains an injury from an accident, they may be eligible to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are available to injured workers without regard to fault. Consequently, the injured worker doesn’t need to prove that someone else caused the accident.

For an injured Lawrenceville construction worker to receive workers’ compensation benefits, the worker must show that, at the time of the accident, they were working on the job and within the scope of their employment. If the injured construction worker can demonstrate that this was the case, they may be eligible to pursue a variety of benefits. The injured worker may recover a portion of their lost wages, as well as the costs of all related medical expenses.

They may also recover benefits in instances when the worker sustained a permanent injury or disability. Moreover, if the injury was such that the construction worker had to switch professions because they can not perform the same type of work as before, vocational rehabilitation and training may be available to the injured worker as a workers’ compensation benefit.

An experienced Lawrenceville construction accident lawyer can help you pursue the workers’ compensation benefits that you need.

Filing an Insurance Claim or Lawsuit Against a Third Party

The Georgia workers’ compensation process generally covers injuries that a construction worker sustains while on the job and within the scope of their employment. However, there are some instances when the state of Georgia will deny a workers’ compensation claim. For example, the employer may argue that the injury did not occur while the individual was working within the scope of their employment. At other times, the employer may dispute the severity of the claimed injury or injuries. In cases such as this, there may be other avenues of recovering fair and just monetary compensation for injuries sustained on a construction site.

In addition to filing a claim for worker’s compensation benefits, a construction accident victim may also file a claim for negligence against a contractor, subcontractor, project manager, or some other individual who works at the construction site. These individuals owe a duty of care to their employees to ensure that all equipment at the construction site is properly maintained and safe to operate at all times. When construction sites and equipment are not properly maintained and accidents occur, the accident victim may file a negligence claim or lawsuit against the person or persons who are responsible, such as the contractor, subcontractor, developer, or project manager, among others.

Who is at fault for your Lawrenceville construction accident?

Specifically, the injured construction worker must demonstrate that the person in charge owed them a legal duty and violated that duty, either by failing to maintain construction site equipment in a proper manner or by failing to ensure the construction site was safe to operate, and that as a result, the worker suffered one or more personal injuries. Moreover, to recover fair and just monetary compensation, the accident must have caused injuries in some way.

In addition to negligent contractors, subcontractors, developers, and project managers, defective equipment on a construction site can also serve as the basis for a negligence lawsuit. In these instances, potential defendants may be manufacturers, designers, or distributors of defective construction machinery or machinery parts.

Manufacturers of construction equipment, for example, owe a duty to workers to ensure that all construction equipment has been adequately tested before being made available to sell to construction companies. Moreover, manufacturers have a duty to ensure that their equipment’s design makes it safe to use by construction workers. Finally, if there are dangerous aspects associated with using a particular piece of construction equipment, the product must include the necessary warnings located in an area where they can be easily seen and read by an equipment operator.

If the injured construction worker can demonstrate that the manufacturer, distributor, or some other individual in the chain of distribution was negligent in manufacturing, designing, or warning about the potential dangers, and an accident occurred that resulted in injuries, then the injured worker may file a claim or lawsuit against the manufacturer or distributor who was responsible.

How do you recover damages from your Lawrenceville construction accident?

The ultimate end goal of filing a third-party negligence claim or lawsuit is to pursue and hopefully recover some form of monetary compensation for the injuries that the construction worker sustained as a result of their accident. The amount and type of damages available to an injured construction worker typically depend upon the seriousness of the injury, the length and extent of the medical treatment, and the costs associated with the medical treatment that the accident victim had to endure. The more serious the construction worker’s injuries, in most cases, the higher the amount of the potential damages that are available to the injured construction worker.

Injured construction workers who prevail in third-party personal injury claims may recover monetary damages for all of the medical treatment, therapy, and procedures that they had to undergo. Moreover, if they had to miss time away from their work as a result of the injuries that they suffered in their construction accident, they may be eligible to pursue monetary compensation for those lost earnings. The same is true if the accident victim needed to miss time from work to attend medical appointments and physical therapy appointments. All of these out-of-pocket costs are called economic damages.

In addition to these potential economic damages, victims of construction accidents may file a claim for non-economic damages. These damages cover the costs associated with an accident victim’s emotional distress, mental anguish, pain and suffering, inconvenience, loss of use of a body part, loss of spousal support and companionship, and permanent disabilities. Moreover, if the construction worker dies as a result of their injuries, the surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim.

As part of a wrongful death claim, the surviving family members may seek monetary compensation for loss of the decedent’s future earnings (if the surviving family was dependent upon the deceased individual’s income), loss of future care and companionship, as well as the pain and suffering that the deceased individual experienced up until the time of their death.

The experienced team of Lawrenceville construction accident attorneys can help you decide on the type of claim that you may file. Our team can then assist you with pursuing maximum benefits if it is a workers’ compensation claim, or maximum damages if it is a third-party personal injury claim. It is crucial to be aware of the strict time limits apply in these types of cases. Therefore, seek out experienced legal representation as soon as you can.

What Are The Types of Catastrophic Injuries?

Legally speaking, an injury is catastrophic when it is so severe that it causes permanent damage to an accident victim. This often includes damage to the brain or spinal cord, which can result in a wide range of life-changing disabilities and impairments. Catastrophic injuries can also include disfiguring injuries or injuries that prevent the use of one or more body parts, such as burns or amputations. Whatever the case, if you sustained injuries serious enough to be long-term and debilitating, or that caused your body a deformity, you suffered a catastrophic injury.

Every catastrophic injury impacts the survivor and their entire family. Unfortunately, some catastrophic injuries leave victims with memory loss or paralyzed or severed body parts. Below are a few of the most common, and devastating, catastrophic injuries.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are some of the most costly types of injuries, both emotionally and financially. These injuries involve brain damage that takes away from a person’s ability to work, speak, or form new memories. These are only some of the many possible effects of a traumatic brain injury, which can result from any type of head trauma or a severe jolt of the head.

Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) can completely cut off signals traveling from your brain to the rest of your body via your spinal cord, which can result in paralysis. Paralysis is a devastating condition experienced by millions of people, who live without certain movement or sensation abilities.

Your Lawrenceville catastrophic injury lawyer at Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC has extensive experience with cases involving wrecks, mishaps, and other accidents that can result in catastrophic injuries including paralysis. Some of the more common types of accidents that may cause spinal cord injuries or paralysis are:

At Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC, we have a track record of success in catastrophic injury cases, specifically spinal cord trauma and paralysis injuries. Trust your Lawrenceville catastrophic injury lawyer to provide you with expert guidance and win you the compensation you deserve.

Severe Burns

A burn involves skin and tissue damage from a wide range of causes, including fire, steam, hot liquid, hot surfaces, toxic chemicals, road rash, and more. There are three degrees of burns:

• First-degree burns damage only the outermost layer of skin
• Second-degree burns damage multiple layers of skin
• Third-degree burns damage or destroy all layers of skin, as well as tissue beneath, including muscle or bone

A severe (or major) burn is any burn injury that is complicated by major trauma or inhalation injury, chemical burn, high-voltage electrical burn, and, in general for adults, any burn encompassing 20 percent of the total body surface area, excluding superficial burns such as sunburn.

Severe burns can cause swelling, blistering, scarring and, in serious cases, even death. They may also lead to infections because they damage your skin’s protective barrier. Treatment for burns often depends on the cause of the burn, however, the depth and coverage area of the burn injury matters for treatment.

Severe burns are painful and can leave long-lasting physical and psychological scars. Whether it is a severe chemical burn from an unsafe product, a burn caused by a hazard on a poorly kept property, or an accidental burn at a bonfire, you may need an experienced catastrophic injury attorney to make sure you receive compensation for your medical costs and suffering.

If you or a loved one suffered serious burns as a result of the wrongdoings of others, contact Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC today to speak with one of our dedicated catastrophic injury lawyers.

Amputations

Amputation is the tragic loss of a body part that is usually performed by a surgeon. Amputations often occur because of factory, farm, powertool, or motor vehicle accidents. Natural disasters, wars, terrorist attacks, or other catastrophic events can cause amputations.

The most common amputations resulting from the wrongdoings of others have included:

• Accidents involving motor vehicles, including when a vehicle hits a bicycle or pedestrian
• Severe burns and other wounds
• Industrial, factory, farm, and construction-related work accidents, or falling merchandise which may injure limbs
• A doctor or medical team does not meet the standard of care, which results in worsened injuries or complications

Losing a limb can have devastating consequences, and those who suffer an amputation may require medical treatment for the rest of their lives. Those who experience traumatic amputations may also suffer from psychological distress. They often have to relearn basic skills such as walking, eating, or using the bathroom.

If you have suffered from a catastrophic injury that has required amputation due to the wrongdoings of others, reach out to an experienced Lawrenceville catastrophic injury lawyer

who can provide. By taking legal action, you can get full compensation for your injury. Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC works on a contingency fee basis, so you only pay if we win your claim.

Should You Settle Your Claim Yourself?

No.

Many people that suffer injuries from a catastrophic accident believe that their claim would be simpler and much less expensive to handle on their own, though this couldn’t be further from the truth. Handling your claim on your own means you will have to face insurance companies and adjusters. They want to settle your claim quickly and cheaply. Insurance companies protect their bottom line first and foremost, so they aren’t so concerned with providing you a full and fair settlement.

While handling your claim on your own will ultimately save you from paying legal expenses, it is almost a given fact that your claim will be worth much less. When it comes to personal injury law, injured parties who have a dedicated Lawrenceville catastrophic injury lawyer on their side will feel comfortable with their attorney, and will usually obtain a higher settlement or court award.

Should You Pay for Representation From Your Lawrenceville Catastrophic Injury Lawyer?

We require nothing from you to meet with one of our legal team. You don’t have to worry about affording our legal services. All of our consultations are free, and you have no obligation to hire us. However, if you decide that our services would help you and your loved ones, we only work on a contingency fee basis. In this arrangement, you pay nothing upfront for our legal services.

Your catastrophic injury lawyer agrees to represent you, and you receive compensation for your losses if we fairly settle your claim or you receive an award at trial. If your attorney does not win your case or garner any kind of compensation, you still owe them nothing and can walk away. If your Lawrenceville catastrophic injury lawyer negotiates a fair settlement or wins money for your damages at trial, they will require you to pay a certain percentage of your earnings. Nothing ever comes out of your pocket.

When you meet with our experienced lawyers for free with no strings attached, and hire them on a contingency fee basis, you have nothing to worry about and nothing to lose for pursuing your claim in the legal system. Those with catastrophic injuries who have a well-versed Lawrenceville catastrophic injury lawyer on their side will usually have a less stressful experience working through the legal system, and will usually obtain a higher settlement or court award.

How Can a Lawrenceville Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Help?

Georgia Law gives injured victims the right to recover financially for their losses after an accident, though it can be difficult to know your rights and options following a catastrophic injury. When you contact a Lawrenceville catastrophic injury lawyer as soon as possible after your catastrophic injury, you increase the chances that you will earn the compensation you deserve.

When you hire Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC to represent you and your injury claim, rest assured we will:

• Meticulously explore the cause of your catastrophic injury
• Identify and find the party that is liable for your injuries
• Precisely assess the extent of your damages
• Determine what insurance policies exist that could compensate you for your injuries
• Consult with appropriate experts to learn more about your injury
• Look for evidence to prove your case
• Manage all the paperwork involved in your claim
• Negotiate with all applicable parties and insurance companies on your behalf
• And if necessary, represent you in civil court

How Long Do You Have to File a Legal Case?

Georgia law limits how long catastrophic injury victims and their families have to file a legal claim. This law is known as the statute of limitations, and is two years from the date of the accident, with a few exceptions. If you let this time expire, you no longer have legal standing to file a claim for your catastrophic injuries. If you do file a claim after the two-year deadline, the defendant will certainly move the court to dismiss it, and they will likely not hear your case past the deadline.

Contacting a lawyer as soon as possible will increase your chances of filing suit before the statute of limitations deadline. The sooner injured victims contact an attorney after their treatment, the more time your attorney will have to gather evidence and build your case. During this time, attorneys can also be negotiating settlements for you. If no fair settlement materializes, your attorney will file your lawsuit and pursue it in court until you get the compensation you deserve.