For a person injured in a construction accident in Greenville, there are two potential avenues to seek financial assistance for the injuries sustained: filing a personal injury claim or a workers’ compensation case. These options can help recover money for medical expenses, lost earnings, and other damages.
Dealing with insurance companies and employers to pay for your injuries can be stressful and time-consuming. This process might also cause delays that could lead to missing the deadline for filing a personal injury claim, ultimately preventing any compensation for your injuries.
The laws governing personal injury accidents are stringent – even a minor mistake can jeopardize your chances of securing funds.
The appropriate type of case will depend on whether you were working at the time of the accident. Consulting a CEO lawyer personal injury law firm can help you understand your options.
Legal representation is vital to protecting your rights and receiving all eligible compensation. Our legal practitioners will advocate on your behalf, guiding you through the complexity of your case to acquire the most likely outcome.
How Our Greenville Construction Accident Attorneys Help Construction Accident Victims?
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm provides comprehensive legal representation for construction accident victims. Our services include:
- Proper Injury Reporting: Ensuring your injury is accurately reported.
- Filing Claims: Protecting your right to compensation by filing the necessary forms (Form 50 or Form 52).
- Calculating Wages and Payments: Determining your average weekly wages and the compensation you should receive.
- Medical Benefits Advocacy: Fighting for your medical benefits if they are unfairly denied.
- Authorized Medical Care: Ensuring you receive care from authorized providers and requesting a hearing if you are dissatisfied with the provided doctor.
- Wage Benefits: Knowing when wage benefits should begin and responding if they are not properly paid.
- Return-to-Work Disputes: Challenging incorrect claims by your employer that you are ready to return to work when you are not.
- Permanent Disability Compensation: Understanding what you should receive for permanent disability and work to claim the maximum amount possible.
- Case Negotiation and Hearings: Negotiating your case and taking it to a hearing if necessary.
- Pursuing Appeals: Handling appeals and navigating the procedural steps required.
Our legal team is intimately familiar with how workers’ compensation operates in South Carolina and how to protect your rights. After evaluating your case, we will defend against your rights and advance your claim, ensuring you are on an equal footing with the insurance company that aims to minimize your benefits.
Contact us now to discuss your construction accident case and learn how we can help you protect your rights and secure the compensation you deserve.
What Support Our Greenville Construction Accident Law Firm Gives You?
Considering handling a construction accident case on your own? First, look at our comprehensive services at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm. When you hire us for your construction accident claim or lawsuit, you can expect the following:
- Thorough Investigation: We will conduct a meticulous investigation of your construction accident, which may include visiting the accident scene. We’ll seek out video footage, witness accounts, work logs, safety literature, incident reports, and other potential evidence. All gathered evidence will be preserved for negotiations or trial.
- Dealing with Insurance Companies: We’ll handle all interactions with insurance companies involved in your case. Insurance companies may attempt to violate your rights or deprive you of fair compensation. We’ll manage all communications, ensuring they don’t take advantage of you.
- Identifying and Valuing Losses: Damages are crucial to any construction accident case. We’ll compile a comprehensive record of your losses and accurately value your economic and non-economic damages.
- Managing Case Details: Lawsuits and insurance claims are filled with intricate details that can be overwhelming for a non-lawyer. We’ll manage every aspect of your case, from paperwork to deadlines and other critical tasks.
- Protecting Your Rights: Our primary duty is to protect you from potential rights violations. We’ll ensure you are insulated from harm as we handle your case.
Our firm handles your case with empathy and determination, fighting hard for your deserved recovery.
What are the Common Construction Accidents?
Our experienced team of Greenville construction accident lawyers has been handling a variety of construction-related injuries.
We can assist you with the following common construction accidents:
- Falls: Falls are among the most frequent and dangerous construction site accidents. These incidents often occur when workers fall from scaffolding, ladders, or through floor openings, leading to severe injuries such as broken bones, head trauma, paralysis, or even wrongful death. Ensuring proper safety measures can significantly reduce these risks.
- Back and Spinal Injuries: These injuries are commonly caused by lifting heavy materials or equipment without the appropriate assistance or equipment. Repeated stress on the back can result in conditions like slipped discs, tears, strains, and herniated discs over time.
- Struck-by Accidents: Workers risk being struck by falling objects or collapsing materials. Unsecured construction materials, tools, and debris can fall, causing contusions, lacerations, fractures, or more serious injuries to the head or torso.
- Burns: Chemical burns can occur when working with concrete and other caustic materials without proper protective equipment. Even brief exposure to these chemicals can result in first-, second-, or third-degree burns on the skin and eyes.
- Hearing Loss: Prolonged exposure to high-decibel noise from equipment, power tools, and machinery on construction sites can lead to noise-induced hearing loss. Without proper ear protection, workers risk permanent damage to their hearing nerves.
- Occupational Illness: Respiratory illnesses can develop from inhaling hazardous particles like silica and asbestos dust without a respirator. Long-term exposure to these particles can cause lung scarring or diseases such as silicosis, asbestosis, or even lung cancer in severe cases.
Unsafe Work Practices On Construction Sites
Construction sites are fraught with risks, often exacerbated by unsafe practices from property owners, general contractors, and other involved parties. Common unsafe practices include:
- Neglecting to Replace Worn-Out Safety Gear: Failing to replace helmets and other protective equipment compromises worker safety.
- Bypassing Safety Protocols: Cutting corners and ignoring safety procedures to meet tight deadlines can lead to serious accidents.
- Overlooking Safety Measures for Cost Efficiency: Ignoring essential safety protocols to save costs puts workers at significant risk.
- Inadequate Supervision: Lack of proper oversight can result in workers engaging in dangerous behaviors or taking shortcuts.
Our construction accident lawyers can thoroughly investigate liability, assist with filing workers’ compensation claims, negotiate with insurance companies for maximum compensation, and represent you in court if necessary.
How to Persue Additional Compensation After a Greenville Construction Accident?
In South Carolina, construction workers are generally barred from filing a lawsuit against their employer. However, there is an option to hold other negligent parties accountable for their role in causing a construction accident.
Workers’ compensation may often be the only available benefit, but in some instances, it is possible to identify another party whose negligence contributed to the injuries. This can lead to filing an insurance claim or pursuing a personal injury lawsuit to seek additional damages.
These damages can vary based on the nature and extent of your expenses and losses and may include:
- Medical Expenses Not Covered by Workers’ Compensation
- Additional Lost Wages
- Diminished Earning Capacity
- Ongoing Care Costs
- Other Accident-Related Expenses
- Legal Costs
- Pain and Suffering Damages
Each construction accident case is unique, but some common liable parties include:
- Site or Property Owners
- General Contractors
- Subcontractors Sharing the Worksite
- Employers of Other Workers on Your Jobsite
- Manufacturers of Defective Products
- Vendors Delivering to Your Worksite
For example, if you were working on elevated scaffolding and a delivery truck ran into the scaffold supports, causing it to collapse and serious injuries, you would qualify for workers’ compensation since you were working at the time. You may also be able to hold the driver’s employer liable for your injuries.
Contact us to discuss your case and explore the possibilities for securing the compensation you deserve beyond workers’ compensation benefits.
Important Evidence in a Greenville Construction Accident
To prove the severity of your construction injuries and strengthen your case, our construction accident attorneys in Greenville gather a comprehensive range of evidence. As an innovative personal injury law firm, we are committed to employing and challenging existing evidence-gathering methods to maximize your chances of success.
We will collect valuable evidence for your construction accident case, including:
- Photos of Your Injuries: Visual documentation helps illustrate their severity.
- Medical Records: Detailed records from healthcare providers outlining your injuries and treatment.
- Training and Safety Records: Document your training and the safety protocols during the accident.
- Prior Incident Reports: Records of previous incidents at your company that may indicate a pattern of unsafe practices.
- OSHA Inspection Reports: Reports from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that highlight safety violations.
- Security Camera Footage: Video evidence from the construction site that may capture the incident.
- Construction Subject Experts: Testimonies from experts in construction safety and practices to support your case.
Contact us to discuss how we can gather and utilize this evidence to build a strong case for your construction accident claim.
Damages Available After a Greenville Construction Accident
The costs associated with a construction accident injury can be overwhelming. Medical bills accumulate rapidly, and even minor injuries can prevent you from working, leading to a sudden loss of income that makes managing daily expenses and injury-related costs difficult.
Seeking Compensation
- If you’re injured on a Greenville construction site, you have two primary avenues for seeking compensation:
Workers’ Compensation Insurance:
- Covers medical bills
- Provides compensation for lost income
- Includes benefits for disability
Negligent Third-Party Claims:
- Compensation from parties like owners, contractors, or architects
- Potentially covers a wider range of damages
Workers’ Compensation Limitations
Workers’ compensation benefits are limited to covering medical expenses, lost wages, and disability. However, if you pursue a lawsuit against a negligent third party, you might be eligible for additional damages, including:
- Pain and Suffering
- Emotional Distress, Such as anxiety and depression
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Rehabilitation Costs
- Nursing Care
- Disfigurement and Scarring
- Loss of Consortium: Impact on relationships
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Maximizing Your Compensation
It’s essential not to settle for less than your case is worth. Our firm has built strong relationships with some of the most respected accident experts in the tri-state area.
Our expertise provides valuable insights into your case’s complex and technical aspects.
With their assistance, we can comprehensively understand your injuries and their long-term impact on your life. This understanding allows us to accurately assess the actual value of your case, ensuring you receive the full compensation you deserve.
How Long Do You Have to File a Construction Accident Claim in Greenville?
In Greenville, you have three years from your construction accident to file a personal injury lawsuit against a private entity or individual. You have two years from the accident date for a workers’ compensation claim.
If you lost a loved one in a construction accident, a wrongful death claim must be filed within two years from the date of death. However, the time limits are much shorter if your claim is against a government entity; typically, you must serve a Notice of Claim on the municipal entity within ninety days of the accident.
While these deadlines may seem distant, consulting with an attorney immediately after an accident is crucial to understanding the time limitations on your potential claim or lawsuit. Legal preparations must be initiated promptly, such as preserving evidence and documenting your compensation claim.
The sooner you start working with a trusted Greenville construction accident attorney, the better your chances of a successful outcome.
Call Our Experienced Greenville Construction Accident Lawyers for Help Today!
An accident on a Greenville construction site can have immediate and long-lasting consequences. Injuries can be extremely painful and severely impact your ability to work and earn a living.
Fortunately, you can take legal action to pursue compensation and make your recovery journey less challenging.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm is here to assist you in maximizing your workers’ compensation benefits and/or damages in a lawsuit. For dedicated assistance with your construction accident case, contact our experienced lawyers now.
We are committed to securing the compensation you need and deserve.
Your first consultation is free. Call our law firm today at (864) 664-3865 for help. We will review your case, explain your rights, and guide you through the best course of action.
FAQs
- How long do you have to file a construction accident claim?
You have two years from the accident date to file a construction accident claim. Filing a claim is crucial to being eligible for benefits, as it can make the difference between living comfortably and struggling after your injury. For third-party liability claims, you have three years from the accident date. You can file against co-workers, companies, and equipment manufacturers if your lawyer can prove they contributed to your injuries.
- What is the most common injury on a construction site?
Falls are the most common cause of injury on a construction site, accounting for nearly half of all injuries in the construction sector each year. Faulty scaffolding, unsecured ladders, and a lack of safety railings significantly increase the risk of falls.
- What is the role of a construction accident lawyer?
A construction accident lawyer can answer your questions, evaluate your case and its potential value, and advise you on your options. Once hired, the lawyer’s role is to protect you from insurance companies that may try to take advantage of you and offer minimal compensation.
