If you or a loved one has been the victim of a fall injury on a construction site, you might need to file a lawsuit to get the compensation you deserve. The construction industry has more fatal accidents on the job site than almost any other industry. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), fall accidents are the number one killer of construction workers.

What a Fall Accident Can Include

For purposes of this article, “fall accidents” include both the worker falling off of things and objects falling onto people. For example:

  • A worker on a construction site can fall into a pit or off of a rooftop, crane, ladder, scaffolding, or unfinished level of a building.
  • A defective crane, scaffolding, or ladder can collapse and cause a worker to fall to the ground below.
  • Construction equipment, tools, or other objects can fall from a higher level at a construction project and land on workers below.

Who Can Be Liable for a Fall on a Construction Site

The responsible party will be the person who was negligent, which will depend on the facts of your case. Since construction sites involve many people working together, often there is more than one person is at fault. The liable parties may include:

  • Negligent co-workers
  • Negligent supervisors
  • The owner of the construction project
  • The owner of the construction company
  • General contractors and subcontractors
  • The manufacturer, if defective equipment caused the injury
  • The party responsible for maintaining equipment, if the failure to keep equipment in good repair caused the injury

What We Have to Prove to Win Your Personal Injury Case

There are three possible legal theories under which we can file a lawsuit for injuries in these cases. In many cases, the facts will support more than one legal theory. The primary grounds for these lawsuits include:

Negligence

For negligence, we will have to prove that:

  • The responsible party owed the injured person a duty of care, for example, the duty to provide a safe workplace.
  • The liable party breached the duty of care, for example, a construction company owner who failed to maintain and repair scaffolding.
  • The breach of duty was an actual cause of the injury, for example, a poorly maintained scaffolding collapsed and caused you to fall 30 feet to the ground below, suffering severe injuries.
  • You have physical damages from the negligence.

Product Liability

The manufacturer can be liable for injuries caused by defective equipment. We will have to prove that the equipment was defective in design or manufacture.

Strict Liability

Even if no one is negligent, people can get hurt at construction sites because they can be inherently dangerous places. Sometimes the law allows the recovery of damages under the theory of strict liability for injuries at construction sites.

Damages for a Fall Accident on a Construction Site

Once we establish who is responsible for your injuries, we can pursue these damages:

  • Your medical bills
  • Your lost income
  • Your future medical care
  • Your future decreased earning potential
  • Long-term care
  • Pain and suffering
  • Your spouse’s loss of consortium

How to Get Help for a Fall Injury

A construction accident lawyer from the Montero Law Center may be able to help you if you were injured from a fall accident on a construction site. We do not charge for this service. In fact, we do not charge any legal fees until you get compensation.

Call us today at 954-767-6500.