Did you get injured on a construction site and have questions? Check out these 3 construction accident tips, then call our Georgia lawyers.
1) Reporting a Construction Accident Injury
People are often confused about what to do in the aftermath of a construction accident. Who do I need to tell about this? Should I tell anybody at all? If I tell them, what do I tell them? Giving notice is crucial. If no notice has been given that you’ve been injured, that can actually work to your detriment. It is not recommended that you give any kind of recorded statements; not giving notice, however, may end up being used against you in the future and throw some doubt on your credibility in the case. Even if your motives were perfectly fine in not giving notice, they can make that look as if you are hiding something, which can affect your damages.
After you give notice, though, things can get even more complicated in your construction site accident case. Issues that can come up include whether you are an employee or independent contractor, which affects who you could bring a personal injury claim against. Another issue that can come up is whether your own direct employer on a construction site has liability insurance, whether they have even workers’ comp insurance, and what insurance the general contractor may carry.
Our firm is uniquely suited for these cases thanks to our background in workers’ compensation and personal injuries from construction site accidents. Complicated issues can arise out of these accidents in Georgia. Give us a call, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
2) Suing Your Employer for a Construction Accident
There is a lot of complexity in construction site accidents that take place in Georgia. Clients often have a lot of questions about if they are eligible to file a claim and who they can make the claim against. In the state of Georgia, as a general rule, you cannot bring a personal injury case against your employer. Your sole remedy with respect to your direct employer is workers’ compensation benefits. There are a lot of exceptions, however. For example, if the employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, they may try to deny your rights. That is where we can help. We can pursue other avenues of litigation, such as against a general contractor, the owner of the property where the accident happened, or an equipment manufacturer.
The best thing to do is schedule a free consultation with an attorney with experience and practice in this specific area of personal injury law. Contact our office and we will discuss the facts of your case and determine your best options.
3) What to Do After a Construction Accident
One of the types of personal injury cases that we handle regularly is construction site accidents. Our firm is particularly well-suited to handle those cases because we regularly handle a great many workers’ compensation cases, and there is a lot of interplay between personal injury cases – whether you can sue a contractor on a job site or even a party that you consider to be your employer – and workers’ compensation.
These cases can be complicated. Just to give you some examples of how complicated these cases can be, the general contractor who may have been negligent in some way and caused your injury, could be shielded from you being able to sue them by the workers’ compensation laws of the state, even though they’re not responsible for paying you any workers’ compensation benefits.
There are exceptions to them being able to gain that statutory employer status. Our firm is well-versed in these exceptions from years of handling workers’ compensation claims. We are able to form some strategies now based on experience and insight into how a particular party is going to react if, say, a workers’ compensation claim is filed against them.
Were you or a loved one seriously injured on a job site in Georgia and have questions about our 3 construction accident tips?
Contact the experienced Georgia construction accident lawyers at Princenthal, May & Wilson, LLC, today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
Let our experience and dedication work for you.
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