Construction worker deaths make up roughly 18% of all worker deaths in the United States. When construction workers survive these accidents, they often still suffer severe injuries. Between the long hours, heavy machinery, and extreme heights, workers face danger every day.
If you or someone you love suffered an injury in an NYC construction accident, you can seek compensation with the help of a construction accident lawyer. You might think you can take on this case yourself, but working with a NYC construction accident lawyer comes with many benefits.
Seven Benefits of Hiring a Construction Accident Lawyer
Construction accidents can happen for a variety of reasons: building materials fall, machinery malfunctions, foundations collapse, and people can be hurt. When you suffer an injury on site, you can seek compensation. However, this is a complex process you shouldn’t take on alone. Fortunately, you don’t have to.
A law firm like Dervishi Law Group, P.C. can help you. Here are the reasons hiring a construction accident lawyer helps your case.
1. They Can Take On All the Paperwork
Lawsuits involve a lot of paperwork. While this may appear tedious, it is vital to complete these forms on time.
New York’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is three years from the date of your accident. If you miss this deadline, you miss your opportunity to collect compensation. There are several deadlines you must meet after this, which can be hard to meet on your own as you also deal with recovering from your injury.
A construction accident lawyer will ensure you file everything correctly and on time. You can focus on your recovery while they keep track of deadlines and documents.
2. They Know How To Negotiate
If you decide to pursue workers’ compensation instead of a lawsuit, keep in mind that you may not collect the full value of your case. The worker’s compensation insurance company may try to lowball your offer, for instance. In this case, it’s vital to have a construction accident lawyer to negotiate on your behalf.
Your lawyer can prepare a strategy to combat negotiation tactics and can accurately determine the true value of your case. They can help you ask for your desired compensation before you have to pursue a lawsuit.
Since you don’t have experience in construction site accident cases, the insurance adjuster is more likely to take advantage of you. Your lawyer won’t let this happen.
3. They Increase Your Potential for Collecting Compensation
Generally, clients without representation collect less than clients with legal representation.
Construction accident lawyers are familiar with the claims process and can lead you in the right direction for your case. In addition to ensuring insurance companies don’t take advantage of you, your lawyer protects you from mistreatment by the legal system, too. A court is more likely to take your case seriously with a lawyer on your side.
The more you understand your own case, the more confident you will appear — and the more confident others will be in your case.
4. They Will Help You Calculate Damages
When you seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit rather than workers’ compensation, you have more opportunities for damages. While workers’ compensation only covers your immediate medical costs and lost wages, compensation through a personal injury lawsuit accounts for much more.
It may cover your future medical costs and lost wages. Construction accidents are traumatic, and your losses extend far past your bank account.
With a personal injury lawsuit, you can collect compensation for non-economic damages like emotional suffering, mental anguish, and PTSD. Further, if the liable party committed an intentional tort, you may be able to pursue punitive damages. A Bronx construction accident lawyer will know how to account for these losses and calculate the full value of your case.
5. They Will Help You Establish Liability
When you pursue a personal injury lawsuit, you need to know who is liable for your injury. If your employer intentionally caused your injury, they are liable. However, if your injury was an accident, it’s harder to determine who exactly was at fault. Liable parties could include:
- Contractors
- Subcontractors
- Property owners
- Equipment manufacturers
To prove that a party is liable, you have to prove they were negligent. There are four components of negligence:
- The liable party owed you a duty of care
- They breached their duty of care
- This breach directly caused your accident
- Your accident resulted in injuries
For example, an equipment manufacturer owes you and your co-workers a duty of care. They must create equipment that is safe to use. When they fail to do so, that is a breach of their duty.
If an equipment malfunction then causes an accident that leads to your injury, the equipment manufacturer was negligent. Your New York construction accident lawyer can help you determine who is liable for your injury, and how to prove it.
6. With Experience Comes Efficiency
When you’re in a construction accident, you want to move on from this traumatic event as soon as possible. While the claims process takes time regardless of representation, working with a construction accident lawyer expedites the process. Taking on this task alone will only slow you down.
Time is of the essence for third-party lawsuits, and you want to abide by the legal system’s timeline. When you’re working alone and juggling your recovery and your lawsuit, it’s difficult to make sure you’re checking all your boxes. A lawyer will keep you on task and move the process along.
7. They Will Represent You in Court If Necessary
Sometimes, negotiations and settlements don’t work out in your favor. Don’t worry; hope isn’t lost. A good construction accident lawyer will fight for you every step of the way.
If that means representing you at a trial, they are prepared to do so. Your lawyer is familiar with the legal proceedings and structure of a trial.
How To Seek Compensation After a Construction Accident
While employers can take steps to protect their workers, construction safety is difficult to maintain 24/7. When you’re injured in a construction accident, you have two avenues for compensation: workers’ compensation and a personal injury lawsuit. While both of these offer compensatory damages for your injury, they differ in a few vital ways.
Workers’ Compensation
New York requires business owners to have workers’ compensation insurance. For many work-related injuries, this compensation covers:
- Medical treatment
- Lost wages
Personal Injury Lawsuit
As a construction worker, you can also pursue a lawsuit to collect more compensation. In New York, you cannot sue your employer if you already accepted the worker’s compensation package. Since the majority of employers have worker’s compensation insurance, you can only sue your employer under three circumstances:
- They failed to secure workers’ compensation coverage
- They intentionally caused your injury
- You are an employee of the New York Fire Department, New York City Department of Sanitation, or New York Police Department
You can also sue a third party for your injuries. Personal injury claims may include damages for:
- Medical treatment
- Lost wages
- Future medical costs
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
Injured in a Construction Accident? Dervishi Law Group Can Help
Construction workers commonly suffer injuries on the job. For most common injuries on construction sites, you can seek compensation. Don’t underestimate your case, and give it the chance it needs with a construction accident lawyer.
At Dervishi Law Group, P.C., we are personal injury attorneys who dedicate ourselves to each of our clients. We’ve negotiated settlements for construction accidents up to $4 million. Call us today at 718-484-4757 to begin with a free case evaluation.
