by admin | Apr 20, 2017 | Legal Matters Discussed, Safety, Worker's Comp
Construction workers place their lives at risk every day on the job. Accidents and falls can happen, even with the best safety equipment and highest safety standards in place. Sometimes, construction projects aren’t as safe and secure as people would like them to be, which increases the risk of accidents.
The construction industry ranks high in job-related accidents and fatalities. Most of these fatalities and work injures are caused by falls from scaffolding and other such areas of the project site. Scaffolding must be secure and should be able to bear the weight and movements of the construction worker easily. If the construction worker falls and is injured, it’s important to carry out a thorough investigation to determine the true cause of the accident and understand liability. An experienced work injury attorney can help.
What are the Scaffolding Safety Standards?
Scaffolding is an important aspect of all construction sites and some tasks and installations can’t be carried out without it. While the authorities recognize this and know there’s an inherent risk involved in all construction tasks, they have determined that this risk can be minimized by improving the safety standards of the scaffolding.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, state organizations, and even private businesses post separate safety standards that will help ensure construction workers as secure as they can be. Here’s a brief introduction to the standards construction companies must follow:
• Scaffolding should be able to hold and support four times the weight anticipated as necessary. For example, if the anticipated weight of the of the construction worker and his equipment is 200 pounds, the scaffolding should be able to support 800 pounds.
• A scaffold should be securely anchored and shouldn’t be supported by loose fixtures like barrels or bricks.
• The plank should overlap by at least 12 inches to provide adequate anchor to the scaffolding.
• To provide enough balance, the planks should extend their supports by at least 6 to 18 inches. This will ensure the planks have enough weight at the edge and dont tip over.
• The scaffolding should have overhead protection if there’s work being done overhead.
• Construction supervisors should ensure there are no tools, debris, equipment, or other such materials present on the scaffold. Obstructions can lead to accidents, especially if the construction work is distracted by their work and can’t look down at their feet.
• The construction site should not have shore scaffolds and lean-to scaffolds as they’re unsafe and prohibited.
If the construction company doesn’t provide secure and properly anchored scaffolding, they’re not following the established standards and can be held liable if there’s an accident.
What Should You Do You If You Fall From the Scaffolding?
Your first priority should be to get medical attention and focus on your health. Injuries caused by falls from scaffolding are often serious and should be addressed immediately. Some injuries might grow worse if you delay in seeking medical attention.
After you’ve received the treatment, your next step is to call a worker’s compensation attorney who will help you with your case. Your family can also call an attorney on your behalf. Here’s what you should do immediately after you’re well enough you speak with a lawyer:
• Don’t Speak with Company Attorneys – The construction company will respond quickly in the case of accidents and attempt to minimize the compensation amount as much as they can. It’s important that you don’t speak with them without an attorney present or without discussing your case with the attorney. You’re perfectly within your rights to deny a meeting with your employers until you’ve spoken with your attorney.
• Appoint Some to Represent Your Interests – Don’t hire attorneys recommended by your employers and don’t take legal advice from company lawyers. Do your research and find someone who will work with you and for your interests. Make sure you hire an attorney as quickly as you can because such cases are subject to the Statute of Limitations and must be filed within 2 years of the incident.
• Discuss the Accident with Your Attorney – After you’ve hired someone reliable to help you, explain the entire situation to them as factually and honestly as you can. In such situations, it can be difficult to recall the details but it’s important to help your attorney as much as you can.
• Give the Attorney Access to Your Medical Reports – The attorney needs to understand the extent of your injuries in order to plan the compensation amount. You should allow them to have a copy of your injuries and access to any observations your doctor may have made during the treatment.
The attorney will collect all evidence, prepare the paperwork, and be present in all interviews and negotiations with the construction company and their legal team. This will ensure you’re not pressurized into settling for less than what you deserve.
The Lawsuits Regarding Falls from Scaffold
There are three things an attorney must establish in order for the lawsuit to be successful in courts and they are:
• It’s the defendant’s responsibility to provide safety and security to you and make sure the scaffolding is safe to use.
• The defendant didn’t perform their duty and provide a secure enough scaffold and the construction site wasn’t up to normal industry standards.
• Their failure to perform this duty led to your injury and accident.
Before the attorney files a lawsuit, they’ll determine who is liable by determining who is responsible for supplying scaffolding material, installing it, and maintaining it. Most of these cases are settled outside court and in the presence of attorneys on both sides. However, if you refuse to settle outside court if you believe the compensation they offer isn’t enough and won’t cover all of your expenses.
What’s Included in the Compensation?
A compensation amount will include medical expenses, loss of wages because you missed work, pain and distress caused by the injury, loss of normal life because of resultant disabilities or permanent injuries, loss of income because you’re no longer able-bodied enough to work in your industry.
Your attorney will take your circumstances into consideration and determine the compensation amount carefully.
by admin | Mar 29, 2017 | Brain Injuries, Burns, Legal Matters Discussed, Personal Injury, Worker's Comp, Wrongful Death
Each year in Indiana and across the United States, workers are severely injured or killed in workplace accidents involving electrocutions. In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 134 workers across the nation were killed when they were exposed to electricity while they were working. Workers in the construction industry are especially at risk of suffering an on-the-job electricity-related injury. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration calls electrocution accidents among the construction industry’s fatal four, which are the four types of injuries that result in death each year. In addition to the risks of death from contact with electricity, electrocutions also bring risks of serious injuries.
Causes of Workplace Electrocution Injuries
Both electrical workers and non-electrical workers may suffer electricity-related injuries while working. The primary causes of electrocutions in the workplace are contacts with overhead power lines, contacts with electrical wiring and equipment and contacts with appliances and machinery. Among workers who are not employed as electrical workers, the primary cause of work-related electrocution accidents is contacting overhead power lines because of failing to stay far enough away from them; failing to protect the lines; and failing to de-energize them before working around them. Other workers may also suffer from electric shocks from using old extension cords and engaging in other unsafe workplace activities. Defective wiring in the workplace is also a leading cause of electric shocks among workers outside of the construction industry.
Work Related Electrocution Injuries
Coming into contact with electricity may cause injuries ranging from mild pain and discomfort to death. Some people who suffer from them may be left with permanent disabilities and be unable to return to their jobs. The injuries may include the following:
- Brain injuries
- Neurological injuries
- Cardiac arrest or other heart problems
- Permanent disfigurement
- Burns
When workers suffer from electrical shock, they may suffer several symptoms, including heart attacks, dizziness, unconsciousness, seizures, muscle pain, headaches or hearing loss. It is important for people who have suffered electric shocks at work to seek medical care immediately.
Workplace Electrical Hazards
In order to help prevent workplace injuries from electrical exposures, OSHA promulgates and enforces safety regulations that companies are required to follow. There are numerous hazards that may lead to electrical accidents in the workplace, including wet floors, defective wiring, overloaded circuits, downed power lines, exposed electrical parts and others. When companies violate these regulations, they place their workers at risk of suffering debilitating injuries or fatalities. No matter who was at fault in causing the accident, eligible workers may recover benefits from workers’ compensation when they have been injured on the job by electricity.
Recovering Benefits or Damages from Workplace Electrocution Accidents
Workers who suffer from electric shocks while they are on the job may file claims for benefits through their employers’ workers’ compensation insurance policies. Most employers in Indiana are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance so that workers who are injured may recover benefits for their injuries. Injured workers may recover benefits to pay for all of their related medical costs, including hospital care, medical appointments, rehabilitation, prosthetics and prescription expenses. If a worker is unable to return to work because the accident caused a disability, the worker may recover monthly benefits that pay for a percentage of his or her former income. Disability benefits through workers’ compensation may include those for partial or total and temporary or permanent disabilities.
In some cases, third parties may hold liability for workplace electrocution accidents under a theory of negligence. For example, if a worker is electrocuted by a defective piece of equipment, the parties that were involved in the chain of production may hold liability to pay damages to the injured worker or to the family members of workers who were killed. Families of workers who are killed in workplace accidents involving contacts with electricity may also recover benefits from the employers of their loved ones by filing workers’ compensation claims. The spouses of the workers may recover monthly benefits to replace a percentage of their loved ones’ incomes that were lost when they were killed in an electrical accident while working.
How an Attorney May Help
If you were injured at work in an accident involving contact with electricity, you may benefit by seeking help from an experienced attorney at Goodin Abernathy. Our attorneys may help you to recover the workers’ compensation benefits to which you should be entitled. If a third party is partly to blame for the accident, our attorneys may also file personal injury lawsuits against the third party in addition to your workers’ compensation claim. This may help you to maximize the amount of compensation that you might recover to help pay for the losses you have suffered from your electrocution accident.
by admin | May 26, 2016 | Construction Injury Claim, Legal Matters Discussed, Spinal Cord Injury, Worker's Comp
Typically the first piece of an injured worker’s claim involves worker’s compensation benefits. But Goodin Abernathy LLP’s experience handling construction accident cases provides clients with an in-depth review of all potential construction law claims. Our firm is experienced with the Indiana laws controlling how and when construction negligence claims are filed.
Perhaps the general contractor, construction manager, or property owner failed to provide safe working conditions or sufficient safety training. Maybe a worker from another company at the job site caused an accident. Perhaps a defective piece of machinery was to blame. Goodin Abernathy is experienced helping clients who have suffered finger, hand, and arm amputations; suffered broken bones and fractured backs falling from scaffoldings, buildings, and ladders; or been crushed by forklifts and heavy equipment.
Our attorneys evaluate Indiana’s OSHA regulations and construction safety guidelines to prosecute accident cases. We will hire construction industry experts, investigate the work site, and collect evidence to aggressively represent our clients. If you, a friend, or loved one was injured in a construction accident, contact the injury lawyers at Goodin Abernathy for a free consultation. Goodin Abernathy LLP understands the impact work injuries have on laborers and their families. We will fight for those injured workers and their families, claiming all benefits and damages available under the law.
by admin | May 2, 2016 | Legal Matters Discussed, Safety, Worker's Comp
In recent years Indiana’s warehousing sector has been outpacing national and regional growth, according to an analysis by the Indiana Business Review. (http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2014/fall/pdfs/article1.pdf) That means more warehouse workers here in the Hoosier state. Warehouse workers face unique hazards on the job; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration publishes a pocket guide to safety for warehouse workers.
Hazards include dangers associated with docks, forklifts, conveyors, and charging stations as well as manual lifting and poor ergonomics. OSHA offers tips to manage these risks, including being aware of surroundings and the use of personal protective equipment.
Goodin Abernathy employee Fernanda Linares used to work in warehousing and identified several of these risks from her personal experience. “Being suspended about 20 to 25 feet in the air while sometimes lifting heavy parts, there was much room for injury,” she says, “Because there were heavy parts that could crush your toes, it was required of the employees to wear steeled shoes while on the work floor.”.
Although workers could be taking all the safety precautions, warehouse workers still get hurt at the job sometimes. Goodin Abernathy LLP lawyers help clients regularly who have suffered an injury in the workplace. We’re here to help understand the Indiana Worker’s Compensation benefits. Goodin Abernathy LLP lawyers, regularly help workers collect the benefits they are entitled to including payment for medical bills, lost wages from time off work, and compensation for permanent impairments.
If you or someone you know has been injured while working at a warehouse in Indiana, contact the lawyers at Goodin Abernathy LLP to discuss your options.
by admin | Sep 14, 2015 | Construction Injury Claim, Legal Matters Discussed, Worker's Comp
The Goodin Abernathy LLP attorneys recently helped their Hispanic client, Juan, resolve his construction accident claim for injuries he suffered after falling off concrete forms. Juan was instructed to climb up panels to build a concrete column for a parking garage. However the forms were not designed for climbing and this created a dangerous condition on his job site. Juan was not provided with adequate safety equipment to do his job. Our attorneys investigated the accident, interviewed witnesses and researched safety guidelines to present Juan’s case. The Goodin Abernathy attorneys fought for and collected money for Juan’s construction accident injuries in both a negligence case and an Indiana Worker’s Compensation claim.
Often construction companies fail to develop safety plans for construction projects. They fail to provide their workers with adequate safety equipment and push for workers to get jobs done despite serious hazards. Construction safety studies show that about one-third of the fatal falls in construction were from roofs, 18% were from scaffolding or staging, 16% were from ladders, and 8% were from girders or structural steel. The other 25% of fatal falls includes falls through existing floor openings, non moving vehicles and lifts. The Goodin Abernathy LLP attorneys frequently help clients who have suffered serious physical injuries after falling off roofs, scaffolding, dangerous ladders, framing jobs and from masonry or concrete projects. Our experienced Spanish speaking attorneys handle both the worker’s compensation and negligence claims to seek maximum financial recovery for our clients.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) publish guidelines and instructions for preventing falls on job sites. This instruction guide by OSHA provides great details and tips for job safety. https://www.osha.gov/dte/outreach/construction/focus_four/falls/falls_ig.pdf
If you or someone you know have suffered serious personal injuries, contact the attorneys at Goodin Abernathy LLP. We are committed to explaining the legal process for protecting your rights and recovering money for your damages. Indiana has two systems available for presenting your legal claims. Regardless of your immigration status, our attorneys explain what you can claim for help with lost income, medical bills, pain and disability. Contact us today for a free consultation in English or Spanish.
by admin | Aug 28, 2015 | Employment Law, Legal Matters Discussed, Personal Injury, Worker's Comp, Wrongful Death
Recently the US Department of Labor posted a story on their Facebook page about a temporary worker who was crushed to death on the first day of his job at a bottling facility.
In 2013, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced an initiative to improve safety conditions for temporary workers.
When a worker is employed by a temporary agency and is assigned to a specific host employer, both the agency and the host have responsibilities to ensure the safety of employees. https://www.osha.gov/temp_workers/ Unfortunately many temporary workers are injured on the job, some on their first day as in the case of the worker in the bottling facility.
The attorneys of Goodin Abernathy LLP have experience representing injured temporary workers when they are injured on the job. Even if it was your first day or first week on the job site you have rights as an employee in Indiana if you are injured on-the-job– even if you are a temporary employee. Many of our Spanish-speaking clients work for temporary agencies and have suffered injuries at work. These cases present unique circumstances and challenges for workers. If you have been injured while employed by a staffing agency and have questions, don’t hesitate to call us—317-843-2606.
