If you’re hurt at work, you must report it. If you don’t, you could lose your compensation.
It goes without saying that accidents happen, particularly in the construction industry. If an accident does happen and a worker is injured and the injuries are directly linked to a mistake the employer made, the worker usually has a successful accident claim; a claim that can be handled by an Austin personal injury lawyer.
Typically, it would be better if the working conditions on a construction site were implemented with safety first and foremost to avoid accidents in the first place. That doesn’t happen in many cases, as the bottom line is often related to making money and being on time, not whether the workers are safe.
Unfortunately, people being people, money often comes before safety, and the fatality statistics reflect that. For instance, did you know that construction accidents result in the highest number of fatalities? In 2008/09 alone, 29.4 percent of all the fatal injuries were in the construction industry. While the numbers are apparently going down, they still reflect a large number of people who are no longer with us and families that are still grieving for their horrendous loss. To get fair and equitable compensation for the construction death of a loved one, it’s advisable to hire an Austin personal injury lawyer.
Often when you get good news, there is bad news as well. The construction accident statistics are no exception. On one hand you have a 36 percent reduction in major injuries in 2008/09. On the other, even in spite of the reduction, there are still more major injuries sustained by those who work on construction sites that there are in any other main industry group. Is safety on the job becoming more of a priority? It appears it may be, but there are still a high number of serious and fatal accidents.
Generally speaking, the most common types of injuries that are sustained on a construction site involve handling material, slips, trips and falls, falling from a height (e.g. from scaffolding), run-ins with moving or falling objects, electrical mishaps, collapses, trenching incidents, overturns and poorly maintained or unsafe equipment. If you have been in an accident on a construction site, then you need legal counsel to advise you of your rights and how to file a lawsuit.
So far, we have been discussing the number of serious accidents that tend to happen on worksites. What about the not so serious ones? Unfortunately, these are not always reported or are downplayed, which may work well for the company’s safety numbers, but will ultimately be disadvantageous to the worker who may lose out on compensation. Sadly, the under reporting may also be due to lack of education about filing legitimate work injury claims, whether they are serious or not.
The bottom line is that even though a workplace injury may not be serious, the worker is entitled to file a construction injury claim. If they don’t, they are missing out on compensation that is their right. When in doubt, ask for legal assistance from an Austin personal injury lawyer and find out what your rights are and how to go about filing a claim.
Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.
