Finding Public Information

Almost everywhere you look on a construction site, you see something that can hurt you. Heavy cranes, electrical installations, moving parts in machinery, platforms without guard rails and lift trucks are accidents waiting to happen. Employers are supposed to make sure that your construction site is safe so that you can do your job, but many fail to do it. A personal injury lawyer can help you get compensated for an accident that injures you through no fault of your own.

Understanding Injuries that Deserve Legal Representation

The federal government has guidelines about worker safety, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) makes regular inspections to enforce the rules. Violations of the guidelines can result in fines for your employer and possible accidents for you. You need to consult a construction injury attorney in Miami when an accident requires medical treatment or makes you miss work. You can usually get a free initial consultation that costs you nothing but may win compensation in a legal case. Consider the long term effect on your family if you cannot work, and take action to protect them now and in the future.

OSHA records show that these four types of accidents account for the majority of fatal accidents, and they cause serious injuries for workers who survive:

• Falls
• Caught-in or in-between
• Struck by
• Electric shock

Falling and Getting Injured

 

The unprotected side or edge of a floor, openings in a wall or holes in the floor can cause you to fall or to have a heavy object fall on you. Improper scaffolding is the cause of injurious falls from heights, and unguarded or protruding rebar can make you trip and fall. Injuries from falls and falling objects can result in these serious outcomes:

• Brain or nerve damage
• Paralysis
• Broken bones
• Amputations

Some construction site injuries are not worth pursuing in a legal action, but serious damage from accidents can affect the rest of your life. You need to get medical attention as soon as possible. A doctor’s diagnosis about your injury and your chance for recovery are important records for a construction injury attorney who may provide legal representation for you.

Getting Caught in or Between Equipment

Working around heavy equipment creates conditions where you can get caught between it and an immovable object. The swing radius of a backhoe, crane or other heavy equipment can pin you so securely that you cannot move. When protective guards are not in place on equipment that has movable parts, your clothes, gloves or part of your body can get caught and trapped while the machine continues to run. 

Injuries that you can receive from getting caught in or between equipment are usually serious and worthy of legal representation by a personal injury lawyer, including these:

• Amputation that results from getting pulled into running machinery
• Crushed bones from shifting objects
• Loss of fingers, hands and arms from getting trapped in machines

Getting Struck

Some of the most dangerous accidents on a construction site result from getting struck by a moving vehicle, falling objects and masonry walls. A heavy blow can crush any part of your body, including internal organs. Nerve damage usually accompanies an injury from getting struck, and recovery from broken bones and compressed muscle tissue is a long and difficult process. Victims of accidents on a construction site that involve falling objects can suffer head injuries that may never recover completely. If you are suffering from getting hit by a truck on the job site, you need to contact a construction injury attorney. 

Shocking Hazards

Electricity powers tools, machines and fixtures on a construction site, but it can cause severe injury if proper safeguards are not in place. Ungrounded wires and improper installation methods can result in burns and serious heart damage. To claim compensation for your medical bills and lost wages, you can take action by asking a construction injury attorney in Miami to file a compensation claim. Muscles react negatively to electricity and often freeze up when the amount of current is excessive. Workers can break bones from a jolt that throws them a distance. The result of getting an electric shock can cause seizures, persistent headaches and a loss of hearing. 

As a construction worker, you accept the responsibility to follow safe procedures on the job. Your employer has an obligation to prevent hazards on your work site, and failure to do so may give you the right to seek legal representation by a Miami personal injury lawyer.