A construction worker who has been injured in a worksite accident can pursue compensation by filing a lawsuit against the companies that caused the accident. The lawsuit will allow the injured worker to pay for treatment for the injuries, as well as other losses like lost income and pain and suffering. Moreover, if a worker has been killed in a worksite, his or her family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit and get compensation for their losses. An injured worker is usually covered by a workers’ compensation claim. The workers’ comp benefits cover lost income and medical bills. However, the worker can still file a lawsuit against third parties who caused a dangerous condition which resulted in the unfortunate event. As an injured worker, some of the third parties that you can hold liable for your injuries include the property owner, the construction company, the manufacturer, the engineer, architect, worker and city or government agency. Furthermore, your personal injury claim can be based on premises liability, negligence, product defects or vicarious liability of an employee.
Negligence
Many claims are based on negligence. To prove negligence, the claimant must show that the defendant owed him or her a duty of care, that they breached that duty by being negligent and that their negligence caused the harm or death. If the plaintiff proves the other party was negligent, then the defendant will be required to compensate the victim.
Premises Liability
Under premises liability, property managers and owners are required to keep their property safe by removing any dangerous conditions that may hurt visitors or customers. Therefore, if someone gets hurt on their property, they can be held accountable.
Product defects
Unfortunately, some workers get injured by unknowingly using faulty or defective products. For instance, some faulty machines may leak and cause fires or explosions, injuring workers on the site. Under such circumstances, the injured workers can pursue compensation from the machine manufacturers, designers or sellers. This is in line with product liability law, which states that people who manufacture, design or sell defective products are liable for any injuries that are caused by that product.
Vicarious liability of employee
Sometimes, a negligent employee can cause a dangerous condition that could hurt other workers. In such instances, the negligent employee will be held liable. However, their employer can also be vicariously liable for their negligence.
Can I file a lawsuit?
If you have sustained injuries on the worksite, you can file a lawsuit. Furthermore, since California operates under a comparative fault system, even if you are partly at-fault for the incident, you can still file a lawsuit against the other entities that caused the unfortunate event and recover damages.
Conclusion
If you want the process of recovering compensation to be smooth and fast, you should hire an experienced construction accident lawyer at Salamati Law Firm in Los Angeles, CA to help you. The experienced attorney there will assess your legal options, give you legal advice, help you gather evidence and represent you well so you can recover maximum compensation to cover all your losses.
