California Construction Accident Attorney Straight Talk: California Construction Accident Law
Construction jobs are some of the most dangerous jobs in California and the U.S. There is a very high rate of serious injury and fatalities in the construction industry. Usually, serious injury and deaths on construction sites are caused by negligence or dangerous products. Each year CAL-OSHA issues hundreds of citations for illegal and unsafe practices on California construction job sites. Time and again construction general contractors and subcontractors do not comply with established safety standards. That is, the very safety standards which were intended to prevent serious injuries and deaths on California construction sites.
In order to help guide seriously injured construction workers and their families, we have complied a list of frequent and dangerous construction accidents which regularly occur on California construction sites.
Heavy Machinery Accidents
Every year in California construction workers are seriously injured or killed by heavy machinery used on construction sites. Forklifts, cranes, bull dozers, bobcats, graders and the like are all extremely dangerous. The machinery is usually large, powerful, with visibility constraints. Oftentimes, the heavy machinery is defectively manufactured and designed. Many serious accidents and deaths are the result of a workers arms or legs getting caught in the moving machinery.
Trench Accidents
Trench collapses occur all to often. Digging trenches and laying pipes can cause serious injury and death to construction workers. Companies try to save money so they fail to take needed safety precautions. Instead of performing shoring and benching, these companies place workers at risk for trench collapsing injuries and deaths.
Construction Falls
Too many companies place their employees at risk by failing to use basic fall protection devices. When working at heights construction workers at risk for serious injury or death due to fall hazards. It is reported over 30% of all construction-related deaths are caused by falling from high locations.
Rebar Injuries
Rebar injuries are more common than many might expect. Rebar injuries are always preventable. Rebar should always be capped in order to avoid impaling a body part on the exposed metal. In many instances, rebar caps are defectively designed and when impacted, shatter, thereby allowing impaling injuries.
Scaffolding Accidents
Almost all scaffolding accidents are caused by defective scaffold assembly and faulty scaffold maintenance. Unsafe guardrails, improper planking, failure to use scaffold tie backs as a secondary anchorage, cutting-corners by not rigging employee lifelines to substantial members of the structure are all causes of scaffold serious injuries and deaths.
Slip and Falls and Trips and Falls
Faulty flooring, slippery flooring, construction clutter all account for needless construction injuries and deaths. Simple daily housekeeping can seriously cut down on the number of trip and fall injuries on construction sites.
California Workers Compensation Is Never A Good Answer
California workers compensation benefits are supposed to aide workers injured on the job, they are never sufficient to fully compensate injured workers for all damages sustained as a result of their work-related accident. California has some of the lowest workers compensation benefits in America.
Under California Law, employees cannot sue their employers for injuries and damages sustained as a result of a work-related accident. In order to receive reasonable compensation for their injuries, workers must bring civil third party lawsuits against parties other than their employer. With a third party lawsuit, seriously injured workers and their families can receive damages not allowed by California workers compensation: pain and discomfort, loss of enjoyment of life, past wage loss, future wage loss, and loss of services for the spouse.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is this. If you or a family member was seriously injured or killed on a California construction site, you need a seasoned third party work injury attorney. You are counseled not to rely on a California workers compensation lawyer. In addition to a California workers compensation attorney, you must also consult with a good, honest third party work injury attorney that is also a California construction accident attorney.
Disclaimer
The foregoing article is not legal advice. It is simplistic in order to achieve clarity. Your facts and circumstances may differ from those described herein. Always consult with a California third party work injury lawyer if you or a family member is seriously injured or killed on a California construction site. Finally, you must always tell the truth when you going to court to ask for money damages.