Surviving a construction site accident often marks the beginning of a painful recovery filled with physical, emotional, and financial challenges. Between medical treatments, surgery, and rehabilitation, construction accident victims have a lot to cope with. If you are struggling after an accident, the last thing you need is the stress of dealing with insurance adjusters and others for your financial awards.
Let our Lansing construction accident lawyers handle your claim so you can focus on your health. We are committed to seeking justice on behalf of accident victims in Michigan. Reach out to us by phone or complete our online contact form to learn more about how we can help you move forward from a construction site accident.
Can You File a Claim for a Construction Accident in Lansing, MI?
Under Michigan law, construction companies and contractors have a legal duty to prioritize workers’ safety. If they fail to comply with established state safety protocols, they can be held liable for any resulting harm through personal injury claims.
When a private citizen gets hurt on a construction site, they can file a compensation claim in Michigan. However, if you are a construction worker injured on the job, you must file a claim with your employer’s workers’ compensation policy, which does not require proving fault. This will cover your medical costs and replace a portion of your salary.
If you believe a third party may have contributed to your accident, you may also file a civil claim against them with the help of a Lansing personal injury lawyer. Workers’ compensation claims differ from civil claims. In a civil case, you can collect pain and suffering compensation and other damages.
Cases Our Lansing Construction Accident Lawyers Represent
Whenever individuals suffer injuries on a construction site through negligence in Lansing, a construction accident lawyer can help. Some of the most common types of construction accident claims we represent include the following:
- Falls from height: Falls from scaffolding/ladders, unguarded elevations, etc., leading to head trauma, broken bones, paralysis, or death.
- Struck by objects: Impact injuries, blunt trauma, and crushing when heavy debris, vehicles, tools, or machinery strike workers. This includes equipment rollovers, being caught in debris collapses, or being pinned by fallen structural components.
- Electrical shock: High voltage current contact causing tissue damage, loss of consciousness, and cardiac/respiratory arrest during electrical wiring, utility work, etc.
- Trench/excavation collapse: Workers buried under falling dirt walls risk suffocation, skeletal damage, and crush injuries to organs.
- Chemical or fire burns: Skin, respiratory, and systemic effects resulting from chemical agents, machinery fires/explosions, etc.
- Overexertion injuries: Frequent sprains, strains, and tears to muscles/joints from cumulative/repetitive tasks compounded by awkward postures, extended durations, or physically demanding activities in physical jobs.
- Vehicle collisions: Crash incidents between vehicles, pedestrians, and moving equipment at active job sites.
During your consultation with our Michigan team, we will listen to your concerns and the details of the accident to ensure you are heard and understood. The more information you can give us about how the accident happened and its effects on your life, the stronger your case will be.
Filing a Claim With Workers’ Compensation After a Lansing Construction Accident
Workers’ compensation is a legal no-fault system that protects the employer and employees in the aftermath of work-related injuries. For Michigan construction accident victims, workers’ compensation pays out medical costs and provides lost wage reimbursement for accidents and illnesses that happened within the scope of your job duties.
Workers’ compensation only pays for some costs after a construction accident. It does not pay enough to cover all the harm done, and you won’t get any compensation for your pain and suffering. This is why calling a lawyer is so important.
Michigan personal injury lawyers who focus on construction accidents know which expenses and losses are not covered. We help injured workers sue negligent parties that harm them. This civil lawsuit can get the victim additional compensation to make up for what workers’ compensation does not cover. Clients can file a lawsuit and win awards for things like long-term care, future lost wages, pain and suffering damages.
Damages You Can Claim in a Lansing Construction Accident Lawsuit
Here are some of the damages you could claim in a Lansing construction accident lawsuit if someone else’s negligence caused your work injuries:
- Past and future medical expenses of your immediate treatment needs and long-term rehabilitation care
- Lost income stemming from missing work during the initial recovery period and reduced future earning capacity if disabilities impact employment options
- Vocational rehabilitation costs associated with potential retraining for another line of work if injuries prevent returning to previous construction duties
- Property losses if equipment or personal items were destroyed in the incident
- Pain and suffering damages tied to physical trauma from injuries and lasting mental/emotional distress from the negligence
- If applicable, wrongful death damages providing for funeral costs and loss of companionship to surviving family members
An experienced Lansing construction accident lawyer can calculate both economic and non-economic damages and aggressively pursue negotiations. To learn more about the value of your claim, call the Christensen Law team at 248-900-9000 or contact us online.
Who Is Liable in a Michigan Construction Accident?
Determining liability after Michigan construction accidents requires investigating which parties failed safety obligations contributing to the incident:
- Construction management firms: Top executives establish work protocols, schedules, hiring/staffing, and equipment/tools provided. Negligence like unrealistic deadlines, understaffing, lack of safety officer roles, and ignoring complaints show liability.
- General contractors and subcontractors: These figures directly oversee worksites daily, making them accountable for enforcing proper training, permits, gear, operating procedures, site maintenance, and intervening with dangerous behaviors/conditions.
- Site foremen/supervisors: As direct leaders of crews, inadequate safety protocols, deficient equipment inspection/maintenance, improper activity coordination, and absence of necessary protections at their sites make them liable for injuries.
- Individual workers: Gross negligence like intentional safety violations, horseplay, impaired behaviors, lack of training, or using equipment recklessly could mean an individual worker shares liability in a Lansing construction accident claim.
Construction injury lawyers know how to engage various technical, documentation, and legal resources to determine fault in these complex cases.
How Negligence Causes Construction Site Accidents
Construction sites hold significant safety risks due to dangerous work activities and equipment. However, many devastating construction accidents are caused by negligent actions that disregard safety standards and procedures.
For instance, inadequate training for workers operating heavy machinery or using chemical agents leads to injuries from improper conduct. Examples of negligence include a lack of appropriate protective gear, improperly installed safeguards on machinery, and failure to conduct or follow safety protocols.
Legally, employers have a “duty of care” to provide safeguards and training to curb high-risk occupational factors. When negligence occurs through lack of planning, policy enforcement, and hazard identification, the frequency of accidents intensifies, often with life-altering impacts for victims. Pursuing legal action helps hold violators responsible.
Who Can File a Claim When a Michigan Construction Worker Dies in a Fatal Workplace Accident?
When construction worker deaths occur due to Michigan workplace accidents, family members can typically file claims. Usually, state guidelines allow the following parties to recover damages:
- Surviving spouses can file wrongful death claims. Losing a spouse creates immense hardship related to finances, childcare, household responsibilities, health insurance, retirement planning, and companionship. Accounting for future impacts helps determine fair settlements.
- Surviving children may file claims stemming from losing a parent. Damages account for the loss of emotional support, guidance, nurturing, and financial provisions injured children endure growing up.
- Parents of unmarried, childless construction victims can potentially file claims stemming from their loss based on the level of dependency, frequency of support, living arrangements, and suffering tied directly to their grief.
In Michigan, a personal representative of the estate must file the claim. Our Lansing wrongful death lawyer can help you with this. Building a strong argument in a wrongful death construction accident claim demands a thorough investigation, documentation, and steadfast commitment to uncovering the truth.
The Deadline to File a Construction Accident Claim in Michigan
Under Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 600.5805, construction workers or other parties harmed by unsafe working conditions or negligence have three years from the date of their work-related accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. Different deadlines apply to filing a claim through workers’ compensation, so our attorney can explain those to you during your consultation.
It is wise to engage a construction accident attorney much sooner, even if you’re still recovering. Michigan construction injury lawyers can offer legal counsel to ensure they overlook no details or miss critical legal deadlines.
They must gather evidence, take witness statements, preserve defective equipment, review policies, and demand financial settlements within the claim window. Waiting too long jeopardizes the strength of a case and opportunities for maximum compensation. The sooner you call, the sooner they can start working for you.
Get a Free Consultation With a Lansing Construction Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury in a Michigan construction zone, the attorneys at Christensen Law can help. We advocate for workers in Lansing and across Michigan. We assist with complex paperwork, protect your rights, investigate accident causes, and handle negotiations with insurers, contractors and builders so you recover fair compensation.
Don’t go through this turbulent time alone – lean on our dedicated Lansing construction accident lawyers. We offer free, no-obligation case evaluations to discuss your accident and your legal options. Call us today or fill out our online contact form to learn more.
