Scaffold Injuries

Scaffolding is an essential aspect of building and other structure construction, but carelessness or the lack of proper communication can make it a dangerous place to work in. In large metropolitan areas like Long Beach CA, there are hundreds of constructions sites that are employing scaffolds as we speak. Many scaffold workers spend their entire days clinging to the sides of multistory structures, which in itself is a risky endeavor.

Where a scaffold accident has resulted in a worker’s injury, there must be a clear definition of fault. The party or individuals that will be found negligent in a personal injury lawsuit will pay damages to the claiming victim(s). To prove liability in this civil suit, a scaffold injury lawyer strives to demonstrate that there was personal negligence, premise or product responsibility that resulted in the accident.

One of the most fundamental construction workplace rules and regulations involves safety precautions that are duly observed more especially in scaffolding cases. There exist federal and state regulations that strictly regulate the standards of safety in the building sector, with hefty penalties accompanying anyone caught violating them.

Safety inspections, gear checks, and drills are conducted regularly in a construction site and around scaffolding to ensure compliance. Accidents are common in construction-related workplaces, mostly with injuries that do not result in deaths. Falls and slips or accidents that happen when in contact with faulty equipment lead in the number of such injuries.

The most common reason for most of these construction site accidents is the overexerted worker becoming sloppy and negligent. Cases are also prevalent where equipment or product manufacturer, seller and other agent connected to its proper function fails in their safety responsibilities.

The defense in personal injury litigation for a scaffold accident victim will include the parties deemed negligent. An employer, work colleague(s), product manufacturer or retailer owe the plaintiff a duty of care; which was breached. This resulted in the accident that caused a scaffold injury and suffering for which the victim seeks restitution.

The Co-worker Respondent

A respondent can be a worker who while setting up the scaffold mid and guard rails neglects to tighten the toe boards. Lack of adequate care and the poor observance of safety regulations can lead to toolboxes or other items falling from scaffolding; injuring a worker down below.

The person directly responsible for this negligence will be liable for not paying the duty of care to a scaffold injury victim. This plaintiff then files a lawsuit with the assistance of a scaffold injuries lawyer against the co-worker respondent.

The Employer's Liability for Employee Negligence

The rule of Respondeat Superior makes an employer have vicarious liability where their employee has been found negligent. Since the scaffold worker at fault for an accident was under the instructions of a construction boss, and cannot afford to recompense the injured victim; the employer carries the blame. Employer’s insurance coverage also takes into account the Respondeat Superior law when compensating the victim of a scaffold accident caused by a fellow worker.

A logical vicarious liability process has to ascertain that there was negligence on the part of an employee. This is augmented with a finding that the said worker was within the scope of responsibilities for which the employer has retained their services. It was during the functions of these responsibilities that the accident which caused scaffold injuries happened.

Property Owner's Liability

A construction site with scaffolding can be at a building or part of a renovation of a residential premise. The property owner of a site where an accident results in scaffold injuries can also be held liable for negligence. Building owners where the scaffold has not been correctly fitted out, for instance, stand to pay the injured victim any damages claimed under the owner's responsibility.

The onus is upon a property's owner or occupier to make sure that the scaffold is not defective in any way to cause worker or passers-by any harm. Repair, maintenance and the safe working of a property's scaffold attached to their house are on the owner of the building site. Due to signage, warning and protective barriers must also be displayed or put in place to circumvent the occurrence of a scaffold accident.

Defective Scaffolding Equipment

There are cases where the correct procedures for setting up or working on scaffolding are followed, but the equipment fails. Manufacturers, suppliers, and agents related to the scaffold equipment whose defect causes injuries are held responsible for product liability. Designers and sellers of equipment that fails incompetency which causes a scaffold accident are made respondents to a personal injury lawsuit.

In product liability lawsuits, the plaintiff engenders to prove that a manufacturer or equipment seller guaranteed safe standards with the correct use of the scaffold equipment. Since these standards were underachieved due to the defect leading to a scaffold accident, a product must also have been defective from its manufacture. A workers’ compensation lawyer demonstrates that the plaintiff reasonably employed the scaffold equipment.

These arguments are strengthened by proof pointing to the use of this equipment resulting in the scaffold injuries sustained by the victim. The product liability claim for scaffold injuries will put into consideration defects that have to do with equipment design, manufacture or warning defects.

Damages are sought in monetary forms for as compensation for injuries sustained and expenses incurred as a result of a scaffold accident. These damages are designed as loss recovery for medical, rehabilitation or suffering and are deemed as economic or non-economic.

Personal injury claim litigation can include;

• Medical costs and expenses

• Loss of wages and sustenance from being unable to work

• The potential loss of future earnings

• Scars, disfigurement or loss of limb compensation

• Loss of consortium

• Emotional agony, harm or pain, and suffering

Depending on the type of injury sustained after a scaffold accident, an employee may only be able to file for workers’ compensation. If the claimant decides to file for the insurance program, there are benefits from a lawsuit that will no longer be legally accessible. With workers’ compensation, a scaffold injury victim doesn’t have to show negligence.

An employee can, however, sue the employer for a scaffold injury when there was an assault involved in the accident. Cases, where the employer had circumnavigated regulations or fraudulently omitted to result in a scaffold injury, are also litigation material. If a scaffold accident victim also discovers that they don’t have workers’ compensation insurance, they may still file a personal injury lawsuit.

Third party and contractor accidents that cause scaffold injuries may also not be confined to the vestiges of workers’ compensation.

There are defenses available for your employer and the insurance company; sometimes through teams of legal experts whom they have at their disposal. Your workers’ compensation claim may not be as highly contested as the injury claim that you’ll lay against your employer, but they both need perky legal representation.

Major insurance providers are adept at getting a claim rejected or minimized to the bare necessities. Their legal teams are keen to demonstrate that you were also negligent, which reduces the number of damages as per California law. A savvy lawyer can help you face these bureaucratic types and stake your rightful claim for compensation. Though not mandatorily instituted, hiring a competent workers’ compensation attorney may dramatically improve your chances of getting a suitable settlement.

A scaffolding injury attorney will also assist in the selection of an excellent medical physician for your injuries. In the aftermath of a scaffolding injury, call your injury lawyer who will refer you to a reputable and compliant doctor. This sets off the injury claim process as medical evidence is vital to a personal scaffolding injury claim or your workers’ compensation.

The scaffold injury lawyer will handle the entire claim process on behalf or an injured construction worker. There are requirements and statutes of limitations to the filing of claims and notifications that are pertinent to a California work-related personal injury claim. Such violations can lead to the disqualification of your claim for which a workers’ compensation attorney can handle and direct for valid litigation.

The personal injury attorney that represents construction workers injured in a scaffold accident will negotiate a more apt settlement. Where a claimant feels that the compensation is not meeting their needs that an insurance company, employer or another respondent is offering; a lawyer can negotiate more relevant damages compensation.

The legal representative can also take the matter to trial for a work-related injury on behalf of a scaffolding worker. Hauling your insurance and employer's legal teams to court is usually the best option to give more credence to your claim. Where another person is responsible for your injuries, a scaffold injury attorney will offer guidance on filing a third-party claim.

The overall and ultimate responsibility of a worker compensation lawyer is to maximize the recovery of damages for a scaffold injury client. Using negotiation skills and aggressive tactics, your personal injury attorney makes a big difference in the final amounts a construction worker can obtain as compensation.

A workers’ compensation claim process can be hard and brutal. The burden of dealing with your injuries coupled with the pressure from your employer or insurance company lawyers can be tough to deal with concurrently. Costs can get out of hand since you may no longer be working and all the medical expenses are coming out of pocket. A lawyer can help ease the legal aspects of your claim while you recuperate and recover from the scaffolding accident.

The nature of a scaffolding accident is more so that evidence and witnesses may be quickly erased by construction or time. Once an accident has happened, there needs to be documentation of the instance with its causative factors before long. An injury sustained at a scaffolding accident scene can superficially heal which reduces the impact of proving it in a claim process.

Some other significant reasons why you should hire a personal claims attorney for your scaffolding injury are;

• If your injuries are severe

• If the injuries have resulted in your missing work or losing wages

• If you have a preexisting injury that may interfere with your compensation claim

• If the construction employer has denied the validity of the work-related injury claim

• If the insurance provider is delaying or rejecting the claim settlement

A legal representative who is well versed in construction scaffolding injuries and the workers’ compensation process is the best person by your side. The outcome of the claims process is better highlighted and more favorable where an attorney from a reputable firm gives credence to your injury and damages compensation.

Where a workers’ compensation process has hit a snag, contact a lawyer and be with the safest option. Third party lawsuits that take your employer, insurance provider or other respondents to court for litigation require the direction of a personal injury lawyer with a knack for scaffold injury claims. The returns of workers’ compensation are nothing compared to the amount available at a lawsuit.

The results of a work-related injury caused by a scaffolding accident can be dire. An essential part of a victim's life can be disrupted permanently from injuries of the spine, brain or amputated limbs. There are severe changes to a claimant's life that they may never be able to earn a living again. A scaffold accident can leave a construction worker, passerby or visitor in a lot of pain and agony, which can be quantified as non-economic damages.

Injuries that have been sustained from a slip and fall or any other scaffold accident are expensive to medicate. There are also injuries that tend to hamper a person's way of performing regular duties or keep relapsing with pain and other complications. Workers’ compensation may not be able to meet the cost or expenses that a scaffold injury victim might permanently suffer, and filing for it bars an employee from suing negligent third parties.

When there is an amount of negligence on the part of the claimant, a scaffold injury lawyer will utilize comparative fault.

The current California law states that any victim of a work-related injury must file a compensation claim within a year of the accident. The statute of limitations is this time limit, but the injured scaffolding worker should file a claim as soon as possible. A workers’ compensation attorney moves expediently to weigh your option and file whichever claim is relevant to your injuries.

A scaffold injury must initially be taken care of by a qualified physician, and preferably one approved by the workers’ compensation board. After notifying your employer they have one day to issue a claim form that once filled, should be submitted within the year. Appropriate medical treatment has either can be sought or authorized by the employer’s insurance provider.

The workers' compensation program in California makes benefits available for workers who have been injured in the workplace. Where a fatality has occurred from such an accident, the bereaved family can claim workers’ compensation for that victim. In the instance that a construction worker sustains an injury from a scaffold accident, benefits are provided for without cause or negligence has to be proven.

A workers’ compensation attorney files the claim on behalf of a scaffold accident victim, by proving that the injuries were sustained while on the employer’s assignment. A worker who has been injured in a scaffolding construction accident makes specific steps to file a compensation claim. Conclusive reporting must be submitted to the employer regarding the injury-causing accident after the seeking of medical attention.

Under the workers’ compensation procedures, a delegated physician is usually reserved for the treatment and reporting of injuries. The filing of documents must be done expediently and adequately. The workers’ compensation board has a system where every report is triplicated to itself, the employer and the injured worker. Forms are also available for online download for which a scaffold injury lawyer will accord the proper support in filing your workers’ compensation claim.

In cases of fatalities from a workplace scaffold accident, there is a year-long period given for filing the workers’ compensation. An injury resulting from a scaffolding incident, for instance, can be filed within five years of the accident occurrence. Personal injury attorneys who are experts in workers’ compensation will advise that the filing be done as expediently as possible to relieve you of cumbersome medical and other expenses.

Further costs such as lost earnings or disability costs may be partially covered by the workers’ compensation check. The law in California is such that when a scaffold injury claimant files under the workers’ compensation, the right to sue a third party (such as the employer) are waived. This tradeoff rule guarantees the worker that despite any faults on their part leading to the scaffold injury, their expenses and damages will be covered.

There are exceptions where accident victims become eligible to file for both the compensation and personal injury claims. A workers’ compensation lawyer will provide guidance depending on the merits of your case towards the best alternative before filing either or both claims.

The state allows the victim of a scaffold accident to seek the compensation of injuries and loss. Expenses incurred from the cost of medical attention and the absence of wages are known as economic damages. Other such expenses or experiences that cannot be quantified in monetary terms such as pain or suffering are non-economic damages.

Insurance lobbyists have in recent times made the workers’ compensation process complicated. A scaffold injury victim must seek legal representation to achieve a justified claim filing. Employers can also be less cooperative, promoting a claimant to contact a personal injury or workers’ compensation attorney.

A recent scaffolding accident in Long Beach made the news where victims were awarded a large settlement. This lawsuit has vital aspects that a claimant can use in a lawsuit.

The incident occured on a construction site with scaffolding, where the scaffold made contact with electric wires that resulted in electrical shock. Workers who were in contact with the scaffold equipment suffered varying injuries; some suffered burns and others sustained broken bones from falling off the scaffolding. One of the particular victims, suffered a torn shoulder, broken limbs and injured his head which resulted in permanent incapacitation.

Workers who suffered injuries not as severe, filed for workers’ compensation; while others chose the lawsuit alternative. The case was aggressively litigated by a workers’ compensation attorney for a final settlement of $30 million.

The Workers’ Compensation Attorney Group in Long Beach, California, helps clients file compensation lawsuits for work-related injuries such as scaffolding injuries. Remember, there is a statute of limitations within which you should file the claim, failure to file the claim in time may make you not eligible for compensation. We invite you to contact our Long Beach workers compensation lawyer at 714-716-5933 so that we can help you seek compensation for your scaffold injury. Don’t be overwhelmed with the challenging process of filling the required paperwork and navigating through the legal system, our lawyers are ready to make this process stress-free for you.