CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT LAWYER

At Mike Morse Law Firm, our personal injury lawyers understand how serious construction accidents are. The devastating injuries you’ve suffered affect not only you but your entire family as well. This is especially stressful if you are the primary financial provider and workers’ comp isn’t covering your expenses.

The construction accident attorneys at our Michigan law firm take a personal, and comprehensive approach to every client. We strive to create an open and honest attorney-client relationship while offering you top legal advice and fighting hard to get the money you deserve.

Compensation that your construction accident attorney may be able to pursue for you includes:

• Medical expenses

• Current and future lost wages

• Rehabilitation

• At-home care

• Pain and suffering

• Diminished quality of life

• Wrongful death

If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a construction accident in Michigan, you may be able to file one or more of the following claims:

• Workers’ compensation claim: Michigan employees are typically able to recover workers’ comp benefits even if they were injured as a result of their own carelessness. An injured worker will receive a percentage of his or her normal weekly earnings and compensation for medical bills related to the job site injuries.

• Third-party claim: If someone besides the person you’re directly employed for is responsible for your injuries, you may be able to file a lawsuit against that party.

• Wrongful death claim: If a person is killed in a construction accident in Michigan due to someone else’s negligence, then the victim’s family or estate may be able to recover damages on behalf of the victim.

In many situations, it may be possible to file a lawsuit against a third party for a Detroit or Southfield, MI, construction site accident. A third party is anyone other than the construction worker’s direct employer. This might include:

• Subcontractors

• General contractors

• Property owners

• Architects

• Engineers

• Equipment manufacturers

Any compensation that you are awarded in these types of lawsuits will be in addition to the Michigan workers’ compensation benefits you received as a result of your injuries.

The following are some examples of relevant third-party lawsuits:

• A defective ladder collapses while you’re climbing it

• A civilian driver caused an accident while you were driving a construction vehicle

• You’re electrocuted due to faulty wiring in a power tool

• A subcontractor improperly constructed scaffolding and you fell

• An undisclosed defect on the property causes you to trip-and-fall

These are just some of the many scenarios where there may be other parties responsible for your injuries. Often, injured construction workers aren’t aware that a property owner or other additional parties may be responsible for their injuries, and they just accept the Michigan workers’ compensation that they were offered.

Unfortunately, workers’ comp benefits are not always generous, let alone fair. By failing to file a third-party or personal injury claim, you may be leaving thousands of dollars on the table.

If you were severely injured in a construction site accident, you should be able to focus on your health without worrying about investigating and building your case. Let a construction accident lawyer from Mike Morse Law Firm do the work for you.

We know Michigan workers’ compensation laws inside and out; we can inform you of your legal rights and identify all potentially liable parties that may be responsible for your injuries. Above all, our hard work and support give you time to focus on what matters most – your recovery.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has identified four leading causes of construction site fatalities, known as the “fatal four.”

Falls

Many Michigan construction workers spend their days working on ladders, scaffolds, and roofs. These high elevations can play a role in fatal falls, which are the number one cause of construction worker fatalities. According to a recent annual report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33 percent of all worker deaths were from falls.

Construction contractors and laborers may get so used to working on elevated surfaces that they disregard the threat of falling and fail to take the safety precautions that they should. Other injuries may be due to a construction worker failing to properly inspect the structure, and the roof collapses, incorrectly assembled scaffolding fails, or someone is injured when working in a stairwell without handrails.

The fact of the matter is that most construction worker falls could have been prevented if fall protection equipment had been properly used.

Struck by an object

The second-leading cause of death on construction sites is due to workers being struck by objects. The most common ways this occurs include:

• Falling objects

• Swinging objects

• Flying objects

• Rolling objects

A construction worker may be injured by a flying object even when not participating in the work that caused the object to fly. Michigan employers can protect their workers from these types of construction site accidents by ensuring workers:

1. Have access to PPE and know how to use it properly

2. Receive training on how to use heavy equipment and machinery

3. Qualify and are fully trained how to perform their job safely

Electrocutions

Electrocution on a Michigan job site can cause severe burns, paralysis, and death. Electric shock is the second-most deadly construction site hazard. This type of construction injury could occur when a worker’s tools or piece of equipment come into contact with a power line or exposed electrical source.

The following are some safe work practices to avoid electrical construction site accidents:

1. Identify all overhead power lines before operating any equipment

2. Maintain a safe distance from power lines

3. Shut off all power sources

4. Use power tools that are grounded and double insulated

5. Utilize ground fault surge protectors

Caught-in or between objects

The fourth fatal construction site hazard is a person being pinned or caught in between two objects. Examples include trench and excavation cave-ins, getting compressed between a piece of heavy equipment and a fixed structure, getting a limb caught in moving machinery, or equipment rollovers.

Tips to avoid these tragic construction site accidents include:

1. Avoid positioning yourself between fixed and moving objects

2. Stay away from an unprotected trench over 5 feet deep without a protective system in place

3. Have an employee trained in OSHA standards identify and eliminate any hazards before workers enter the trench and excavation area

In addition to the “fatal four,” there are many other types of construction site accidents that our personal injury attorneys handle. Our construction accident lawyers may be able to help you recover compensation for:

• Nail gun accidents

• Welding accidents

• Fires and explosions

• Cutting accidents

• Chemical or toxic substance exposure

• Defective equipment

• OSHA violations

• Wrongful death