Did you or a loved one get hurt on the job and need legal help? Read these 4 construction accident facts, then call our Naperville lawyers now.
1. Choosing the Best Construction Accident Lawyer
The other day in Naperville a client called and asked, “How do I select a construction injury lawyer?” Our answer to that question is you want to ask about experience. Construction injury accident cases are complicated. They can require the right kind of expert, someone that is familiar with construction site, OSHA rules, the Department of Labor, and all the different kinds of things that can take place out on a construction site. When deciding what lawyer you’re going to hire because of your construction accident injury, it’s important to ask that lawyer how many construction accident cases they’ve handled, but even more importantly, how many construction accident cases they’ve actually taken to trial.
There are a lot of lawyers that like to say that they can handle your construction accident case or claim that it’s just like any other type of case, but that is not the case. The truth is that construction sites are dynamic, complicated and overlapping places of employment, and it takes someone with familiarity with construction and what can take place on a construction site to properly analyze and decide whether or not you have a construction injury case.
If you’ve been injured while working construction, we’d be happy to help you. Please call us and we’ll answer any questions that you have.
2. Construction Accident Case Value
The other day someone in Naperville asked us, “I was hurt on a construction site while at work. How do you evaluate how much my case is worth?” In Illinois, there are four elements of damages that you would be entitled to if you’re injured on a construction site. The first would be your medical bills. Your medical bills, both past and future, would have to be accounted for and paid for as a result of being injured on a construction site. Secondly would be any wage loss that you’ve suffered. In other words, if you are unable to work and you’ve stopped getting a paycheck, you would be entitled to all of your on and off-the-check benefits for having gotten injured while working on a construction site.
Third, you would also be entitled to pain and suffering, in other words, the pain and suffering you went through from the moment you were injured, all the way up to today and possibly into the future. Last, you’d be entitled to disability, in other words, the inability to do all the things that you want to do in your normal life; we sometimes call it a loss of a normal life – the things you would normally be doing if you had not been injured on a construction site – and you’re also entitled to compensation for that.
If you have any questions about your construction site injury or any accident that you’ve had while at work, please give us a call. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have.
3. Construction Accident Case Timeline
The other day we were talking to someone who had a construction injury accident case in Naperville and they asked us, “How long is it going to take to resolve my claim?” Construction accident cases are a very specialized type of situation. Normally someone injured on a construction site actually has two cases. They may be pursuing a workers’ compensation case against their employer for the injuries that they suffered on the job, while at the same time having a construction injury case against either another subcontractor or even the general contractor, or an engineering company, or even the architect. The overlap between those two cases make it difficult to say as to how long a construction injury case will last.
Most importantly, you would never want to settle or resolve your case until you’re done receiving medical treatment. Oftentimes we see people that resolve or settle their case, only to find out later on that they need more or additional medical care. It would never be acceptable to settle someone’s case if they were still seeing doctors or seeking medical care.
If you have a question about a construction accident or an on-the-job injury that you may have suffered, please give us a call. We’ll answer any questions that you have.
4. After a Construction Accident Injury
Sometimes I’m asked, “If I’m seriously injured in a construction site accident in Naperville, what are some of the first steps that I should take?” First, obviously, is to seek medical care. When you get the medical care, you want to be sure to give the physician an accurate history as to how you were injured on the construction site.
Secondly, if possible, you want to try to document the scene and the evidence at the time of your injury. A lot of people have their cell phones with them, even at work, and if you’re able to take pictures of any of the conditions or the site itself at the time your injury occurred, it can really help protect you down the road in pursuing any kind of construction accident injury case. If you have coworkers that may have taken some additional pictures of the scene when you were injured, those photographs can help us protect you as well when we decide to pursue a construction injury case.
If you have any questions about construction injuries or getting injured on the job, feel free to give us a call. We can answer any questions that you have.
Were you or a loved one seriously injured on a construction site due to suspected negligence in Illinois and have questions about these 4 construction accident facts? Contact our experienced Naperville construction accident attorneys today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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