Los Angeles Construction Accident Lawyers

Crane Accidents and Injuries

Crane accidents are not the most common accident. However, when they occur, the potential for damage, injury, and death is extremely high. In fact, in California from 2011 to 2017, 14 people were killed in crane accidents, according to BLS data.

BLS data also shows the most common types of crane accidents, which include:

• Getting struck by a crane load
• Electrocution when the crane contacts a power line
• Accident during crane disassembly
• Crane tipped over because it was overloaded

Operation of a crane involves a complex web of interrelated responsible parties. A failure by any one of these parties could be to blame for a crane accident. An MIT study looked at the responsible parties for crane accidents and found that the most responsible parties (in descending order) were:

• Crane operator
• Lift director
• Site supervisor
• Rigger
• Owner
• Signal person
• Crane manufacturer
• Service provider

Often, more than one person was to blame for any given accident. This web of responsibility means that when you are injured in a crane accident, there is a high likelihood that you might be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit as well as collect workers’ compensation. To learn whether this might be an option in your case, talk to an experienced construction accident lawyer.

Construction Site Electrocutions

Transmission lines provide a substantial danger to construction workers. This includes both overhead transmission lines and buried lines. In addition, working on wiring can expose a person to significant risks of electrocution. These risks can be increased when electrical subcontractors are not performing their job properly to ensure the safety of all individuals. 

Electrocution can affect all types of workers at the construction site, including:

• Electrical workers
• Laborers
• Heavy equipment operators
• Carpenters
• Scaffolding assemblers and anyone using scaffolding
• Roofers

Negligence related to an electrocution incident is not always easy to assign. For example, a person who came in contact with electrical wiring might initially seem responsible for their injuries. However, they might have been relying on equipment that was supposed to provide sufficient protection against the level of current they expected in the wire. In addition, the worker might have experienced serious burns because supposedly fire-resistant clothing caught fire. In these cases, the worker might be able to pursue a product liability lawsuit in addition to collecting workers’ compensation.

Operating and Moving Equipment

Powerful equipment for moving earth and performing other essential construction tasks can save tremendous amounts of labor, but it can also be very dangerous. Some of the common machines on a construction site that can cause dangerous accidents include:

• Excavators
• Compactors
• Loaders
• Dozers
• Backhoes
• Cranes
• Tractors
• Rollers
• Dumpers
• Forklifts

These machines can be responsible for horrific injuries and death. Some of the common injuries from moving vehicles include:

• Broken bones
• Spinal injury
• Brain injury
• Paralysis
• Internal organ and tissue damage
• Death

Sometimes these injuries are completely covered by workers’ compensation. However, there are other cases where your family might be able to pursue a lawsuit to get additional compensation when another company employed the equipment operator, or if faulty design or maintenance contributed to the accident or increased its severity. These lawsuits can provide additional compensation for families that are struggling to deal with the aftermath of a serious construction site injury.

Scaffolding and Ladder Accidents

According to BLS statistics, falls are the primary cause of fatalities in the construction industry, accounting for nearly 40% of all fatalities. Scaffolding and ladders account for more than a third of all deadly falls in construction. In California, falls from scaffolding and ladders account for more than 15,000 emergency room visits each year, though not all of these are construction-related. 

Although ladders and portable stairs are responsible for more falling deaths, there is a lot of attention given to scaffolding falls because so many of them are easily preventable. Preventable causes of scaffolding injuries and deaths include:

• Improper assembly of the scaffold
• Inadequate scaffolding for the work or the number of workers
• Inadequate training for scaffold assemblers
• Contact of scaffolding with electrical wiring
• Manufacturing defects in the scaffolding
• Failure to use safety equipment for scaffolding
• Inadequate training for people using scaffolding

Another aspect of scaffolding injuries is that they may be due to the negligence of someone other than your employer. If a different contractor or professional assembled the scaffolding from which you or your loved one fell, you may be able to seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit as well as workers’ compensation. 

Chemical Exposure

Chemical exposure is another common cause of injury at a construction site. This is the third most common cause of death in the construction industry. 

As new and innovative materials enter the construction industry, these are often chosen for their construction properties, such as their strength, fire resistance, and low cost. Often neglected is the toxic potential of these materials for those who have to work with them. Even worse, construction workers are rarely trained on the hazardous properties of the materials they work with on a daily basis. They may not even know about the existence of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) or where to find them if they have questions about the materials they are handling. 

Some hazardous materials can cause acute injury: they will burn, blind, or poison someone immediately. Other hazardous materials cause chronic injury: they cause damage that may not be apparent until long after exposure, but might include serious effects like:

• Organ damage
• Neurological impairments
• Respiratory problems
• Cancers
• Birth defects

And more: there are too many potential impacts of chemical exposure to list here. If you are experiencing an illness that your doctor says might be related to chemical exposure or one that they can’t determine the cause of, consider the possibility of toxic chemical exposure. 

Negligence may contribute to chemical exposure because of:

• Improper oversight
• Lack of training
• Improper procedures
• Inadequate safety equipment

If you are a construction worker who has been exposed to toxic substances, you may be able to get compensation for your illness or injury. California has the strongest laws in the nation to protect people from chemical exposure. After you get medical treatment, talking to a lawyer is an important step to learn how the law protects you and gives you options. 

Structural Failure

A structure is typically at its highest risk of collapse when it is being built or repaired. This means that workers undertaking those tasks are at an elevated risk of suffering injury or death when these structures collapse. Indeed, structural collapse is a common source of injury or death among construction workers. 

When structural failures occur, they are most often the result of someone not following proper protocol for construction and/or demolition. In fact, an OSHA study attributed 80% of structural collapses to this cause. 

Examples of not following proper procedures include:

• Not following the manufacturer’s or designer’s installation procedures
• Overloading structural members
• Not providing temporary bracing during construction
• Demolition without regard to structural stability

When another contractor is responsible for these errors, you may be able to pursue additional compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. 

The other 20% of structural collapses are related to design failures. Reasons for design failure include:

• Insufficient strength of beams
• Supports that are too small or aren’t sufficiently embedded in the structure or ground
• Failure to consider wind forces
• Using preliminary figures instead of updating them with the final design
• Not enough reinforcements for the walls
• Inadequate brackets
• Inadequate lateral bracing
• Slender beams supporting wider beams

Since the design is almost always handled by a different firm than the construction, structural failures related to design often allow a personal injury lawsuit to provide additional compensation for workers and their loved ones.

Why Choose Us for Your Construction Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one was injured in a construction accident, a lawyer can often help you get additional compensation beyond what you might be able to obtain for yourself. At Fisher & Talwar, we are experienced personal injury lawyers who have helped many families cope with the aftermath of a tragic construction accident. We are ready to help you, and your family will benefit from our personal attention, contingency fees, and never charging you for expenses. 

A Track Record of Success

Fisher & Talwar are experienced personal injury lawyers. We have obtained settlements and verdicts of up to $6 million for our clients. The exact compensation available in your case depends on the circumstances, but we know how to seek the maximum available for you. 

Personal Attention

At Fisher & Talwar, we are dedicated to providing personal attention to all our clients. Every client will be handled by one of our partners–they are never handed off to a junior attorney or paralegal. We can do this because we are very selective in the cases that we take. We will only take your case if we believe that you will get more compensation with our help than you would on your own or with another lawyer. 

No Fees Unless We Win

We handle most cases on a contingency basis. That means that you don’t pay us a fee unless we get you paid. Your family is already dealing with additional bills and decreased income as a result of your construction accident–you don’t need more bills unless you have more ability to pay them. 

No Expenses, Ever

Because we appreciate the difficulty of your situation, we never charge you for our expenses during your personal injury case. Some law firms will charge you for their expenses, which can seem like a hidden fee when you are hoping to get more compensation through your lawsuit. Not only that, but some law firms will say you don’t pay a fee unless they win, but they will still expect you to pay their expenses even if they don’t win money for you. 

At Fisher & Talwar, our fee includes all our expenses, and we will never pass expenses on to you, whether we win your case or not. Our fees are our fees, so you know exactly what it will cost to hire us. Before hiring any construction accident lawyer, ask about expenses as well as fees.