Tough Cases. Tougher Lawyers.

The first thing anyone should do if involved in a construction site accident is to seek medical treatment. Your health and well-being are paramount.

If you or a family member or other person on your behalf is able, you should follow these general guidelines. It will protect you, make your case stronger and enable your Philadelphia construction accident lawyer to better evaluate your case:

• Notify your employer, general contractor or job site supervisor

• Obtain copies of the police report and ambulance report

• Collect the names of all parties involved

• Collect the names of witnesses

• Obtain a copy of your medical records

• Journal all facts and details you remember about the accident

• Journal your medical treatment and condition

• Keep all doctor appointments and follow doctor’s orders for recovery and treatment

• Do not speak to the other party’s insurance adjusters

• Do not give a recorded statement to an adjuster or insurance company

• Do not admit fault to any parties, witnesses, insurance adjusters, or others

• Stay off social media (no comments, photos, or updates on your status)

If you are injured on a construction site, you may have a Philadelphia Construction accident case. You maybe have suffered severe or even catastrophic injuries leading to economic claims (lost wages, medical bills) or non-economic damages (emotional distress. Injuries for which you can recover damages include:

• Broken bones – Fractures are common in the legs and arms

• Brain injuries (TBI)

• Spinal cord injuries

• Neck and back injuries – Rear-end collisions may result in a herniated or ruptured disc

• Whiplash

• Lacerations

• Burns

• Broken bones

• Scarring

• Sprain, strains and soft tissue damage

• Mental or emotional anguish – The severe physical pain from a motor vehicle accident can cause long-lasting emotional harm.

• Loss of vision or hearing

• Amputation

• Paralysis

• Wrongful death

An experienced construction accident lawyer will be best able to evaluate your case and determine, based on the facts and circumstances, what kind of workers’ compensation claim or personal injury claim you may have under Pennsylvania law for your physical pain, medical bills, medical treatment, and non-economic damages.

This will depend on the facts and circumstances of your case. If you are an injured worker, the construction companies are required to have workers’ compensation and you will be entitled to make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. You will be able to recover compensation for medical bills, lost income, physical therapy, permanent disability and other damages under Pennsylvania law.

Even if you are not a worker, you may be able to recover economic and noneconomic damages if you are injured on a job site.

In Pennsylvania, there are two main types of damages: compensatory damages and punitive damages:

Compensatory damages are designed to make you whole after an accident. You may suffer both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages include:

• Medical bills and expenses

• Lost wages

Non-economic damages by their nature are more difficult to calculate. This is where pain and suffering and emotional distress are covered. These damages include:

• Loss of ability to work

• Loss of future earnings

• Loss of enjoyment of life

• Loss of consortium 

• Emotional pain and distress

Punitive damages are most likely not going to apply to most construction accident injuries and third-party claims. Punitive damages are designed to punish a person for intentional conduct. This means their conduct that led to your injuries was more than negligent. While punitive damages may not be appropriate in your case, that does not mean your Philadelphia construction accident lawyer won’t consider them depending on the facts of your case.

There is no simple answer to this question. Each case has to be evaluated by an experienced personal injury attorney in order to determine the potential amount of damages an injured person can recover in a Philadelphia construction accident.

Injured workers who will have their Philadelphia construction accident attorney file a workers’ compensation insurance claim, will have their benefits determined under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws. Non-workers will have a personal injury claim.

Initially, your Philadelphia construction accident lawyer will weigh how severe your injuries were; your age and health at the time of the accident; whether you have a job or not and if you were the sole provider for the family and how many members you supported; and whether you had any fault in the accident.

There are many other factors to be considered in any accident lawsuit or personal injury claim. There will be both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages will compensate you for financial costs incurred as a result of the accident. The idea is to “make you whole” or in other words, put you back in the financial place you were in before the crash. Such damages would include:

• Present and future medical expenses which includes ambulance fees, hospitalization, surgery, medication, medical equipment, surgeries, and doctor visits

• Physical therapy and other necessary and related rehabilitation treatment and costs

• The cost of replacing or repairing damaged property

• Lost Income and wages

• Loss of future earnings

• Temporary or permanent disability

These types of damages are relatively straightforward. So long as they are related to the accident, they are proven by the medical bills and expenses incurred.

Non-economic damages include:

• Emotional distress

• Pain and suffering

• Disfigurement

• Scarring

• Loss of consortium

• Loss of enjoyment of life

These damages require a different level of proof than the economic damages as there are no bills to prove the amount. This does not mean the damages are any less real. They require the experience and knowledge of a Philadelphia construction accident attorney. An attorney will have knowledge of how the insurance company may weigh a claim for these non-economic damages and be able to evaluate what kind of demand they may make and/or argue for in a settlement conference or at a trial.

If you have been injured at a construction site, you deserve maximum compensation for your accident injuries, and someone needs to be held accountable for their negligence. An experienced Philadelphia construction accident attorney will thoroughly examine the available evidence to determine the exact cause of your accident. They will determine the identities of all potentially liable parties, including third-party liability, and work tirelessly to get you compensated for your injuries and financial loss. Construction accident lawyers will assist in all ways necessary to make your case including:

• Investigate the facts of your case

• Preserve evidence – Physical evidence often disappears or gets destroyed during the time that follows an accident

• Obtain safety measures, records and other incidents

• Review photos of the accident and the accident scene

• Locate and question witnesses and interview any and all parties who can potentially back up your claim

• Employ experts including medical and accident reconstruction

• Speak with the responding officer(s) and examine the officer’s police reports and any drawings and measurements 

• Inspect the equipment involved in the construction accident for potential defects

• Review your medical records to determine the extent of your personal injuries

• Negotiate with the insurance company

• Appear at settlement conferences and court dates

• Litigate your case in court at trial

Construction site accidents often result in painful accident injuries, emotional suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, lost future earnings, and property damage—our Philadelphia construction accident lawyer will fight to get you the compensation you need to move on.