Construction Site Injuries

Construction sites are high-risk venues for workplace injuries. Working long hours with heavy machinery at a site with several safety hazards leaves workers at risk for serious injuries. Data shows that a construction worker has a 75 percent chance of suffering a disabling injury and a 1-in-200 chance of being fatally injured on the job.

Fortunately, construction companies and sites must follow strict safety standards to protect their workers. However, accidents still happen. Some common construction site injuries include –

• Falling debris causing falls or collapses
• Faulty equipment such as a failing power tool
• Electrocutions from exposed or faulty wiring

Since construction sites employ a large number of people and contractors, it may not be easy to determine whose fault an injury was.

If you suffer an injury at work

When a person is injured at work, there are two possibilities.

The first is you have workers’ compensation to pay for medical care and lost wages. The second is a third-party claim against the at-fault person if that person is not a worker for the same company as you.

Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance employers have to compensate workers for injuries sustained on the job. If you are filing a workers’ compensation claim, you may be eligible for two different types of benefits –

• medical expenses due to injury
• wage loss benefits

These wage loss benefits can fall under one of following categories –

• Temporary partial disability forworkers who have been allowed by the workers’ compensation doctor to return to work, but with restrictions
• Temporary total disability for workers who can’t back to any job duty temporarily
• Permanent partial disability for workers who have suffered a lasting impairment and can return to work in a reduced capacity and at lower wages
• Permanent full disability for workers who have suffered a severe injury which has rendered them unable to work again

Arizona Worker’s Compensation

In Arizona, workers’ compensation protects employers which means the injured worker can claim workers’ compensation but cannot sue their employer or co-worker for the injury sustained. However, you may be able to pursue a third-party lawsuit for a personal injury depending on your case and the incident.

Both workers’ compensation and a third-party lawsuit require different burdens of proof.

While Arizona’s ‘no-fault’ rule in workers’ compensation does not require you to prove your employer was at-fault for your injury, third-party lawsuits require you to prove negligence of the at-fault person. Some examples where workers may have a third-party lawsuit are– an individual gets injured because of an employee of another trade on the construction job site, and an individual gets injured in a company motor vehicle accident.

If, unfortunately, you or a loved one has been injured at work, consult a workers’ comp attorney to help you understand your case and get what you deserve.

To learn more about Phoenix workers’ compensation attorney, consult the best workers’ compensation lawyers in Phoenix, AZ, call Arizona Injury Law Group at 602-346-9009 right away.

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azworkcomp Joined: June 24th, 2018