Philadelphia Construction Site Accident Lawyer

Most Philadelphia construction workers are covered by workers’ compensation insurance.

Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance that covers medical expenses and lost wages resulting from a work-related injury or illness. Pennsylvania law requires most Philadelphia employers to purchase and pay for workers’ comp covering their employees.

Most employers who buy workers’ compensation policies do not have legal liability for injuries their employees suffer on the job.

Instead, the law limits employees to filing a workers’ compensation insurance claim—and for that, they may need our help. Workers’ comp claims are no easier to resolve than any other claims involving insurance companies. We can help you apply and make sure the settlement you receive is what you deserve.

Some exceptions to this rule exist, however. Also, in some cases, a third party (someone other than an employer or co-worker) causes a Philadelphia construction accident injury.

In those cases, the injured worker may have the right to sue the third party for damages. For example, in the case of a motor vehicle accident that injures a worker in a construction zone, the worker may have the right to sue the driver of the vehicle.

Speak with an experienced Philadelphia construction accident injury attorney today to learn about your rights to take legal action after suffering a construction accident injury.

It depends on the type of compensation you have the right to claim.

If workers’ compensation covers your injury, then it will usually pay for your medical expenses related to the injury, such as emergency treatment at the scene or in the emergency department, transport to the hospital by ambulance or air, diagnostic testing, physician and surgical services, hospitalization, prescription medication, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.

Workers’ comp also pays two-thirds of your wages for the time you miss at work due to the injury.

In cases involving permanent disability, you may also receive wage benefits until you reach retirement age.

If you have the right to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for your Philadelphia construction accident injuries, then in addition to claiming medical expenses and lost wages, you may also seek compensation for loss of your future earning capacity, and for so-called non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of the enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.

An experienced Philadelphia construction accident injury lawyer can evaluate the types of compensation you have the right to seek.

Again, it depends on where the compensation comes from.

If you file a workers’ compensation claim, then your first disability payment should arrive within three weeks (your medical providers generally get paid directly).

If you seek compensation for your construction-related injury through a Philadelphia construction accident lawsuit, then the outcome and timeline are less certain.

Factors that can influence the timeline include:

• Waiting for maximum medical improvement. Accurate assessment of the amount of money you should seek may require waiting until you have a clearer picture of your long-term health prospects. An attorney may advise waiting until you reach maximum improvement before taking legal action, to allow for a precise calculation of your current and future financial needs.
• Negotiating a settlement. Most Philadelphia construction accident injury lawsuits settle through negotiation between the injured worker’s lawyer, defense lawyers, and insurance companies. Sometimes, the facts and legal issues need time to develop before meaningful negotiation can take place.
• Discovery and court congestion. Investigating the facts of a lawsuit through the legal process of discovery can take months. Courts typically schedule the proceedings in Philadelphia construction accident lawsuits over months, to allow discovery to take place, and because courts have other business that can take priority.

Remember, too, that no one can guarantee you compensation for your Philadelphia construction accident injury. Hiring an experienced Philadelphia construction accident injury attorney, however, gives you the best shot at obtaining the full amount of money you need and deserve.

Probably. Pennsylvania workers’ compensation insurance generally provides death benefits to replace part of the deceased worker’s weekly wage, and up to $7,000 for funeral and burial expenses.

A worker’s family may also have the legal right to file a lawsuit known as a wrongful death action, seeking damages for the party at-fault for the tragic death. The damages that a wrongful death lawsuit may recover can include funeral and burial expenses, loss of the deceased worker’s income, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. Speak with an experienced Philadelphia construction accident injury lawyer today to learn about your family’s legal rights.

First, liability (someone’s legal obligation to pay because of causing someone else’s injuries) only matters in a lawsuit.

If you file a workers’ compensation claim, then liability generally does not matter. Workers’ compensation insurance pays benefits to injured workers regardless of fault for a construction accident, except in limited circumstances such as when the injured worker was drunk or high on the job, or deliberately caused the accident to obtain benefits.

In a lawsuit seeking compensation for a Philadelphia construction accident injury, however, legal liability does matter. What a lawyer needs to do to prove it depends on the specific facts and circumstances of an accident.

However, in a large number of cases, to prove liability a lawyer must show that:

• Someone owed the injured worker a duty of care. This means someone had a legal obligation not to act in a way that puts someone else at an unreasonable risk of harm. For example, drivers of cars passing through a road construction zone have a duty of care to obey reduced speed limits, to keep workers safe.
• Someone breached that duty of care. Using the work zone example, a driver who speeds through a construction zone breaches (or violates) the duty of care the driver owes to construction workers. Speeding puts the workers at an unreasonable risk of harm.
• The breach caused the worker’s injuries. If, by speeding, the driver causes an accident that hurts a road construction worker, then we say the driver is liable for the construction worker’s injuries.

Straightforward as these requirements might sound, they can get complicated to prove in practice. Trust only an experienced Philadelphia construction accident lawyer to handle your claim.

Any information that establishes when, where, and how the accident happened, and the nature of your injuries and losses, constitutes evidence that a lawyer may use to prove your right to receive compensation (either from workers’ comp or through a lawsuit). That information can come from eyewitnesses, from medical records, from insurance documentation, from employment records, and so on.

Speak with a construction accident injury lawyer in Philadelphia as soon as possible after your injury to preserve as much evidence as possible about your case.

There is no average, really. Construction accidents cause a wide range of injuries and losses, which lead to an equally wide range of compensation amounts.

Workers who receive workers’ compensation benefits for their injury can generally expect to receive compensation for their medical expenses (much of it paid directly to their doctors), and up to two-thirds of their average weekly wage until they can return to work.

In Philadelphia construction accident cases, compensation can include medical expenses, lost wages, and sometimes, if third parties helped to cause the accident, so-called non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life.

Factors that can influence the amount of money an injured Philadelphia construction worker might receive through lawsuit include:

• The severity of the injury. More severe injuries often require more expensive treatments, more time away from work, and more severe impacts on the person’s day-to-day life, all of which can lead to larger claims.
• The worker’s age, general state of health, and income. Because damages can include payment for a worker’s current and future lost wages, younger, healthier, higher-paid workers will usually have higher-value claims compared to older, less-healthy, lower-paid workers.
• The degree of dispute and conflict. This factor can cut both ways. On one hand, lawsuits involving high-dollar claims tend to spur more disagreement, because the parties have more money to fight over. On the other hand, the more uncertain the facts and legal issues in a lawsuit, the longer the odds of succeeding and so, the lower the value of the claim.
• The liable party’s financial resources. At the end of the day, a legal claim is only worth as much as the liable party’s ability to pay. Experienced Philadelphia construction accident lawyers work to identify all parties with potential liability for a construction accident injury, to ensure their clients pursue the greatest number of sources of payment available.
• The injured worker’s personal needs. Some injured workers can hold out for the best possible resolution of a claim. Others face severe financial strain and need to resolve a claim sooner, even if that means taking less money than they might otherwise recover.

Probably not, but to be sure, discuss your tax concerns with an experienced Philadelphia construction accident injury lawyer.

Usually, you are not required to pay tax on workers’ compensation benefits. Similarly, the IRS does not consider personal injury settlements and awards income, so they are also not taxed. However, some exceptions do exist, such as when a party receives punitive damages.

Taxes can get complicated, as most of us know. Do not assume the money you receive in connection with a Philadelphia construction accident injury case will always come to you tax-free. Always discuss any tax concerns directly with an experienced attorney.