Construction workers face many hazards, which is why it is one of the most dangerous professions in New Hampshire. After a workplace accident, many construction workers cannot return to work, and they feel financial stress as a result. Their medical expenses are huge, and they are worried about how they will provide for themselves and their families.

Sabbeth Law is a firm committed to helping those workers hurt on the job. Call us today to speak with our New Hampshire construction accident lawyer about your injuries. We can fight to get you fair compensation.

Construction Site Accidents

Our clients contact us after being injured in a variety of construction site accidents, including:

  • Scaffolding collapse. Scaffolds allow workers to do jobs at great heights. But when the scaffold collapses, workers tumble to the ground.
  • Ladder accidents. In addition to slipping or collapsing, ladders can contact live electrical wires when not set up properly, causing electrocution.
  • Defective equipment. Equipment can fail to work as expected and hurt a worker. Nail guns, jackhammers, and saws are only some pieces of equipment that fail.
  • Motor vehicle collisions. Construction sites have many vehicles moving around like dump trucks, forklifts, excavators, and cranes. They can collide with a construction worker.
  • Falling objects. Objects can rain down on workers’ heads, causing serious brain injuries. When heavy materials fall, they might crush a worker’s limb.

An injured worker should report their accident to a supervisor as soon as possible.

Common Injuries

Injuries tend to be serious and can require substantial medical care and rehabilitation. Many workers struggle with:

  • Lacerations or puncture wounds
  • Concussions
  • Neck injuries
  • Fractures
  • Brain injuries
  • Crush injuries
  • Amputations
  • Burns

In New Hampshire, you have the right to choose your own doctor for treatment following an accident. However, your employer might have a list that you need to choose from. In any event, you should receive medical care promptly to improve your odds of fully healing.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Construction workers should qualify for workers’ compensation benefits if they were hurt on the job. These are benefits paid without regard to fault and include:

  • Indemnity benefits (wage loss). Many injuries lead to missed work. Helpfully, you might qualify for wage loss benefits, which will pay a portion of your average wage when you are too disabled to work.
  • Medical benefits. You should receive the necessary and reasonable medical care to treat your injuries.
  • Permanent impairment or injuries. Some injuries cannot improve, and a worker suffers a permanent total or partial disability. For example, you might have lost a hand in an accident.
  • Vocational benefits. If you can’t return to a construction job, you might need training so that you qualify for other work. These vocational benefits are a big help, and you shouldn’t have to pay for them.

Although workers’ comp is no-fault, certain legal disputes arise which prevent workers from getting the benefits they deserve. For example, the insurance carrier might argue you weren’t injured on the job, in which case they refuse to pay benefits. They might also disagree about whether medical care is necessary for your condition.

Third-Party Lawsuits

One trade-off with the workers’ compensation system is that you cannot sue your employer after an accident. That might seem unfair, especially if your employer maintains a dangerous work environment. Still, this is the trade-off in place in exchange for receiving no-fault benefits.

Nonetheless, when there is a significant safety failure on a construction site, there is often a viable lawsuit against a different party for negligence or a defect. As an example, scaffolding might have collapsed because of a design or manufacturing defect, so you might sue the company that manufactured it. The same is true of defective equipment that hurts you when it fails to work properly.

Many times there are several different companies operating on a worksite. Perhaps a crane operator is brought in. Maybe an excavation company. Most people who have worked in construction for a long period of time know that subcontractors are regularly on job sites. They also might observe that sometimes subcontractors’ safety standards on a construction site are below that of the workers who are working there day-in and day-out until the project is completed. 

If the worksite is dangerous, then you might end up suing the property owner (if they are different from your employer). Some properties have hidden defects the owner should know about and fix but fail to.

A third-party lawsuit like this has many advantages. You can receive more compensation than you do with a workers’ compensation claim because we can account for your real losses. Instead of getting only a portion of your average wage, you can seek full compensation for all losses, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the way your injuries affect your life and relationships. Unfortunately, those big, meaningful types of harms and losses are not covered by workers’ comp.

Contact a New Hampshire Construction Accident Lawyer

Sabbeth Law can assist anyone trying to access workers’ compensation benefits. If your request was denied, don’t despair. We have helped many people get what they deserve after being hurt in a construction accident. Call us today to schedule a time to discuss your case.