Injured on the Job? We Can Help

Construction is one of the most dangerous jobs in the state. Each year, hundreds of workers are injured on the job and are in so much pain that they cannot return to work. Unfortunately, they face a legal maze trying to fully understand their rights to compensation, and their employer is often of little help.

If you need assistance, contact an experienced Vermont construction accident lawyer at Sabbeth Law. We have worked with countless construction workers and their families to obtain compensation for work-related injuries. You may qualify for medical and wage loss benefits, but you should consult us first.

Read on to learn more about construction accidents in Vermont and how personal injury lawyers at Sabbeth Law can help you navigate the legal process.

Common Types of Construction Accidents

Construction sites employ dozens of people, with many vehicles coming in and out of the property. Understanding the most common types of accidents can help workers recognize hazards and strengthen injury claims.

Falls from Heights

Our clients are often hurt by falls from several levels up when working on a building. These accidents often cause fractures, head injuries, and paralysis. Even a slip and fall or trip and fall on one level could result in serious injuries.

Electrocution Injuries

Electrocution is another serious risk. Working around live wires is dangerous and can lead to heart injuries, brain injuries, and internal burns.

Vehicle and Equipment Accidents

Vehicle accidents involving dump trucks, excavators, and forklifts can strike a worker, causing traumatic injuries. Even the person operating the vehicle could be hurt in a collision.

Falling Objects

Items often fall to the ground, which is why many workers wear hard hats. A falling object can cause concussions, brain bleeding, and other injuries.

Machinery Malfunctions

Machinery can explode or fail to work properly, causing burns, lacerations, and amputations.

Noise-Related Injuries

Excessive noise can cause hearing loss, which might be permanent. For this reason, construction workers need earplugs and other personal protective equipment.

Who Is Liable for Construction Accidents?

Understanding liability in construction accident cases is essential for injured workers seeking compensation. Multiple parties may bear responsibility depending on the circumstances of your accident.

Employer Liability

Your employer has a legal duty to maintain a safe workplace, provide proper training, and ensure all safety equipment functions correctly. When they fail in these responsibilities, they may be held accountable through the workers’ compensation system. However, employers are generally immune from personal injury lawsuits if they carry workers’ compensation insurance.

Property Owner Responsibility

Property owners can be liable when dangerous conditions on their premises contribute to accidents. This includes:

  • Inadequate lighting that creates visibility hazards
  • Structural defects in buildings or walkways
  • Failure to warn workers about known hazards on the property

General Contractor Liability

General contractors overseeing a construction project may also bear responsibility for coordinating safety measures and ensuring all subcontractors follow proper protocols.

Subcontractor Negligence

Most people who work in construction know that outside contractors are often brought in to do portions of the work on projects large and small. Whether it’s laying concrete, framing, HVAC, or electrical, these subcontractors might not be as familiar with the worksite as the workers who are there from the beginning of the project to the end. That is not a license to work negligently. Whether it’s incorrectly constructed scaffolding or negligently operating a forklift, if one of these subcontractors that doesn’t work for your company hurts you, they and their insurance company are responsible.

Equipment Manufacturer Liability

Equipment manufacturers may be liable when defective machinery or tools cause injuries. Examples include:

  • Safety harnesses that fail during falls
  • Scaffolding that collapses due to design flaws
  • Power tools that malfunction and cause injury

When these defects cause harm, you may have grounds for a product liability claim.

Third Party Liability

Third parties such as delivery drivers, equipment rental companies, or maintenance providers who create hazardous conditions can also be held accountable through a third party lawsuit.

Workers’ Compensation in Vermont

The workers’ compensation system provides no-fault benefits to people injured, including construction workers. So long as you were working while injured, you should receive benefits, which can include: 

  • Reasonable and necessary medical care to treat your injuries
  • Mileage reimbursement to pay for the cost of travel to receive medical care
  • Wage replacement if you are temporarily disabled and cannot work.
  • When you file a workers’ compensation claim, you may also qualify for permanent disability benefits if you suffer a permanent impairment. 
  • Death benefits are available for surviving dependents when a construction worker dies on the job. 
  • Vocational rehabilitation helps those find other suitable work when they cannot return to their previous position.

These benefits are not overly generous. For example, workers only receive roughly two-thirds of their average weekly wage for disability benefits. For someone who earned $600 a week, workers’ compensation might only replace $400. Also, workers’ comp does not provide any damages for pain, suffering, emotional distress, or similar losses. A workers compensation claim focuses primarily on replacing lost income and covering medical treatment rather than compensating for the full impact of your injuries.

Types of Compensation in Construction Injury Cases

Understanding the full range of compensation available is critical for injured workers pursuing claims. The type and amount of compensation you can recover depends on whether you’re filing through workers’ compensation, pursuing a third party lawsuit, or both.

Through workers’ compensation, you can recover medical expenses including emergency room visits, surgeries, prescription medications, physical therapy, and ongoing treatment costs. The system covers all reasonable and necessary medical care related to your work injury. You’ll also receive partial wage replacement, typically two-thirds of your average weekly wage, while you’re unable to work due to your injuries.

If your injuries result in permanent limitations, you may receive permanent partial or total disability benefits based on the severity of your impairment. Workers’ compensation also provides vocational rehabilitation services to help you transition to suitable alternative employment if you cannot return to your previous job. Travel costs for medical appointments are reimbursed through mileage payments.

However, workers’ compensation has significant limitations. It doesn’t compensate you for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, or emotional distress. This is where a third party lawsuit becomes valuable. When pursuing a personal injury claim against a third party, you can seek full compensation for all economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages in a personal injury lawsuit include all past and future medical expenses, full lost wages rather than the reduced workers’ compensation rate, and loss of income from diminished earning capacity. You can also recover costs for home modifications, assistive devices, and ongoing care needs.

Non-economic damages address the less visible but equally devastating impacts. This includes compensation for physical pain and suffering, emotional distress and psychological trauma, loss of enjoyment of activities and hobbies you once loved, and damage to family relationships and loss of companionship. You may also recover for disfigurement, scarring, and the loss of your sense of self and community ties.

In cases involving particularly reckless or intentional conduct, punitive damages may be available to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior. Our legal team evaluates every potential source of compensation to maximize your recovery and ensure you receive fair payment for all your losses.

Consequences and Impact of Construction Injuries

Construction accidents often result in life-altering consequences that extend far beyond physical pain. Understanding the full impact of these injuries is essential for recognizing why comprehensive legal representation matters.

Physical consequences can be devastating. Severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, and crush injuries may require multiple surgeries, lengthy hospital stays, and years of rehabilitation. Many injured workers face permanent disabilities that prevent them from returning to construction work or any physically demanding employment. Chronic pain becomes a daily reality, limiting mobility and reducing quality of life.

The financial impact on injured workers and their families can be overwhelming. Medical expenses quickly accumulate, including emergency care, ongoing treatment, prescription medications, and assistive devices. Loss of income creates immediate hardship when bills continue to arrive but paychecks stop. Many families deplete savings, fall behind on mortgages, and struggle to afford basic necessities. Future earning capacity often diminishes significantly when permanent limitations prevent workers from returning to their trade.

Emotional and psychological consequences are equally serious. Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress commonly develop after serious accidents. Injured workers may experience feelings of worthlessness, frustration, and hopelessness as their identity as providers and skilled tradespeople is threatened. Relationships suffer under the strain of financial pressure, role changes within families, and the emotional toll of chronic pain and disability.

The ripple effects touch entire families. Spouses may need to become caregivers while also taking on additional work to compensate for loss of income. Children may miss out on activities and opportunities due to financial constraints. The sense of security and stability families once enjoyed can disappear overnight after a serious construction accident.

These profound consequences underscore why pursuing maximum compensation through both workers’ compensation and personal injury claims is so important. Fair compensation helps injured workers and their families rebuild their lives and address not just immediate medical needs but the long-term impacts of their injuries.

Legal Deadlines for Construction Accident Claims

Time is critical when pursuing compensation after a construction accident. Vermont law imposes strict deadlines that can bar your claim entirely if missed.

For workers’ compensation benefits, you must notify your supervisor of your injury promptly. Vermont law requires reporting work injuries as soon as possible to protect your right to benefits. Your employer then has 72 hours to report the accident to the Vermont Department of Labor. If your employer fails to report, you should file your own claim form immediately to preserve your rights.

The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit against third parties in Vermont is generally three years from the date of your accident. This may seem like ample time, but building a strong personal injury case requires extensive investigation, evidence gathering, and legal preparation. Waiting too long makes it harder to locate witnesses, obtain safety records, and preserve crucial evidence like photographs or video footage from the accident scene.

Some cases involve even shorter deadlines. Claims against government entities or public construction projects may require filing a notice of claim within six months. Product liability claims against equipment manufacturers have specific notice requirements that vary depending on the circumstances.

Missing these deadlines can be catastrophic. Courts strictly enforce statutes of limitations, and even compelling cases may be dismissed if filed too late. Insurance companies are aware of these deadlines and may delay negotiations hoping you’ll miss your window to file suit.

Don’t risk losing your right to compensation. Contact Sabbeth Law immediately after your accident to ensure all deadlines are met and your claims are properly preserved. Our legal team will handle all filing requirements while you focus on recovery.

Preventability and OSHA Regulations

Most construction accidents are preventable. Understanding safety standards and regulatory requirements reveals how many injuries result from violations that should never have occurred.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establishes comprehensive safety regulations for construction sites. These standards address fall protection, scaffolding requirements, electrical safety, personal protective equipment, excavation safety, and machine guarding, among many other hazards. Employers must provide adequate training, maintain equipment properly, and implement safety programs that protect all workers.

Common OSHA violations that lead to construction accidents include inadequate fall protection on elevated work surfaces, failure to provide proper scaffolding, lack of required personal protective equipment, insufficient training on equipment operation, poor housekeeping that creates tripping hazards, and failure to implement lockout/tagout procedures for dangerous machinery.

When employers violate OSHA regulations, they demonstrate negligence that contributes to preventable injuries. Evidence of safety violations strengthens personal injury claims by showing that the accident resulted from failure to follow established standards rather than unavoidable circumstances.

OSHA inspection reports, safety citations, and violation records can be crucial evidence in your case. Our legal team knows how to obtain and use this documentation to build compelling arguments for compensation. We work with safety experts who can review the circumstances of your accident and identify all regulatory violations that contributed to your injuries.

Understanding that your accident was preventable can be both frustrating and empowering. While it’s infuriating that proper safety measures could have prevented your suffering, it also establishes clear grounds for holding responsible parties accountable. Construction workers deserve safe work sites, and when safety failures cause injuries, those responsible must be held accountable.

Steps to Take After a Construction Accident

Taking the right steps immediately after a construction accident can protect your health, preserve your legal rights, and strengthen your compensation claim. Follow these critical steps to ensure the best possible outcome for your case.

Step 1: Report the Accident to Your Supervisor

The first step is to immediately inform your supervisor of the accident. Doing so protects other job site workers who might also be injured. Under Vermont law, you also need to inform a supervisor promptly to qualify for benefits. Make your report as soon as possible, even if your injuries seem minor at first. Many serious injuries don’t show symptoms immediately.

Step 2: Seek Immediate Medical Care

Second, seek immediate medical care. Your employer might require that you meet with a company doctor for the first visit. However, you can choose your own doctor after that if you want. If necessary, contact an ambulance to get you to the hospital. Documenting your medical expenses from the beginning is essential for your workers compensation claim. Even if you feel your injuries are minor, get examined by a medical professional who can identify hidden injuries and create an official record of your condition.

Step 3: Verify Employer Reporting

Third, check that your employer reported the accident to the Vermont Department of Labor. They have 72 hours to do so. If not, you might need to fill out your own claim form so that you can begin the process of receiving benefits. Don’t assume your employer will handle this responsibility. Follow up to ensure the report was filed correctly and on time.

Step 4: Contact a Construction Accident Attorney

Fourth, research Vermont construction accident lawyers. A lawyer can help compile evidence about the accident, which could be helpful in a workers’ comp claim or a third party lawsuit. Evidence might include photographs, safety records, or witness testimony. This evidence is harder to find and preserve the longer you wait. An experienced attorney can identify all potential sources of compensation and ensure you don’t miss critical deadlines.

Contact Our Vermont Construction Accident Lawyers

Sabbeth Law can immediately work to build a compensation claim. We understand the complexities of construction accident cases and have successfully fought for fair compensation on behalf of our clients. Our lawyers are skilled in negotiating with insurance companies and will fight for your rights.

Don’t wait to seek legal help if you’ve been injured in a construction accident. Time is of the essence when it comes to filing a workers’ comp claim or pursuing a personal injury lawsuit against a third party. Contact Sabbeth Law today to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced Vermont lawyers.