Construction Accidents Lawyers in Wheaton, IL

If you or a coworker or family member has been seriously injured in a construction accident, you may have been told to file a workers compensation claim to be reimbursed for lost wages, unpaid medical bills, and any temporary or permanent disability. However, you probably were not told that you may be able to seek additional compensation by filing a third-party lawsuit against any company or individual besides your employer that shared responsibility for the construction site accident.

Workers compensation is a system constructed to compensate employees who are hurt on the job regardless of whether the employer was actually responsible for the accident. In return for so-called automatic compensation, workers in almost all cases cannot bring private lawsuits against their employers. Regardless of the prohibition against suing ones own employer, injured workers may be able to bring a lawsuit against other companies or individuals who played a role in causing the accident. This type of lawsuit is called a third-party claim.

Third-party personal injury or wrongful death claims are especially common after construction accidents or heavy equipment accidents. Many different subcontractors come and go daily from construction sites, and the presence of multiple companies on one job site makes it more likely that someone other than your immediate employer helped cause the construction site accident.

Seek Evaluation of Your Legal Rights Before Signing Any Settlement Agreements

After a construction accident, you may discover that other subcontractors on the job site will seek your signature on release agreements stating that you promise not to sue them for damages after the accident. Before signing any such agreement, seek an evaluation of your legal rights from an experienced workplace injury law firm such as Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered, in Wheaton, Illinois.

Since 1980, our legal team has helped injured workers maximize their financial compensation following serious construction accidents. Although we do not handle workers compensation cases ourselves, we work closely with our clients workers comp lawyers to ensure that the injured workers receive a full and fair settlement that provides for all their financial needs resulting from the accident.

Common construction site accidents that may lead to third-party claims include:

• Falling from scaffolding or ladders due to lack of safety protection such as tying off ladders and fall harnesses
• Machinery accidents involving forklifts, scissor lifts, cranes, plows, cement mixers and so forth
• Falling construction debris
• Unprotected holes or stairs
• Failure of walls
• Equipment failures due to poor site conditions such as mud or standing water
• Failure to provide adequate fall protection (tying off, harnesses, etc.)
• Improper scheduling of work
• Rebar injury if areas are not properly cordoned off
• Machinery failure due to improper design, lack of adequate warnings, or manufacturing defects

Don’t Lose Your Rights to Full Compensation

In a third-party claim, you can claim all financial losses caused by a construction site accident, not just the value of the injury itself. Our law firm enlists the help of experts to calculate total financial losses, including union benefits such as pension payments and health care coverage) following the accident.

Consult an experienced personal injury attorney to learn more about third-party claims and your legal rights following a construction site accident. Contact Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered, to schedule a consultation at our Wheaton, Illinois, office.

We represent clients on a contingency basis. If we accept your case, you will pay no attorney fees unless we obtain compensation in your construction accident claim.