Greenville Construction Accident Lawyers

Construction sites pose many dangers to those working on them and the people who live, play and travel near them. If you’ve been seriously hurt due to a construction accident because someone was negligent, we urge you to find out if you are due compensation.

If you’re reading this page, you’ve likely been injured on or around a construction site. You may be in pain and have probably missed work. You may be concerned about your ability to pay the bills, and you are probably stressed, wondering who can help you with a construction accident claim.

We are here to help. Our firm offers free legal advice. Call our Greenville construction accident lawyers today.

Don’t wait because you’re worried about the up-front costs for the answers you need. Give us a call and schedule your free legal consultation today.

A Hazardous Work Environment

There are many inherent hazards on construction sites that can pose danger to those on or around them. They include heavy equipment, areas of elevation, power lines, and open trenches. There are many trades companies present on construction sites that expand the hazardous possibilities into many industries, including electricians, plumbers, insulation workers, carpenters, drywall installers, hazardous waste workers, and heavy equipment operators.

Most of these hazards can be divided into three main categories:

• Biological: mold, blood-borne pathogens, and bacteria
• Physical: machine, noise, electricity, and falls. Even adverse weather conditions may become a factor in creating icy or slippery conditions, or those involving extreme heat
• Chemical: solvents, acids, lead, and asbestos

Not Just for Construction Workers

Construction accident claims apply to many people, not just those who are working on the site. For example, a pedestrian may be struck by falling debris while walking past the site. Someone may be navigating a construction zone on their way to work and get injured when a construction vehicle hits their car. Even children can get hurt if they stray into an insufficiently fenced construction site.

Claim Requirements for Construction Workers

The route you must take to pursue a claim will vary, depending on whether your claim falls into that of a construction worker/employee of the site or a non-worker hurt by the site.

Workers injured while doing their jobs may have to begin with a straight workers’ comp claim. The benefit in this is that it is quick and relatively easy and doesn’t require the worker to prove their employer is responsible for their injuries.

The downside of going through a workers’ comp claim is the loss of the right to file a personal injury lawsuit in the form of a construction accident claim, which eliminates the possibility of collecting non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.

If you are a construction worker, you may have no choice but to begin with workers’ comp. If, however, certain conditions are met, you may be able to expand your claim into a construction accident claim. To qualify for a claim outside of workers’ comp, workers often must meet one of the following requirements:

• Your legitimate workers’ comp claim was denied
• Your employer didn’t provide you with adequate workers’ comp coverage
• You were denied the option of workers’ comp coverage
• You were injured because of your employer’s intentional misconduct
• Your employer acted negligently
• Your injury was caused by a careless third party, such as a subcontractor on the site

Your Injury May Have Been Caused by Defective Equipment

Injury due to a defective product or faulty equipment may also open the way to a construction accident claim. Such cases require the victim to prove causation, meaning that:

• The worker used the equipment correctly, but it malfunctioned or was defective
• The defect caused the accident
• The accident caused the injuries
• The injuries caused damages to the victim

These complexities for qualifying for a construction accident claim make them challenging to win. If you’re facing the uphill battle of a construction accident claim, having the help of our Greenville construction accident lawyers can make all the difference to your success.

Why Should I Consider Retaining Your Greenville Construction Accident Lawyers?

People sometimes dismiss the idea of hiring an attorney on the assumption it would be too expensive. But the reality is that most of the people who do not hire lawyers end up receiving many times less compensation than those who hire construction accident lawyers.

There are two basic ways hiring a lawyer help you with your construction accident claim. The first way is that it allows you to hand over what is most likely going to be a complex case to a professional who will have the best chance for success. This in turn gives you the ability to rest and get better.

You are not going to be at your best when dealing with a serious injury; this is the least opportune time to figure out how to take on big insurance and successfully navigate a workers’ comp claim.

The second way hiring a construction accident lawyer helps you is through the many ways a lawyer can help protect your claim’s value. This means you will receive the highest possible compensation when you collect. Without someone helping you avoid all the pitfalls that can drop the value of your claim, you are almost certain to end up with less than you deserve.

There are many ways having an experienced construction accident lawyer protects the value of your claim:

• Our Greenville construction accident lawyers know how to investigate your accident to prove who is at fault, and to make that crucial causation connection, showing that:
  • The negligence of the responsible party or parties caused the accident
  • The accident caused your injuries
  • Your injuries led to your damages. Connecting these dots can be tricky under the best circumstances, much less when you’re injured. Having a lawyer take this on for you gives you your best chance to win.

• Our attorneys know how to arrive at an accurate value for your claim, based on their investigative information and all of your damages. Having a professional quantify your damages ensures that you don’t end up with less than you deserve when it comes time to ask for compensation. You’ve got to know how to factor it all in — not just now, but future damages you may suffer as a result of your injuries. These things are complex and often involve formulas. Make sure you’ve got someone on your side who can accurately identify all your damages.
• An experienced construction accident lawyer will protect your claim from insurance company tactics to drop its value. One of the ways they achieve this is by handling interviews with claims adjusters who would otherwise try to confuse and muddy the lines regarding fault for the accident.
• When you hire a construction accident lawyer, the insurance company will know they can’t walk all over you, because you’ve got a lawyer to keep them in line. This means that they can’t ignore valid claims and hit you with delays for no reason, hoping you’ll just give up and go away.
• When you’ve got a construction accident lawyer, you’ll have guidance in assessing settlement offers. Not only will you know what your claim is worth, but you’ll know which offers are just too low to consider. Making such determinations on your own is difficult because you are likely to worry that if you turn down an offer, you won’t receive another.
• Beyond showing the insurance company your claim cannot be ignored, having our Greenville construction accident lawyers means if they refuse to offer you fair compensation on a valid claim, you’ve got the legal leverage to sue them in court. Being able to pursue what you deserve in court means you have another avenue you can use to pursue justice. Without an attorney, the option of a lawsuit is not possible.
• If you’re looking into a construction accident claim as a construction worker, you’ve got the additional complication of moving forward after most likely having had something go wrong with a workers’ comp claim. You may have had a valid claim denied, or your specific situation may involve negligence on the part of your employer. This is complex territory. Having a skilled construction accident lawyer by your side is the best way to ensure your claim is upheld for compensation.

As you can see from this list, there are many benefits to having an attorney on your side when taking on big insurance, especially if for you that also involves the “machine” of workers’ comp. Don’t go it alone. Learn how we can help you by scheduling your free legal consultation as soon as possible.

Christian & Christian Law assist people with personal injury matters in the following locations: Anderson, Clemson, Easley, Fountain Inn, Greenville County, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Spartanburg, and Travelers Rest.

Avoid These Common Claim Mistakes

In addition to having our Greenville construction accident lawyers to help you protect your claim, do your part by avoiding these common mistakes that can damage your claim.

Get a Medical Exam

If you are not a worker on the construction site, don’t assume you are uninjured after the accident if you aren’t experiencing a great deal of pain and cannot see obvious signs of injury. The adrenaline rush that accompanies traumatic experiences serves to block pain and boost strength and energy. The cumulative effect can make you feel almost superhuman. Though this effect is temporary, it can last for hours; long enough to go home when you should be going to the hospital.

If you’ve got internal injuries you are unaware of, foregoing immediate medical attention can put your life at risk. You may have internal bleeding or a head injury you cannot see and cannot yet feel. Don’t take chances with your health. Get checked.

When you go to the doctor, you will also gain valuable evidence for a construction accident claim. Your visit will create a record of when you were seen, as well as any injuries you have. This is powerful support for a claim, and the closer your exam is to the accident, the stronger the evidence that the accident was the cause of your injuries.

Waiting, or even worse, skipping the exam is only going to benefit the insurance company. Get to the doctor as soon as you can after a construction accident to protect your health and your claim.

If you are a construction worker, you may be required to report your injury and go through your company’s workers’ comp doctor to get your claim filed. You will have different requirements than a non-worker who has been injured. Make sure you go through your employer’s workers’ comp insurance instead of your private insurance if you must start within the workers’ comp system.

It is important for construction workers to get the advice of a construction accident lawyer to make sure they follow the proper channels when beginning their claim to ensure they protect their rights to doctor selection and the potential for a claim beyond workers’ comp down the road.

Not Following Your Doctor’s Treatment Plan Is a Mistake

When accident victims are discharged from the medical facility to resume recovery on their own, it can be hard for them to be diligent about adhering to their treatment plan. This plan is the list of things your doctor recommends to help you continue to recover at home. It’s likely to include a list of treatments, such as stretching, ice or heat, medications, and things like physical therapy or rehabilitation exercises.

It’s important to be diligent about these activities because they will support your recovery. They will also serve the important purpose of taking away an avenue the insurance company can use to devalue your claim. This is most often done when an insurance company investigator discovers that you’ve ignored your treatment plan by engaging in activities that may interfere with your ability to recover or put your recovery at risk due to overexertion.

For example, if you have a torn rotator cuff and the insurance investigator gets video surveillance of you participating in your bowling league’s tournament, your claim will be in jeopardy. Whether or not the exercises in your treatment plan will help your recovery, the insurance company’s ability to show you disregarded your limitations that plan outlined allows them to blame you instead of your injury if you fail to reach maximum recovery.

Any blame the insurance company can transfer from their shoulders to yours will allow them to drop the amount of money they owe you in compensation. Don’t give them the chance. Be diligent about following your treatment plan.

Agreeing to Give a Recorded Interview to the Insurance Company Is a Mistake

Soon after the accident report is filed, the insurance company will come calling to get your statement, and they’ll want to make sure this is recorded. Though this may be routine procedure for them, that does not mean it’s going to help you, nor does it mean you must agree. You have the right to refuse this conversation without the guidance of your attorney. In fact, it’s best to hand over all communications about your construction accident claim to our Greenville construction accident lawyers.

We’ve touched on this in the ways that a lawyer can help protect the value of your claim, but it’s worth going into a bit more. The adjuster who calls is trying to catch you in any inconsistencies that may allow them to suggest you are being deceptive about or exaggerating the severity of your injuries. They are excellent at conducting these interviews for obtaining information that helps them displace blame for injury from them to you. If you get caught in one of these conversations, during which they are likely to ask you the same series of questions in numerous ways, they may succeed in confusing you enough to twist your words against you.

Don’t take this chance. Our Greenville construction accident lawyers will be happy to handle all communications regarding your claim. This is the best way to ensure consistent messaging and eliminate costly mistakes in communication that can damage your claim.

Procrastinating in Finding a Lawyer Is a Mistake

While it’s true that you’ve got to make sure you don’t miss the filing deadline for your claim, you’ve also got to make sure you give your attorney the opportunity to locate evidence that may disappear long before filing deadlines become an issue. Accident scenes are temporary things that get cleaned up, especially on a construction site where everything is in flux. Make sure your lawyer has the chance to visit the scene and check things out themselves with an eye for what may support your claim.

In addition, witnesses can easily forget details as time goes by. In addition, people come and go in the course of working on a construction site; your best witness may be a subcontractor who will only be on the site for a short window of time until their particular assignment is fulfilled. Don’t take chances with your claim. The sooner your lawyer can get started, the stronger your claim will be.

Hiring a Lawyer without Making Sure They Are the Right Fit Is a Mistake

Lawyers are like doctors in that they have many areas of specialization open to them when they choose a professional focus. A tax attorney is not going to have the same knowledge base of case law, regulations, and statutes as a personal injury attorney. Just as you would make sure that a surgeon had the right training and record of success in a procedure you need, you must make sure the lawyer you hire can bring you optimal results in your construction accident claim.

The best lawyer for your construction accident claim is going to be a personal injury trial attorney with a successful record of winning construction accident claims through negotiation and at trial. You may not need to go to trial. These claims are often resolved via settlement. But, if court becomes the only avenue for you to pursue the compensation you deserve, you’ll need an attorney who is ready and willing to go there.

South Carolina Construction Accident Client Story

We are using the following client story to illustrate what to expect in a construction accident claim. Though we’ve changed the details and names to protect our client’s privacy, we know you’ll gain value from the content. Please read on and then give us a call to schedule your free legal consultation.

Early one morning in March not so long ago, Connor Benton and his fellow construction workers gathered around their foreman at the site of a new bank going up in Greenville, South Carolina. Confirming their assignments, Connor was sent to work on the electrical system in the elevator shaft.

Six months prior, the entire team had been retrained in the use of their personal protective equipment in an OSHA seminar that focused on orthostatic intolerance, or suspension trauma. Ever since the seminar, anyone working with a harness was required to work in pairs. No one in a harness was to be left alone. Connor and his teammate Jim checked out and inspected gear, including their safety harnesses, and got to work.

The morning passed without incident and progress was steady. Early in the afternoon, however, Jim was called away while Connor was still suspended in the elevator shaft. When he returned, Connor was unconscious. His teammates immediately instituted rescue protocols. Connor nearly lost his life.

Without his safety partner in the shaft with him, Connor’s condition was nearly detected too late. In addition, the absence of suspense relief straps on the company harnesses contributed to the compression of Connor’s femoral vein, hastening the suspension trauma cascade that nearly took his life. Connor is still undergoing kidney dialysis as he struggles to recover.

Three weeks into his treatment, workers’ comp denied coverage for Connor’s dialysis. That’s when he called Christian & Christian Attorneys at Law and scheduled a free legal consultation with Attorney Harold Christian.

How much will it cost to hire a lawyer for my construction accident claim?

The first thing Connor and his wife Charlotte asked when they sat down with Attorney Christian is what it would cost if they hired the firm.

“There is no up-front cost to you,” said Attorney Christian. “We apply a contingency-fee model that allows us to move forward without asking for payment up-front. We front all costs for your case as we go, and in the end, you only pay us when we succeed in resolving your claim.”

“What about this consultation?” Charlotte asked, clearly anxious. “Connor tells me it’s free. Is that ‘free-free,’ or like, ‘we’ll send you a bill later, but for now, it’s free?’” she asked. “I don’t mean to be rude, but he’s been unable to work at all since the accident, and we don’t know how long that may be the case. We’ve got two young children at home, and we’re barely making ends meet,” she said, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

“A completely understandable question,” said Attorney Christian. “This consultation is completely free and without obligation. I’m here to answer your questions, so please ask me anything you’d like to know about your claim.”

How much is my construction accident claim worth?

“Okay, thank you,” said Connor. “How much is a claim like this worth? I followed the rules, I went through workers’ comp, and sent in all the paperwork on time. Now, they’re refusing to pay. I don’t even know exactly how well my kidneys are going to heal. It’s scary. I’m only 34.” He swallowed anxiously, and Charlotte squeezed his hand.

“I’m so sorry you’re going through this,” said Attorney Christian. “You are correct that in most cases, as a construction worker, you would be required to go through your company’s workers’ compensation protocols to ensure proper payment for the treatment of your injuries and for supporting payments to your family while you are out of work.

“In your case as it now stands, you’ve done that, and the company is denying what appears to be a legitimate claim. This is one of the qualifying factors for going beyond workers’ comp in pursuing a construction accident claim.

“Our firm has a long and successful record assisting people with both their workers’ comp claims and pursuing construction accident claims when necessary, so you’ve come to the right place for answers.

“We determine your claim’s value through a careful investigation of the accident that injured you. We get all the facts and determine all at-fault parties. At a glance, it appears your situation involves at least two safety violations:

“One violation involves breaking the OSHA-recommended protocol for maintaining a buddy-system. It sounds like there was a second instance of negligence in failing to provide employees suspension relief straps to use with your harnesses,” said Christian.

“We will carefully go through the facts of the events the day you were injured, as well as look at your company’s handbook and its adherence to OSHA regulations. But this is a clear example of a place to begin.

“The next part of determining your claim’s value is going to rely on you reaching maximum medical improvement, Mr. Benton, or MMI. This means you need to recover as much as you are capable of, so we can find out just how much damage has been done in your life because of this accident.

“We’ll work in close communication with your doctors so they can advise us as to when you’ve reached MMI. Getting there will mean you’re through with any surgeries you may yet need, and that your doctors have a clear understanding of what the future treatment of your injuries may require.”

“You mean if I’m going to make a full recovery without a kidney transplant?” Connor asked, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. Charlotte took a shaky breath and wiped her eyes beside him.

“Yes, things like that must be looked at. We’ve got to make sure we know just how well you are going to be able to recover, and that we know of any lasting ramifications of your injuries, to your kidneys, your vascular system, your lungs, anything that has been impacted by your trauma. And that includes non-economic damages, such as stress from what you’re going through. One of the benefits afforded to you, should we be moving from a workers’ comp claim into a construction accident claim, is the pursuit of non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of quality of life, things like that.

“Workers’ comp is a complex area, and the value of your claim is going to partially depend on where you stand regarding your claim being processed through the workers’ comp system, or if it can and should instead go through a construction accident claim to bring you justice for your damages. Hiring an experienced construction accident lawyer is the best way to make sure you come out on the fair end of this equation.

“We will look carefully at all your damages in determining all the ways your life has been negatively impacted by your injuries. When you reach MMI, we’ll combine the facts from your investigation with your damages and arrive at a reliable value for your claim and how best to pursue your compensation.”

How long will my construction accident claim take?

“That sounds reasonable,” Charlotte said. “How long does a claim like this typically take?” she asked. “The bills are rolling in, and it’s not like we can just put off Connor’s dialysis until the claim is finished.”

“Yes, good point,” said Attorney Christian. “The timeline of your claim, Mr. Benton, is going to depend first on how long it takes you to reach maximum medical improvement. Since we need you to reach that point to determine all your damages, we can’t move your claim along faster than the time it takes you to get there. Once you reach MMI, we’ll arrive at your claim’s value and send a demand letter to the insurance company. From that point on, how long your claim takes to wrap up will depend on them.

“If the insurance company agrees to our request for compensation, we’ll be able to wrap up your claim quickly. But if they refuse, we’ll be looking at moving into the realm of a lawsuit and taking them to court,” Christian said.

Fresh tears spilled down Charlotte’s cheeks, and Attorney Christian held up a calming hand.

“Please try not to worry about the possibility of a lawsuit right now. Our firm is comprised of successful personal injury trial lawyers. The insurance company will know very quickly what they are up against, and may reconsider resisting a reasonable settlement to avoid the risk of trial. But if we’ve got to go there, we are more than capable and willing to fight for your rights in front of a jury. This is why I urge you to make sure whomever you decide to retain is a trial attorney. You deserve to be compensated for your damages.

“As to the issue of pressing medical bills, one of the benefits of hiring an attorney to handle your claim is that we can assist you in coordinating payments with your healthcare provider until your claim has been resolved,” said Christian.

“You’ve already been through so much. I urge you to move forward with the support of a construction accident lawyer to bring you the best possible result from your claim, while at the same time minimizing your stress.”

Connor and Charlotte were satisfied with the information they received during their free legal consultation. They retained Christian & Christian, and Attorney Harold Christian won Connor’s claim in court. The couple was astounded by the amount the jury awarded them.

Call Our Greenville Construction Accident Lawyers Today

We hope you’ve gotten useful information from this page. Since no two claims are the same, we invite you to call our Greenville construction accident lawyers and set up your free legal consultation to discuss your case. Let us answer your questions and show you how we can help you get maximum compensation for your claim.