Construction Accident Attorney in Philadelphia

Your Right to A Safe Workplace

It’s no secret that construction sites are dangerous places.

Even if you have taken all the proper safety precautions, wear the right safety equipment and comply with construction site safety rules, it is no guarantee that you will not suffer a personal injury on a construction site. But far too many workers suffer preventable injuries and even death in construction site accidents when basic safety rules are ignored or disregarded.

Every worker has the right to a reasonably safe work environment. Every worker has the right to go home to his family after his shift is done. If employers made the effort to prioritize the safety and protection of their workers, a vast number of workplace injuries and deaths can be prevented.

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    No ironworker, excavator, sheet metal worker, pipe-fitter, demolition worker, plumber, laborer, roofer, carpenter, electrician or other construction workers should ever be electrocuted by an unhinged or sagging power line, pinned and paralyzed under a backhoe, brain-damaged by falling debris, crushed to death by a toppled crane, suffer the loss of limbs from defective or malfunctioning equipment or fall to his death through an unmarked hole in a roof, unprotected roof edge or unsecured scaffold or ladder.

    Too many times, construction workers have been seriously injured or killed because employers or construction companies have exposed them to defective equipment or faulty tools or machinery. Other construction injuries occur because general contractors and supervisors have failed to properly manage work sites, monitor worker activity, provide appropriate fall protection equipment, or otherwise condoned unsafe or dangerous work practices or violated OSHA safety regulations. For example, under OSHA’s regulations, it is the responsibility of employers and others to get appropriate work permits, conduct regular safety inspections and ensure that job safety programs are implemented to limit workplace accidents. Incredibly, in some cases, construction managers and supervisors in control of worksites and in charge of worker safety have no knowledge or training with OSHA safety rules.

    It is the responsibility and duty of construction site managers and supervisors to ensure worker safety by complying with federal and state safety regulations and standards to help reduce and avoid accidents. If construction site managers or supervisors lack appropriate safety training or consciously decide to neglect or abdicate their responsibilities, a dangerous work environment has been created. When job safety is not prioritized, compromised or ignored, it puts workers at an increased risk of serious injury or death.

    No ironworker, excavator, sheet metal worker, pipe-fitter, demolition worker, plumber, laborer, roofer, carpenter, electrician or other construction workers should ever be electrocuted by an unhinged or sagging power line, pinned and paralyzed under a backhoe, brain-damaged by falling debris, crushed to death by a toppled crane, suffer the loss of limbs from defective or malfunctioning equipment or fall to his death through an unmarked hole in a roof, unprotected roof edge or unsecured scaffold or ladder.

    Too many times, construction workers have been seriously injured or killed because employers or construction companies have exposed them to defective equipment or faulty tools or machinery. Other construction injuries occur because general contractors and supervisors have failed to properly manage work sites, monitor worker activity, provide appropriate fall protection equipment, or otherwise condoned unsafe or dangerous work practices or violated OSHA safety regulations. For example, under OSHA’s regulations, it is the responsibility of employers and others to get appropriate work permits, conduct regular safety inspections and ensure that job safety programs are implemented to limit workplace accidents. Incredibly, in some cases, construction managers and supervisors in control of worksites and in charge of worker safety have no knowledge or training with OSHA safety rules.

    It is the responsibility and duty of construction site managers and supervisors to ensure worker safety by complying with federal and state safety regulations and standards to help reduce and avoid accidents. If construction site managers or supervisors lack appropriate safety training or consciously decide to neglect or abdicate their responsibilities, a dangerous work environment has been created. When job safety is not prioritized, compromised or ignored, it puts workers at an increased risk of serious injury or death.

    Dino Privitera

    Your Attorney

    Mr. Privitera is the founder of The Privitera Law Firm LLC and concentrates his practice on the representation of catastrophically injured victims.

    Mr. Privitera has been repeatedly recognized throughout the legal community for his skill and expertise, work ethic, preparation and dedication to his clients in personal injury and wrongful death matters. Mr. Privitera has earned the respect of the legal community, has extensive experience, a sterling reputation for handling significant personal injury and wrongful death cases and proven track record of success and outstanding results.

    Types of Construction Accident Lawsuits

    If you were injured on a construction site, you may be able to pursue several different types of claims, including a workers’ compensation claim, a personal injury lawsuit, a product liability lawsuit and/or wrongful death action. In appropriate cases, a worker who has been injured or killed at a construction site may be able to pursue several of these legal actions at the same.

    If a worker is injured on the job site and his employer has workers’ compensation insurance, the employer is typically immune from tort liability or personal injury lawsuits. However, if an employer does not carry appropriate workers’ compensation insurance or has engaged in intentional or egregious misconduct resulting in injury to a worker, the workers’ compensation laws will likely not prevent the filing of a personal injury lawsuit against an employer.

    If the worker’s injury was caused by defective or dangerous machinery or equipment, the injured party may be able to bring a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, supplier and others in the chain of distribution of the machinery or equipment.

    However, injured workers usually seek legal recourse in the form of personal injury actions against other third-parties parties, including perhaps construction site owners, general contractors, sub-contractors, independent contractors, prime contractors and/or architects and engineers. In these personal injury cases, the claimant must establish that a duty of care was breached that caused injury or death.

    In a situation where a worker has been killed, the surviving family members also may be able to seek compensation for the loss of a loved one in a wrongful death action.

    Who Can Be Held Responsible For Construction Site Accidents?

    Generally speaking, it is important to understand, and to thoroughly investigate, the possibility that there may be multiple parties responsible for causing the injury or death of a worker at a construction site based on the sheer number of entities typically involved in a large scale construction project. Some of the parties to consider may include:

    Construction Site Owner

    A personal injury lawsuit against a construction site owner generally turns on the level or degree of control that the owner assumed over the means of the work or the safety of the workers. The more control an owner assumes over a construction project, and the manner and means in which it is being performed, the more likely that an owner will be deemed to have assumed responsibility for the safety of workers at the job site.

    General & Subcontractors

    Unlike an owner, a general contractor usually has control over and is responsible for the entire construction project. A subcontractor is usually hired by the general contractor to perform a particular job at the work site, such as plumbing or electrical work. It is the duty of both general and subcontractors to provide workers with a reasonably safe construction site and to warn workers of any hazards associated with the job site or work activity over which they have assumed or been delegated responsibility and control. A general contractor or subcontractor who fails to hire competent workers, supervise worker activity, supply or ensure the use appropriate safety equipment, maintain a safe work environment or enforce OSHA safety rules may be held accountable for worksite injuries to workers on the job site.

    General & Subcontractors

    Unlike an owner, a general contractor usually has control over and is responsible for the entire construction project. A subcontractor is usually hired by the general contractor to perform a particular job at the work site, such as plumbing or electrical work. It is the duty of both general and subcontractors to provide workers with a reasonably safe construction site and to warn workers of any hazards associated with the job site or work activity over which they have assumed or been delegated responsibility and control. A general contractor or subcontractor who fails to hire competent workers, supervise worker activity, supply or ensure the use appropriate safety equipment, maintain a safe work environment or enforce OSHA safety rules may be held accountable for worksite injuries to workers on the job site.

    Prime Contractor

    While somewhat similar to general and sub-contractors, the work responsibilities of a prime contractor are usually all spelled out in the work contract. Like general and subcontractors, however, prime contractors have a duty to reasonably ensure that the work for which they have neem hired is safely performed by their own workers or by other workers of subcontractors to whom the prime contractor may have delegated such work.

    Architects & Engineers

    In a construction accident setting, it is always critical to get the original design and construction plans and to review them carefully so as to ensure that the design and plan specifications complied with accepted standards in performing professional services during the design and/or construction phases of the project. If a worker is injured because of substandard, faulty or unsafe design plans, the design professionals may be held liable for any injuries suffered by construction workers. Architects and engineers of construction sites may also have duties specified in their construction contract, including regular site inspections to ensure that work progress is in compliance with plans and specifications and with safety code regulations.

    Architects & Engineers

    In a construction accident setting, it is always critical to get the original design and construction plans and to review them carefully so as to ensure that the design and plan specifications complied with accepted standards in performing professional services during the design and/or construction phases of the project. If a worker is injured because of substandard, faulty or unsafe design plans, the design professionals may be held liable for any injuries suffered by construction workers. Architects and engineers of construction sites may also have duties specified in their construction contract, including regular site inspections to ensure that work progress is in compliance with plans and specifications and with safety code regulations.

    Product Manufacturers

    Any product maker, retailer, wholesaler, supplier or other parties in the chain of distribution also may be held responsible if a defect in their machinery or equipment causes an injury or death.