Construction is among the most dangerous professions in the world. Besides the hard physical labor that employees must put in every day, many people perform dangerous tasks on a job site. The use of heavy machinery and employees working at heights make things even more dangerous.

Whether a construction site accident happens on I-55, while building a new home in Sikeston, or near a commercial development project elsewhere in Southeast Missouri, the Cape Girardeau construction accident attorneys of Cook, Barkett, Ponder & Wolz can help.

We achieve results for our clients, including:

• $4 million for an industrial accident
• $1.1 million for a road defect and product liability case
• $2.3 million for chemical exposure injuries
• $2.5 million for a wrongful death electrocution case

Reach out to learn how we can help you obtain maximum compensation for your construction injury.

Table of Contents

• Federal Regulations And Construction Accidents
• Common Construction Site Accidents
• What to Do After a Construction Site Injury
• Product Liability Lawsuits for Workplace Accidents
• Winning a Personal Injury Lawsuit for Construction Accidents
• Contact a Cape Girardeau Construction Site Accident Lawyer Today

Federal Regulations Do Not Always Protect Construction Workers

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) provides detailed regulations for construction site employers to follow that touch practically every aspect of the work environment. Despite these rules, construction site accidents still occur at an alarming rate. In many cases, employers fail to follow OSHA safety rules. In other cases, a third party did not uphold the legal duty of care they owed to an injured worker.

OSHA reports that one in ten construction workers are injured on the job each year. Of the roughly 5,000 workers who lost their lives on the job in 2020, one in every five died in a construction accident.

Construction workers can suffer an injury by practically anything, from the time they show up to work until they leave to go home (and even outside those hours if they have encountered an exposure to toxic chemicals).

Common Construction Site Accidents

The most common and severe construction accidents are called the “Fatal Four.”

These four severe accidents cause approximately 60 percent of construction fatalities each year.

• Falls – These are by far the most common construction site injury. Falls accounted for 32 percent of non-fatal injuries and 38 percent of all fatalities in a recent year. You can fall from a height to a lower level or trip over debris.
• Caught-betweens – This type of injury can include: a cave-in or collapse, being pulled into or caught in machinery and equipment, or being compressed or crushed between rolling, sliding, or shifting objects
• Electrocutions – Construction sites have underground utilities and wiring that can be exposed. The job can also be near overhead power lines or utilities that are not.
• Struck by an object – Cranes and other large and heavy pieces are prevalent at a job site. Faulty equipment or a lack of proper training of workers can cause things to drop or fly at the worksite, striking other workers.

Common Construction Site Injuries

Here are some of the typical construction site physical injuries that workers may suffer:

• Broken bones
• Burns
• Soft tissue injuries (such as sprains)
• Internal injuries
• Organ damage
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Crush injuries

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one percent of construction site workers suffer an injury that is serious enough for them to miss time from work. These injuries will impose high costs on workers and their families, who rely on their loved one’s paycheck. Injured employees may end up with both the economic costs of their injury and the suffering that goes along with it.

What to Do After a Construction Site Injury

There are three things that you need to do when you have suffered an injury on a construction job site:

• Report the injury to your employer – One survey reveals that 25 percent of injured construction workers do not report the injury to their employer. This may prevent you from receiving any compensation for your injury because the workers’ compensation system requires you to notify your employer within a specific time.
• Get medical help – Your compensation comes from the fact that you have suffered a physical injury. You must see a doctor and have your injury diagnosed and treated. Your doctor’s diagnosis will form the basis of your workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit.
• Contact an experienced attorney – The legal process of obtaining compensation for your injury can be complex, and you may not even know which process applies to you. If you do not discuss your workplace injury with a personal injury lawyer, you may be leaving money on the table.

Financial Compensation After a Construction Site Injury

Construction site workers who have suffered an injury on the job have options for financial compensation. So long as your injury was work-related, you will qualify for compensation. The question is how you get the compensation and how much you will receive.

There are two possible options that you may have for obtaining financial compensation after a construction site accident:

• Filing a workers’ compensation claim (assuming your employer is required to carry workers’ compensation and has followed the law)
• Filing a lawsuit against the responsible party for the injury

Third-Party Lawsuits for Construction Site Injuries

In Missouri, as in every other state, your employer is somewhat shielded from a personal injury lawsuit, even if they were negligent.

The Missouri Workers Compensation Act provides that workers’ compensation is your exclusive remedy for a workplace injury unless your employer’s intentional action caused your injury or you suffered exposure to toxic substances on the job. Otherwise, you cannot sue an employer for negligence.

Your employer’s protection from personal injury lawsuits is the tradeoff for the benefits that workers’ compensation insurance pays.

Regardless of whether you can sue your employer for a construction site accident, you can file a lawsuit against a third party. On every construction site, other parties can injure you besides your employer.

They include:

• A co-worker whose negligence caused your injury
• A product manufacturer who provided a defective product
• A third-party contractor who was responsible for your injuries
• The building owner, if the dangerous condition resulting from their negligence

Co-Worker Liability for Construction Site Injuries

The Missouri Supreme Court has recently clarified when you can hold your co-worker responsible for their negligence. The legal doctrine is named the “something more” doctrine. Your co-worker needs to have taken some negligent, affirmative action outside the employer’s usual duty to provide you with a safe workplace.

For example, in the Supreme Court case, the injured employee’s supervisor told them to run a water tank “until it blows,” and the worker suffered an injury in an explosion.

In other words, we can think of this doctrine as “negligence plus.” However, your best bet for more compensation is when you can sue a company for your personal injury, not an individual.

Product Liability Lawsuits for Workplace Accidents

The equipment itself causes many workplace accidents.

Here are some examples:

• You are driving a bobcat that tips over because of an engineering defect
• A defective ladder either collapses or tips over, causing you to fall
• A power saw has a defectively designed safety guard that fails to prevent an amputation
• The scaffolding may give way because of the materials themselves (as opposed to the way that someone erected it)

The product manufacturer or dealer is a third party who is not your employer, and you can sue them.

Three product defects that will make the defendant strictly liable for your injuries:

• Design defect – The design of the product itself is unreasonably dangerous, and there was a safer alternative design.
• Manufacturing defect – The design itself was safe, but something happened in the manufacturing process to cause an unreasonable danger.
• Marketing defect – The employer knew or should have known of the danger, and they failed to warn the public of the danger

In addition, you can sue the defendant for negligence in a product liability case as a fallback if you cannot prove a defect.

Other Third Parties that You May Sue After a Construction Site Accident

There are other reasons why you can file a third-party personal injury lawsuit. Numerous parties besides your employer work on every construction site. You may work for a subcontractor or other contractors play roles in the work.

Here are some examples of third parties who you can hold responsible for your injury:

• A trucking company’s driver delivering supplies to the worksite hits or runs you over.
• The employee of another contractor leaves debris or equipment in a walking area, and you trip over it.
• The electric company or an electrician is negligent when working on the utilities or wiring, and you suffer an injury due to electrocution.
• The owner of the property itself is responsible for the dangerous condition.
• A third party releases a dangerous or toxic substance that causes an injury or explosion.

If you can file a third-party lawsuit, you can recover more money than workers’ compensation will pay. On the other hand, the workers’ compensation system does not ask if you were negligent. You can still collect compensation even if you were to blame for your accident, so long as your injury was work-related.

Workers’ Compensation Claims for Construction Site Accidents

A workers’ compensation claim will pay you for:

• A portion of your lost wages for a certain duration of time
• The costs of your medical care

The legal standard for a workers’ compensation claim is that:

• You suffered an injury
• The injury was job-related
• You followed the timing and notice requirements

Damages in a Construction Accident Personal Injury Case

In a personal injury lawsuit, you can recover:

• Your full lost wages with no cap or limits
• Medical bills from any provider you choose (as opposed to one on an employer’s list)
• Pain and suffering for what you have gone through and will continue to deal with in the future
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• If your loved one died in a construction site accident, your family can recover wrongful death damages

Winning a Personal Injury Lawsuit for Construction Accidents

In a personal injury lawsuit, you must prove that the defendant was negligent to receive compensation.

The negligence test involves four parts:

1. 

   Daniel J Grimm, Cape Girardeau
   Construction Accident Lawyer

   The defendant owed you a duty of care

2. The defendant breached their duty by acting unreasonably under the circumstances
3. You suffered an injury
4. You would not have suffered an injury had it not been for the actions of the defendant

Unlike a workers’ compensation claim that is not concerned with fault, a personal injury case requires that you prove that someone did something wrong to cause your injuries. If you cannot prove negligence, you can still qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

As you can see, there is a considerable difference between your courses of action. Do not just assume that because you suffered an injury on the job, you cannot file a lawsuit. The worst that happens is that you have a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer to find out that you must file a workers’ compensation claim.

Always Speak With an Injury Attorney

If you have suffered an injury in a construction site accident, always talk to a lawyer to see if you have a lawsuit against a third party. The stakes are too high to settle for less money if you can get more. We will review your cases, considering all the parties involved, and we will determine whether you have a possible lawsuit against someone else. We will leave no stone unturned in investigating your accident and helping you figure out the cause of action.

Call a Cape Girardeau Construction Site Accident Lawyer Today

If you have suffered an injury at a construction site because of someone else’s negligence, you can file a lawsuit. Never try to go it alone. We will review your case, determine who was responsible for your injuries and explain your legal options. If you can take your case to court, we will fight for you to receive full compensation from the party responsible for your injuries.

Call the law firm of Cook, Barkett, Ponder & Wolz at (573) 335-6651 or contact us online for your free initial consultation.