Raleigh Construction Accident Damages
A Raleigh construction accident is where an individual was working on a construction site and there was some sort of error, perhaps in equipment functioning or a person falling or tripping over something a defect in what was being built, and the error caused an individual to sustain severe injuries. It is important to seek Raleigh construction accident damages in order to hold the responsible party accountable for their actions and recover compensation for any injuries or other damages suffered.
If you or a loved one have been injured on a construction site, an experienced construction accident lawyer can help you review the facts of your case. It is important to speak with a Raleigh accident lawyer before filing a claim for any injuries you have sustained.
How Accidents Occur
A person with no relation in the construction industry who is walking down the street can be injured. When construction is underway, especially in a metropolitan area, things can fall if not secure properly. Constructions sites often cannot secure the perimeter, so pedestrians might be exposed to something unusually dangerous and unexpected if they come across the perimeter of the construction site.
If the injured party is an employee of the construction site, they could have a worker’s compensation claim as a form of Raleigh construction accident damages. They may also have a products liability claim against a manufacturer for products used in the construction process.
Construction Accident Injuries
Common injuries from construction accidents include broken bones and head injuries if a person falls a significant amount or significant distance. If someone is a pedestrian and they come across a construction site, they are at risk for similar injuries. It depends on the specific mechanics of the accident.
A typical slip and fall case is more likely to result in minor injuries. Cases involving Raleigh construction accident damages often deal with very severe injuries. Some of the cases we have handled have been for paraplegics, quadriplegics, and people with major back surgery who cannot work again. Unfortunately, when a person is in the construction world, oftentimes the stakes are higher and the injuries are more severe.
Calculating Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are calculated based on the medical expenses the person incurs. These damages include hospital bills, medical bills, future medical treatment, lost wages, and other expenses. If someone is out of work for a couple of months, their lost wages would be accounted for. If they cannot work again, their lifetime earnings would be accounted for. An injured person is also entitled to pain and suffering, and that is hard to quantify in some ways, but it is part of the damages the person is entitled to when something like that happens. We can additionally help if the case needs worker’s compensation and for that, we have Raleigh workers’ compensation lawyers.
Awarding Punitive Damages
There is no cap on Raleigh construction accident damages. Punitive damages could be awarded in situations where the employer or the person overseeing the job site knew about the dangerous condition and did nothing to correct it, where there was a blatant violation of building codes or local ordinances, or where there was prior knowledge of similar injuries or falls. With products liability, punitive damages are more likely to be rewarded if the company has prior knowledge of the product defects, but they fail to correct it or try to hide that information.
Role of Contributory Negligence
Raleigh is a contributory negligence jurisdiction. If someone has a construction accident because the danger is open and obvious, that would be contributory negligence. If the person who was injured was aware of the defect or should have been aware of the defect but was injured anyway, that may be contributory negligence.
Contacting an Attorney
It is important to contact a lawyer soon because a person would want to preserve the scene of the accident. If the lawyer can get to the scene of the accident with an expert or an inspector to make a diagram, take photographs, and collect other evidence, this can be greatly beneficial to Raleigh construction accident damages they may be seeking.
