CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS
Danger
is a fact of life on construction sites. The industry by its very
nature can be hazardous. However, the overwhelming majority of
construction site accidents can be avoided by following simple safety
guidelines. Government agencies such as the Department of Labor and
its subsidiary, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), have developed safety standards that must be followed on job
sites. When safety guidelines and standards are violated, the lives
and well-being of workers are put in jeopardy.
John Dooley worked as a union carpenter and pile driver on construction sites for several years. His roots in the industry provide him with invaluable personal insights into construction cases and the challenges faced by our clients when they are injured on a job site. Our office has
extensive experience handling a variety of construction accidents, including crane accidents, ladder and scaffold falls, electrocutions, forklift injuries, accidents caused by falling objects, and trench collapses.
Crane accidents
There are about 125,000 cranes operating in the United States. Crane
accidents lead to serious or even fatal injuries every year. These are
often a result of poor supervision, lack of maintenance, inadequate
training, and other human errors. The circumstances of your crane
accident may provide an opportunity for you to recover money for your
damages. Contact us today to find out if we can help.
Ladder accidents
Insufficient fall protection and safety measures for workers on ladders can easily cause death and serious injury.
Our firm has successfully litigated ladder accident cases against some
of the largest corporations in the world. In 2006, John Dooley
recovered a $9 million verdict against Sun Co. Inc. (Sunoco) for an
injured worker who fell due to the lack of a safety cage on a fixed ladder.
Scaffolding accidents
About 4,500 people fall from scaffolds each year and suffer serious injury. On average, 50 victims will die as a
result of such accidents each year. OSHA implemented safety standards in 1971 to
provide a safer working environment for construction workers. If you
have suffered a scaffolding accident, contact us immediately to
determine your best legal course of action.
Electrical accidents
Electrical accidents and burns occur frequently on construction sites.
They can cause serious injury or death. Marking underground power lines
or ensuring that electricity is cut off to conduits prior to the start
of work can save a worker’s life. Our office has extensive experience
in this area , and the firm recently recovered $1.85 million for a utility
worker who was killed by electrocution.
Forklift injuries
Forklifts are one of the most common means of transporting materials on a
construction site,. More than one million forklifts are in use in the
United States. While these machines certainly help get jobs done, they
sometimes cause serious injury. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 95,000 workers are injured in forklift accidents, with
20,000 of them seriously injured each year. On average, 100 people die
in forklift accidents annually. Contact us today if you have been
involved in a forklift injury.
Falling objects
If you have been hurt by falling objects on a construction site,
contact a legal professional immediately. Falling object
injuries usually are the result of poor organization or thoughtless packing.
Construction site managers are obligated to enforce strict rules and
follow guidelines concerning the way materials and equipment are
stored. If these rules have not been followed, you will need the help
of a seasoned attorney to prove it. Contact us today.
Trench collapse
One of the most deadly hazards on a construction site is a trench
collapse. Trenches are generally defined as an excavation that is
deeper than it is wide. OSHA requires that a ladder or other means of
egress be present in trenches of a certain depth. Additional safety
measures, such as shoring or boxing to support the side of the trench,
may also be required. If a responsible party fails to take adequate
precautions, a trench collapse can be fatal to those workers inside the
excavation.
OTHER PERSONAL INJURY CASES
Our firm has extensive experience in litigating other common personal injury cases. Generally these cases involve:
Product liability
A manufacturer or supplier of a product must guarantee that the product is safe. If a product is defective and harms someone then the manufacturer or supplier may be liable for damages caused by the defective product. It is vitally important to preserve the defective product after an accident to allow an inspection or testing of the product to be performed. Our firm routinely hires engineers or other experts to investigate potential product liability cases to determine whether the product was defectively designed, built or even if a product lacks instructions. In a recent case, our firm obtained a $2 million settlement for a laborer who was injured on the job by a defective industrial vehicle.
Auto accidents
Automobile
accidents account for most of the personal injury claims in this
country. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), every 10 seconds someone in the United States
is involved in a car accident. Determining fault in a traffic accident
is a matter of proving who was negligent. If possible, have someone
photograph the accident and pavement showing skid marks, even if only
on a cell phone camera. This should be done before leaving the scene.
An experienced attorney can consult a number of sources such as police
reports, state traffic laws, and witnesses to build your case. Contact
us today to see how we can help.
Wrongful death
Relatives
of a person whose death was caused by negligent, willful or wrongful
act, or omission or default of another, are entitled to recover damages
due to this injustice. Medical malpractice, occupational hazards,
traffic accidents, and more can all result in a wrongful death case.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania each has its own set of civil wrongful
death statutes. Contact us today to determine your options.
Premises liability
Lead
poisoning, swimming pool injuries, fires, explosions, exposure to
hazardous materials, and animal bites are among the types of cases that
fall under the premises liability umbrella. Very often, these injuries
are caused by the negligence of another. Contact us today to find out
if you have a viable claim against the property owner or manager for an
injury you have suffered.
Slip and fall
Slip
and fall claims generally involve injuries caused by an unsafe or
defective condition of a property. Broken sidewalks, uncleared snow
and ice, potholes, and hidden drop-offs are common causes for fall
accidents. In order to recover in such cases it is vital to prove that
the property owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition
beforehand. Photographs and measurements are often invaluable in
preserving evidence necessary to prove these cases and immediate steps
must be taken to document the unsafe condition.
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