Can I File a Lawsuit If I am injured in A Scaffolding Accident?
If you are a construction worker, chances of falling from a scaffolding while on duty are very high. In fact, scaffolding-related accidents cause 4500 injuries and more than 60 deaths annually. If you are injured on a scaffolding or fall from it, chances are that you will sustain injuries and might need to be hospitalized for a couple of days. Since hospital bills and lost work hours might take a huge toll on your income, it is important that you file a personal injury lawsuit so that you can get the much-needed compensation. If you had this accident in NYC, it is imperative that you hire a New York scaffolding accident lawyer at Friedman Levy who will guide you through filing a lawsuit. The following is how you ought to get started so that you can get compensated.
Seek workers’ compensation
Before you file a personal injury lawsuit, you should first file a worker’s compensation claim with your employer. Typically, this is a no-fault system where the employee forgoes the option of making a personal injury claim against the employer in exchange for payment of partial wage replacement and medical expenses. Some of the benefits covered here include disability payments in case you are not able to return to the workplace due to the injuries caused, Partial wage replacement for time missed from work, and reasonable and necessary medical treatment.
Therefore, you have to notify your employer as soon as possible once you have had a scaffolding accident. If you delay reporting the accident, remember that you may become ineligible to enjoy the benefits mentioned above. Once you notify the employer and he accepts the injury as a work-related one, he or she should start offering these benefits on the go.
However, if the employer fails or declines to pay the benefits as expected, you can now go ahead and file a claim with your state. Here, your case will be listened to by a hearing officer or a worker’s compensation judge.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit against your employer
Like we have mentioned above, the employee has the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the employer in case the employer declines to offer worker’s compensation benefits as agreed. Here, you will also be at liberty to access a state-run fund so that you can pay your medical expenses.
Better still, if a third party caused the scaffolding accident, you can go ahead and file a lawsuit against them. For instance, if the accident was caused by a defective or a poorly designed scaffolding, you have a right to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer.
If the scaffolding was erected carelessly by a certain contractor, you have a right to file a negligence claim against him or her. Finally, if the scaffolding accident was caused by a fault on the property you were working on, you have a right to file a premises liability action against the owner of that property.
Final words
With the help of a New York scaffolding accident lawyer, be sure that you will have an easy time filing the lawsuits mentioned above. More importantly, hire a professional lawyer so that you can increase your chances of getting compensated. Consider the ideas mentioned above, and you will get reimbursed for the medical expenses incurred in the hospital as well as replacement pay for the time lost at work.
