Scaffold Accident Attorney in Brooklyn

Construction sites often define the term “controlled chaos.” Events move at a rapid pace and changes in the schedule are expected every day. Because of the “controlled chaos,” construction workers have to be careful not to cause an accident that harm’s another worker or even someone visiting the construction site.

A number of events can cause a scaffold accident, with some of the personal injury incidents producing severe injuries that can develop into a temporary or permanent disability.

Defective Scaffold

A defective scaffold, which can be caused by insufficient bracing, can compromise the safety of a construction worker. Attachment points that do not line up properly also are common defects that diminishes the stability of a scaffold. For any type of manufacturing defect, the manufacturer might be legally liable for causing a scaffold accident.

The scaffold accident lawyer in Brookly from Morgan and Morgan examines the evidence to decide whether the manufacturer should be held legally liable for causing your injuries.

Poor Maintenance

This common cause of scaffold accidents puts a general or special contractor under the legal microscope for committing an act of negligence. Scaffolds require routine maintenance by following a manufacturer’s schedule. Failing to ensure the structural integrity of a scaffold can generate safety hazards that put construction workers in harm’s way.

Inadequate Training

Construction workers that spend time on scaffolds must undergo training on how to mitigate the safety risks. Inadequate training can cause a construction worker to fall or a scaffold coming loose because workers did not secure it properly. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), inadequate scaffold training represents one of the 10 most common types of safety violations discovered on construction sites.

Ignoring Safety Standards

A construction worker can undergo thorough safety training and still sustain injuries from a scaffold accident because the worker failed to follow the safety standards implemented by OSHA. The fault for this type of scaffold accident lies with the worker for failing to follow the safety standards established by state and federal government agencies.

Falling Objects

Assigning fault for this type of scaffold accident is often difficult to do. Falling objects can consist of debris from a work site located above a scaffold or materials flying through the air on a windy day from another source. Construction workers that apply their skills above the ground have an obligation to secure all tools, debris, and materials.

Scaffold-related injuries range in severity from mild abrasions to life-threatening brain trauma. Because of the heights where scaffold workers apply their professional skills, a majority of scaffold accidents result in serious injuries that require immediate medical care.

Brain injuries cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from a mild concussion to trauma that takes years to heal—if the trauma ever heals at all. The impact of a fall can generate spinal cord injuries that can develop the symptoms of paralysis. Whiplash, which is a violent back and forth motion made by the head and neck, creates several debilitating symptoms that force a construction worker to miss a substantial amount of time from work. A construction worker can sustain a herniated disc or another type of back injury that requires intensive physical therapy sessions to heal.

In addition to intense physical injuries, a construction worker can experience emotional pain caused by a scaffold accident. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) triggers negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and a general sense of doom. Getting back on a scaffold after an accident can be difficult to do, which means a construction worker loses value in the workforce. 

Working with a scaffold injury lawyer in Brooklyn can help you recover the financial losses caused by physical and emotional pain.

OSHA and state workplace safety agencies enforce strict safety standards for manufacturing and using scaffolds on commercial and residential construction sites. Violations of government-mandated scaffold safety standards can result in costly fines and even criminal charges filed against the negligent party.

According to OSHA workplace safety standards, scaffolds must support four times the minimum weight load, as well as be supported on flat, stable surfaces. OSHA prohibits construction workers from placing scaffolds on loose surfaces like wooden planks and bricks that lack mortar. Scaffold planks must overlap by at least 12 inches, as well as extend past end supports by between six and 18 inches. Construction workers should limit the materials placed on a scaffold, which means either wearing a tool belt or leaving every unused tool on the ground. A scaffold should be well-organized, with any tools and materials placed off to the side in any of the four corners. Scaffolds must be set squarely, not as a shore or lean-to design.

Not following the scaffold safety standards established by OSHA and state government agencies can lead to a worker or workers sustaining serious injuries caused by a scaffold accident. A scaffold accident lawyer in Brooklyn from Morgan and Morgan determines whether the workers or the contractor should assume fault for causing a personal injury incident.

How you react to a scaffold accident goes a long way toward determining the outcome of a personal injury case. You should complete each of the following steps regardless of whether the accident falls under workers’ compensation law or personal injury law.

Receive Medical Care

Getting medical care right after a scaffold accident is important for two reasons. First, even if you do not feel harmed by the accident, an in-depth physical examination conducted by a healthcare provider can detect slow-developing injuries such as whiplash or a concussion. Second, at the heart of a workers’ comp claim or a personal injury lawsuit is your request to receive compensation for the recovery of financial losses.

Receiving immediate medical care also lets your employer’s insurance company know that you took the physical and emotional ramifications of the scaffold accident seriously.

Inform Your Employer

For a workers’ compensation claim, you have no more than 30 days after sustaining scaffold accident injuries to inform your employer about the incident. However, you or someone on the crew should let a foreman know as quickly as possible after a scaffold accident. Because of the high visibility of a scaffold, chances are good that another construction worker witnessed the scaffold accident and already has informed the general or special contractor about the incident.

Contact a Brooklyn Scaffold Injury Attorney

A scaffold accident lawyer in Brooklyn from Morgan and Morgan cannot proceed with your case until the litigator decides whether the incident was an accident or the result of the negligence of another party. If it is considered an accident, then you follow the steps required to file a persuasive workers’ compensation claim. On the other hand, evidence that suggests negligence caused your injuries can result in the filing of a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

If your legal counsel decides to move forward with the filing of a civil lawsuit, you have the right to ask for three types of monetary damages.

Economic damages cover the cost of tangible expenses, such as medical bills, property damage, and lost wages. You should request compensation for the cost of diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. Medical bills also can include prescription medications and the use of an assistive device such as a wheelchair. Your healthcare provider should submit a prognosis for you to make a full or partial recovery, which helps your attorney calculate a value for future medical expenses.

Non-economic damages, which include pain and suffering, do not come with a price tag. The scaffold accident lawyer in Brooklyn from Morgan and Morgan calculates a fair value for non-economic damages based on a formula that factors in the value of economic damages. Another type of non-economic damages is called loss of consortium.

Punitive damages do not compensate you for economic and non-economic damages. Instead, punitive damages penalize the defendant for committing one or more acts of negligence. They also discourage the defendant from committing similar future acts of negligence.

Time matters whether you file a workers’ compensation claim or a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. You must submit documents for both types of legal actions before the deadlines established by New York law. One of the greatest benefits of hiring a scaffold accident lawyer in Brookly from Morgan and Morgan is you can expect your legal counsel not only to file the right documents well before the deadlines but also closely monitor your claim or lawsuit to ensure you receive a decision in a timely manner.

Schedule a free case evaluation today to learn more about the legal process for addressing the injuries caused by a scaffold accident.