In any personal injury lawsuit, four things need to be proven. In law, these are summarized under “harm,” “cause,” “duty,” and “breach.” This is an overview of these 4
Construction sites typically involve a lot of heavy equipment and tools that can cause serious injury. In addition to other workers on the job site, there are people off-site who sometimes have a role in injuries sustained on-site—such as engineers, architects and suppliers. If you’ve been injured on the job and believe it was caused by the negligence of any of these people, you may be able file suit against not only those responsible, but also their employer.
Usually, injuries incurred by construction workers make them eligible for workers’ compensation. If you can show you were injured on the job, you’re eligible. Employers pay workers’ compensation insurance, and from this pool of money the claims of injured workers are paid. The workers’ comp claim reimburses you for medical expenses, lost wages, and provides for partial or permanent disability payments.
In most cases, you cannot file for workers’ compensation and also sue your employer. Workers’ compensation was designed to provide for immediate and ongoing care of workers injured on the job, and it usually does this quite well. The only thing it doesn’t offer an injured worker that a lawsuit would is punitive damages. Most injured workers opt for workers’ compensation, however, as it provides immediate financial relief and avoids the uncertainness of a lawsuit.
However…
If your employer intentionally, recklessly or illegally caused your injury, you can file suit against them and collect workers’ compensation. If found guilty, your employer can be held liable for a 15% increase in your workers’ comp settlement. This increase, however, is capped at $15,000. To do this, you need to prove your employer failed to use proper safety equipment, violated safety regulations, or disobeyed an established safety rule.
It should be noted, though, that if you are found to have also been reckless with your own safety, you can be subject to a 15% decrease in your workers’ compensation payments.
If someone other than your employer or a coworker caused you injury due to their negligence on the job site, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against them concurrent with a workers’ compensation claim. For instance, if a driver for a company other than your employer is driving recklessly and runs into you, or if the bulldozer you are operating causes injury due to a faulty design, you can file suit not only for financial damages but also for punitive damages—which can dramatically increase the total compensation you end up with.
Warshafsky Law always looks for all possible parties who can be held liable for your injuries. Often, our construction accident lawyers are able to identify multiple parties who can be held liable for an injury.
Because every situation is unique and so much is at stake, the best advice we can give here is to take advantage of our no-cost, no-obligation consultation. You’ll meet with one of our experienced personal attorneys, not a paralegal, who will let you know if you have standing to pursue a claim or not. If it looks like you have a solid case and choose to have Warshafsky Law represent you, we will fully fund your case through trial (i.e. you won’t owe us anything until your case is concluded and you have been compensated).
There are plenty of personal injury law firms in the Milwaukee area, but none more committed to fighting for those who have been injured than Warshafsky Law.
While other law firms are quick to settle with insurance companies, Warshafsky Law prepares every case from day one as though it will go to trial. We dig deeper, we work harder, and we win bigger than any other personal injury law firm in Wisconsin. Isn’t that the kind of law firm you want representing you?
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