Reading, MA Construction Accident and Injury Lawyer
If you work in the construction industry, there is a good chance you have been involved in a work-related accident and experienced injuries. In that case, speak to a lawyer about how to take legal action against the parties responsible.
Construction work is dangerous, and employers, owners of the property, or other parties should be held liable if their negligence caused your accident. You should file a personal injury claim for your accident sooner rather than later, as injured plaintiffs have only 3 years to file their claims. To build the strongest case possible, our team will help you find evidence to support your claims. Evidence is often tricky to find and work with, and you need a lawyer’s skills and experience to help you.
Call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407 and get started with a free case review from our construction accident and injury lawyers.
Who is Responsible for Construction Accidents and Injuries in Reading, MA?
Since construction sites are often full of various workers, often hired by different contractors, it can take time to pinpoint exactly who is responsible for your accident and injuries. A good way to begin is by reviewing who hired you and who had control over your work and the rest of the job site. Our construction accident and injury attorneys know how to figure out liability issues and will assist you.
General Contractors
When construction projects are initiated, some of the first people hired are general contractors. General contractors are typically responsible for the day-to-day work across the entire job site. They are also in charge of hiring other contractors and workers to do the job. If the construction project is quite large, the general contractor might be in charge of hiring an entire team of workers.
As such, the general contractor is often liable if the job site is unsafe for workers. For example, if your general contractor instructed you to work atop some scaffolding, but the scaffolding was old, in disrepair, and unsteady, the general contractor could be liable if you fell and got hurt.
Subcontractors
General contractors hire subcontractors to do specific jobs on the construction project. For example, the subcontractor might be hired to do something specific like electrical wiring, plumbing, or window installation. If a subcontractor hired you, and the subcontractor controlled how you did your job, you can sue the subcontractor for your injuries.
Whether you sue the subcontractor or general contractor often comes down to control. Although the general contractor is a bit higher up in the employment hierarchy, they are not always in charge of everything. Often, when general contractors hire subcontractors, they control their work and workers. Subcontractors might be liable if their workers are hurt on the job, and our construction accident and injury attorneys will assist your case.
Property Owners
Property owners might be liable for construction accidents, depending on how much control they had over the work. This is somewhat unusual, as most property owners hire general contractors to control the work, and the property owners usually step back and have little control. However, a property owner may maintain some influence over the work and might be liable if something goes wrong. Our construction accident and injury lawyers will help you prove your claims.
For example, suppose you are doing a construction project on someone’s home, and the homeowner insists that you use tools they have supplied for the job. Next, suppose one of these tools malfunctions and severely injures you. In that case, you can sue the homeowner for your injuries because they supplied the faulty tools.
Third Parties
Third parties not directly connected to the construction site or work performed might be liable under certain conditions. In some cases, trespassers or people who happen to be passing by cause accidents. In other cases, accidents are caused by faulty equipment, and the manufacturers can be sued.
Identifying third-party trespassers is often challenging. For example, someone walking home from work or school might take a shortcut through the construction site. When these people pass through, they might disrupt supplies, tools, and equipment, and accidents might occur. We might need security camera footage or eyewitnesses to help identify the negligent parties.
If you were injured by a defective tool, our construction accident and injury lawyers will help you file a product liability claim against the manufacturer. In addition, various other parties in the chain of sale might also be named in your case, including the retailer where the tool was purchased. We must prove that the item was defective and that you were safely using the tool for its intended purpose.
When You Should Sue for Your Injuries from a Construction Accident in Reading, MA
If you were hurt while working on a construction project, you should speak to an attorney as quickly as you can after getting medical treatment. Our construction accident and injury attorneys will help you file your case quickly, as there is a limited time to do so under the Massachusetts statute of limitation for personal injuries.
The statute of limitations can be found under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260 § 2A and imposes a 3-yeard deadline to file your case. Your time starts counting down on the date of the accident. Although 3 years might seem like plenty of time, there is much to do before we can file your case. We must gather evidence, assess damages, and prepare legal arguments to include in your initial complaint. We must also consider unforeseen circumstances that might slow us down or interfere with the case. Speak to an attorney as soon as possible.
Call Our Reading, MA Construction Accident and Injury Attorneys
To schedule a free review of the case, speak with our construction accident and injury attorneys at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan by calling (617) 925-6407.
