Dedham, MA Construction Accident Lawyer
Construction accidents might leave victims with considerable financial damages they can recover by pursuing claims in Dedham.
Our team will gather and organize various records and documents when preparing your construction injury case. For example, we will quickly obtain any incident reports, including those from the construction site and the police. We can also help victims get and gather medical records from hospitals and physicians. In both Workers’ Compensation and third-party workplace construction injury cases, victims must prove their injuries to recover damages. On top of your medical records, we will also organize your medical bills to keep track of losses from treatment. We can refer to your income information to calculate your lost wages and promptly interview witnesses to use their statements supporting your claim.
For a free case review, call the construction accident lawyers of the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.
Records, Documents, and Statements Needed in Construction Accident Claims in Dedham, MA
Construction accident claims require various evidence, records, documents, and statements. Our lawyers may use incident reports, medical records, income information, and witness statements to show that you deserve compensation for your injuries and other damages in Dedham.
Incident Reports
When construction accidents happen, managers might create incident reports to document the event. These reports may contain information about the accident’s cause and resulting damage, including injuries to workers or passersby. Our construction accident lawyers may ask for copies of any accident reports from the construction company immediately and review them. If any inaccuracies in the report could negatively affect your claim, we will address them.
For some construction incidents, like vehicle accidents or explosions on construction sites in Dedham, calling 911 is necessary. When you do this, police officers and paramedics may arrive. Law enforcement officials may speak to eyewitnesses and note important details in a report, which our attorneys can obtain in the days following the accident.
Medical Records
When victims of construction accidents are employees, their exclusive remedy may be to file a Workers’ Compensation claim unless a third party is negligent, in which case they can file a lawsuit. In either situation, injured workers need medical records to prove their injuries are deserving of compensatory damages.
Initiate your medical records immediately by getting care at the scene from paramedics. Do not reject treatment offered at the site, as your injuries could worsen. Not going to the hospital directly after a construction site accident could also hurt your case and raise questions about the cause of your injuries.
Medical records can show victims’ initial diagnoses as well as any immediate or emergency treatment they received. As victims continue to get care after accidents, they can keep building medical records. In Workers’ Compensation cases, these records will influence the type of lost-wage benefits claimants are eligible for, whether they ultimately get permanent and total incapacity, partial incapacity, or temporary total incapacity payments. With medical treatment comes medical bills, which our attorneys will help victims organize throughout their claims. In third-party construction injury lawsuits, victims must submit medical bills as proof of damages to recover compensation.
If you are seriously injured and physicians advise you not to go back to work, even at a lower earning capacity, follow their advice. Pushing yourself physically only to realize you cannot work and need compensation to supplement your income could hurt your case.
Income Records
When employees are hurt in construction accidents in Dedham, they might be unable to return to work for some time, if ever. This typically results in lost income, which is compensable for victims in Massachusetts. Our attorneys need your income information to calculate your lost wages due to the accident. To do this, we may refer to previous paystubs, past tax returns, and your current employment information. If your earning capacity is permanently reduced or erased because of the accident, we will consider that when calculating your lost wages.
When there are no at-fault third parties to hold accountable and injured employees’ only option for recovery is to pursue recovery via Workers’ Compensation, we will still need workers’ wage information. Workers’ Compensation benefits are calculated largely according to claimants’ average weekly wage, so our attorneys will use your previous income to estimate your weekly benefit amount. We can then refer to our calculations if the insurance company offers you a lump sum settlement to make sure the offer is appropriate and fair before you accept it.
Witness Statements
If anyone other than the injured party witnessed the construction accident in Dedham, our attorneys can talk to them straightaway to collect their statements. Preserving eyewitness statements immediately after an incident is necessary, as their recollections might become less reliable as time passes.
Other witnesses, like experts, may be necessary to prove certain parts of your case. For example, if your medical team anticipates you needing additional care, like more surgeries or physical therapy treatments, we can get medical experts to testify to that fact. This can help you get compensation for damages you have not incurred yet but will in the future because of your injuries due to the defendant.
Mental health experts can testify and explain the expected impact catastrophic injuries, like limb loss, might have on a victim’s life, helping them recover non-economic damages. It is important to note that non-economic damages are only available in third-party construction work injury claims, not Workers’ Compensation cases in Dedham. However, Massachusetts does provide extra damages for specific injuries under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 152, § 36, including limb loss.
Witness statements are also important during Workers’ Compensation cases, as they can show insurance companies that claimants were injured at work and did not intentionally harm themselves.
Call Our Lawyers to Talk About Your Accident in Dedham, MA
Call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s construction accident lawyers at (617) 925-6407 for a free case evaluation.
