Construction accidents tend to be some of the more serious instances of personal injury law. Since workers often use heavy machinery and equipment and work from very high, open structures, the chance for a bad accident is much higher than any other profession. If you or someone you care about is injured in a construction accident, it is crucial to contact a construction accident lawyer to start filing for compensation. Time is of the essence, as there is a statute of limitations in place for personal injury lawsuits.
Seek Medical Help
The first thing you need to do if you are injured in a construction accident is seek immediate medical assistance. If your injury is severe, you or someone nearby needs to call for an ambulance. If it is a little less urgent, you need to still go see your primary care physician or go to urgent care to get your injury looked at. Even if you do not feel that you were hurt in an accident, you should make an appointment to be evaluated in the next few days to see if there are some injuries you may just not have noticed yet. Your doctor will also make a note in your medical chart that you were involved in an accident on a construction site, which could serve as valuable proof in the future if you do decide to pursue any sort of personal injury lawsuit. Sometimes, injuries just take a while to surface, so this documentation is always crucial to have.
Retain Legal Counsel
After being evaluated by medical staff, it is important to retain legal counsel. A skilled construction accident lawyer will know the ins and outs of personal injury law in your state and will make sure that you do not miss any important filing deadlines. He or she will also know what kind of compensation you should file for and how much you may be eligible to receive. Your lawyer will also be able to use strategies that have proven success records and will likely be familiar with the judges in the area so can cater to them as well. Finally, your lawyer will let you know what you should — and sometimes, more important, what you should not– say during your case. He or she will also speak to insurance agents on your behalf and be able to advise you on whether or not you should settle. In short, your personal injury lawyer who specializes in construction accident law will do just about everything for you.
You may be hesitant to hire a lawyer for your case, but often, personal injury law firms take cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that you will not pay anything unless your case wins. In this instance, you will then give the firm the percentage of winnings that you agreed upon before your case even got started. If you have any questions about the process, a lawyer would be happy to go over how his or her firm works with you during an initial consultation.
