Construction workers around Philadelphia work long hours in some of the toughest conditions. Their safety shouldn’t be an afterthought on a construction site.
The construction company should be leading the way in making a dangerous job as secure as possible. The company should also be hiring supervisors who take safety seriously and keeps all workers focused on avoiding injury.
Supervisors Responsible for Workplace Safety
A supervisor who is lax in their duties makes your already hazardous job even more dangerous. You could be injured in a construction accident and land in the hospital. Those expensive bills and lost wages shouldn’t be your concern if a supervisor was negligent in duties that could have prevented the accident.
If you find yourself a victim in a construction accident a Philadelphia Construction Accident Attorney like Edith Pearce. The Pearce Law Firm, P.C., can help you determine if a supervisor’s mistake may have contributed to your accident and if you have a claim against the employer who hired that supervisor.
Philadelphia’s Deadly Construction Grade
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that in 2018 Philadelphia had 14 deaths attributed to construction and extraction occupations. In the same year, Philadelphia ranked first among the ten biggest cities in America in occupational deaths caused by contact with objects and equipment.
Part of a supervisor’s job is to keep these sobering facts on the minds of each employee throughout the day. The role of a supervisor covers a lot more than just getting the project finished on time. They are a line of defense against workplace accidents.
Supervisors Lead The Safety Initiative
A supervisor is expected to keep a construction worker safe on the job by performing certain duties:
Planning: Finding the most efficient and safest methods for getting the project done.
Training: Supervisors are responsible for teaching proper safety protocols on the site. They may even be the lead on a corporate safety campaign. They are also in charge of training employees on the correct ways of using equipment and tools. This especially applies to new employees and even subcontractors who aren’t familiar with the site.
Monitoring for Unsafe Practice: Observing employees to see if they are following safety guidelines. Inspecting the work environment for potential hazards.
Enforcing Safety: Instructing or reminding workers of what they are doing wrong. Discipline may also be required if workers put themselves or coworkers at risk.
If a supervisor failed to uphold these duties and standards and you were injured, you may have reason to file a claim. Your employer owes you a work environment where safety guidelines are enforced. They also owe you managers who know these rules and uphold them at all times.
Construction Site Injury Compensation
A construction site company and others involved in the project, like a supervisor, are legally responsible for providing a reasonably safe job site. If they are found at fault, state law allows for compensation for the injured person. A worker can be awarded financial compensation for many of the losses and hardships suffered during recovery:
- Medical Bills
- Rehab treatment/equipment
- Travel
- Lost time from work (Including the expected future lost time)
- Permanent disability/disfigurement
- Pain and mental anguish
- Loss of consortium (Being without the support of a spouse, partner, family member, etc.)
Complexity of Construction Accident Cases
Construction injury cases can be complicated and challenging to pursue because often there are multiple defendants (the property owner, the general contractor, various sub-contractors, the developer, investors, etc.), multiple insurance companies, and multiple attorneys involved.
A construction accident may be reported as only a workers’ compensation injury, which limits your recovery to only wage loss and medical expenses. There is no recovery of pain and suffering and other damages under workers’ compensation.
Although you may only be able to recover workers’ compensation against your employer, in the right circumstances there may also be a claim for negligence against other persons or companies. This would involve several different insurance policies, including a commercial or general liability policy of the owner of the property or another person or entity that may have been negligent in causing your accident injury.
Contact a Philadelphia Construction Accident Lawyer
After any accident involving a serious injury, contact a highly rated Philadelphia Construction Accident Lawyer such as Edith Pearce. Unlike the huge firms with dozens of attorneys and many different lawyers handling different aspects of your case, Edith Pearce is personally involved in every case that we handle. She genuinely cares about her clients and you will not be treated like just another case or file. For a free consultation and case evaluation call (215) 557-8686.