Construction Site Accidents
When injuries occur on construction job sites, the worker usually is eligible to receive Workers Compensation benefits in California. Medical expenses, loss of income and permanent disability benefits are available. Unfortunately, these benefits do not adequately compensate workers or their families for severe disabling injuries or fatalities. Any worker receiving severe injuries at a job site due to negligence of others, poor safety management or defective equipment needs to contact a lawyer experienced in this area of the law. The law is complex and qualified attorneys can determine if a third party is responsible to pay compensation to the injured worker or his family.
Van Blois and Associates have the necessary experience to help construction workers obtain full compensation above and beyond their limited Workers Compensation benefits.
Often injuries are caused by defective tools or machines. We have the expertise and ability to obtain recoveries from manufacturers, retailers and others for product liability. Examples of cases we have successfully pursued for construction site accidents include:
- Collapsed walls and structures
- Falls caused by absence of safety devices
- Explosions and fires
- Defective forklifts
- Defective ladders
- Negligent scaffolding
- Defective machinery
- Electrocutions
Electrocutions commonly occur, not only on construction sites, but at other locations. Thousands of people are injured or killed every year as a result of contact with power lines or other power sources. We have pursued cases involving faulty wiring, electrical overloads, defective tools, contact with high voltage power lines, electrical fires and explosions. If you or a family member have suffered electrocution or electrical injuries, contact us promptly so we can immediately provide the necessary investigation and expertise to successfully pursue your rights.
Examples of our success:
Protective scaffolding removed causing fall -- $6,000,000
A Fremont, California construction worker, doing plastering work on an apartment building in San Leandro, California, was paralyzed below his waist when he fell 40 feet because safety scaffolding had been removed to allow the owners to start condominium sales before the work was completed. The worker was not wearing a safety line because the scaffolding had protected the workers until it was unexpectedly removed. The apartment owners and the general contractor claimed that our client should not have been working at that location and, if there was negligence, it was all the fault of the plaster employer. We were able to prove that the owner and general contractor were responsible and made a recovery that allowed our client to purchase a home with handicap modifications and live independently.
Ladder causes fall resulting in brain injury -- $5,300,000
A construction foreman working on a 40' extension ladder on a skylight at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale, California fell when his extension ladder failed, resulting in traumatic brain injury (TBI). We proved there was a defectively designed locking mechanism in the 40 foot extension ladder manufactured by Cuprum S.A. de C.V. and supplied by Industrial Ladder Co., although the defendants strongly disputed any liability. The settlement funds allowed his wife to provide excellent quality care for her permanently injured husband.
Failure to provide Safety Devices – $775,000
A construction worker was required to remove the false work beneath a concrete bridge deck at a height of twelve feet above rocks below. He was not provided a life line, harness and there were no railings or safety nets or other safety devices. He fell from the planks he was standing on to perform his work sustaining severe injuries that caused his death in January 1984. The construction project was erection of the Valley Avenue bridge at Arroyo Del Valle in Pleasanton, California. We represented his wife and children against several defendants who could have required his employer to provide safety devices. In California, a worker cannot sue his employer for negligence because Workers Compensation laws have been enacted to compensate workers. Since Workers Compensation benefits do not adequately compensate workers for their employers’ negligence, we will pursue other defendants responsible for the unsafe condition to achieve full compensation for our clients.
Worker burned in excavation -- $650,000
We represented an excavating contractor working on replacing underground pipes at the Delta Diablo Sanitation Plant in Pittsburg, California. A broken copper line carrying pressurized oxygen leaked oxygen that ignited. Our client received second and third degree burns when he attempted to putout the flames on the body of another worker.
Design defect on maintenance platform -- $505,000
The plaintiff was an electrical contractor repairing lights in a high ceiling by use of a maintenance platform placed on a forklift. The maintenance platform moved off the forklift blades, causing the contractor to fall, injuring the contractor. We contended there was a failure to warn about the placement of the forklift blades and there was a design defect. The plaintiff suffered a cerebral concussion and orbital rim facial fractures.
Negligent Cement Truck Operation – $367,5004
A foreman of workers pouring and finishing concrete foundations for a residential development was injured when a pressure build up in the concrete hose expelled concrete with great force, causing the hose end to strike our client, knocking him to the ground. We contended that a large piece of hardened concrete, referred to as a “clunker”, caused a blockage that caused pressure to build up behind it. Clunkers can be caused by cement truck operators failing to clean out cement trucks each day and failing to look out for such blockages. The pump truck operator and the cement truck drivers are responsible to prevent such blockages. Our client suffered facial fractures and shoulder injuries and lost time from work.
