|
| |
Q. How do I know if I am entitled to bring a
lawsuit for compensation for a construction site personal injury?
A. The best way to determine if you entitled to
compensation through a lawsuit for a construction site injury is to contact
an experienced and knowledgeable attorney in the field of construction
personal injury litigation. Most experienced and qualified personal injury
attorneys will provide free consultation to discuss the facts of your case
and determine whether or not a personal injury claim should be filed. In
fact, you should be cautious of any personal injury attorney who charges a
fee for any initial consultation. It is only after the attorney has gathered
as much facts and information as possible, that he can truly evaluate
whether or not a lawsuit can be filed. The
Conour Law Firm, LLC
offers free consultation to all injured persons and their families to discuss the case and
decide whether or not a legal claim should be filed. If you would like to discuss the
facts of your construction site personal injury case with Bill
Conour, please
e-mail
or call on his toll-free number,
866-839-5550
.
Q. Can a lawsuit be filed for every construction site
personal injury?
A. No. There are some construction site injuries for
which no lawsuits can be filed. If the employer or the injured employee are
the only persons at fault for the injury, then no lawsuit can be filed.
Also, even if a lawsuit could be filed, there are economic factors which
must be evaluated to determine the practicality of filing suit. For example,
if a worker is slightly injured at a construction site and his medical bills
are paid by workers' compensation and he receives additional workers'
compensation benefits, it may not be economically feasible to file a lawsuit
because of litigation expenses and the repayment of the workers'
compensation lien may exceed any potential recovery. It is important to
consider the maximum compensation likely to be recovered in a lawsuit in
determining whether or not it is worth pursuing. An experienced and
knowledgeable attorney in the area of construction site injury litigation
can best evaluate your claim to determine whether or not it should be
pursued. Inexperienced lawyers too often file a lawsuit without any economic
analysis and allow it to drag on for years before realizing that the costs
of the lawsuit will exceed the likely recovery. Sometimes the best legal
advice is not to file a lawsuit. Because of the expense involved in
construction site personal injury litigation, Bill
Conour limits his construction site
injury cases to those involving death or serious bodily injury, including Traumatic Brain
Injury (TBI), Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), Myofascial pain, fractures and burns,
electrocution, amputations and injuries involving paralysis, paraplegia and quadriplegia.
Q. Can a lawyer from Indiana represent me in
a construction site personal injury claim in another state or country?
A. Yes. the
Conour Law Firm, LLC
has represented clients in many states,
including Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan,
Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. He has
also represented clients in foreign countries, including Canada, the Bahamas and in
Europe.
Q. Can any lawyer represent me in a construction site
personal injury case?
A. Yes. Technically, any lawyer who is licensed to practice law can
represent an injured construction worker. However, because of the intricacies of
construction technology and the complexity of construction safety regulations, it is
important to be represented by an experienced attorney with a known track record who has
knowledge of a multitude of construction methods and means, as well as one who is well
versed in OSHA and ANSI and other safety regulations, and who is knowledgeable
about standard construction documents. Bill Conour has frequently lectured and taught lawyers
throughout the country regarding construction site personal injury claims and has written
several articles on the subject. For over 25 years, he has represented injured
construction workers and is one of the most knowledgeable attorneys in this field in the
country.
Q. Is it expensive to file a lawsuit for a
construction site personal injury?
A. Yes, construction site injury litigation is very
expensive. Typically, the litigation expenses for a construction site injury
case will range between $25,000 and $100,000. Litigation expenses usually
include charges for long distance telephone calls, investigators' fees,
consultants' fees, specialists' and experts' fees, postage, photocopy and
facsimile charges, mileage charges, travel and lodging expenses, witness'
fees, depositions and discovery costs, court costs, computer research
charges, case analysis and other computer reenactment or computer graphic
charges, photography costs, graphic artists' fees and other expenses for
preparation of demonstrative evidence, bonds, transcript fees, subpoena
fees, medical records and medical record copies, reports and medical
consultation charges. Since these costs can be very high, it is important to
hire an attorney who can afford to advance these costs on behalf of the
client. Many lawyers are not financially capable of paying these costs and
expect the injured client to pay them. Bill
Conour knows that the injured client is seeking financial help, not a new
financial burden. Bill Conour pays all the expenses of every construction site litigation claim
during the litigation. He does not expect or require any of his injured clients to
contribute toward these expenses unless they are able and willing to do so. It is not
until the conclusion of the litigation that the
Conour Law Firm, LLC is reimbursed for all the expenses he has
paid for his client to pursue the lawsuit. Ability to finance the litigation, no matter
what the cost, is an important consideration in choosing a lawyer. It is imperative that
the lawyer be able to pursue the claim fully and not be limited by his or his client's
inability to pay litigation expenses.
Q. How can I pay for a lawyer if I have been injured and I
am unable to work?
A. There are three basic fee arrangements between attorneys and
their clients. The fee arrangement most often used by injured persons unable to work is
called the "Contingency Fee" or the "no recovery/no fee" contract.
Under a Contingency Fee, the attorney is paid a specified percentage of the total amount
of the settlement or judgment that is recovered in the lawsuit. If the lawsuit is lost or
there is no recovery, then the lawyer receives no attorneys' fees. Contingency Fee
arrangements must be in writing.
Instead of a Contingency Fee, there are other attorneys' fee
arrangements which can be selected. One is an hourly rate where the lawyer is paid a
specified amount for every hour he works on the case. These amounts are typically billed
monthly and must be paid regardless of whether the case is won or lost. Another attorneys'
fee arrangement is called a "Flat Fee" in which the attorney and client
negotiate a single payment to be paid to the attorney at the beginning of the lawsuit and
which will cover all attorneys' fees throughout the lawsuit. This fee is also paid
regardless of whether the lawsuit is won or lost.
Bill Conour allows his clients to select which one of the three fee
arrangements they prefer. Typically, injured clients select the Contingency Fee
arrangement.
Q. What kind of compensation can I receive
for a construction site personal injury?
A. The type of damages which are compensable in a lawsuit are
different from state to state and country to country. The items considered in determining
the amount of damages to be awarded are the nature and extent of the injury; whether the
injury is permanent or temporary; the pain and suffering occurring in the past and
reasonably likely to occur in the future; loss of earnings or lost profits and impairment
of earning capacity in the future; the amount of medical and hospital and rehabilitation
expenses; the aggravation of a pre-existing injury or disease; any disfigurement or
deformity and any fright, humiliation or mental anguish and the loss of enjoyment of life.
In Wrongful Death claims, the damages are determined by the
applicable law in each state or country. Some jurisdictions limit the recovery to the
economic loss of the deceased, while some jurisdictions allow additional damages for lost
love and affection of the surviving spouse or dependent children, as well as the conscious
pain and suffering of the decedent from the time the worker was injured to the time the
worker died. Funeral and burial expenses are recoverable as well as any medical or
hospital expense. Costs of administering the estate are usually recoverable also.
The basic rule of thumb is "the greater the injury, the greater
the compensation". A slight injury will generate slight compensation, whereas a
serious bodily injury or death will create greater compensation. Almost dying or almost
getting hurt will not support compensation.
Q. How long do I have to file a lawsuit for a
construction site personal injury?
A. This answer usually depends upon where the injury occurs. Each
state and country has different rules regarding the filing of lawsuits. The time allowed
to file a lawsuit is called the "Statute of Limitations". Most states have
a two-year Statute of Limitations which means that a lawsuit must be filed within two
years of the date of injury. However, some states have only a one-year Statute of
Limitation and other jurisdictions have a three-year, or more, Statute of Limitations.
Also, many states have a notice period if you are going to sue any governmental agency. In
highway construction, it is often the government which may be responsible for the injury.
Many jurisdictions require that notice be given to the government within either 30 days or
180 days or 270 days or within two years. Failure to meet any of these time requirements
may mean that you cannot file a lawsuit for your injury. Because of these time
requirements, it is very important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after an
injury to insure that the matter can be investigated and any lawsuit can be filed on time.
Q. What is Comparative Fault and how does it affect a
lawsuit for a construction site personal injury?
A. Most states have adopted one form or another of what is known as
"Comparative Fault." Comparative Fault allows the jury to review the
conduct of all parties to the lawsuit to determine what proportion of fault each must bear
for the injury which occurred. For example, the jury might believe the plaintiff was
partially at fault for causing his own injuries and assess him a percentage of the fault.
The jury may find the plaintiff was 20 percent at fault and the defendant was 80 percent
at fault. In this case, the plaintiff would receive 80 percent of whatever the jury
determined to be the total value of the damages. Thus, the damages are reduced by whatever
percentage of fault is attributed to the plaintiff. In some jurisdictions, if the
plaintiff is greater than 50 percent at fault for the injury, then there can be no
recovery at all. In other states, the plaintiff can always recover whatever percentage of
fault is attributable to the defendants. In pursuing a construction site personal injury
claim, it is important to know the law of the jurisdiction in which the lawsuit is filed.
There are times when a lawsuit can be filed in one of several different states and it is
crucial that the lawyer be well versed in the construction site law in each of those
states so that the lawsuit is filed in the state which is most beneficial to the injured
worker.
Q. Can I sue my employer for an injury I
received on the job?
A. Probably not. Every state in the United States has a workers'
compensation law which provides that it is the only remedy against the employer for an
injury on the job. There are some exceptions to this workers' compensation exclusivity
rule if a person is injured by someone other than a co-worker or is intentionally injured
or is injured in activities which are not in the scope of normal employment duties.
However, for a typical work-related injury, workers' compensation is the only compensation
which can be obtained from the injured worker's employer.
Q. If I receive workers' compensation benefits, can I still
file a lawsuit for an injury received at a construction site?
A. Yes, in most cases involving commercial construction sites a
lawsuit may be justified. While the employer cannot be sued because workers' compensation
is the exclusive remedy against it, there are other individuals, contractors and
subcontractors at construction sites who may be liable to an injured workman. For example,
the General Contractor is typically responsible for safety on the job site and may be
liable for any failure to comply with OSHA or the failure to take other reasonable safety
precautions. Also, if an injury is caused by another subcontractor, or by a defective
product or tool, lawsuits can be filed against the General Contractor and other
subcontractors or the manufacturers of any defective products and tools to recover
compensation, even though an injured workman has received workers' compensation benefits.
Q. Do I have to pay back my workers' compensation benefits
if I settle a lawsuit for a construction site injury?
A. Yes, a portion of the benefits must usually be repaid. Most state
laws give the workers' compensation insurance carrier the right to be repaid from any
settlement in a lawsuit for a construction site injury. However, the workers' compensation
insurance carrier must usually pay its share of the attorneys' fees and expenses in the
lawsuit. Also, the workers' compensation lien can be negotiated and reduced in most cases
so the entire amount of the workers' compensation benefits need not be repaid. The right
of the workers' compensation insurance company to be repaid a portion of its benefits is
called "subrogation".
|
