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Who Is at Fault for My Construction Accident?

If you have been hurt at a construction site, you may be thinking of pursuing a claim for financial compensation. As with any personal injury case, you need to identify all parties who may responsible for the accident. So who is at fault for your construction accident?

Determining Fault on a Construction Site

Determining who is at fault in a construction accident can be more difficult than with other types of personal injury claims. By their very nature, large construction projects are complex. They involve many entities, each with its own responsibilities. Aside from the owner of the building or property, there is usually a general contractor who is in charge of the project as a whole, along with other contractors who handle various aspects of construction. In turn, many of these contractors may employ subcontractors to help them. These parties all have different duties and obligations, both legally and contractually.

Additionally, your own position on a construction site can impact from whom you can pursue compensation, as well as the importance of “fault” itself. If you are directly employed by a construction company and you are injured because of your own actions arising out of and in the course of your employment, or of the action of a coworker, you would likely not have to establish fault because you would be filing a workers’ compensation claim.

On the other hand, if you are hurt because of the actions of another company, contractor, or subcontractor, you could potentially seek compensation through a third-party personal injury claim. To do so, you would need to identify the party or parties responsible and demonstrate their liability, which could be more challenging. However, the amount you may recover financially could be greater, since you are not limited by the caps imposed by the Illinois workers’ compensation system.

How a Construction Accident Attorney Can Help

As you can imagine, construction accidents are at the heart of some of the most challenging personal injury cases. They demand comprehensive knowledge both of the relevant laws and regulations and of the industry and its operations in order to determine whether a party’s failure to meet its duties and obligations may have contributed to your injuries. This is where the experienced construction accident attorneys at GWC Injury Lawyers LLC can make all the difference.

GWC is fully versed in the federal rules enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as all state and local building safety codes. Contractors in Illinois have a legal duty to provide workers with a safe working environment, a responsibility that is even greater in the already hazardous construction industry. If you retain our services, our construction accident attorneys can promptly initiate an investigation to pinpoint the negligent working conditions that may have led to your injuries.

Most importantly, GWC knows how to identify and pursue every party that may be at fault. This is essential for any personal injury claim as failure to do so within the time allotted by law can forever bar a plaintiff from obtaining full and fair compensation.

And getting plaintiffs fully and fairly compensated is our specialty. With over $2 billion recovered in verdicts and settlements, GWC is one of the premier Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation law firms in Illinois. We have an especially strong track record with construction accident cases and deep relationships with all major building trade unions, so much so that GWC has often been called “the construction accident law firm.” Our construction accident attorneys have the experience, the determination, the resources, and the reputation necessary to get you and your family the justice you deserve.

To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a construction accident attorney, contact GWC today. You may call our office at (312) 464-1234 or click here to chat with a representative at any time.

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