After a construction site accident, you may face a lifetime of medical treatments, surgeries, and rehabilitation. The resulting medical expenses can be astronomical. You may also miss work and the income that comes with it. In severe cases, you may never return to work again.
A construction job site injury can lead to serious financial hardship for you and your family. It’s important to know what type of compensation you can receive for worker’s compensation and third-party claims.
Worker’s Compensation
Workers’ compensation benefits are limited to the categories of damages that are determined by Florida state statutes, which may or may not entirely compensate the injured worker for their losses. Florida workers’ compensation provides only for the following categories of benefits:
- Medical Benefits. Employers are responsible for providing medical treatment through an insurance carrier for all medical procedures that are deemed necessary, such as doctor’s visits, hospitalization, tests, physical therapy, medication, and mileage reimbursement for travel to and from appointments.
- Lost Income. Temporary disability benefits apply when an authorized workers’ compensation doctor determines that an employee cannot return to work right away. These benefits pay an amount that is 66 2/3% of a worker’s regular wages at the time of injury, up to a maximum limit.
- Death Benefits. If a worker dies within one year of the date of the accident or after five years of continuous disability, the surviving family is allowed up to $7,500 in expenses for the funeral compensation for any dependents as well as additional benefits for the worker’s surviving spouse.
Third-Party Compensation
Sometimes workers’ compensation not enough to cover damages the worker has suffered. If a third-party claim is filed, compensation received from the company’s liability policy could cover the remainder of the employee’s losses. Third-party actions in construction site accident lawsuits can be based upon the following:
- Personal injury. The worker needs to prove that the company failed to provide the basic elements to ensure his or her safety, failed to provide a duty of care, and that the injuries were the direct result of the company’s breach of duty.
- Products Liability. If the construction accident was caused by a defective product, the worker may be able to file a products liability claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or seller of the defective products.
- Wrongful Death. If a worker dies due to the negligence of a third party, the surviving family members may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against them.
An experienced construction site accident lawyer will be able to help you and your family fight to get additional compensation, including:
- Medical expenses, hospital bills and rehabilitation costs associated with treatment for your injuries.
- Lost income from missing time from work from an injury, including lost earning capacity for the future.
- Emotional trauma that you may suffer due to your injury.
- Pain and suffering, including diminished quality of life.
- Wrongful death
An experienced construction accident attorney from Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano will be able to determine what compensation to seek, based on the details of your accident.
If you’ve been hurt in a construction site accident in Florida, the lawyers at Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A., are ready to fight for you. Working in construction is a highly dangerous job. Construction site accidents cause thousands of on-the-job injuries and add up to an estimated 20 percent of worker deaths in the U.S. a year. Compared to other jobs, construction has the highest number of fatalities.
