Cherry Hill Construction Accident Lawyer

A construction accident occurs in Cherry Hill whenever there is an incident causing harm at a construction site. Sometimes an accident revolves around injuries to workers, and other times it revolves around injuries to a passerby, but anything that involves a construction site that results in an injury to someone would be a construction accident.

If you have been injured on a construction site due to the negligence of another, you must contact a Cherry Hill construction accident lawyer immediately. An experienced personal injury attorney in Cherry Hill will be able to gather all the necessary evidence to help successfully argue your case.

Injured Parties in Construction Accidents

These accidents can involve people other than construction workers, especially when the construction site is located in a pedestrian area. For example, sometimes accidents to pedestrians are caused by falling debris. Both construction site employees and non-employees can bring claims for their injuries with help of a pedestrian accident attorney in Cherry Hill. Whether an injured party is an employee of the construction site only matters in that different injury laws may apply, so this might change the case.

If a person is an employee on a construction site, there may also be a worker’s compensation component against a person’s employer. If a person is not an employee, then there is no worker’s compensation component to the case. This differentiation constitutes different analyses and ways of approaching the case, which can be efficiently handled by a Cherry Hill construction accident attorney. Speak to a Cherry Hill workers’ compensation lawyer today.

Common Injuries In A Cherry Hill Construction Accident

There are a wide range of injuries that stem from construction accidents. Because of the nature of the construction business, the injuries involved in such accidents are often quite serious. These sites usually deal with heavy machinery being on high platforms, and electricity and machines. There are a lot of things going on at one time, and when something goes wrong, the damage can be quite severe. Some examples of common construction site injuries are electrocutions, burns, or trauma from falling debris. They can sometimes be as serious as death, in which you need the assistance of a wrongful death attorney in Cherry Hill.

Potential Damages for Construction Injuries

There can be both punitive and compensatory damages involved in a construction accident case. To best determine the specific damages associated with a case, it is best for the individual involved to consult with a Cherry Hill construction accident attorney.

Punitive Damages

For there to be punitive damages in a construction accident case it has to be proved that someone acted recklessly or with gross negligence. There must be a case-by-case analysis to determine what exactly the general contractor or other subcontractors did or did not do that resulted in this harm. Sometimes, recklessness or gross negligence occurs on jobs that are running behind or not done on schedule, where the contractors start to cut corners to try and get things done quickly.

When this happens, those involved put profit over safety, and in instances like that, a Cherry Hill construction accident lawyer may attempt to bring a claim for punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant for their actions, and there are no caps on those damages. That is the determination that would be made by the jury as to what punitive damages should be awarded to punish the defendant, and it is made on a case-by-case basis depending on the actions or the inactions of the defendant.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages would also come into play during such a case. Compensatory damages would be to the injured victim to compensate that person or their family for their injuries, their lost wages, their medical bills, and the impact the injury has had on their life. The way compensatory damages are calculated is based on a case-by-case analysis, and there is no fine line that says exactly what a case is worth.

Every case is unique, and juries make fact-sensitive determinations as to how injuries have impacted an individual and their family. A Cherry Hill construction accident lawyer can best advise an individual on what they may expect from their pursuit of compensatory damages.

Comparative Negligence

New Jersey is a comparative negligence state, which means that if the injured person was found to have a share in the responsibility for their own injuries, their damages would be reduced by whatever percentage of responsibility they have. For example, if someone was determined to be 50% negligent, their damages would be reduced by 50%. In the state of New Jersey, as long as the injured party’s negligence does not exceed 50%, they are entitled to make a recovery. If their negligence or comparative negligence exceeds 50%, an individual cannot make a claim against the other person.

In a construction setting, an example of comparative negligence could be if someone was injured while in an area of the construction site that they were not supposed to be in. While the argument could be made that that person was comparatively negligent, other elements must be proved by the defendant.

Contact a Cherry Hill Construction Accident Attorney

Construction accidents are a specialized area of the law, and it is difficult for a person to try and represent themselves in such an accident. Experts are needed and investigations need to be done almost immediately, so it is very important for a person involved in a construction accident to contact a Cherry Hill construction accident lawyer with experience in handling these types of claims so they can make sure their rights are being protected.