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Michigan Construction Accident Lawyer

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Construction accidents are the third most likely cause of work-related injury, after accidents that occur in the mining and agricultural industries. Some common causes of construction accidents include faulty scaffolding, falls from heights, motor vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning due to faulty gas mechanisms, forklift accidents, electrocution, machinery accidents, and injury due to falling objects.

Some of the most common construction injuries include sprains and/or strains, bruises, contusions, cuts, lacerations, heat burns, dismemberments, carpal tunnel syndrome, fractures, and tendonitis. Though most of these construction accidents are not fatal, they are inconveniences, and can lead to long-term unemployment.

Construction accident reports must be filed immediately following the injury. A construction accident lawyer should be retained after a report is filed. Both federal and state law may apply. About 27 construction accident attorneys practice in Michigan, who can be found through the State Bar of Michigan, at http://www.michbar.org. The Michigan statute of limitations requires that a suit be filed within three years.

The attorney will gather a list of several possible third party defendants in order to ensure a better chance at winning a settlement. Any or all of several parties can be held accountable for a construction accident. Depending on the size and sophistication of the construction project, there can be a wide variety of individuals involved at a construction site, including the site's landowner, design and engineering professionals, contractors including general, "prime," and "sub"-contractors construction managers, and equipment and material suppliers. While many construction projects are based on general contract relationships where a general contractor retained by the site owner enters into agreements with sub-contractors as needs require larger projects are increasingly being handled by "construction management" organizations.

The type of system in place at a construction site where an injury occurs will be an important consideration in assessing the potential liability of the various individuals involved in the project, especially as to the site owner's liability. To determine who may be liable for injuries resulting from a construction accident, the attorney will take a close look at the duties and legal responsibilities of individuals involved in the construction project.

Michigan has rules regulating construction projects and contractors. No matter how stringent are the safety procedures in place at your job site, accidents can and do happen. In this unfortunate event, you need the law on your side. Although you can file a workers' compensation claim on your own, especially if your injury is a minor one, there are cases which may benefit from the professional assistance of an attorney. Moreover, there are some instances in which you may have the right to file a personal injury suit instead of a workers' compensation claim.

In most cases, in order to collect on an injury claim in Michigan, the person who caused the injury must be found as "negligent. Michigan's "comparative negligence" law allows recovery against another party, as long as that party was more negligent. The amount of the recovery will be reduced by a percentage of the amount for which the injured party is found to be at fault. If more than one party was negligent, each is proportionally responsible to the claimant for their share of the damage that they caused.

In one of these states, Michigan, only about 4% of the workforce is employed in construction but construction fatalities account for more than 40% of work-related fatalities. If you have been injured, it may have resulted in hefty medical expenses. Contact a Michigan construction accident lawyer attorney in order to start your road to financial recovery, so that you can focus on your physical well-being.