What would you do if you were the victim of an injury at a construction site? If necessary, seeking 
immediate medical treatment is the obvious first answer. If the injuries were severe enough to cause moderate or serious pain, would you be able to live without your income while you healed? Worse, if you were to be unable to return to your job or even deceased, how would your family be able to make ends meet going forward? Every incident has the potential to be serious and life altering and all are important regardless of the degree or seriousness of any resulting injury. A near miss causing an injury is still very important from the standpoint of safety, and should be reported. If monitored closely they may serve to warn of circumstances that could potentially lead to serious injury. By publicizing near misses the health and safety committee can spotlight situations where hazards or improper work practices could lead to severe injury or fatality.
Inspection of workplace accidents should be conducted immediately after an incident to obtain information that is helpful. A delay of only a few hours may allow important evidence to be destroyed or removed, either intentionally or unintentionally. Unfinished work sites are rapidly changing with hazards and machinery continuously moving. Accident data should be recorded with the basic steps of questioning such as who, what, where, when, why, how and to what extent. If more than one individual is involved, reports should be made for each individual.
Investigating and analyzing incidents is integral to preventing future incidents. More importantly, it can also serve as evidence if opening a case to seek either workers compensation or damages in a lawsuit. Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue their employer for the tort of negligence. If an employer or contractor was negligent, then a victim might be entitled to more than just workers’ compensation. As such, the investigation or analysis must produce information that leads to the right corrective action.
At The Kalra Law Firm we have dealt with many cases involving construction accidents and have also helped victims of harm to recover from their loss as damages through lawsuits. We believe that victims deserve to be made whole after a disaster and at times, workers’ compensation cannot cover all of the expenses after a life-altering event.
Data collected during the investigation of an accident must be analyzed before developing appropriate corrective actions. Examining every aspect of the accident is important. Factors such as the individual worker, supervision, conditions, procedures, equipment, or training are necessary to analyze in seeking restitution and to prevent future accidents. If accident reports and corrective recommendations do not result in the elimination of hazards, then the union safety and OSHA health representative may need to further pursue the matter.
Unfortunately, there have been many cases in which an employer has failed to provide the legally required safety equipment. Cases with workers working on improperly built structures that failed to meet state or federal sanctioned safety requirements, even after an inspection. Problems and injuries can arise when recommendations set by inspection committees are not followed.
If you or a family member has been injured due to negligence or by an occupational hazard then you may be entitled to full benefits and compensation. Know your rights and get the answers you deserve. The attorneys of Kalra Law Firm are dedicated to getting victims of negligence the compensation they deserve through thorough investigations of all forms of evidence including inspections reports. Call the trusted New York City and Queens construction accident lawyers at Kalra Law Firm for a free initial consultation at (718) 897-2211. www.unionlawyer.com
