Although dangerous work occurs on construction sites, OSHA regulations and safety practices exist to make this work as safe as it can be. Still, accidents happen all too frequently in Oklahoma City, even with all the appropriate safety precautions in place. How can that be?
The answer is that people make mistakes. Construction-site accidents are often the result of overlooked hazards, cost-cutting measures on the part of a property owner or contractor, or inadequate training on the part of an employer. Others happen because of defective or poorly maintained equipment. If you’ve been injured on a construction site because of any of these factors, you need a construction accident lawyer in Oklahoma City to help you demand compensation for what happened.
The experienced Oklahoma construction injury attorneys of Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman are prepared to take your case and pursue the compensation you deserve. We serve the Oklahoma City area, including people in Oklahoma, Cleveland, McClain, Canadian, Grady, and Garvin counties. Call our law firm now for a free consultation, and we’ll tell you what we can do for you.
If you’ve been hurt on a construction job, you might be entitled to workers’ compensation — though that may not be the only means by which you can recover the money you need to treat your injuries and cover your other accident-related costs. Workers’ compensation benefits pay for approved medical expenses and a portion of your lost wages. However, they are only available to people who are employed by a company, not independent contractors.
While workers’ comp laws generally prevent employees from suing their employer, injured workers may have grounds to pursue a third-party claim against other at-fault parties. For example, if you’re injured by a defective piece of machinery, you could be entitled to pursue a third-party claim against the manufacturer that put an unsafe product onto the market.
In a third-party claim, you can seek compensation from the person who caused the accident that harmed you. You can pursue the full amount of your lost wages, all of your medical expenses, pain and suffering, repair of your damaged property, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Any of the following could cause a construction accident, though not all could result in a valid claim:
Speak to an experienced Oklahoma City construction accident lawyer to find out if your injury qualifies you for compensation.
You work hard to make a living. Unfortunately, making a living in construction exposes you to the risk of construction site injuries such as broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. These serious injuries can leave you unable to work for months or longer, adding a financial insult to your physical and emotional injuries.
You should not have to bear the burdens of your financial recovery and unemployment if someone else caused your injury. You deserve to be financially compensated for your pain and suffering, your medical expenses, your rehabilitation costs, and your lost wages. With the help of a tenacious construction accident lawyer from Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman, you can hold negligent parties accountable and pursue the full compensation you deserve for the damages you have suffered. Our friendly lawyers look forward to helping you put your accident-related stress behind you.
When you combine heavy equipment, dangerous heights, and careless people, you have a recipe for serious injuries. The following are among the most frequent types of accidents on Oklahoma construction sites:
All it takes is one act of negligence, one missing piece of safety equipment, or one defective machine for a construction worker’s life to be forever altered. If you or a loved one has been hurt on a construction site, you can rely on our firm’s attorneys to examine the evidence, gather witness testimony, and review your medical records to determine who is liable for your damages.
It is crucial to realize that there is often no such thing as a temporary injury. A “simple” broken bone can result in chronic pain and complications long after the break has healed. A head injury or spinal cord injury can end a career and result in lifelong treatment costs and lost earnings. At Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman, we focus our efforts on ensuring injury victims have the compensation they need now and in the future for injuries such as:
Your personal injury claim is about making sure you have what you need to move forward with your life. We will not hesitate to pursue your interests at trial if a fair settlement cannot be reached.
After a workplace injury, the first step in pursuing a claim for compensation is figuring out who caused the accident. Large-scale construction projects in Oklahoma City involve multiple parties and layered corporate structures that can make it challenging to accurately identify the at-fault party. You’ll have to sort through which contractors were responsible for which safety procedures, and whether the actual practices on the construction site aligned with safety rules.
In addition, if your injuries don’t appear right away, the insurance company may claim they are not related to your work accident. And if your injuries are significant and will leave you with long-term medical consequences, the insurer will try to pay as little money as possible and may deny that your condition is related to the accident.
Fortunately, you don’t have to deal with all this yourself. Instead, you can turn to the experienced construction accident lawyers at Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman. We can handle the challenges of your case for you, while you focus instead on resting and getting better.
After a construction accident, it’s important to keep in mind that the bosses and their insurers are not your friends. Watch out for these common warning signs that the liable party knows they’re at fault and is trying to obscure that fact.
These red flags are signs that it’s time to call a lawyer.
Technically, you can handle your own construction accident claim, but doing so isn’t wise.
First, you may think that you’re only entitled to file a workers’ compensation claim when you may also be eligible to file a third-party claim. Even if you do know you can, you might inadvertently miss a filing deadline, putting your rights at risk. As you pursue your claim, you might find that crucial evidence has suddenly “disappeared,” or that you’re getting stonewalled as you try to access it.
Let’s say you do file your claim, and you can back up your account with strong evidence. Now the insurance representative is on the phone with you, trying to get you to slip up and say something that could be used against you. They might also push a lowball settlement on you, telling you that it’s the best you can hope for and that if you don’t take it, you’ll wind up with nothing.
Don’t let this happen to you. Instead, get in touch with our Oklahoma City construction accident lawyers immediately so that we can pursue your case for you.
When you work with the law firm of Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman, we can manage all the legal details of your case. All you have to focus on is healing. We can:
Our attorneys know how to thoroughly investigate an accident, uncover evidence of unsafe work practices, and identify who’s to blame for them. We’ll use this information to negotiate a full settlement for your claim, and we won’t hesitate to take your case to trial if the insurance company refuses to settle. Our investigation will reveal whether there were missing or altered incident reports that could harm your case.
Injured workers often unintentionally sabotage their own cases. Avoid making these errors:
Construction accident claims proceed in a similar way in every case. The steps in your case will likely occur in this order:
You can ask your lawyer any questions you have about the process at any time.
Our clients have asked these questions in the past, and our law firm has answered them for your information.
If someone other than your employer caused the accident that injured you, yes, you can sue that party.
You can sue that at-fault contractor. Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation laws prevent employees from suing their employers in most cases, but you can still sue a third party that harmed you.
Oklahoma law gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against the party that injured you.
Dealing with the insurance companies and facing a complex legal process can feel overwhelming. Construction accident cases are time sensitive, and hiring a lawyer for your case right after you were injured allows them to protect your recovery. They can track down and interview witnesses before memories fade, and they can send letters to at-fault parties to make them preserve evidence before it gets “lost” or destroyed. You do not have to handle your case alone. Our attorneys serve clients in Oklahoma City and the counties of Oklahoma, Cleveland, McClain, Canadian, Grady, and Garvin.
You can rely on our knowledgeable attorneys to answer your questions and provide you with peace of mind throughout your case. If you were injured in an Oklahoma City construction accident, call our law firm at 405-913-4473 and schedule a consultation about pursuing the compensation you deserve.
