Wrongful Death in Construction Accidents

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the construction industry accounts for almost one in five on-the-job deaths across the U.S. Despite the well-publicized risks of construction work and ongoing efforts to make the industry safer, wrongful death in construction accidents remains a huge issue.

Part of the problem is the failure of employers to make construction sites safe for workers. Construction companies must provide sufficient training, safety equipment, and suitable tools.

If you’ve lost a loved one in a construction accident, you may be entitled to compensation. In this article, we provide directions on how you can seek this redress.

Common Construction Accident Injuries

The most common types of construction accidents include:

• Slips and falls: Falls from elevation account for 10% of all occupational fatalities in the US, according to data from the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI). Construction sites pose a particularly acute risk in this regard, as workers must often operate several floors above ground level.
• Falling debris: Falling debris can cause serious brain injuries. The objects that commonly fall on construction sites range from large steel beams to small hand-held tools.
• Electrocution: Electrocution deaths in construction usually occur because of contact with power lines or other energized sources (such as faulty equipment, exposed wires, and improperly used extension cords). A study quoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that construction workers are four times more likely to suffer electrocution than those working in all other industries combined.
• Burns: Burn injuries can result from electrocution, contact with flammable gas or other dangerous chemicals, or use of machinery (such as welding machines).
• Machinery: Machinery-related fatalities usually occur due to a malfunction or a lack of suitable employee training.
• Overexertion: Construction workers typically work long hours. This can lead to dehydration and overheating in the summer months. The failure to allow for sufficient rest periods will likely amount to negligence on the part of a construction company or site manager.

What to Do After a Wrongful Death on a Construction Site

If someone close to you has died in a construction accident, it’s important to consider your options for seeking compensation as soon as you can. There are two main options to look into here; workers’ compensation and a wrongful death lawsuit.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation, which provides wage replacement and coverage of medical expenses for workers injured on the job, may also provide compensation to your family in the event of a construction site death. 

An important point to note is that you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits even if your deceased family member’s death did not come about because of employer negligence. As long as their accident or illness was related to their workplace activities, you should be eligible for workers’ compensation.

Worker’s comp may cover your loved one’s funeral costs and pay you a portion of their salary. However, the rules in Pennsylvania impose a cap on the weekly amount payable as salary replacement. This cap is based on the average wage in the state, so it changes periodically.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits

If the deceased person was your parent, your child, or your spouse, you should be entitled to file a wrongful death claim against their employer.

In order for your wrongful death claim to be successful, you must be able to prove negligence. This is a key difference between a wrongful death lawsuit and a workers’ compensation claim. Potential damages that surviving family members may receive compensation for in a wrongful death claim include:

• The deceased person’s pre-death “pain and suffering”
• The medical treatment costs that the deceased victim incurred as a result of the injury prior to death
• Funeral and burial costs
• Loss of the deceased person’s expected income
• Loss of care, guidance, and nurturing that the deceased would have provided
• Loss of consortium.

Crucially, it’s possible to recover noneconomic damages (such as pain and suffering or loss of consortium) in a wrongful death lawsuit. Workers’ compensation does not allow for the collection of benefits like these.

Another important point to note is that, once you collect workers’ compensation benefits, you will generally forfeit the right to file suit against your deceased family member’s employer in relation to their fatal accident. There are limited exceptions to this rule, such as where an employer acts with extreme negligence or causes harm to an employee on purpose.

You may also be able to file a lawsuit against a third party who was involved in your family member’s death. For instance, if the fatal accident occurred because of a piece of faulty equipment, you may be entitled to file suit against the manufacturer that made the equipment, the retailer that sold it, the installer that fitted it, or the maintenance company that carried out repairs on it, depending on the circumstances.

Cases like these can hinge on very specific details and the legal interpretations of these details. If you’re not sure where you stand, you should consider dropping in to see the Cochran Firm in Philadelphia for a free initial consultation.

Common Types of Construction Site Negligence

There are many ways in which construction companies can cause wrongful death through negligence. These include:

• Failing to provide proper safety equipment
• Neglecting to provide adequate training
• Allowing or encouraging workers to flout safety regulations, such as those around working hours during hot weather
• Failure to make adequate fire safety provisions
• Allowing work to take place in unsafe conditions (such as in an unfinished building without sufficient structural supports).

Contact Us Today

In a city where construction injuries and fatalities are far too common, it is our mission to hold negligent parties accountable for their actions. If you’ve lost a loved one because of negligence on a building site, our construction accident attorneys are here to fight for you.

The attorneys at our Philadelphia office have secured numerous multimillion-dollar awards for victims of serious injury and many have even been recognized as Super Lawyers for their personal injury successes.

Call us today on 800-969-4400 or fill out our online contact form to learn more about how we can help. Your initial consultation will be free.