Unfortunately, though it can be a great career, working in construction comes with its fair share of hazards, regardless of what exactly you do. In fact, the construction industry as a whole sees more injuries and deaths than just about any other industry in the world. That’s why it’s no surprise that an injury attorney in Rockford has seen a lot of different kinds of legal cases related to construction injuries.
If you’ve been injured while working on a construction site, and you’re pursuing legal action, you face legal hurdles that only an injury attorney in Rockford can help you clear.
The Unique Nature of Construction Injuries
The legal recourse you have when you’ve been injured on a construction site works a little bit differently than if you had been injured, for example, by a car while you were out for a walk. For starters, depending on your specific situation, you may not be allowed to pursue legal action. Illinois worker’s compensation may dictate that you receive a preset schedule of compensation for waiving your right to sue.
Of course, there are exceptions. Generally, those exceptions exist when one of three things happen. The first is that you (as an employee) are hurt or disabled during your work while another professional is present in the field. The second is that you were injured by a faulty product. And the third is when your injury resulted from a worker safety violation. In any of these cases, it’s advisable to seek the counsel of an injury attorney in Rockford.
Filing a Lawsuit
Because they’re so common, construction injuries have their own process in the Illinois legal system. Sometimes, that process compensates the injured party the way they should be compensated, but sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, you (as the injured party) must file what’s called a “third-party suit.” In this type of legal action, you’ll generally go after the subcontractor or contractor who caused the safety issue that resulted in your injury.
In a third-party suit, your claims won’t be limited to the process laid out by Illinois workplace safety legislation. So if you believe you’re entitled to more compensation than the state of Illinois’ laws have helped to allocate to you as a construction worker, you should get in touch with an injury attorney so you can go about filing your suit in the most efficient and strategic way possible.
