Common Questions

Generally, you can pursue recovery in court against anyone or any entity that wrongfully caused you damages or injuries. In the context of construction accidents, this will normally be the company managing the construction site as well as any contractors, sub-contractors, property owners, or equipment/tool makers. The persons liable to you can be as varied as the circumstances that gave rise to the incident. However, you can focus on who actually will be responsible for your damages by isolating the parties that contributed to the underlying conduct that caused your injury.

You can seek compensation for any damage or loss you suffered due to the incident. These will normally come from a few categories. First, you will probably suffer economic damages: medical bills, lost wages, or property damages. Second, your life might be damaged in non-economic ways especially if you are disabled or disfigured. Third, if the defendant’s actions were particularly reckless, you might receive punitive damages. Finally, if someone actually (and tragically) passed away because of the accident, then the family might be able to gather wrongful death damages. The kind and amount of compensation plaintiffs garner mirrors the seriousness of the incident and it must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

The amount of compensation a plaintiff gets from jury award or settlement amount depends on a number of factors. No precise figure can be ascribed because injuries are hard to quantify and different people might have different conclusions about the effect of an accident. Also, looking at past awards only offer a glimpse of what is possible because every case is factually distinct. Therefore, the best way to project what one could potentially recover is list every way the construction accident affected you and talk to an experienced attorney for some insight into possible value.

Generally, Illinois statutes of limitations provide plaintiffs two years from the date of an injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. With construction accidents, that time window might be affected. For instance, if the defendant is a government body, then you might only have one year. Also, if the wrongful conduct involved site construction, then you might have more than two years. It is best to consult with an attorney to determine the date by which you must file.

It depends on the kind of case that you file. If you sue for negligence, then you must prove that the defendant breached a duty owed to you and that the breach caused your injuries. If you sue for products liability, then you must show that the product’s defect caused your injuries while you were reasonably using it. Finally, if you are suing for wrongful death, you must show that the defendant’s conduct caused the death and that you suffered injuries because of it. This is just an overview of what you must prove but it should illustrate that the thrust of your case will depend upon the cause of action that you bring.

Yes. When you get injured on the job, you can pursue worker’s compensation benefits from your employer. However, you can also pursue a claim against other responsible parties that are not your employer.

An attorney can fight for you after you have suffered a construction accident in a number of ways. First, they can offer experience and resources to help ensure your potential recovery is maximized. Second, they can conduct the critical legal and factual investigations in order to build your case, which may require hiring necessary experts and consultants. Third, attorneys can conduct all correspondences on your behalf, as well as diligently and zealously fight to obtain all relevant evidence from the defendants. Fourth, they can effectively present your case to the court during litigation or at trial.