Ladder accidents are sadly common on construction sites. These types of
accidents have the potential to cause serious injuries or even fatalities. Whether a ladder accident occurs on a portable ladder, an extension ladder or scaffolding, falls from ladders can result in devastating injuries. Ladder accidents can result in serious injuries such as back injuries, spinal cord damage, head injuries, and even death.
Serious injuries may require long-term medical and rehabilitative treatment, which can prove extremely costly. The more serious your injury, the more important it is to take the necessary steps to protect your rights and immediately contact an experienced New York ladder accident attorney who can help you secure maximum compensation for your losses.
How Ladder Accidents Occur
There are a number of reasons why ladder accidents occur. If a ladder is placed on an uneven surface, there is the possibility of it tipping and taking the person on the ladder down with it. When a surface is unstable, the ladder may slip or slide and cause the person to fall off the ladder.
When a ladder is subjected to excessive weight, it may buckle or collapse under the weight. Ladders also require constant inspection and maintenance. A worn or damaged ladder may malfunction. When a ladder is used in close proximity to live or exposed wires, there is also the potential for electrocution or electrical injuries.
Four Steps You Can Take
If you or a loved one has been injured in a New York City ladder accident, here are four steps you would be well advised to take in order to protect your rights:
Medical attention: If you have suffered injuries from falling off a ladder, please make sure that you seek and obtain prompt medical attention. This helps ensure that your ladder accident injuries are properly documented. Seeking medical attention right away also helps put you on the path to recovery.
Accident report: If you have suffered a fall from a ladder at a worksite, it is crucial that you file a report with your employer and/or supervisor immediately. This helps establish the date, time and manner in which the accident occurred.
Evidence from the scene: Collect as much evidence from the scene as possible. Your personal injury attorney can make sure that the ladder is preserved because it is often an important piece of evidence. Try to obtain photos and videos on your cell phone from the scene of the incident. Secure contact information for anyone – passersby, co-workers and others – who may have witnessed your fall. If you are unable to gather such evidence ask a family member, friend or your attorney if they can assist you in doing so.
Contacting a lawyer: There are often multiple avenues of compensation in ladder accident cases. Your attorney will be able to handle insurance companies, their lawyers, and other parties on your behalf and prevent you from making the mistakes that may jeopardize your ladder accident case.
Compensation for Your Losses
Workers in New York are protected under federal and state laws. Therefore, a worker who suffers a fall from a ladder can seek workers’ compensation benefits from his or her employer. In addition, injured workers and their families may be able to file a third-party lawsuit for substantial money damages against a number of parties, and thus have two sources of compensation. Third-party claims are filed against parties other than the employer or co-employees and may include general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, managing agents, construction companies, etc. In cases where a worker dies from injuries suffered on the job, surviving family members may seek death benefits through workers’ compensation and/or file a wrongful death claim against a third party.
If you have suffered injuries in a construction-related accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our law firm recovered $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job – one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year. Our law firm also recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com