Construction work is inherently dangerous, as is evidenced in a story that made headlines this spring in Tulsa. Hit while setting up road construction cones in March, a 59-year-old construction worker died after being struck by a pickup truck and dragged under the vehicle for 25 feet along an asphalt road. The elderly woman driving the truck thought she collided with a traffic cone.
Whether you are on a road or at a worksite, doing a job against a moving backdrop of traffic or heavy machinery involves risks. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 4,000 workers were killed in the construction trade in 2011. Many of those fatalities resulted from regulatory violations involving the following construction features:
- Design, construction and use scaffolding
- Falls
- Respiratory protection
- Containment or control of hazardous energy
- Electrical wiring
- Communication of hazards onsite
If you are injured on a jobsite in Oklahoma, you may have access to workers’ compensation through your employer or the contractor who hired you. Workers’ compensation entitles you to medical care and compensation when you are partially or totally disabled. You may also be able to file a legal claim against a third party if another entity was wholly or partially at fault for your accident.
Our law firm represents workers throughout Oklahoma who are injured on the job by defective machinery or by an outside party. Workers’ compensation can help you obtain rapid medical support and a percentage of lost wages in exchange for agreeing not to sue for negligence. A third-party personal injury claim pursued in court gives you full access to compensation from a party other than your employer who injured you.
Construction sites are always dangerous and frequently deadly. If you are injured, talk to Stipe Law Firm about your accident. We provide experienced representation with workers’ compensation and third-party injury claims.