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Request A Call HereThis article is brought to you by the slip and fall construction injury attorneys at Banville Law.
The process of building a house from the ground up is a fascinating one, not to mention exciting. The laying of the foundation, installation of all the electrical wires, and of course, the pipes for indoor plumbing. But there is a dark side to building a home because construction work is extremely dangerous and if one party doesn’t install their portion with the correct safety standards in place, other workers get hurt.
One afternoon, a plumber who had been hired to install the plumbing system in a new home, was in the process of going into the basement, when the stairs which had been recently installed 
completely collapsed. He fell all the way to the floor of the basement and sustained injuries to his elbow, knee, neck, and wrist.
In the eight weeks following the fall, he underwent intense physical therapy and then required a surgical release of the median and ulnar nerves in the left arm. But his treatments didn’t stop there. Over the next several years, he required a total knee replacement and a discectomy.
His injuries have ended his career since he cannot resume manual labor.
In order to recover his medical expenses and lost earnings, both past and those expected in the future, he pursued a lawsuit against the general contractor at the house and the property owner, alleging that the prefabricated staircase which had collapsed wasn’t properly secured which is why his accident happened.
Prior to going to trial, the three parties were able to come to an agreement and the plaintiff obtained a settlement of $1,500,500.
Settlement agreements are not an uncommon way for a plaintiff to obtain the monetary compensation they need - in fact, most lawsuits conclude with a settlement. There are benefits to this - the plaintiff knows exactly how much they are getting and in most cases, that sum arrives within a month. However, this shouldn’t dissuade anyone from going to trial.
There is no hard and fast rule for how long a lawsuit may take to conclude but even the fastest suits take months to conclude and sometimes it may take more than a year. While this may seem like far too long, the reality is that it may be the only way for the plaintiff to obtain any sort of compensation.
Yes, it is possible that he could have claimed workers’ compensation, however, that doesn’t mean that his claim would have been approved or that all of his losses would have been covered. Even though workers’ compensation is supposed to be “no-fault” covering all injured workers regardless of who was at fault, a large majority of claims are denied. Even if a claim is approved, only medical expenses and a small portion of lost wages will be covered.
To make matters worse, even those claims that are paid are frequently miscalculated, leaving victims with payments that are smaller than they should be.
Our team is dedicated to fighting for the rights of those who need help the most. We understand how stressful and confusing this time is. Our goal is to ensure that every client that steps through our doors fully understands each of their legal options, the statute of limitations for their case, and how we can help.
Together, we will investigate the cause of the accident, review all records, collect evidence, and fight for your rights. What’s more, we understand that not only are you suffering physically but likely financially as well. That’s why we work on a contingency fee basis, which means we don’t get paid until you win and then our fees are taken directly out of any compensation that is obtained, and our fees are always discussed upfront so there are no surprises.
Check out our next article: Man Awarded Record Amount After Construction Accident.
