Construction defects can cause severe injuries like electrocution, broken bones, skull fractures, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injuries. As a result, they could leave a construction worker or non-worker permanently disabled. An injured victim will have to cope with lost wages, costly medical bills, rehabilitation, and severe pain. He or she can file a personal injury lawsuit to seek compensation for these damages.
Liability for Construction Defects
Liability for injuries resulting from construction defects can usually be assigned to the architect, engineer, or contractor and subcontractors.
Generally, architects and engineers are held liable for design defects, while a contractor or subcontractor is typically liable for defects arising from failure to follow the design specifications.
Contracts are the key to cases involving construction defects and liability. Property owners usually draft construction contracts that require general contractors to be legally accountable for defects. On the other hand, contractors draft contracts that require each subcontractor to take responsibility for defects. Therefore, subcontractors usually carry insurance policies to protect them from liability for construction defects.
In most personal injury cases involving construction defects, insurance companies pay for damages when injured victims prevail. Because of the overlapping responsibilities of the different parties behind a construction, it can be challenging to prove negligence in construction-related accidents. Personal injury attorneys scrutinize the construction contracts of building projects to identify the party or parties that should be held liable for injuries.
Negligent Construction Lawsuits
Construction is an inherently dangerous industry. Thousands of construction workers sustain injuries while on the job every year. The occupants and visitors of a building, as well as pedestrians passing by a construction site, can also suffer injuries caused by construction defects.
What an Injury Victim Must Prove
When someone is seriously injured due to a construction defect, he or she can sue the liable party for negligent construction. To win the case, the victim will have to prove the quality of work that the liable party should have provided, how the work that was done did not meet the acceptable standards or indicated negligence, and the sustained injuries were a direct result of the substandard work.
Proving these elements usually needs expert testimony. Additionally, the defendants can only be liable for injuries that could have been reasonably foreseen. For those reasons, the insight and guidance of a qualified attorney might be essential.
Remedies for Injuries
Serious injuries from construction defects can lead to permanent disability and enormous medical bills. The damages that can be available to victims include:
- Cost of past and future medical treatment
- Lost wages (because of missing work as a result of the injuries)
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of normal life (this is the difference between a victim’s quality of life before the injury and after the injury in monetary form)
Despite the dozens of construction regulations and industry standards, construction-related accidents still occur frequently. People who have been injured in such accidents because of someone else’s negligence have a right to pursue compensation. Those who are unable to perform their past work may qualify for total disability benefits.
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