Workplace Injuries: How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help
Photo: Esther Max / Flickr
Accidents can occur in any workplace. Industrial plants and refineries, for example, can be especially dangerous places to work. Explosions can happen, leading to physical injuries as well as invisible injuries like loss of senses and traumatic brain injuries.
While there are safety measures put in place in most workplaces, and enough safety marketing campaigns that can convince a casual observer to stay safe, nowhere is completely safe. And some companies actually don’t operate safely.
Since nowhere is completely safe, in the event of a workplace accident, it's always best to have a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury lawyer on hand. They will provide you with legal services in case you want to make a claim for being injured (physically or psychologically) due to an accident or negligence in the workplace.
Role of Personal Injury Lawyers in Workplace Accidents
When a business owner or company managers choose to forego the right workplace safety measures, equipment, and or upgrades just to save money, these actions can put workers and even neighboring communities in danger of accidents and injuries.
Similarly, when managers and business owners allow safety inspectors to take shortcuts during inspections or to sleep on the job, these can endanger the people who depend on such oversight.
Fires, falls, and other accidents are often the unfortunate results of workplace negligence and working in unsafe, high-risk environments. Whatever the cause of an accident, hiring a personal injury lawyer when workplace accidents occur is advisable.
An experienced personal injury lawyer will endeavour to find out the cause that led to the accident for purposes of making compensation claims on your behalf. Personal injury lawyers, working together with other experts contracted by them or their law firm, will explore the human factors, materials, and many other things that contributed to the accident to prove liability.
A personal injury lawyer pursues proof to demonstrate that parties at fault failed to put workers’ safety first, so the company should pay for injuries caused. This can include scouring documents that are destroyed or altered to get to the bottom of the matter.
Fight for Fair Compensation in Injury Cases on Your Behalf
While an accident can happen anywhere and you can be harmed while doing your work, some workplace environments are more prone to accidents such as factories, electrical plants, mines, chemical plants, and more. The specific circumstances and facts surrounding an accident, and the type of the injuries usually determine the potential compensation in a personal injury claim.
For example, in an industrial workplace explosion accident, your attorney will consider the extent of the damage caused by the accident and fight to get fair compensation for you. The compensation may include payments for medical bills and expenses, pain and suffering, physical disability, emotional distress and mental anguish, lost wages, and physical disfigurement.
The good news is that most personal injury attorneys are able to win full compensation for you where the employer is liable for any type of accident or injury in the workplace.
After an accident, you can experience injuries that need medical care as well as treatment over a long period of time. This can include physical therapy and the pain you may suffer indefinitely. You may also fail to get back to work soon leading to more harm. All these are types of future losses you can expect to face, and for which your lawyer can help you win full compensation for.
Moreover, when it comes to some accident cases, your lawyer can seek exemplary or punitive damages. Exemplary or punitive damages represent extra financial compensation that can be awarded in a lawsuit. This extra money can be awarded if there is a determination that the actions of the party at fault (defendant) was grossly reckless, negligent, or intentional leading to personal injury. Punitive damages are thus designed to punish defendants for outrageous conduct and intended to set an example to deter others from committing similar acts.
In Conclusion
When an accident occurs in the workplace, working with a lawyer is a prudent decision. Most established companies, including insurance firms, are moneyed businesses that will often try to settle a claim for less than it is worth. But, with an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side, they can help you get faster and fair compensation.
Personal injury lawyers are adept at negotiating on behalf of their clients and will help you navigate the legal process of making successful claims. They can help you make much better decisions and win fair compensation for your injuries.
