Whether it happens due to a machinery malfunction, an impact from a falling object, or from you yourself falling off of a high surface, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during construction work has the potential to be a life-changing and potentially career-ending problem. Even comparatively “mild” TBIs can interfere with your personal and professional life for weeks or months at a time, More severe trauma can lead to permanent and debilitating losses of sensory, motor, and cognitive function.
While money alone cannot always erase every negative effect of an injury of this nature, seeking fair financial restitution with help from our diligent construction accident attorneys could still be key to protecting your best interests. From start to finish of the recovery process, a Las Vegas construction site brain injury lawyer from Shook & Stone could work tenaciously to enforce your rights and get you paid comprehensively through every source of recovery available to you: workers’ comp, civil litigation, and even Social Security.
Most people understandably think of things like broken bones and ligament tears when they think of injuries that workers’ compensation is meant to help with. However, a typical workers’ comp plan covers all work-related injuries and illnesses—not just the ones which will heal completely with time and proper treatment. Any TBI which requires professional medical attention and leaves you unable to work for a few days or more could serve as grounds for a workers’ comp claim. And filing one could allow you to receive full reimbursement for your medical expenses, as well as a significant portion of your lost short-term wages.
In addition, workers’ comp can provide you with long-term “permanent disability” benefits in the event your TBI has irreversible consequences which will prevent you from returning to your old job. Furthermore, a Las Vegas construction site brain injury attorney can help surviving family members of a worker who suffered fatal brain trauma seek certain types of “death benefits” through their loved one’s workers’ comp coverage.
Unfortunately, even long-term workers’ comp benefits cannot account for all of the financial, physical, and psychological losses that a serious construction site TBI may cause. To recover for things like physical pain, emotional anguish, and various expenses related to managing life with a permanent disability, it may be necessary to step outside the “fault-free” workers’ comp system and file civil suit against someone involved in the incident.
More specifically, you would need to establish that the defendant(s) you are suing directly caused or contributed to causing your accident by doing something reckless or careless. For example, not performing job duties correctly as a contract worker, or providing faulty equipment or machinery as a third-party supplier. Support from a construction site brain injury lawyer in Las Vegas can be especially important to achieving success with this type of claim.
Wearing a hard hat and following other safety regulations on construction sites can do a lot to reduce your chances of suffering life-altering brain trauma on the job. Unfortunately, there is no way to eliminate this risk entirely, particularly if you work around people who act irresponsibly or work with tools which were not maintained or made properly.
If this kind of risk has led to you sustaining a TBI during construction work, you have help available from a Las Vegas construction site brain injury lawyer. Call Shook & Stone today to schedule a free case review.