What damages are recoverable in construction accident lawsuits?
Construction Accident - August 11, 2022
Suffering an injury that leaves you unable to work in the capacity as before can be devastating. It could leave you with bills that you don’t know how to pay.
Thankfully, our Chicago construction accident lawyers are experts at recovering maximum compensation for clients. Keep reading to learn the types of damages that you may be entitled to, then call us at (800) 985-1819 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Types of Damages in Construction Injury Cases
In some cases, you might be able to recover more than one of the following types of damages. Speak to a construction injury lawyer and find out which of them is the most relevant to your situation.
Economic Damages
Economic damages have a specific dollar amount applied to them. They calculated and substantiated from direct sources, such as lost wages and hospital bills.
They are usually the easiest losses to recover because they can be verified.
Here are some examples of the kinds of economic damages that workers in Illinois can seek:
- Ambulance bills
- ER visits
- Physical therapy
- Prescriptions and medical devices
- Medication
- Long-term care
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Lost future income.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify. They are also known as general damages and seek to reimburse the victim for the way the accident changed or impacted their quality of life.
These damages can also be described as compensation for reduced quality of life and may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement/scarring
- Compensation for loss of a limb
- Inability to continue working
- Inability to take care of yourself.
- Inability to provide childcare
Wrongful Death Damages
There are laws in place to protect families as well. If a spouse or child lost their loved one due to the negligent actions of their employer or coworkers, they might be able to sue for wrongful death.
No amount of money can replace a life. However, these funds can help to ease the burden of living without the income that the family used to depend on before their family member passed away.
If a spouse suffers any of the following things after their partner passed away, they might be able to sue for:
- Loss of future income
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of support.
Worker’s Compensation
Technically, workers’ compensation is not a type of damages, but it’s still important to discuss here in the interest of protecting your legal rights.
Construction workers should speak to a lawyer before choosing to accept worker’s compensation. Most of the time, if a worker accepts a worker’s compensation payment, they have to sign a contract that states they agree not to sue the company.
Worker’s compensation can be applied to many things – hospital bills, lost wages, and physical therapy or medication, but you cannot recover for things like pain and suffering and mental anguish.
Workers Compensation is a statutory remedy provided by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act which specifically compensates for lost wages and medical benefits if an injury occurs while a worker is on the job. The right to workers compensation may be forfeited if the employee is intoxicated or acting intentionally reckless.
Some common injuries that may be covered by workers compensation include:
- Neck injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Back injuries
- Injuries resulting from toxic chemical inhalation
- Concussions
- Burns
- Puncture wounds
Speak to an Attorney
Suffering from an injury on a construction site can be painful and bring a lot of unforeseen expenses to you and your family. Thankfully, you can often recover damages from construction injury.
To recover everything that you deserve, you should speak to an experienced Chicago construction accident attorney from Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates. We’ll look closely at your case and offer you advice about the most successful route you should take.
Call (800) 985-1819 now.
