Helping Injured Construction Workers and Their Families in Gary
Construction workers understand that their jobs come with risks. Working at heights, around heavy equipment, near electrical systems, and alongside multiple contractors and trades requires experience and constant attention to safety. But accepting a difficult job does not mean accepting an unsafe jobsite.
When a construction worker is seriously injured because equipment failed, a contractor created a dangerous condition, fall protection was inadequate, or someone failed to follow basic safety procedures, the consequences can follow that worker and their family for years.
At Allen Law Group, we represent construction workers in Gary and throughout Indiana after serious and catastrophic jobsite accidents. Our attorneys investigate what happened, identify the companies that may share responsibility, and help our clients understand their rights under Indiana law.
When you are injured, your attention should be on your medical care, your recovery, and your family. Our job is to investigate the accident, protect your interests, and pursue the compensation available under the law.
Construction Work Is Part of Northwest Indiana
Gary and the surrounding communities have generations of workers who have earned their living in construction, the trades, the mill, transportation, utilities, and heavy industry. We understand that work.
Allen Law Group's connection to Gary and the trades is personal. Kenneth J. Allen grew up in Gary and worked as a piledriver, millwright, teamster, and railroad trackman before becoming an attorney. He is also a longtime member of the carpenter's union. Several other dedicated attorneys at our firm have worked in the trades or come from families with strong union backgrounds. That experience has helped shape how we represent injured construction workers.
We understand that when you make your living with your hands, your skills, and your physical ability, a serious injury can threaten much more than your next paycheck. It can affect your career, your independence, your ability to provide for your family, and the life you expected to have.
Construction Accidents Can Happen in Seconds
A construction site can change throughout the day. Different contractors arrive and leave. Equipment moves through active work areas. Materials are delivered. Scaffolding is erected or altered. Electrical systems may be energized. Excavation work creates new hazards. One crew's work can create a danger for another trade.
That is why construction safety cannot depend on a worker simply being careful.
General contractors, subcontractors, property owners, equipment companies, suppliers, and others involved with a project may have responsibilities for maintaining safe conditions and following safety rules and regulations. Our construction accident attorneys handle cases involving serious jobsite accidents such as:
- Falls from ladders, scaffolds, roofs, lifts, and elevated work areas
- Workers struck by falling tools, materials, or equipment
- Crane and rigging accidents
- Forklift, excavator, skid steer, and heavy-equipment accidents
- Caught-between and crushing accidents
- Trench and excavation collapses
- Scaffolding failures
- Defective or improperly maintained equipment
- Electrical contact and electrocution
- Fires and explosions
- Unsafe temporary structures or supports
- Inadequate fall protection
- Collisions involving construction vehicles or equipment
- Dangerous conditions created by another contractor or subcontractor
Some construction accidents result from one clear safety failure. Others involve several contractors, companies, or unsafe conditions. Determining how the accident occurred and who may be responsible is an important part of building a construction injury claim.
A Construction Injury May Involve More Than Worker's Compensation
An injured employee may be entitled to worker's compensation benefits through their employer if they are injured within the course and scope of their employment. On a construction project, however, the employer is often only one of many companies involved. There may be a general contractor, several subcontractors, a property owner, equipment rental company, engineering company, material supplier, equipment manufacturer, trucking company, or another business working on or supporting the project.
When the negligence of another company or person contributes to an accident, the injured worker may also have a third-party injury claim. That distinction can be extremely important. A third-party personal injury claim may allow an injured worker to seek damages that are different from those available through worker's compensation, including compensation for physical pain, the long-term effects of the injury, and other losses caused by the accident.
Our attorneys investigate the entire jobsite instead of assuming an accident at work is simply a worker's compensation matter.
Determining What Went Wrong on the Jobsite
Construction accident investigations often extend well beyond the immediate cause of the injury.
Our attorneys look at how the work was being performed, which companies controlled the area, who supplied or maintained the equipment, what safety procedures were in place, and whether contractors followed the rules intended to protect workers.
We may also examine inspection records, training materials, maintenance records, site photographs, contracts between companies, witness statements, safety reports, and other evidence that can help establish liability. Allen Law Group can investigate the accident, obtain available records and incident reports, speak with witnesses, examine safety procedures, preserve evidence, and work with engineers and other professionals when technical issues are involved.
Evidence can also change quickly on an active construction project. Equipment may be moved, scaffolding dismantled, damaged materials removed, and crews reassigned to other jobs. Contacting an attorney early can help preserve evidence that may become important in a serious jobsite accident claim.
Falls on Construction Sites
A fall does not have to be from a great height to cause a devastating injury. Construction workers may fall from scaffolding, roofs, ladders, lifts, temporary platforms, structural steel, open floors, or unfinished stairways. Workers can also fall through openings that should have been properly covered or protected.
A serious work-related fall may result in spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, internal injuries, nerve damage, or permanent physical limitations.
When investigating a construction fall, our attorneys examine the conditions that allowed the accident to occur, including fall protection, guardrails, scaffolding, ladders, work platforms, safety equipment, and the actions of other contractors on the site.
Heavy Equipment and Machinery Accidents
Construction workers routinely work around equipment powerful enough to cause catastrophic injuries in a matter of seconds. Cranes, forklifts, loaders, excavators, skid steers, lifts, hoists, saws, conveyors, and other machinery must be properly maintained, operated, serviced, and used within a safe work environment.
When a worker is crushed, struck, pinned, or pulled into equipment, our attorneys may investigate the equipment operator, contractor, equipment owner, maintenance company, manufacturer, and other companies involved.
Electrical Accidents and Electrocution
Electricity presents a serious hazard on construction projects because workers from different trades may be working near temporary electrical systems, overhead or underground power lines, energized equipment, or wiring installed by another contractor. Electrical injuries can cause severe burns, neurological injuries, cardiac complications, brain injuries, permanent disabilities, and death.
Our electrocution injury attorneys investigate whether unsafe conditions, inadequate warnings, improper procedures, defective equipment, or the actions of another party contributed to the accident.
We Represent Union and Non-Union Construction Workers in Gary, Indiana
Allen Law Group represents construction workers regardless of whether they belong to a union. Our connection to the trades, however, gives our firm a particular appreciation for the men and women working in demanding and dangerous jobsites. We represent Indiana union workers, including laborers, iron workers, steel workers, operating engineers, electricians, carpenters, millwrights, piledrivers, and other trades.
We know that for many workers, construction is not simply a job. It is a career built over decades of training, apprenticeship, physical work, and experience. When an injury threatens that career, we take the time to understand what has actually been lost.
Serious Injuries Can Change More Than Your Ability to Work
After a severe construction accident, medical bills and lost wages may be the first financial concerns a family sees. The long-term consequences can be much greater. A worker may need surgery, rehabilitation, additional treatment, assistive equipment, modifications to their home, or ongoing medical care. Some injuries prevent a construction worker from returning to the same trade or earning the income they did before the accident.
A serious injury can also affect ordinary parts of life that have nothing to do with work, including caring for children, maintaining a home, driving, sleeping comfortably, participating in hobbies, or living without constant pain. When evaluating a construction injury claim, we look at how the injury has affected the whole person, not simply what appears on a medical bill.
Depending on the circumstances, a claim may involve losses related to medical treatment, future medical needs, lost income, reduced earning capacity, permanent disability, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and the effect the injury has on everyday life.
Protecting Your Rights After a Construction Accident
After a construction accident, getting appropriate medical treatment should be the first priority. The accident should also be reported, and any available information about the conditions at the site should be preserved when possible.
Photographs of the work area, equipment, scaffolding, ladders, machinery, or other conditions can become important evidence. The names of coworkers and other witnesses may also help establish what occurred.
Workers should also understand that several insurance companies may become involved after a serious construction accident. An insurance representative may be protecting the interests of an employer, contractor, property owner, equipment company, or another business involved in the project. Before assuming worker's compensation is the only available remedy, an injured construction worker should understand whether another company may also be legally responsible for the accident.
A Law Firm With Deep Roots in Gary
Kenneth J. Allen grew up here. He worked in the mills and trades before practicing law, and those experiences helped shape the type of firm Allen Law Group became. Today, our attorneys continue representing injured workers and families throughout Gary, Lake County, and Indiana.
If your injury occurred outside a traditional construction project or involved industrial work, you can also learn more about our Gary work injury attorneys and Gary steel mill accident attorneys.
Contact a Construction Accident Lawyer in Gary, IN
A serious construction injury can affect your health, your income, your career, and your family's financial security. You should not be expected to determine on your own which companies were responsible or which insurance policies may apply.
Allen Law Group can review what happened, investigate the companies involved, explain your legal options, and pursue compensation from those responsible for your injuries.
Contact Allen Law Group to speak with a construction accident lawyer serving Gary, Indiana. Your consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fees until we recover compensation for you.
