Contact a Pittsburgh construction accident lawyer at Balzarini & Watson if you’ve been injured on the job due to falling debris at a construction site. A variety of objects and materials may fall and pose a risk to workers and others in the vicinity of a construction site. Careless or improper demolition work can result in debris falling, or even entire structures collapsing, resulting in serious injuries or death to on-site workers or even by-standers. Improper construction techniques can lead to parts or even entire steel, concrete or wooden materials falling and threatening workers below. Construction sites are also often littered with tools, materials, and other debris which may be dropped or become dislodged and fall from great heights, posing serious threats to those below. The attorneys at Balzarini & Watson have many years experience handling cases with involving these types of accidents, and know how to secure the necessary evidence and identify the responsible parties.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to protect their employees from potential hazards at the workplace. There are special regulations just for the construction industry. To protect against falling debris, construction workers should:

• Be provided with adequate hard hats and eye protection to wear at all times on the job
• Set up employer-provided fall-prevention mechanisms such as toeboards and debris nets
• Receive adequate training and supervision to perform their tasks safely
• Thoroughly inspect their tools and their surrounding environment to notice a hazard before it turns into an accident

The attorneys at Balzarini & Watson know how to use the OSHA regulations to establish legal responsibility in accident cases of this type. Our attorneys have successfully handled many cases involving negligent demolition; the collapse of steel, brick, or wooden buildings and structures; and dangerous falling construction site debris.

There is a risk of falling debris accidents anytime a construction site includes overhead work. Most overhead work takes place on scaffolding, cranes and similar devices. While scaffolding accidents are usually associated with workers falling from scaffolding, many scaffolding accidents can also involve objects falling off of scaffolding onto workers below. If at all possible, workers should avoid walking or working directly under scaffolding.

Construction workers who are hit by falling or flying objects most commonly sustain head injuries such as concussions, traumatic brain injury (TBI), hematoma, open head injuries (ex: abrasions), neck and spinal injuries and in the worst-case scenarios, falling debris injuries can lead to total/partial paralysis or death. If you were injured by falling debris at the workplace, you could file a claim to recover financial compensation for your injuries and time taken off of work to recover.

Some construction accident cases are resolved with workers’ compensation claims. If your employer provides workers’ comp insurance, then you can file a claim with your employer’s work comp insurer to receive compensation for medical bills and lost wages. Our firm can assist clients through the workers’ compensation process to ensure that adequate compensation is given. We can also help construction workers file third party liability claims against someone other than the employer.