Given the number of flammable and combustible materials put into use at construction and industrial worksites, accidental fires and explosions cause severe injuries to hundreds of workers in these industries each year. To make matters worse, determining fault for an incident like this can be exceptionally difficult, which can be crucial for anyone injured and seeking fair financial compensation.
After being injured in a fire or explosion, having help from a DuBois personal injury attorney who has handled similar claims before could be essential to obtaining a positive outcome. A knowledgeable DuBois fire and explosions accident lawyer could provide the guidance and legal skills you need to effectively protect your rights and preserve your future interests.
Although they can occur very suddenly and without advance warning for personnel on site, explosive accidents in industrial workplaces do have a cause. Various failures at numerous levels could cause or contribute to a worksite fire or explosion, including:
Depending on the specific cause of an incident, different parties may bear or share liability for the consequences of a worksite fire or explosion. If an individual employee acted in a negligent way, his or her employer might bear vicarious liability for the worker’s misconduct. Additionally, the company which owns or operates the site could also be responsible.
Sometimes, third parties who were not present when a fire or explosion occurred could bear liability for indirectly causing it to happen. For instance, a supplier may have carelessly damaged a storage container during transit, or a machine component manufacturer may have provided a faulty part that increased the risk of an accident. A DuBois attorney could take the lead in collecting and examining evidence after a fire or explosion and combining that evidence into a comprehensive claim for financial restitution.
With rare exceptions for workers in certain industries who are covered by federal laws like the Federal Employers Liability Act, people who get hurt on the job in fires or explosions should have access to workers’ compensation benefits maintained by their employer. In the workers’ compensation arena, there is no need for a claimant to prove anyone specifically at fault for his or her injuries. However the recovery in a workers’ compensation claim is generally limited to medical expenses, plus two-thirds of missed income during recovery, and sometimes benefits for long-term disability.
Conversely, filing suit against a third party whose negligence led to an incident like this may allow recovery for every economic and non-economic form of harm that incident caused, including future damages like lost earning capacity and lost quality of life. In some situations, someone injured in a fire or explosion accident in DuBois may pursue both types of claims simultaneously – such as a workers’ compensation claim against his own employer, and a third party lawsuit against at-fault companies involved with the project. A seasoned lawyer could further explain these processes.
Catastrophic workplace accidents can have a crippling effect on affected workers and their extended family members. This is especially true when reckless or careless conduct on a job site leads to a fire or explosion since incidents of this size often lead to multiple people being injured all at once.
You have a right to demand fair restitution for harm you sustained while working due to someone else’s misconduct. Contact a DuBois fire and explosions accident lawyer at Marcus & Mack today to learn more.
