Scaffolding Equipment Failure and Your Rights After an Injury
Scaffolding is an essential part of construction work, giving workers easier access to higher levels of the structures they are building or repairing. But whenever you’re working from any height—and especially when you’re relying on equipment to keep you there—there’s always the risk of an accident. When scaffolding equipment fails, it can cause serious or fatal injuries to hard-working construction employees. Southern California construction workers must understand their rights under state law, assert their right to a safe workplace, and pursue compensation when they are injured at work. Pisegna & Zimmerman can help. Our team of Southern California construction accident lawyers makes it easy to start your workplace injury claim by meeting over Zoom and managing documents over DocuSign. You don’t even have to come into our office. Call us at 818-888-8888 to set up a consultation with our team now.
Scaffolding is just one of many sources of workplace injuries in the construction industry. Per the National Safety Council, construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. It consistently sees the highest number of workplace deaths and one of the highest injury rates. Unfortunately, this puts construction workers at risk of being mistreated by their employers. Employers in dangerous industries pay higher workers’ compensation insurance rates, and they have a vested interest in keeping injury reports low—even if that means hiding legitimate injuries.
Common Sources of Equipment Failure
There are numerous ways scaffolding equipment may fail. In most cases, these failures are attributed to human error, negligence, inadequate maintenance, and low-quality materials. One common issue is improper assembly or installation. When components are not appropriately secured or assembled, it’s only a matter of time before they collapse when someone is using them.
Even if scaffolding is correctly put together, it requires consistent maintenance to remain safe. Pre-use inspections should be a daily part of work on a construction site. When an employer fails to perform proper maintenance, either due to a missed inspection or an intentional choice to go ahead with unsafe equipment, their negligence may directly lead to severe or fatal injuries.
In some cases, it doesn’t matter how well scaffolding is put together or maintained. If it is inherently flawed, that comes down to the manufacturer’s failure to create a safe product. It may also be attributed to a contractor who opts to use less expensive and lower-quality materials. Substandard materials, equipment, or quality control checks can all lead to preventable injuries and deaths.
Outcomes Associated With Equipment Failure
A wide range of outcomes may follow scaffolding equipment failure. The best-case scenario is scaffolding collapsing when no one is actively using it or standing around it. It will still likely cause significant property damage, but at least it does not cause any bodily harm or fatal injuries in this scenario. If someone is actively using scaffolding when it fails, they are at tis of severe or fatal injuries. Reported injuries include traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and crush injuries.
These injuries often inhibit an individual’s ability to work, whether that’s a short-term, long-term, or permanent loss. Injured construction workers often suffer significant financial losses related to workplace injuries that they had no role in causing.
Scaffolding accidents can also temporarily halt projects, causing additional financial distress for other construction workers on the same project. The company may be forced to pause the project until the source of the equipment failure can be identified and remedied. In the aftermath of a scaffolding equipment failure resulting in severe injuries, seeking legal representation from a construction accident lawyer in Southern California is essential. These attorneys specialize in handling cases related to construction accidents and can help injured workers pursue the compensation they deserve for their injuries and financial losses.
Liability and Compensation
An injured construction worker is likely owed compensation after a workplace injury, but the source of that compensation depends largely on the details of the accident. If the accident was the fault of their employer or a coworker, they may only be entitled to workers’ compensation. This offers partial income replacement and coverage for medical expenses.
However, if a third party was at fault for the accident, they may be able to pursue a personal injury claim against them. For example, if the equipment failure was caused by a contractor, a negligent manufacturer, or someone else not employed by the victim’s employer, a third-party claim may be the next step.
Explore Your Legal Options With Our Team of Southern California Construction Accident Attorneys at Pisegna & Zimmerman
The team of construction accident attorneys at Pisegna & Zimmerman is committed to helping you fight for the full and fair compensation you deserve after a workplace injury. Let’s talk about your options—our team is ready to meet over Zoom and handle your documents with DocuSign. Just call us at 818-888-8888 or send us a message online to get started.
William Zimmerman is an experienced Los Angeles work injury attorney at Pisegna & Zimmerman. He offers invaluable advice and assistance when dealing with the often complicated workers’ compensation system. As part of Pisgena & Zimmerman, he and his team are a full-service law firm that is dedicated to obtaining the maximum amount of compensation from all available sources.