Getting hurt in a construction accident can be life-altering, leaving the injured worker with disabling injuries that require extensive medical care and limit the worker’s ability to return to the job in any capacity.
Indeed, life after a construction accident can be extremely difficult, and it is important to think about how to get the immediate help you need with medical care and financial losses, how to recover in the longer term, and ways of holding your employer accountable for any negligence on the construction site that resulted in your injuries.
Our experienced Rochester construction accident attorneys can speak with you today about your case. In the meantime, we want to provide you with more information about how to cope with life following a construction accident.
Seek Medical Attention
First, you should seek medical attention as soon as you can. The sooner you can get treatment for your injuries, the better you will be able to cope with life and recover from your injuries after the workplace accident. Under the New York workers’ compensation law, if you sustain an emergency injury, you can seek immediate medical attention from any healthcare provider for your emergency care.
To be sure, for immediate and emergency care, you will not need to select an authorized physician. Once you have obtained emergency treatment as necessary, you will be able to select the doctor you will continue to see from a list of authorized healthcare providers. The New York Workers’ Compensation Board provides a list of authorized providers who can treat you for construction accident injuries.
File for Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Speaking of healthcare providers authorized by the New York workers’ compensation system, the next step for coping as best you can with life following a construction accident is to file a workers’ compensation claim so that you can obtain wage loss benefits and disability payments if appropriate.
When you file for workers’ compensation benefits after a construction accident, you will need to ensure that you follow the timeline and other requirements. New York law requires injured construction workers and other injured employees to report the accident to their employer within 30 days of the injury, and then a workers’ compensation case must be filed within two years from the date of the injury.
You will be able to cope much better with your injuries and life after a serious construction accident if your medical expenses are covered by the workers’ compensation system and you are receiving benefits for wage losses and for partial or total disabilities.
Take Time to Recover
It is extremely important to take the time you need to recover from your construction accident injury. Coping with your injury means getting the medical care you need to treat your injuries, and it might also mean speaking with a therapist or a mental health provider to deal with the post-traumatic stress disorder or other psychological trauma you are experiencing as a result of the accident and resulting injury.
Seek Rehabilitative Therapy
Coping with the aftermath of a construction accident often requires rehabilitative therapy. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, rehabilitative therapy can allow you to recover some of the physical skills and strength you lost as a result of the construction accident. Ultimately, with rehabilitative therapy, injured construction workers may be able to return to work in some capacity, even if it is in a different role.
Consider Filing a Lawsuit to Recover All Losses
Although Worker’s compensation benefits are paid no matter how an injury occurred or if anyone is at fault, the benefits are limited and are not intended to cover all losses sustained by an injured worker. However, New York Labor Law sections 240 and 241 make those persons who own the construction site and all contractors who control the work absolutely liable to a worker injured due to unsafe work conditions.
These laws make all owners and their contractors responsible for unsafe conditions resulting in an accident even if they have hired others, including the worker’s employer, to perform the work in a safe manner. The lawyers at Powers & Santola, LLP have had extensive experience in this field of law and its Senior Partner, Dan Santola, has authored the highly acclaimed textbook on this subject regarding construction accidents in New York.
Contact a Syracuse Construction Accident Attorney
If you were injured in a construction accident, it is important to get the medical attention you need and to seek advice from an experienced Upstate New York construction accident attorney who can help you to seek financial compensation for your losses. To cope with life following a construction accident, it is important to do everything you can to recover physically and mentally, and to take steps to get back on your feet financially after your injury prevents you from working.
Our firm can help you with your case. Contact Powers & Santola, LLP today for more information about the services we provide to injured construction workers in Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and throughout Upstate New York.
