New Jersey Construction Accident Lawyers
There were 751 construction site fatalities in the U.S. in 2010 according the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. These included fatalities occurring during the construction of buildings, heavy and civil engineering construction, and speciality trade contractors.
Cases involving sprains, strains, tears:
370,130 in 2010
Cases involving injuries to the back:
185,270 in 2010
Cases involving falls:
208,470 in 2010
The attorneys at Raff & Raff understand construction sites and the injuries that can happen on the sites. Injuries and deaths from:
- scaffolding accidents / collapses
- roof accidents / collapses
- crane accidents
- floor opening falls
- installation falls
Different types of defendants could be liable for injuries suffered in construction accidents. A landowner has a non-delegable duty to provide a “reasonably safe place” for business invitees to perform their work. Piro v. Pub. Serv. Elec. & Gas Co., 103 N.J. Super. 456, (App. Div.), aff’d o.b., 53 N.J. 7 (1968). The landowner “has a duty to eliminate or warn of potential operational hazards which are not or may not be obvious and visible to the invitee upon ordinary observation.” Izzo v. Linpro Co., 278 N.J. Super. 550, 553 (App. Div. 1995). However, when a landowner hires an independent contractor, “the general principle is that the landowner is under no duty to protect an employee of [the] independent contractor from the very hazard created by the doing of the contract work.” Gibilterra v. Rosemawr Homes, Inc., 19 N.J. 166, 170 (1955). “An independent contractor is a person ‘who, in carrying on an independent business, contracts to do a piece of work according to his own methods without being subject to the control of the employer as to the means by which the result is to be accomplished. . .” Bahrle v. Exxon Corp., 145 N.J. 144, 157 (1996) (quoting Wilson v. Kelleher Motor Freight Lines, Inc., 12 N.J. 261, 264 (1953)). See also AT&T v. Winback and Conserve Program, Inc., 42 F.3d 1421, 1435 (3d Cir.1994) (“If, however, the agent . . . is only subject to the general control and direction by the principal, the agent is termed an independent contractor.”), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1103, 115 S.Ct. 1838, 131 L.Ed. 2d 757 (1995).
Construction Accident Lawyer Approach (Why Us?)
There are certain issues of practicality that can seriously effect the value of your case. We work to find all available insurance policies and help our clients with their cases from start to finish. We understand the law and know which types of defendants may be liable for your injuries and which parties are free of liability. We use our decades of experience to gather as much evidence as is practicable in order to prove our case to the jury so that the injured people who we represent can receive proper compensation for their injuries. And we use experts and technology to present your case to the judge and jury.
New Jersey Construction Injury Attorney Free Consultation
If you have been injured in a construction accident and would like to know whether you have a case for personal injuries due to negligence, what kind of value your case may have, and what you can expect, you should contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION with one of our attorneys. We have been protecting the rights of people injured in construction accidents since 1922, and we are very experienced with construction injury cases, especially in Passaic County, Bergen County, Essex County, Union County, and Hudson County, where our attorneys regularly appear in court and regularly interact with the lawyers for the insurance companies.
Remember, the insurance companies have teams of skilled attorneys who are aggressively representing their interests, and you should too.
Raff & Raff, LLP
Attorneys at Law
30 Church Street
Paterson, NJ 07505
Tel: (973) 742-1917
Fax: (973) 742-2454