Minneapolis Workers’ Compensation for Construction Workers Lawyer

The Schmidt-Salita Law Team has 75 Years of combined experience in thousands of successful cases, representing the victims of Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation, and Wrongful Death. This experience includes bringing justice to injured workers who have been injured in construction site accidents.

Injuries caused by contact with construction equipment, including overhead cranes and lifting devices, is a major cause of injury.

Recent data shows that every year there are more than 70 crane-related fatal construction site injuries (deaths).  The majority of these injuries occurred as a result of a worker being struck by a falling object or the object being transported by the Crane falling from the Crane onto the worker. These injuries include those involving overhead gantry cranes, overhead traveling cranes, harbor cranes, wheel-mounted mobile cranes, truck-mounted cranes, and crawler-mounted cranes.

The following are examples of cases that have been successfully handled by the Schmidt -Salita Law Team:

• Case Example: A wrongful death claim in which a young crane operator was killed when two cranes operating on the same construction site came into contact with each other.  The Schmidt-Salita Law Team successfully proved negligence in the failure of the general contractor to provide a plan for the safe operation of the cranes.
• Case Example: This case involved serious injuries when a large metal tube was knocked over by the crane, sending it rolling down the hill. The Schmidt-Salita Law Team successfully settled this case, proving that the incident was the result of the negligence of the Crane operator.
• Case Example: A wrongful death claim in which a construction worker was crushed to death when a large crate containing window glass was tipped during the unloading process.  A successful settlement was obtained against the manufacturer of the glass for its negligence in improperly loading the truck so that the worker was needlessly exposed to danger in the unloading process.
• Case Example: A wrongful death of a young construction worker who was crushed to death due to the defective design of a tractor-mounted backhoe.  The Schmidt-Salita Law Team proved that the design of the backhoe was defective and gained a favorable settlement against the manufacturer.

CONSTRUCTION SITE ACCIDENTS DUE TO FALLS

Injuries due to falling are the leading cause of construction site injuries according to OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration).  One in ten construction workers is injured every year with injuries due to falling hazards being the leading cause of injury and construction sites.

Common construction site falls, including roof-related falls, crane falls, scaffolding falls, elevator shaft falls, falls resulting from unprotected holes in flooring, and falling objects. Many of these injuries and deaths resulting from falls certainly could have been prevented by the use of proper protective equipment and safety precautions such as a railing and, barricades and other protective devices.

Case Example:  This case involved the death of a young construction worker who plunged more than 100 feet to his death when the steel wire rope (cable) that was being used to lift him to the top of a building broke due to prior contact with an improperly insulated electrical wire that had been placed on the side of the building to provide temporary electrical service to the work site at the top of the building.

INJURIES DUE TO ROAD CONSTRUCTION SITE ACCIDENTS

• Case Example: The Schmidt-Salita Law Team has successfully represented the victims of wrongful death due to the rollover of roller compactor machines in several cases.
• Case Example: The Schmidt-Salita Law Team has successfully represented the operator of a large backhoe that rolled over as the result of the defective braking system on the machine. The operator suffered the amputation of his hand in this accident.
• Case Example: The Schmidt-Salita Law Team successfully obtained a favorable settlement for a young construction worker who was crushed to death in a backhoe-relating incident.

ELECTRICAL ACCIDENTS ON CONSTRUCTION SITES

Electrical accidents are also a major cause of injury and death for construction workers. One study indicated that over 300 construction workers die each year from electric shock, electrocutions, and powerline contacts.

One of the major successes of Doug Schmidt, partner at the Schmidt-Salita Law Team, involved a case of the death of a young construction worker who fell to his death when he was being hoisted to the top of a grain elevator in a man-lift.  The steel wire rope (cable) that was lifting him separated because it had previously contacted an electrical line which had been installed to service the equipment at the top of the grain elevator. That electrical contact weakened the cable so that it separated and broke sending the construction worker plunging over hundred feet to his death.

CONSTRUCTION SITE ACCIDENTS-BUILDING CODE VIOLATIONS

Construction workers can be injured as a result of a defective condition in a building which constitutes a violation of the Uniform Building Code (UBC).  Many of these cases involve an injury due to falling. Statistics show that the most common injury to construction workers is that of an injury due to falling-and many of these injuries are the result of a building code violation.

It is fundamental Minnesota law that the violation of the building code constitutes negligence. The owner of property is legally responsible for injuries caused when the injuries on of the specific type that the code was designed to protect and prevent.

Building code violations can be used as evidence of negligence in other types of cases than construction site accidents. Any person who is injured as the result of a dangerous condition in any building which amounts to the building code violation as a possible claim against the owner of that building or anyone involved in the construction of the building, which resulted in that building code violation.

The Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation, and Wrongful Death lawyers at the Schmidt-Salita Law Team have 75 years of combined experience in bringing justice to the victims of Personal Injury of all types, including the construction accidents listed above. If you have been injured in this type of accident, please contact our experienced lawyers at the Schmidt-Salita Law Team help you to achieve justice.