Indiana Crushing Accident Lawyers
Construction is one of the most dangerous professions in the private employment sector. There were 24 construction workers killed in Indiana in 2022 alone, representing 15 percent of on-the-job fatalities in the state.
Though each construction accident is unique, research by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified the “Focus Four Hazards” associated with nearly 60 percent of all construction site deaths. Included in this list are “Caught-In or Between” incidents, otherwise known as crushing accidents, in which someone is compressed or crushed after being wedged between two or more objects. Crushing accidents are linked to 5.5 percent of total construction casualties, but even the survivors of these events could be left to cope with devastating injuries.
While you may be eligible to pursue a personal injury case if you have been hurt in a crushing accident, full recovery can be challenging, especially when you are dealing with a stubborn insurance company looking to minimize its financial exposure. To tip the odds in your favor, turn to the Indiana construction accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who have been fighting for the everyday people of Indiana for more than 25 years.
You can call or text us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form for a free consultation with a dedicated Indiana crushing accident lawyer at your earliest convenience.
How Does a Crushing Accident Occur?
A crushing accident generally occurs when a large object presses someone against another object or surface. The combined pressure from these opposing forces can effectively crush the human body.
Because construction sites are so hectic, with dozens of workers and machines in constant motion, the likelihood of crush injuries in these settings is substantial. Construction-related crushing accidents may be caused by:
- Falling objects – Construction work is frequently conducted far above ground, whether on temporary structures like scaffolds and platforms or on the floors and roofs of the buildings being erected. When tools and materials are dropped from these heights, anyone below is at risk of being crushed by these falling objects.-
- Machinery errors – Contemporary construction relies heavily upon machines, but the benefits they provide come with a significant drawback when their moving parts strike workers on site. Pistons, cranes, and other machine components can generate enough momentum to deliver crushing blows upon impact, so they must be operated and approached with the utmost care.
- Construction vehicle collisions – Much of the work on building sites is done with construction vehicles. At weights of tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds, even a low-speed collision with something so massive can pulverize an unshielded worker.
- Cave-ins – If excavations and trenches are not dug out and reinforced properly, they could cave in, burying workers under an avalanche of soil and debris.
- Structural collapses – When a temporary edifice like a scaffold or platform or even the primary building under construction is not structurally sound, it could collapse and crush whoever is inside or beneath it.
Our Indiana crushing accident attorneys can analyze the facts leading up to your injury and determine the next steps to take if you are contemplating a case for compensation.
Crushing Accidents Can Inflict Debilitating Injuries
That compensation could be essential because crushing accidents can inflict debilitating injuries, such as:
· Brain and spinal cord damage
· Crushed bones
· Amputation of limbs and extremities
· Rupture and laceration of tissues, muscles, and organs
· Paralysis
· Coma
Aside from the immediate effects of a crushing accident, dire complications can emerge such as crush syndrome, with prolonged limb compression releasing toxins into the bloodstream and hastening organ failure, and compartment syndrome, where muscular compression cuts off blood flow and kills muscle cells.
Crushing accidents routinely necessitate extensive medical interventions that could themselves make a patient susceptible to further infections and complications, thereby necessitating still more medical interventions.
This vicious cycle could go on for months or even years on end, all while the bills keep adding up until the price tag is so huge that few Indiana families could cover it on their own – but they won’t be on their own if they retain Hensley Legal Group to go after the ones responsible.
Who Is Responsible for an Indiana Crushing Accident?
But who is responsible for an Indiana crushing accident? The answer can be complex because construction projects are complex, the undertakings of many hands carrying out different tasks simultaneously to achieve a greater goal. At heart, a construction site is an environment of controlled chaos, and major injuries could be inevitable if that chaos spins out of control.
Given how grave the consequences could be, Indiana construction sites are subject to inspections by the Construction Safety Division of the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In order for a project to pass inspection, the powers in charge need to prove that they have taken reasonable precautions to keep workers from harm. Specifically, they must:
- Assess a construction site for threats.
- Devise and institute a detailed safety plan.
- Train workers on the correct use of tools and machinery.
- Distribute protective equipment to curb on-site injuries.
Neglecting to implement these measures could lay the groundwork for a catastrophic crushing accident, for which a range of individuals and entities could be liable. Potential defendants may include the property owner and/or project developer and the general contractor overseeing construction for not providing safe working conditions, any contractors and subcontractors whose actions either directly or indirectly brought about the crushing accident, and perhaps others as well.
Each of these parties may have varying legal and contractual obligations, along with varying levels of culpability for shirking these obligations, and it is critical to go after all of them within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. A plaintiff who fails to file a lawsuit or resolve a crushing accident claim before the Statute elapses could be forever barred from doing so.
This kind of unfortunate oversight will not happen under the watchful eyes of Hensley’s Indiana crushing accident lawyers, who possess the deep familiarity with all state and local construction laws and industry best practices required to unearth actionable breaches of duty and hold those at fault for them to account.
How Our Indiana Crushing Accident Attorneys Can Help
A crushing accident can change your life in an instant. Seemingly overnight, you could have trouble simply making ends meet, much less obtaining the resources to stave off ruin.
In this trying period, you need attorneys with the compassion to support you during your struggles and the wisdom to overcome them. You need the Indiana crushing accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group. No task is too daunting or adversary too intimidating to stop us from getting justice for our clients.
If you choose to hire Hensley, we will launch a comprehensive investigation into your crushing accident and everyone who might share blame for it within the time permitted by law, acting swiftly to secure the evidentiary materials to assemble your claim.
After putting together an airtight case, our Indiana crushing accident lawyers will work tirelessly to negotiate a settlement that reflects the entirety of your losses, such as:
- Past, present, and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental and emotional trauma
- Reduced quality of living
- Mobility restrictions
- Loss of consortium
- Punitive and wrongful death damages (if applicable)
And unlike some of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, venture into a courtroom, we are not afraid to go to trial if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your case.
We realize you may be reluctant to agree to more expenditures, but you should know that our firm works on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t have to pay us anything until our Indiana crushing accident attorneys win your case.
That crushing accident may have shrouded your world in darkness, but you can trust Hensley to guide you back into the light.
Reach Out to Our Indiana Crushing Accident Lawyers
Since 1998, Hensley Legal Group has devoted its practice to advocating for the innocent victims of negligence. If you have been hurt because of someone else’s thoughtlessness, reach to our Indiana crushing accident lawyers to explore the remedies available to you.
Schedule a no-cost case review with an accomplished Indiana crushing accident attorney by calling or texting us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.
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