No one plans to get caught in a bad construction accident while working construction, yet it happens all the time and to even the most veteran construction workers in the industry. In fact, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) statistics collected year after year, construction work is consistently one of the most dangerous jobs in America. In 2016, more than 20% of all private industry workplace fatalities were suffered by construction workers.
What this all means is that if you work construction, you must be aware that you might one day get hurt in an accident, regardless of who is at fault for it or how careful you are while on-the-clock. To make certain you get the care and workers’ compensation benefits you deserve, you need to know a few key things right now, before you ever have an accident at all.
What you should definitely know now if you work construction:
- Your employer’s name: It might seem simple but getting the actual name of your employer can be unexpectedly complicated. Oftentimes, subcontractors, leasing companies, or payroll companies will be used to hand out paychecks, which can be misleading as to who is actually your employer. Pay close attention to who is paying you to get the answer.
- Your immediate supervisor’s contact information: As a construction worker, you most likely have an immediate supervisor who oversees your work, area, project, etc. Collect and store the first and last name of your immediate supervisor, as well as their personal cellphone number. If you get hurt and your supervisor is not around, you still need to let them know about the accident as soon as possible so a report can be made. Dialing their cell number is a great way to make certain this happens.
- Insurance company’s name: On every construction jobsite, there should be posted a poster that discusses workers’ compensation benefits, and the name of the insurance company that provides those benefits for that particular jobsite or construction firm. Record the name and contact number of that insurance company. An easy way to know you have that information is snapping a picture of the poster or articles with your phone on the first day you show up on the jobsite. You never know when wind will tear down a poster, or someone will misplace it.
Contact Miami’s Trusted Name in Construction Accident Claims
At Touby, Chait & Sicking, PL, we proudly stand up for the rights of injured construction workers all across Miami and the rest of Florida. We know that it can be difficult to know where to begin your workers’ compensation claim, or even if you are eligible to collect benefits at all. To take the guesswork and stress out of your situation, we put in extra effort to manage your claim on your behalf, allowing you to focus on recuperation. This is how we have been handling workers’ compensation claims for more than 90 collective years—and it is how we intend to handle them for many more years to come.
