TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT INJURIES

Quadriplegia

Quadriplegia, also known as tetraplegia, is a catastrophic injury to the spinal cord which affects all four limbs as well as the torso. Quadriplegia causes significant paralysis below the neck and is usually a result of spinal cord injury. The spinal cord consists of thousands of nerves that send signals to and from the brain. Traumatic spinal cord injuries prevent these signals from being transmitted to the brain. When the reception of signals to the spinal cord from the brain are blocked, a person’s ability to move his or her arms or legs is prevented as well as feeling sensation in the torso region.

Severe paralysis can occur when there is trauma and damage to the spinal cord, especially in the cervical spine (C1 through C7 vertebrae). Injuries in the cervical spine can be fatal and can lead to complete paralysis. An injury high in the spinal cord or an injury which affects multiple brain regions can lead to paralysis in all four limbs.

Quadriplegia affects its victims in various ways and requires life-long treatment, rehabilitation and therapy. The costs of life-long care for people suffering from quadriplegia can reach millions. Some of the common issues faced by victims suffering from quadriplegia include:

• Increased risk of stroke, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, pressure sores, poor blood circulation, blood clots, further injury, muscle atrophy and obesity
• Increased risk of depression, anxiety and psychological problems
• Loss of bladder and bowel control as a result of nerve damage from the spinal cord injury
• Loss of sexual function
• Respiratory issues as a result of nerve damage affecting nerve signals to the chest or diaphragm
• Muscle spasms in arms and legs
• Autonomic dysreflexia

Where the victim’s injury is a result of an accident that took place on a construction site and was caused due to the negligence of another person, he or she may be entitled to seek compensation for the additional care that will likely be required.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury is one of the most devastating types of injuries which can cause lifelong brain damage, paralysis and even death. Dangerous construction sites pose a high risk to workers in suffering traumatic brain injuries.

Providing proper safety equipment to construction site workers is required of employers in order to prevent injuries. Federal safety regulations governed by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration as well as labor and construction safety codes promulgated by New York State and New York City, mandate that employers provide safe construction sites, but many employers fail to fulfill these obligations.

Traumatic brain injuries are common in unsafe construction sites where workers are injured due to falls or collisions with an object. Construction site brain injuries result in devastating health issues and sometimes require lifelong care. Traumatically injured workers and their families have legal rights.

The construction accident brain injury lawyers at Mike Lewis Attorneys are ready to help you fight for your rights.

How Traumatic Brain Injuries Occur on Construction Sites

New York State and City codes provide that contractors, subcontractors, and construction site supervisors uphold safety regulations. When construction site safety regulations are not upheld, construction employees may suffer serious injuries including severe brain damage.

There are many types of accidents on a construction site that can lead to a traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injuries on a construction site are commonly caused by:

• Defective safety equipment and construction material
• Falls from scaffolds
• Crane accidents
• Fires and Explosions
• Being run over by large construction equipment

Fracture Injuries

Construction sites are inherently hazardous. Construction workers often perform tasks from great heights and are surrounded by bulky and dangerous equipment and debris that all pose different threats to safety. Construction sites which are maintained negligently result in added dangers to construction workers and can cause broken bones and multiple-fracture injuries.

While some fractures do not require much time to heal, other kinds of fractures can be serious enough to require surgeries, cause long-term disabilities and in some cases, even cause death.

It’s possible that your construction accident which resulted in a fracture was due to violations of federal and/or state occupational safety standards. An experienced New York City construction accident attorney can help determine who might be at fault for your injuries.

About Fractures on Construction Sites

Fractures are a break in a bone caused by forces that exceed the strength of the osseous tissue in the bone. Most fractures are caused by excessive external forces and are classified as traumatic fractures. In the construction industry, falls occurring at construction accident sites are a leading cause of broken bones. However, many workers suffer broken bones because of falling objects, machinery accidents, explosions, malfunctioning power tools and any number of other hazards common to a high-risk work zone.

Serious fractures that require reconstructive surgery and the insertion of pins, plates and screws require longer hospital stays, rehabilitation and sometimes future surgeries.

Fractures can range in severity from minor inconveniences (requiring very little medical intervention) to severe, life-threatening injuries that take months or years for full recovery.

All bone fractures, regardless of cause, are sorted into two major classes: simple and compound fractures.

• Simple fractures, also called closed fractures, are broken bones that remain within the body and do not penetrate the skin.
• Compound fractures, also called open fractures, are broken bones that penetrate through the skin and expose the bone and deep tissues to the exterior environment.

Compound fractures are considered much more serious than simple fractures because they may be complicated by deep infections caused by the open wound.

Simple and compound fractures comprise of specific types of fractures, including:

• Comminuted fractures are severe fractures that involve the breaking of a bone into several smaller pieces.
• Transverse fractures form perpendicular to the long axis of a bone and are the result of a force applied at a right angle to the bone.
• Oblique fractures are slanted fractures that occur when a force is applied at any angle other than a right angle to the bone.
• Spiral fractures are the result of an extreme twisting force being exerted on a bone.
• Avulsion fractures involve a small piece of bone being torn off from the main bone due to an extreme force applied to a ligament or tendon. Avulsion fractures may be caused by overexertion of muscles or sudden traumatic pulling of part of the body during an accident.

In construction accidents, oftentimes the injured worker suffers more than just one broken bone or may suffer a fracture which prevents him from returning to work for months and even years. With severe, fractures, recovery can be a long and painful process that may require physical therapy, additional surgeries or rehabilitation. Unfortunately, sometimes the injuries are so severe that the person is unable to return to work, causing significant financial hardship for the injured person and his or her family. But legal remedies are available.

How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Construction Accident Lawyer in NYC?

At Levy Konigsberg, we offer our legal services to injured construction workers on a contingency fee basis. Using this payment system, our clients don’t owe us any contingency fees unless we end the case positively for them. Also, our attorney fees will be equal to a percentage of the settlement or award. In this way, hiring our professional attorneys is always highly affordable.