Pedestrian Injured by a Scaffold Accident at a California Construction Site
Scaffolds—temporary frames made of metal and planks—enable workers to work on tall buildings. Scaffolding can be dangerous. Data compiled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) informs us that scaffolding incidents at construction sites kill scores of people yearly. Personal Injuries caused by scaffold accidents number in the thousands. California has its share of these tragedies. Usually, workers are the ones who get hurt. But scaffolding puts pedestrians at risk too.
Common causes of scaffolding accidents involve high winds, overloaded platforms or supports, or the misplacement of objects. An experienced personal injury attorney can analyze the facts and determine all potentially liable parties whose duty it is to compensate you for the harm done.
If you or someone you love has suffered a personal injury under scaffolding or around a construction site, get a free consultation from Johnson Attorneys Group by calling 1-800-208-3538 today.
California Negligence Laws and Liability for Scaffolding Accidents Exist to Help You.
California law expressly covers scaffolds. It lays out precisely how such accidents can and must be prevented by those in the position to do so. For example, the law prohibits a construction company from setting planks on guardrails to add height.
Potentially liable parties are those who had a duty of care, neglected that duty, and therefore caused or contributed to the harm that you or your family member has faced. These may be:
- The construction company, its installing contractors, or both. Injuries caused by scaffold collapses may suggest that one or more of these parties neglected California safety rules. These rules mandate side screens where appropriate. They direct companies to bind scaffolding in place at specified intervals, with wiring of a specified strength. Guardrails must be in place. Planks must be secure.
- The company that produced the scaffolding. In some cases, a producer ships material from its plant with dangerous design flaws or manufacturing defects. In other cases, the plant fails to ship out the best available materials.
- The owner of the building or the business occupying it. Property owners may be subject to premises liability if they fail to ensure the safety of visitors to the premises. If an owner knew or should have known of unreasonable peril on the property, the owner is responsible for warning visitors or remediating the hazard.
Our Scaffolding Injury Attorney in California Can Help. Get a Free Case Review.
An at-fault party will likely cite case law that says an unforeseeable violation of the California scaffolding provisions relieves the party from liability. At Johnson Attorneys Group, we will prepare to meet and defeat such arguments.
If you and your family are suffering because of an injury someone else had the duty to prevent, we will dedicate our full power to making your case, and recovering the damages you need to help to make you whole again. Johnson Attorneys Group handles pedestrians and scaffolding accidents, and all construction accidents and injury claims, at no charge—unless and until we successfully settle or win.
