If you were hurt in a construction accident, it is imperative that you know exactly what steps to take to protect your health, safety, well-being, and your legal rights. Here, our experienced Illinois construction accident lawyers highlight the most important steps that you need to take after being injured in a construction site accident.
1. Seek Immediate Medical Attention
If you were hurt in a construction accident, it is crucial that you seek immediate medical attention. Even if you believe that your injuries are only minor or moderate, you should still get yourself to an experienced physician for an in-depth evaluation. The importance of this cannot before overstated.
To start, getting medical help is necessary to protect your own health and well-being. Injured victims should not take any chances — you may be even more injured than you realize. Further, you will not be able to pursue an Illinois workers’ compensation claim or any type of personal injury lawsuit without supporting medical documentation.
2. Report Your Accident to Your Supervisor
Injured construction workers must report their accident to their supervisor as soon as possible. Under Illinois law ((820 ILCS 305/) Workers’ Compensation Act), injured employees have a duty to report all accidents to their employer — without any unreasonable delay. If you were hurt on the job, please make sure that your supervisor is aware of your injuries. If you fail to make this report, it could adversely affect your ability to bring a legal claim. Likewise, if you were injured in a construction accident, and you are not an employee, you should notify the company that is managing the worksite about the accident.
3. Secure Evidence — Record Information About Your Accident
Should a dispute arise over your construction accident case, you will want to have as much supporting evidence and supporting documentation as possible. To the best of your ability, you should try to record all of the relevant evidence you can that is related to your accident. This includes everything from trying to take some pictures of the accident and your injuries to getting the name and contact information for any coworkers or other people who witnessed the accident.
4. Prepare a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Reporting your accident to your supervisor is not the same thing as filing a workers’ compensation claim. To obtain workers’ compensation benefits, you must submit the official Illinois Employee Claim Form with the appropriate workers’ compensation district office that serves your area. If you need help submitting your initial workers’ compensation claim — or if your workers’ compensation claim was denied — you should contact an experienced Illinois construction accident lawyer immediately.
5. Speak to an Experienced Illinois Construction Accident Attorney
Perhaps the single best thing you can do to protect your legal rights and financial interests is to get guidance from a top-rated Illinois construction accident lawyer. Your lawyer will be able to help you take the precise steps you need to effectively pursue a strong legal claim. Whether that is filing an Illinois workers’ compensation claim or bringing a third-party personal injury lawsuit against another construction company, an attorney can help.
