Long Beach Carpenter and Painter Accidents Lawyer

Carpenters and painters perform essential work throughout the Long Beach, CA, area. Their work helps establish new structures, and it is inherently dangerous—for several reasons. Every day, carpenters and painters experience damaging accidents at work, some of which result in devastating damages. When these incidents occur, injured carpenters and painters, and their families need to know their legal options for recovering their losses.

Legal Counsel for Injured Long Beach Carpenters and Painters

The Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents lawyers at Pratt Law Corporation can provide the guidance and support you need as you consider your legal options for recovery after a workplace accident. Our team has extensive experience guiding Long Beach, CA, clients through the workers’ compensation system for workplace injuries and personal injury claims when other parties bear responsibility for their damages. We can help you calculate the full scope of the damages your carpenter or painter accident has caused and assist you in determining your best available options for recovering compensation.

Why Should I Hire a Long Beach Carpenter and Painter Accidents Lawyer?

Suppose you sustained an injury while working as a carpenter or painter. In that case, you could face significant medical expenses and additional economic strain due to your inability to work while you recover from your injury. Most California employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, but this may not be an option for independent contractors or sole proprietors who are not legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. As a result, you may need assistance filing your workers’ compensation claim after a carpenter or painter accident in Long Beach, and you may have grounds for further legal action beyond the workers’ compensation system, depending on how your injury occurred.

Even under seemingly ideal circumstances, navigating the workers’ compensation claim system or a civil claim against the party responsible for causing your injury can be incredibly challenging. Attempting to manage these legal proceedings on your own while recovering from your injury is a tremendous undertaking. You could make procedural errors at some point in your recovery process that jeopardize your right to recover your damages, or you could overlook available channels of compensation and settle for less than you should.

Working with an experienced Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents lawyer is the best way to maximize your recovery from this type of accident. Your legal team will help you determine the best available options for recovering your damages and guide you through your case proceedings. It’s common for injured carpenters and painters to discover that far more compensation is available to them than they initially expected once they have reliable legal counsel on their side.

Common Types of Injuries Sustained by Carpenters and Painters in Long Beach, CA

Both carpenters and painters face numerous risks as work. Carpenters must use dangerous equipment, including saws, electric drills, nail guns, hammers, and more, all of which are capable of inflicting severe injuries unexpectedly. In addition, painters often require the use of scaffolds, ladders, and other equipment that may present a risk of a fall injury. Some of the most commonly reported workplace injuries from carpenters and painters in Long Beach, CA, include:

• Slip and fall injuries. This type of injury is a leading cause of workers’ compensation claims and missed days of work throughout the United States. Both carpenters and painters can suffer slip and fall injuries when working in high places or when safety equipment fails.
• Lacerations from equipment. Carpenters often require the use of sharp-bladed tools that are easily capable of inflicting severe cuts. These injuries may result in nerve and soft tissue damage while also causing extensive bleeding.
• Injuries from falling objects. Carpenters and painters can easily suffer severe injuries when tools, materials, debris, or other objects fall on top of them. Even when appropriate safety equipment is used, falling objects are easily capable of causing traumatic brain injuries and other wounds.
• Injuries from equipment malfunctions and dangerous tools. Accidentally mishandling specific tools can easily lead to severe injuries. Some tools can also cause injuries if they are defective or experience critical malfunctions during use.
• Illness from chemical exposure. Working with or near certain substances like adhesives, solvents, paints, and other chemicals required for painting and carpentry can potentially cause dangerous medical conditions.

These are just a few examples of how carpenters and painters might suffer injuries from their work. Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, facial injuries, and internal organ damage are just a few possible injuries that carpenters and painters might sustain on the job. Some of these injuries may completely recover with time and appropriate treatment, while others will cause long-term medical complications for the victim. Unfortunately, it’s also possible for severe workplace injuries to result in permanent disabilities, some of which could prevent the victim from working in the future or even living independently.

Suppose you or a loved one suffers any kind of injury while working as a painter or carpenter in Long Beach, CA. In that case, it’s essential to know your legal options for recovering your medical expenses and other damages.

Workers’ Compensation After Carpenter and Painter Accidents

The California workers’ compensation system aims to provide economic relief to those injured in their workplaces. The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) reviews all claims for workers’ compensation benefits filed in the state. However, the claim process is often more complex than many claimants realize at first. For example, if you are a carpenter or painter working for an employer and sustain an injury at work, your employer is legally obligated to provide you with the materials needed to file a workers’ compensation claim.

An essential part of the workers’ compensation claim process is the medical evaluation. If you file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, you must visit a physician approved by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier. This physician will examine you and assign you a disability rating based on the severity of your injuries and whether you face long-term medical complications or disability from them. This rating will determine how long you can expect to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

If you intend to file a workers’ compensation claim after a carpenter or painter accident in Long Beach, you must notify your employer about the accident immediately. Your employer cannot interfere with your workers’ compensation claim. However, suppose they do or take any adverse action against you in response to your request for claim materials. In that case, this is retaliation and would constitute grounds for legal action against your employer.

The California DWC typically limits workers’ compensation benefits to two years with the option of spreading payments out over five years. However, some claimants could qualify for permanent disability benefits if they suffered severe injuries that prevent them from returning to work in the future.

Common Challenges With a Workers’ Compensation Personal Injury Case

While the workers’ compensation claim system may seem straightforward at first, many issues can arise and complicate the process of securing the compensation and benefits you deserve following a carpenter or painter accident in Long Beach, CA. For example, the California DWC may deny your claim on a technicality, or you could experience a delay in processing your claim due to information requests from the DWC. It’s also possible for an employer to actively interfere with a workers’ compensation claim.

Your Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents attorney can help you address any challenges you face with your workers’ compensation claim. They can assist you with completing all of your claim paperwork and gathering any supplemental documentation you must submit with your claim. They can also correspond with DWC investigators on your behalf and help you through the appeal process if your claim is unfairly denied.

In the event, you are not eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim, or if your damages exceed the scope of compensation and benefits you can obtain through the workers’ compensation system, you may have grounds for further legal action. Filing a personal injury claim is often the best way to financially recover from a workplace accident, but it is only possible to do so if another party is clearly responsible for causing your workplace injury.

Proving Fault for a Carpenter or Painter Personal Injury Case

Workers’ compensation insurance coverage generally insulates employers from civil liability for their employees’ injuries at work. However, if an employer committed any intentional action that resulted in your injury or a third party is directly responsible for your workplace injury, you would have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The central legal concept of a personal injury claim is negligence or a failure to exercise reasonable care in a given situation. Success with a personal injury claim requires identifying the party or parties responsible for the plaintiff’s damages and proving their actions directly resulted in the plaintiff’s claimed damages.

A successful workers’ compensation claim can offer coverage for the claimant’s medical expenses and disability benefits that cover a percentage of their average weekly wages until they can return to work. However, a personal injury claim can potentially yield more substantial compensation, often allowing injured claimants to recover damages that the workers’ compensation system does not cover.

If you believe your employer directly and intentionally caused your injury, or if you believe a third party bears fault for your damages, you will need to establish four critical elements of negligence to succeed with a personal injury claim:

1. Duty. You must prove the defendant owed you a duty of care in the situation in question.
2. Breach. You must prove the defendant breached or violated their duty of care.
3. Damage. You must provide a complete list of all the damages you suffered.
4. Causation. You must prove that your damages resulted from the defendant’s negligence.

Your Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents attorney can be an invaluable asset when it comes to establishing these elements of negligence. Your legal team can help you secure physical evidence from the scene of the accident in question, obtain statements from witnesses who saw it happen, and consult with expert witnesses if necessary to clarify the more unique and complex details of your case.

Damages and Compensation for a Carpenter or Painter Accident

An injured carpenter or painter who qualifies for a workers’ compensation claim can generally expect the workers’ compensation system to cover all the medical expenses their workplace injury entails. This includes both immediate treatment costs and the cost of any ongoing care they require. The workers’ compensation system offers about two-thirds of a claimant’s average weekly wage when it comes to lost income. If the claimant earned about $1,000 per week, they could expect about $750 in weekly disability benefits from a successful workers’ compensation claim.

Personal injury claims can offer more expansive recovery options for claimants. For example, an experienced Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents attorney can potentially help their client secure various types of economic damages, including:

• Property damage. If the defendant damaged or destroyed the plaintiff’s property when they caused their carpenter or painter accident, the defendant would be liable for the costs of repairing or replacing this property.
• Medical expenses, including treatment costs for all medical care the plaintiff requires. An experienced lawyer can be an instrumental asset in proving the full extent of the plaintiff’s claimable medical expenses resulting from a defendant’s negligence.
• Lost income. Workers’ compensation claims can provide partial compensation for lost income while an injured carpenter or painter recovers, but a personal injury claim allows the plaintiff to recover all wages lost due to a defendant’s negligence. This includes lost future earning capacity if the plaintiff cannot return to work due to their injury.

Beyond these economic damages, personal injury claims also allow plaintiffs to recover compensation for their pain and suffering, which typically isn’t possible through a workers’ compensation claim. Your Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents lawyer will help you determine an appropriate amount of pain and suffering compensation to include with your claim based on the severity of your injury and whether you are likely to develop a long-term or permanent disability because of it.

Some workplace accidents result from egregious negligence, failure to follow applicable workplace regulations, or intentional acts of harm. In these cases, claimants may also receive punitive damages. While the plaintiff cannot claim punitive damages directly, judges award these damages at their discretion to punish a defendant’s illegal or excessively negligent actions. In addition, employers found to violate applicable safety regulations or who willingly disregard such regulations can face fines and other penalties if these actions result in injuries to employees.

What Can Long Beach Carpenter and Painter Injury Lawyers Do for Me?

Navigating any workplace injury claim can be incredibly challenging. Some people who experience carpenter and painter accidents believe they can manage their legal affairs unassisted to save legal fees. The reality is that any workplace injury claim is likely to lead to complex legal proceedings that the average person may not know how to navigate effectively on their own. This is especially true when an injured carpenter or painter can file a workers’ compensation claim in addition to a personal injury claim. These processes are more complicated than many claimants realize, and reliable legal counsel is an invaluable asset for any claimant who intends to maximize their recovery.

Your Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents lawyer can guide you through all your legal proceedings with confidence. For example, you can approach a workers’ compensation claim more confidently when experienced legal counsel guides you through the process. Additionally, suppose you have grounds for further legal action beyond the workers’ compensation system. In that case, your legal team can help you exercise the full breadth of your legal rights and help you recover as much as possible from your injury.

Pratt Law Corporation has years of experience helping our clients navigate complex workplace injury claims, including workers’ compensation claims and personal injury claims. We’ll work closely with you to determine how your accident occurred, who is responsible for causing it, whether you qualify to file a workers’ compensation claim, and what additional legal options may be available to you.

Our team believes in compassionate, client-focused legal representation in every case we accept. We’ll take time to get to know you and learn how your workplace accident has affected your life. We understand how distressed and uncertain most injured carpenters and painters feel after experiencing workplace injuries, and our goal is to help our clients make the fullest recoveries possible.

Time is a critical factor after any workplace injury in California. You have a one-year statute of limitations in which to file your workers’ compensation claim, and you have a two-year statute of limitations for filing a civil claim against the party responsible for your injury if you have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. Our team can provide the responsive and meticulous legal counsel you need to recover your carpenter or painter injury damages. If you are ready to discuss your legal options with an experienced and compassionate Long Beach carpenter and painter accidents lawyer, contact Pratt Law Corporation today to schedule your consultation with our team.