Working in the construction industry comes with significant perks. You can work outdoors and won’t experience boredom sitting behind a desk. You can work with your hands and build things society can use.

You might love working in the construction field, but it does involve certain risks. If you hurt yourself while on the job, you might not know how to proceed.

We’ll talk about how you can reclaim your life following a construction industry accident in the following article.

You Can File A Lawsuit

For this article, we’ll use New York construction accidents as examples. What you can legally do varies state by state, so remember that.

In New York, you can receive workers’ compensation after a construction-related accident. You must inform your employer you’re applying for it within thirty days. However, you might not feel that’s adequate compensation.

You can also file a lawsuit if you feel that’s justified. Accident victims must file lawsuits within three years in New York. 

You must act fast to file that lawsuit. Three years sounds long, but time passes quickly. If you decide you’ll file a lawsuit against the construction company for negligence, you must find an experienced lawyer who knows about these cases.

Tell the Lawyer What Happened

If you do decide filing a lawsuit makes sense, locate a lawyer who mentions personal injury claims on their website. You might check their credentials and look at reviews from previous clients.

When you speak to the lawyer in person, ask them whether they’ve ever had cases like yours before and what result they achieved for their clients. If they say they won money for them and they’ve done construction industry lawsuits before, you can hire them.

Make sure you hire them on a contingency basis. That way, you won’t pay anything until they win your case and get money for you. You might pay between 30-40% to your lawyer if you win any money, but you can use the cash to pay for medical bills, food, and other necessities while you recover.

You May Need Surgery

Following your construction-related accident, you may need surgery. It depends on how you injured yourself. If you fell, you might get an X-ray to see whether you broke any bones. You may also get an MRI if you have any soft tissue injuries.

Then, the doctor can meet with you and tell you how to proceed. Sometimes, they might recommend surgery to repair a broken bone or a torn muscle. They may also say you can recover if you give the injury some healing time and you don’t need surgery.

If you and the doctor do not agree, you can get a second opinion. Maybe you don’t want surgery since you’ll face a long and painful recovery process. If your body won’t heal without surgery, though, you’ll have little choice.

You May Need Physical Therapy

If you injured yourself on a construction site, but the doctor says you don’t need surgery, you might require physical therapy instead. Maybe you can heal by working through the injury and the pain that comes with it.

Physical therapy isn’t easy. You must walk a long road back to your former physical capabilities sometimes.

Physical therapists can get you through the injury, though. They provide encouragement and stay upbeat throughout the process. Many times, you’ll experience pain relief and find normalcy after spending some time with them.

You Can Look for a Different Construction Industry Job

In time, you might get back to the construction industry. Maybe you’ll keep working at your old job after some time off. You may also seek a similar position but with a different company. You might work for another company that has better safety protocols on all their job sites.

You may also get a construction industry job where you don’t do physical labor. Your injury might mean you can’t do the same work that you did before. If you mostly know the construction industry, though, you can accept a position that doesn’t require so much physical activity.

You might become a construction supervisor. That doesn’t involve heavy labor. You may become an equipment operator. Again, you won’t pick up or carry anything heavy. Painting might work for you. It’s construction-related but not labor-intensive.  

You Might Seek Therapy

Maybe you can’t go back to work in construction at all. Perhaps you sustained a serious injury, and you can’t walk anymore. Maybe you can walk, but only with a cane for short distances.

You might experience depression or feel sad if you can’t get back to work. Maybe you liked that job and miss the camaraderie with your fellow workers.

If so, you might need therapy to help get you through this dark time in your life. Talking to a therapist might help you feel better eventually. You can explore your emotions and talk about other things you might do for money to make you feel fulfilled.

Your construction industry accident might change your life, and you may need several of the steps we mentioned to get past it. Maybe you won’t feel better for months or even years afterward. If you get the proper financial restitution for the accident, though, that should help you. You must decide whether workers’ compensation works for you or whether you must file a lawsuit as well.

You must also take the time to decide whether leaving the construction industry makes sense or whether you can keep going at your old job or something similar. You must think about your physical condition after the accident and the following recovery period. You can talk with your family about it. They may want a safer job for you from now on.

Eventually, you can find a work-life balance and your old equilibrium after your accident. Maybe you must leave the construction industry behind, but you will explore new jobs and career options that can hopefully fulfill you just as much.

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