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A construction site can change your life in seconds. One fall from a scaffold, one piece of equipment that fails, or one load that shifts the wrong way can leave you facing serious injuries, mounting medical bills, and real worry about how you’ll provide for your family. If you were injured on the job in Summerville or anywhere in the Lowcountry, you don’t have to figure this out alone.
West Law Firm Personal Injury Lawyers has been serving the Lowcountry since 1945. Our Summerville workers’ compensation attorneys know how frightening a job-site injury can be, and we’re here to explain your rights, handle the legal side, and help you focus on healing. There’s no cost and no pressure to talk through what happened.
Injured on a job site in Summerville? Call 843-483-8630 for a free consultation with West Law Firm Personal Injury Lawyers.
Common Construction Accidents and Injuries on the Job
Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in South Carolina, and Summerville’s steady growth means more workers on more sites every year. The accidents we see most often include:
– Falls from scaffolding, ladders, roofs, or open floors
– Being struck by falling tools, materials, or equipment
– Electrocutions from exposed wiring or power lines
– Trench and building collapses
– Crane, forklift, and heavy machinery accidents
– Burns, explosions, and caught-between equipment injuries
These accidents can cause life-changing injuries like broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, severe burns, and amputations. Even an injury that initially seems minor, such as a back strain, can keep you out of work for months. Whatever happened to you, receiving the right medical care and legal guidance early matters.
Who’s Liable When You’re Injured on the Job?
Figuring out who’s responsible for a construction accident isn’t always simple. Often, more than one party shares the blame. In South Carolina, two separate paths to compensation may be open to you, and sometimes, both apply.
Workers’ compensation: a no-fault system
Workers’ compensation is the first place most injured workers turn, and the good news is that it’s a no-fault system. You generally don’t have to prove your employer did anything wrong to receive benefits. If you were hurt on the job, you’re typically covered.
There’s a tradeoff. In exchange for these no-fault benefits, South Carolina law generally makes workers’ compensation your exclusive remedy against your employer, which means you usually cannot sue your employer directly for a workplace injury. That’s why it helps to have someone protect your claim and ensure you receive everything you’re owed.
When you may have a third-party claim
Your employer isn’t always the only party at fault. Job sites are crowded with subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, property owners, and others. South Carolina law lets you pursue a claim against a negligent third party whose actions caused your injury, separate from your workers’ compensation benefits.
You might have a third-party claim against a careless subcontractor, the maker of defective machinery, or a property owner who ignored a known hazard. These claims can recover damages workers’ comp doesn’t, such as full lost earnings and pain and suffering. Our attorneys look at every angle so no responsible party is overlooked.
Not sure who’s responsible for your injury? Let our team sort it out. Call 843-483-8630 for a free consultation.
What OSHA’s Role Means for Your Case
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets and enforces safety rules that construction employers must follow. After a serious job-site accident, OSHA may investigate and issue citations for safety violations.
An OSHA finding doesn’t pay your bills and doesn’t automatically win your case. But it can be powerful evidence. A documented violation, such as a missing fall-protection system or an unguarded machine, helps show that a contractor or other party was negligent. We know how to use these findings to build a stronger third-party claim.
Compensation and Benefits You May Be Able to Recover
What you can recover depends on which path applies. Through workers’ compensation, you may be entitled to medical treatment, a portion of your lost wages while you are unable to work, benefits for permanent disability, and vocational help if you cannot return to the same job.
Through a third-party personal injury claim, you may recover additional compensation, including your full lost income, future earning capacity, and pain and suffering. When both paths apply, combining them often makes a real difference in an injured worker’s recovery. We’ll make sure every source of compensation is on the table.
South Carolina Deadlines and Fault Rules to Know
Deadlines matter, and they’re different for each claim. For workers’ compensation, South Carolina generally requires you to file with the Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of the accident (S.C. Code Ann. § 42-15-40). For a third-party personal injury claim, the deadline is generally three years from the date of injury (S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530). Miss these, and you can lose your right to compensation.
Fault matters, but only for third-party claims, not for no-fault workers’ comp. South Carolina follows a modified comparative negligence rule, so you can still recover as long as you’re less than 51% at fault, though your compensation is reduced by your share of the blame. Insurance companies know this rule and often try to pin extra blame on injured workers. We’re ready for that.
Don’t let a deadline cost you your claim. Call 843-483-8630 today for a free consultation.
Why Injured Workers Across the Lowcountry Choose us
For nearly 80 years, West Law Firm Personal Injury Lawyers has stood with families across the Lowcountry. We’re a family-owned firm, not a faceless corporate operation, and we’ve built our name by treating clients like neighbors. Serving the Lowcountry since 1945 isn’t just a tagline; it’s generations of showing up for this region.
We handle job-site injury cases from three Lowcountry offices: our historic Moncks Corner office in Berkeley County, our Beaufort office, and our Summerville office on West Richardson Avenue. Wherever you are, an experienced Summerville construction lawyer is close by, and it costs nothing to talk with us.
Talk to a Summerville Accident Lawyer Today
You have enough to deal with after a job-site injury. Let our team handle the insurance companies, the paperwork, and the deadlines while you focus on getting better. We’ll review what happened, explain your options, and tell you honestly how we can help.
Injured on a job site in Summerville? Call 843-483-8630 for a free consultation with West Law Firm Personal Injury Lawyers. Serving Moncks Corner, Berkeley County, Beaufort, Summerville, and the South Carolina Lowcountry since 1945.