Mississippi Highway, Roadway & Bridge Worker Injury Lawyer
Mississippi workers who perform jobs constructing and repairing and maintaining highways, roadways, and bridges can suffer serious work-related injuries. Anytime a worker is subject to outdoor elements in addition to heavy construction machinery, as well as hazards posed by third-party motorists, the risk of an injury at work can increase significantly. Workers who do these jobs overnight or after dark are at particularly high risk of an injury in a collision involving a third-party driver who may be negligent. Depending upon the cause of the job-related accident on a highway, roadway, or bridge, it may be possible for an injured worker to seek workers’ compensation benefits or to file a third-party lawsuit. An attorney can evaluate your case to determine your options. Contact our experienced Mississippi highway, roadway & bridge worker injury lawyer today to discuss your workplace injury.
How Injuries Happen to Highway, Roadway and Bridge Workers in Mississippi
Workers who are responsible for the construction of highways, roadways, and bridges, and workers who perform maintenance and repair work on highways, roadways, and bridges can sustain serious and life-threatening injuries on the job. While this type of infrastructure work is necessary in Mississippi, it also comes with a wide range of work-related injury hazards. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), these jobs involve constructing new areas, as well as “rebuilding and improving existing roadways.” This information is important because it means that “more road work is being performed on roadways that are open to traffic,” both during daytime and nighttime hours. As a result, more than 20,000 workers sustain injuries every year in the U.S. in road construction work zones, including work zones for highways and other roadways.
What are some of the most common types of injuries? The following are some key facts from the FHWA about how roadway, highway, and bridge work injuries occur:
- Contact with equipment, objects, or motor vehicles (including runovers and backovers, and well as caught-in accidents), which accounts for about 35 percent of all reported injuries;
- Slips, trips, and falls on worksites, which account for about 20 percent of injuries in these work zones;
- Overexertion injuries account for approximately 15 percent of all work injuries on highway, roadway, and bridge work zones; and
- Exposure to hazardous substances accounts for approximately 15 percent of reported injuries.
Fatal injuries in active work zones that are open to traffic are particularly dangerous, and deadly accidents to workers in these areas account for as much as 3 percent of all workplace deaths annually.
Steps to Take After a Highway, Roadway or Bridge Workers Injury in Mississippi
Any worker who was injured in a highway, roadway, or bridge work zone should report the injury to their employer within 30 days in order to maintain eligibility for workers’ compensation.
If the injury resulted from a third-party motorist’s collision into the work zone, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit in addition to seeking workers’ compensation benefits.
Contact Lunsford Baskin & Prieve, PLLC Today
Do you need assistance with a road work zone injury claim? Contact our experienced Mississippi highway, roadway and bridge worker injury lawyer today to get started.
