Unfortunately, construction accidents have the potential to harm a variety of people including bystanders (i.e., non construction workers or employees). If you or someone close to you has been injured as a bystander due to a construction accident, you need to reach out to a seasoned Miami injury attorney who can help. At The Law Offices of Robert Dixon, we have the experience and skill to handle your case.
The roof on top of one Orlando house sustained significant damage after a truck carrying a crane tipped over, crashing through the roof. A second house was damaged as well. The Orlando Florida Department shared a picture of the crane accident on its Facebook page. Unfortunately, two people suffered injuries, including the crane operator. The other injury was suffered by a man who was inside the home of the damaged roof and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital.
The incident took place around 3:30 in the afternoon. The crane was there for a power pole installation by Florida Power & Light. Power had been knocked out in the area. There was no immediate information regarding the cause of the accident. The crane company has not promised the two families affected by the accident temporary housing while their properties are repaired.
While construction companies typically have systems of compensation for their employees who are hurt on the job, there are generally no such systems for bystanders. Rather, your case will be treated as if you were any other person filing a personal injury lawsuit. As a bystander, you must be able to show that the business was acting negligently, and their negligence was the direct and proximate cause of your injuries. Negligence, in this context, would occur if the construction company failed to use the level of care and caution that another construction company in the same situation would have used.
Equipment malfunction, in the form of a defective crane part or design, can sometimes be the cause of an accident and resulting injury. If this has happened to you, you may be able to seek compensation through a products liability claim. All parties in the chain of manufacture and distribution for that crane could be potentially liable. Under the Florida law of strict product liability, a defendant is strictly liable for a plaintiff’s injury if the product is in a condition that is unreasonably dangerous. This means that manufacturers, distributors and sellers can be held liable, without regard to actual negligence, so long as the product was defective.
A crane collapsing or malfunctioning can change in your life in an instant. If you or someone close to you was a bystander injured in a construction accident, you may be able to recover compensation for your harm. At The Law Offices of Robert Dixon, our experienced Miami construction injury attorneys will examine the facts of your case and come up with a legal strategy accordingly. With years of experience, we understand how to navigate these cases. To learn more, call us at 1-877-499-HURT (4878) or reach out to us online.
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