Work Zone Accidents: What to do if you're Injured in a Work Zone

As we have moved into spring, you may have noticed a lot of road work around the area. This is prime time for road work repairs to occur because the weather is warm and the roads that were damaged during the winter need repair.

Recently, Maryland's Transportation Authority held a work zone safety week to bring awareness to the dangers of driving in and around work zones on highways and area roads. Many drivers ignore signs for reduced speed or caution when driving through work zones, and as a result, serious accidents involving road work crews occur. Workers have very little, if any, protection when they are doing their job in the work area. Cars can pass through at high speeds, and if they make one mistake, they can crash into one of these workers, causing serious, and sometimes fatal, injuries.

If you are injured by a motor vehicle while working in a construction zone, you have two potential claims: a workers' compensation claim and a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver. In order to bring a workers' compensation claim, a person must have been on the job, performing an activity within the scope of their job, and the worker must have reported the accident to their supervisor. A workers' compensation claim is handled much differently than a personal injury claim. There are different benefits that an injured worker that was hurt on the job can receive in a workers' compensation case compared to a personal injury case.

Hiring an attorney that is experienced in both workers' compensation claims and personal injury claims for auto accidents is very important to ensure you obtain favorable outcomes in both types of cases. If you've been injured while working in a construction zone, call the attorneys at Portner & Shure today for a free consultation: (301) 854-9000, (410) 995-1515.