Construction job sites are often high-risk, and workers are vulnerable to sustaining injuries, including from exposure to hazardous substances. You may be in close contact with toxic gases, harmful dust, fibers, fumes, and compounds.
You must hold third parties accountable if their negligence caused you harm, which an experienced construction accident attorney can assist you with. Our qualified Chicago construction site toxic exposure lawyer can help you with your case and with obtaining a fair settlement.
How Are Construction Workers Exposed to Hazardous Substances?
Routine job-site tasks, such as demolition, welding, cutting, grinding, or handling materials, often expose construction workers to hazardous substances. It can lead to immediate, acute, and long-term, chronic health effects, such as respiratory illness, various cancers, skin and organ damage, and neurological problems. Examples of hazardous substances include:
- Asbestos fibers from the insulation, roofing, flooring, and other components in older buildings
- Lead fumes or dust from paints, structures, and pipes from structures pre-dating 1978
- Silica dust from drilling, cutting, or grinding brick, stone, concrete, or masonry
- Paints, adhesives, solvents, and glues, which contain volatile organic compounds, benzene, or isocyanates
- Carbon monoxide from generators, gasoline-powered tools, or vehicles
Other toxic chemicals that construction workers commonly encounter include heavy metals such as mercury, fuels, wet cement, pesticides, and disinfectants.
Routes of Exposure
The most typical route of exposure at job sites is inhalation of airborne particles, dust, fumes, vapor, or gases. Skin contact and absorption from direct touch with liquids, powders, or dust are also relatively common. It can cause chemical burns, or the skin can absorb them, leading to dermatitis or other illnesses.
Ingestion is rare but does happen through contaminated hands, food, water, or cigarettes for smokers. They could swallow residue or dust if they eat or smoke on the site without thoroughly washing their hands.
Health Risks
Short-term health risks of exposure to toxic substances include:
- Chemical burns
- Rashes
- Poisoning
- Respiratory distress
- Eye irritation
- Headaches
Long-term risks include lung disease or cancer, neurological damage, kidney and liver issues, and occupational asthma. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets maximum allowable exposure limits under various statutes.
Under 29 Code of Federal Regulations § 1926.55, they set permissible exposure limits for many substances and direct requirements regarding communication and training. Our knowledgeable attorneys in Chicago can answer your specific questions about the causes, risks, and recovery claims process after reviewing your construction site exposure case.
Third Party Liability
While workers’ compensation provides legal remedies for employer-caused injuries, third-party liability for job site injuries arises in injury claims against non-employer parties. The lawsuits allow you to pursue additional payment for damages, such as pain and suffering and other non-economic injuries that workers’ compensation does not cover. You can also seek full lost wages and benefits since workers’ comp only provides partial salary loss.
Construction Negligence
Third parties, such as general contractors, the owners of the premises, or other parties, could be liable for damages if they retained sufficient control over the work and failed to exercise that control reasonably. Property owners or possessors could be liable for hazardous conditions, such as known asbestos in structures or improper chemical storage, if they knew or should have known of the unreasonable risk.
Finally, manufacturers or suppliers of hazardous materials could be financially responsible for damages in a product liability or defective-product suit for failure to warn, defective design, or inadequate safety instructions. Our diligent lawyers in Chicago can conduct an in-depth investigation and analysis of the evidence to determine fault, identify the liable parties, and build a case for damages in a construction site toxic exposure incident.
Call Our Attorneys in Chicago If You Have a Construction Site Toxic Exposure Case
While workers’ compensation benefits cover employer negligence on job sites, when the carelessness of third parties, such as general contractors, landowners, and chemical makers, causes you harm, you have the right to seek compensation.
Our skilled Chicago construction site toxic exposure lawyer can guide you through the process. Call us at Kaveny Sarmas Injury Lawyers today to schedule an appointment.
