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25+ Years of Experience
99% Win Rate
No Upfront fees

25+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

When you hire us, you're adding unmatched experience to your team, ensuring you get the best possible outcome.

99% WIN RATE

Our firm maintains an impressive 99% win rate, even while accepting difficult cases other law firms have turned away.

NO UPFRONT FEES

We are not afraid of trial, and insurance companies know this. If it’s in your best interest, we are always trial ready.

This was the 1st time I've used Zanes Law. It was a fantastic experience for having to go through a situation most would rather not. The attorney and staff were always available to answer my questions and explained things clearly and were obviously 100% in my corner. My attorney, Jim, was very genuine and made me immediately comfortable when I came in to speak with him about my case. Every case manager I dealt with was patient and helpful. I would definitely return to Zanes should the time ever come again that I need a personal injury firm.

Kelly Kay

Personal Injury

Hello! As client of Zane law I was recently involved in accident last September and my recovery is still healing but Zane law checked on me and made sure everything was going smoothly and made sure I was on the right step every single time. I definitely would used them again ! They have helped my recovery so much and being a mom of 6 it has made my days a little more better/easier! From chiropractor to message therapist and making sure I had that extra help like trauma counseling to get through my days! I thank you so much Rachel and Annabelle!

Monique Cota

car accident

Zanes Law was a terrific legal experience. I first went to a law firm that only wanted me to go to physical therapy and pad the bill, so they could utilize my insurance policy to its capacity. Once I went to Zanes, they were honest, professional and prompt with calls almost once a week. Sometimes I got a call just because we did not have contact for close to two weeks. Some calls were to just ask how I was doing. I also received more money than originally discussed. Great job Zanes Law!!!!! If need be I will use their services again. THANKS

James Doligale

Personal Injury

Zanes Law was a terrific legal experience. I first went to a law firm that only wanted me to go to physical therapy and pad the bill, so they could utilize my insurance policy to its capacity. Once I went to Zanes, they were honest, professional and prompt with calls almost once a week. Sometimes I got a call just because we did not have contact for close to two weeks. Some calls were to just ask how I was doing. I also received more money than originally discussed. Great job Zanes Law!!!!! If need be I will use their services again. THANKS

James Doligale

Personal Injury

Zanes Law Practice Area

$1,320,000

Car Accident

No one ever expects to be involved in a car accident, suffer an injury, or need to begin looking for a Phoenix car accident attorney.

Zanes Law Practice Area

$1,065,000

Wrongful Death

With the help of a Phoenix wrongful death lawyer, you should receive compensation for your losses.

Zanes Law Practice Area

$700,000

Slip and Fall

When you are hurt in an accident, our Phoenix slip and fall lawyers are only a phone call away.

Zanes Law Practice Area

$1,100,000

Motorcycle Accident

Our motorcycle accident lawyers in Phoenix understand how dangerous it can be to ride a bike. So much so that we have created safety articles for years.

Tuscon-Metro-Chamver American-Association-for-Justice The-American-Society-of-Legal-Advocates Arizona-Trial-Lawyers Million-Dollar

Non-Workers May Also File a Lawsuit

In addition, people suffering injuries on or near the worksite may also sue if they have no employment relationship with the contractor. The most common example of this is falling debris or construction equipment striking a passerby. A collision with a truck entering and exiting the job site is Another example of a construction site injury.

Non Worker injuries can be every bit as devastating as worker injuries. The general contractor is supposed to secure the site and help prevent things from injuring passerby in the area. They would also need to alert the public to dangerous conditions caused by their job site. Here, you could file a straight negligence lawsuit, and you do not have to file a workers’ compensation claim.

A Construction Accident Lawyer Can Help You File a Personal Injury Claim

Tucson Construction Accident LawyerOn your own, it can be difficult to uncover the right person or entity to pursue in your injury claim. If a third party is responsible for your construction accident, your attorney can help you hold them accountable for the role they played in your current condition. A third party is defined as a person or company other than your employer such as an equipment manufacturer. If faulty tools or defective equipment led to your construction accident, your attorney will help assign liability and seek appropriate compensation.

Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim for a Construction Accident

You may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits when you are injured or disabled in a construction accident. In Arizona, you might be eligible to receive more than sixty-six percent of your monthly salary from workers’ compensation. In some cases, workers’ compensation coverage may also pay for necessary medical treatments with no out-of-pocket expenses on your behalf. Your attorney can help you understand the workers’ compensation benefits you might be entitled to receive.

Understanding Your Rights in a Construction Accident in Tucson

If you or a member of your family suffered an injury, disability, or loss of life while working on a construction site, your attorney can help you receive a monetary award for your medical and other accident-related expenses. Construction accidents are serious matters that can leave you with severe, even life-threatening, injuries.

Construction site safety is an important issue. OSHA imposes rules, regulations, and safety guidelines designed to cover and protect construction workers across the state. When these guidelines are not adhered to, the construction site is no longer a safe place to work. If you believe OSHA guidelines were not met on the construction site where you were injured, we can help. Schedule your free consultation with an attorney today.

How a Tucson Construction Accident Lawyer Can Help You

Given the range of possible outcomes, it is vital to have a lawyer who can investigate your case to determine what happened and who may be responsible.

Your construction accident attorney may:

  • Speak to witnesses who were at the scene and saw what happened.
  • Visit the accident scene and make observations.
  • Review photographic evidence and pictures.
  • Review medical records to better tie the injury to the accident.

If you are suing someone else, you will be required to prove that they were negligent in your accident, often the best-case scenario for injured construction workers when faced with a choice between a lawsuit and a workers’ compensation claim. As you will see below, you could get more in a negligence lawsuit.

How to Prove Negligence in a Tucson Construction Accident Lawsuit

In proving negligence for a construction accident lawsuit, you would need to show four different elements. The burden of proof is on you as the plaintiff, and you must carry it by a preponderance of the evidence. More simply put, you must show that something is more likely than not to have happened.

The parts of the negligence test include:

  • Duty of care – In some circumstances, one owes the other the duty of care to exercise reasonable care and avoid causing them injury.
  • Breach of duty – When you owe a duty of care to someone to act reasonably, it follows that you breach it by acting unreasonably under the circumstances, always a relative issue. What may be reasonable under some circumstances may be unreasonable under others.
  • Injury – You have suffered some sort of damage, whether it is physical or to your property.
  • Causation – You must prove that you would not have received an injury had it not been for someone else’s actions.

First, you may try to file an insurance claim or settle the case after filing a lawsuit. Construction accident cases do not always go to court. Most often, they will settle either with the insurance company or before a case goes to trial. To begin the process, you would need to file a claim or a lawsuit. That starts with calling an experienced lawyer.

You Need an Experienced Tucson Construction Accidents Attorney

Not every attorney has the expertise to handle construction accidents. These cases are different from many other personal injury cases. Given the number of “moving parts” at a construction site, they can be far more complex, which is why you need an attorney with a track record of handling construction accident cases, and that is what we have at Zanes Law.

The Damages You Can Recover After a Tucson Construction Accident

Your damages after a construction accident could be considerable. How much you may get depends on what type of claim that you file.

If you file for workers’ compensation benefits, you could receive compensation for:

  • Wages
  • Medical expenses
  • Rehabilitation costs
  • Job retraining expenses

For many, this helps ease some financial burdens from the construction accident. While you do not receive all of your wages, and there is a limit on the lost wages, at least there is some money coming into your account each week.

The compensation in a personal injury claim can be far broader, although this option is not always available. The major differences are that there are no limits on your lost wages, and you can receive pain and suffering damages. These are usually some of the larger elements of your accident damages. There is a big difference between the support that helps you pay the bills each week and a large settlement that could give you peace of mind for the rest of your life. Nonetheless, if workers’ compensation is the only option available to you, then you should pursue it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Prove That Work Tools Were Defective?

You can do this through a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the product. Here are some of the things that can be defective on a job site:

  • Bulldozers
  • Forklifts
  • Scaffolding
  • Power saws
  • Jackhammers
  • Cranes

Product liability lawsuits can be complicated. You need to prove that the equipment was defective.

There are three primary defects that you can show that can make the manufacturer strictly liable:

  • design defect that made the product unreasonably dangerous
  • A manufacturing defect that made the product unreasonably dangerous
  • A marketing defect that failed to warn the public of danger that the manufacturers knew about when selling the product

In addition, you can also file a lawsuit against the manufacturer for their negligence or other breaches of warranty claims when you have suffered an injury by using work equipment.

Can I Get Punitive Damages in a Construction Accident Case?

If you sue a third party for a construction site accident, the chances are that something was really wrong. Still, punitive damages in any type of personal injury case are very rare. The jury will assess punitive damages when they want to send a message to the defendant for something that they think was very bad.

In a construction accident context, this can be when the defendant had a complete and total disregard for safety or had a long record of violations. These are what can greatly increase your damages. Your Tucson construction accident lawyer will let the judge know of your intention to seek punitive damages. However, these are very hard to get, and courts usually use these for the worst instances of conduct that are rare in a personal injury case.

What if They Deny My Workers’ Compensation Claim?

The insurance company may deny your claim after it is initially submitted. They may question your injury or the fact that it is work-related. They are especially suspicious of repetitive motion and back injuries, claiming that they happened through another activity or did not occur on the job. This can put you in a tough position when you might be light on cash.

The insurance company’s denial is not the last word on your workers’ compensation claim. Arizona has a robust appeals process that can lead to another court overturning the denial to grant benefits. A workers’ compensation attorney can speak with the insurance company to clear up any misunderstandings. If that does not work, your attorney can file an appeal on your behalf with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. You can fight the denial, and claimants have a pretty strong record in workers’ compensation appeals.

Can I Sue My Employer if They Did Not Follow OSHA Rules?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is still almost always going to be no. The only way that you can sue an employer for a workplace injury is if they intentionally injure you. This happens very rarely. You can also sue your employer for not having workers’ compensation or improperly administering the program. However, their punishment for violating OSHA rules is a fine (and possibly a large one) from the federal government, as opposed to liability in a lawsuit.

This is the tradeoff for the company expending the cost for workers’ compensation insurance. The law protects them from their negligence and even some very willful and reckless actions, so long as they had no intent to injure you. Of course, you should still file OSHA rule violation reports when your employer has broken the rules to protect fellow workers.

How Do I Find the Right Construction Accident Lawyer?

You need an attorney with a broad range of legal experience when dealing with construction accidents. An attorney will investigate thoroughly to see if you can sue a third party for your injuries.

In terms of choosing the lawyer, you should set up an initial consultation with the attorney to learn more about how they see your case and the level of service that they provide. Ask about their experience to confirm that they have experience with construction law because this is a must. Then, ask more questions about your legal options. Pay close attention to the lawyer’s philosophy and how well you work with them. You are putting a great deal of trust into this person’s hands. In a way, you are trusting them with your financial future.

When Will I Know All My Legal Options?

You may not have the exact course of action when you walk out of your lawyer’s office after the first meeting (or get off the Zoom call with them). This is because it takes time for the lawyer to perform a full investigation of your case to find out the best way to proceed. As we mentioned above, your lawyer will look to a third party as a possible defendant, and it takes some time to learn whether that is a possibility. In addition, the extent of your injuries may not be known for some time. You do not want to make legal moves until you understand the whole picture as fully as possible.

Your two primary legal options (if you have a lawsuit as opposed to a workers’ compensation claim) are to go through the insurance claims process or file a personal injury lawsuit. There is nothing that prevents you from filing a lawsuit if you cannot agree to an insurance settlement.

Many people tell you that you do not have a minute to spare when you have suffered a personal injury. While you should hire an attorney right after the accident, you should also develop your case and understand your options before you make your legal move. In other words, hire a lawyer, but do not rush legal action until you are confident that you have a case.

Who Are Possible Third-Party Defendants that You Can Sue for Construction Injuries?
  • Equipment manufacturers who made defective work tools that injured you
  • Truck drivers who got into an accident with you at the worksite or heading to or from a job site
  • Other subcontractors or contractors working on the site (they count as third parties since they are not your employer)
  • Engineers or architects at the site (for example, if you suffered an injury in a ground collapse, you can sue the geotechnical engineer who performed a survey)
  • The construction site owner
Can I Sue My Fellow Worker if They Injured Me?

Co-workers have the same rule as your employer. You cannot sue them for injuring you unless they actively and intentionally tried to hurt you. If the negligence of your co-worker injured you, you will still need to file a workers’ compensation claim unless that co-worker had a different employer than you. If that was the case, then you can file a third-party lawsuit against their employer.

What Happens When I Have a Legal Claim Against a Company?

If you are filing a lawsuit for a construction job site injury, the chances are that it will be against a company. It does not make as much financial sense to sue an individual for a construction injury. Companies will have large insurance policies to cover themselves from lawsuits like yours. They do not want their business to be at risk in case a jury hits them with a large damages verdict. They know that if the verdict is large enough, their entire business can be at risk.

However, insurance companies will be very difficult with large claims because it means that they have to write a big check. If you end up suing the company, you can expect to have high-priced lawyers on the other side of the case doing everything that they can to defend the company. At Zanes Law Injury Lawyers, we are afraid of nobody, and we are equal to the task of taking on the biggest companies when they have harmed our clients.

What Should I Do When the Insurance Company Offers a Settlement?

Getting offered a check for your injuries seems like it would be good news. However, it is often just the beginning of your legal battle. While getting money is a good thing, it is not as good when it is far below the amount that you legally deserve. You will find yourself in financial difficulty in the long run if you settle your claim for too little.

Your lawyer will review the settlement offer with you to see if it is enough. They will go line-by-line to review if it falls short of fairly compensating you. This is a very important step, and it is why you have the expertise of a lawyer on your side. You always can reject a settlement offer. There is nothing that says that you must take a lowball attempt to settle. You can continue to negotiate with the insurance company or file a lawsuit to take the matter to court. Take your time to go over your legal options and make the decision that is best for you in the long run. We will explain your case and where you stand every step of the way.

Will My Construction Injury Case Settle?

While we can never make any guarantees, we can tell you that the statistics are in favor of your case settling at some point. Neither plaintiffs nor defendants really want to go in front of a jury. Both sides have legal risks when that happens that neither wants to bear. The defendant wants to avoid the possibility of being hit with a huge verdict, while you want to get your money quicker and also want to avoid the risk of getting nothing.

Almost all cases will have settlement negotiations at some point. The key is whether the defendant and their insurance company are reasonable enough where you have more to talk about. Even if you file a lawsuit, there is still a very slim chance of a trial because most cases eventually settle.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Construction Injury Lawsuit?

In Arizona, you have two years from the time that you were injured or should have known that you were injured to file a claim. If you miss this deadline, you can no longer file a lawsuit – or if you do, the judge can dismiss it. Many lawyers use the presence of the statute of limitations as a means to push you to rush to file a lawsuit. You should hurry to begin the legal process, but with a lawyer on your side, you need to be deliberate and make the right decisions for your family and your future. You can go through the claims process with the insurance company first, or you can file a lawsuit directly.

If your construction injury involves a workers’ compensation claim, you also have deadlines to follow. In Arizona, you have one year from the time that you were injured (or should have known that you were injured) to file a workers’ compensation claim. If your claim has been denied, you file a request for a hearing to appeal your claim. You must always be conscious of deadlines during the legal process. This is something that an attorney will track for you.

When Should I Call a Tucson Construction Accident Attorney?

As soon as possible after your injury. You are not in a condition to handle your own legal matters following an injury. In addition, an overwhelming majority of people do not have the expertise to deal with the insurance company claims process.
Advancing a claim or a lawsuit requires knowledge of deadlines and how to make these filings. The insurance company may be after you, trying to pressure you to do something against your interests, so they can save money. Without a lawyer, your legal rights are at risk, and you are unprotected. It costs nothing out of your own pocket to hire a lawyer, so this is a call you can make without any risk.

Get to the Bottom of Your Legal Options Quickly

Doug Zanes

Doug Zanes, Tucson Construction Accident Lawyer

Either way, you need to know your legal options quickly because you may need to start the legal process in short order. If you end up going down the workers’ compensation route, you need to notify your employer of the injury and begin to move sooner. The quicker you begin, the sooner you can be on the road to receiving your money if you are legally entitled to it. You will also want the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you have a fighter in your corner.

Speaking with a Construction Accident Lawyer in Tucson

While you may be struggling physically or dealing with serious injuries to loved ones, there is every incentive and reason to call an attorney as soon as possible. We could immediately get moving to investigate your accident and pursue financial compensation on your behalf.

The alternative is dealing with a difficult situation on your own when powerful forces work against you. Zanes Law Injury Lawyers can put you on the same legal footing as the defendant and the insurance company because we will fight for you. Contact us today at (520) 777-7777.


Tucson Office
4580 E Grant Rd #101
Tucson, AZ 85712
(520) 777-7777

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