There are regulations in place to restrict people on a construction site as there are all kinds of hazards. These can be falls, electrocution, and falling objects, among others. At times, the general contractor can be liable when an employee is injured, and when it’s a family member, you want to see justice being served.
Compensation for loss
It can be terrible trying to come to terms with death due to negligence on a construction site. Losing a family member in such a way can cause one to be inconsolable. You know by rights, they should still be alive.
Going the legal route isn’t going to give you the comfort and peace you’re seeking but it can ensure justice. The Zarzaur Law firm will make sure that the right people are held accountable and are made to compensate for the medical expenses and the eventual death of your loved one.
Wrongful death lawsuits like this also include compensation for funeral expenses as well as other losses incurred by the family. Wrongful death attorney Joe Zarzaur is standing by to help, just the same way that his team has helped so many other clients in similar situations.
Death benefits
You may be entitled to receive death benefits through workers’ compensation. You just have to bear in mind that workers’ compensation laws are different in each state but their purpose is the same – to compensate family members for the loss of the financial support they received from the deceased.
Eligibility requirements also vary from state to state, but the benefits are mostly reserved for those who were related to the deceased employee. They would be close relatives who depended on the deceased employee for their daily living. The eligibility of death benefits is determined according to certain circumstances that relate to each case.
The incident needs to be reported
If you weren’t at the construction site at the time of the accident, you wouldn’t be able to file a report of events. But if those responsible at the construction site don’t get things moving as they should, you can report the accident to the proper organizations.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will need to know of the accident. Insurance companies will also need to be informed of it as well as other individuals and organizations.
If you report it to the press, you may need to first get legal advice as it is all about not incriminating the company before a proper investigation is in place.
Handling all the personal details
When a family member dies, the job of handling all their personal details may fall on you. You need to know that things like this can take a year to wind up. There is always so much paperwork that needs to be sorted and dealt with. It is something that can turn out to be quite impossible to tackle on your own.
You may need the assistance of professionals such as an estate lawyer or a financial expert, and possibly other family members too. The best way to get through it all is to create a checklist of the things that need to be done. One of the first things that will need to be done is to find out about any funeral and burial or cremation plans there might be.
Then it may be time to meet with a trusts and estates attorney with regards to the distribution of assets. When it comes to income tax, the deceased person’s tax returns will still need to be file exactly as if they were still alive and all income up to the time of their death declared.