Heavy Equipment Accident Lawyer

Heavy Equipment Accident Lawyer

When heavy machinery is involved in a workplace incident, the consequences can be devastating. Our heavy equipment accident lawyers understand the complex nature of cases involving cranes, bulldozers, forklifts, excavators, and other large industrial equipment. Our firm represents injured workers and their families throughout Raleigh and the surrounding areas, providing comprehensive legal representation for those affected by serious machinery-related incidents.

Can I Sue If I Was Injured By a Heavy Equipment Accident?

Yes, you may be able to sue after a heavy equipment accident, but it depends on the circumstances of your case. In North Carolina, if you were injured at work, you are typically entitled to workers' compensation benefits regardless of fault. However, workers' compensation is often your exclusive remedy against your employer, meaning you generally cannot sue your employer directly. Despite this limitation, you can pursue a personal injury lawsuit against third parties whose negligence contributed to your accident—such as equipment manufacturers, maintenance companies, subcontractors, property owners, or equipment operators who don't work for your employer.

Third-party lawsuits allow you to recover damages beyond what workers' compensation provides, including full lost wages, pain and suffering, and compensation for permanent disability. If defective equipment caused your accident, you may also have a product liability claim against the manufacturer or distributor. Our heavy equipment accident lawyers thoroughly investigate each case to identify all liable parties and maximize your compensation. Because North Carolina follows contributory negligence rules—which can bar recovery if you share any fault—it's essential to consult with a heavy equipment accident lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights and build a strong case.

Financial Compensation You Can Pursue in a Heavy Equipment Accident Claim

If you've been injured in a heavy equipment accident, understanding the full scope of compensation available is essential to your recovery. At The Law Offices of John M. McCabe, we help injured workers pursue maximum compensation for all damages caused by machinery-related incidents.

Types of Compensation Available:

• Medical Expenses: Coverage for all accident-related healthcare costs, including emergency room treatment, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, prescription medications, medical devices, and future medical care required for your injuries.
• Lost Wages: Compensation for income lost while recovering from your injuries, including wages, salary, bonuses, and other employment benefits you would have earned if the accident had not occurred.
• Lost Earning Capacity: Damages for reduced ability to earn income in the future if your heavy equipment accident injuries prevent you from returning to your previous occupation or require you to accept lower-paying work.
• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, and the overall impact the accident has had on your quality of life and daily activities.
• Permanent Disability or Disfigurement: Additional damages when injuries result in lasting impairment, scarring, amputation, or permanent changes to your physical or cognitive abilities.
• Loss of Consortium: Damages available to spouses when injuries affect your marital relationship, companionship, and ability to maintain normal family life.
• Wrongful Death Damages: Compensation for surviving family members when heavy equipment accidents result in fatalities, including funeral expenses, lost financial support, and loss of companionship.
• Punitive Damages: In cases involving gross negligence or willful misconduct, North Carolina law may allow additional damages designed to punish the responsible party and deter similar behavior.

The compensation you can recover depends on whether you pursue a workers' compensation claim, a third-party personal injury lawsuit, or both. As your heavy equipment accident lawyer, we evaluate every aspect of your case to identify all available sources of compensation. A construction accident lawyer at our firm will work diligently to ensure you receive fair compensation that addresses both your immediate needs and long-term financial security.

Types of Heavy Equipment Accident Cases We Take

Our heavy equipment accident lawyers handle a wide range of heavy equipment accident cases throughout Raleigh and surrounding North Carolina communities. Our firm represents injured workers across multiple industries where dangerous machinery creates serious safety risks.

Heavy Equipment Accident Cases We Handle:

• Crane Accidents: Cases involving tower cranes, mobile cranes, and overhead cranes that collapse, tip over, drop loads, or strike workers, often resulting in catastrophic injuries or fatalities on construction sites.
• Forklift Accidents: Injuries caused by forklift tip-overs, workers being struck by forklifts, falling loads, or operators crushed between the equipment and fixed objects in warehouses and loading docks.
• Bulldozer and Excavator Accidents: Cases where workers are struck by, run over, or trapped by earth-moving equipment, or accidents caused by equipment rollovers on unstable terrain.
• Scaffolding and Aerial Lift Accidents: Falls from scissor lifts, boom lifts, and scaffolding systems, as well as accidents involving equipment malfunctions, tip-overs, or electrocution hazards.
• Trenching and Excavation Accidents: Cave-ins, equipment strikes, and crushing injuries that occur during digging operations when proper safety protocols are not followed.
• Dump Truck and Haul Truck Accidents: Collisions, rollover accidents, and incidents involving workers struck by commercial trucks on construction sites and roadways.
• Concrete Mixer and Paver Accidents: Injuries from rotating drums, moving conveyor belts, burns from hot materials, and workers caught in or struck by concrete equipment.
• Conveyor Belt and Manufacturing Equipment Accidents: Cases involving workers caught in moving machinery, amputations, crushing injuries, and accidents caused by inadequate machine guarding in industrial facilities.
• Agricultural Equipment Accidents: Tractor rollovers, entanglement in harvesting equipment, and injuries from plows, balers, and other farm machinery used throughout North Carolina's agricultural regions.
• Pile Driver and Drilling Equipment Accidents: Injuries from heavy hammering equipment, augers, and drilling rigs used in foundation work and infrastructure projects.
• Equipment Maintenance Accidents: Cases where workers are injured while repairing, servicing, or maintaining heavy machinery due to inadequate lockout/tagout procedures or unexpected equipment startup.
• Defective Equipment Cases: Product liability claims against manufacturers when design flaws, manufacturing defects, or inadequate safety features contribute to worker injuries.

No matter what type of heavy equipment was involved in your accident, our heavy equipment accident lawyer team has the knowledge and resources to investigate your case thoroughly. Whether you were injured on a construction site and need a construction accident lawyer or were hurt in a warehouse, manufacturing facility, or agricultural setting, The Law Offices of John M. McCabe is prepared to fight for the compensation you deserve.

Injuries Associated with Heavy Equipment Accidents

Heavy equipment accidents often result in severe, life-altering injuries due to the massive size, weight, and force involved when machinery strikes, crushes, or traps workers. Our heavy equipment accident lawyers represent victims suffering from a wide range of serious injuries caused by industrial machinery.

Common Heavy Equipment Accident Injuries:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Head trauma resulting from workers being struck by equipment, falling objects, or falls from machinery, leading to concussions, skull fractures, brain bleeding, cognitive impairment, memory loss, and permanent neurological damage.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the spine causing partial or complete paralysis, loss of sensation, reduced mobility, and permanent disability that dramatically impacts a victim's independence and quality of life.
• Crush Injuries: Severe trauma occurring when workers become trapped between heavy machinery and fixed objects, resulting in broken bones, internal organ damage, tissue death, and often requiring amputation.
• Amputations: Loss of fingers, hands, arms, feet, or legs when workers are caught in moving equipment parts, pinch points, or crushing accidents involving heavy machinery.
• Fractures and Broken Bones: Multiple or compound fractures affecting arms, legs, ribs, pelvis, and other bones from equipment strikes, rollovers, or being run over by machinery, often requiring surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
• Internal Injuries: Damage to internal organs including the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen caused by blunt force trauma, crushing injuries, or penetrating wounds from heavy equipment accidents.
• Burn Injuries: Thermal burns from hot surfaces, engine components, or heated materials, as well as electrical burns from contact with power lines or electrical systems on equipment.
• Lacerations and Soft Tissue Damage: Deep cuts, tears, and tissue damage from sharp edges, moving parts, or being dragged by machinery, requiring stitches, surgery, and leaving permanent scarring.
• Back and Neck Injuries: Herniated discs, vertebrae fractures, muscle tears, and ligament damage from equipment vibration, jolting impacts, or being struck by machinery, causing chronic pain and limited mobility.
• Respiratory Injuries: Lung damage from inhaling dust, fumes, diesel exhaust, or chemical substances released during heavy equipment operation, leading to chronic breathing problems and occupational lung diseases.
• Electrocution Injuries: Burns, cardiac arrest, nerve damage, and other injuries from equipment contacting overhead power lines or faulty electrical systems on machinery.
• Crush Syndrome: Life-threatening condition developing when prolonged compression of muscles releases toxins into the bloodstream after workers are freed from beneath heavy equipment.
• Wrongful Death: Fatal injuries resulting from the extreme forces involved in heavy equipment accidents, leaving families to cope with devastating loss and financial hardship.

The severity of injuries from heavy equipment accidents often requires immediate emergency care, multiple surgeries, extended hospital stays, intensive rehabilitation, and ongoing medical treatment for years or even a lifetime. As your heavy equipment accident lawyer, we understand that these injuries create enormous financial burdens beyond medical bills, including lost income, reduced earning capacity, and the need for long-term care or assistance with daily activities.

How a Heavy Equipment Accident Lawyer Can Maximize Your Compensation

Heavy equipment accident cases involve complex legal issues, multiple liable parties, and insurance companies determined to minimize payouts. Our heavy equipment accident lawyers approach ensures you receive the full compensation you deserve for your injuries.

How We Maximize Your Recovery:

• Thorough Accident Investigation: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers conduct comprehensive investigations, gathering critical evidence such as maintenance records, safety inspection reports, witness statements, photographs, and video footage to establish exactly how your accident occurred and who is responsible.
• Identifying All Liable Parties: Beyond your employer, our heavy equipment accident lawyers identify third parties who may share responsibility, including equipment manufacturers, maintenance companies, subcontractors, property owners, and equipment rental companies to maximize available compensation sources.
• Accurate Damage Calculation: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers work with medical professionals, economists, and vocational rehabilitation consultants to calculate the true cost of your injuries, including future medical needs, long-term care, and lifetime earning losses that insurance companies often overlook.
• Navigating Workers' Compensation and Third-Party Claims: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers handle both your workers' compensation claim and any applicable third-party lawsuits simultaneously, ensuring you receive all benefits while pursuing additional damages for pain and suffering.
• Proving Product Defects: When faulty equipment contributes to accidents, we retain engineering professionals to analyze machinery defects and build strong product liability cases against manufacturers and distributors.
• Countering Insurance Company Tactics: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers prevent insurance adjusters from using recorded statements, selective medical reviews, or lowball settlement offers against you, protecting your rights throughout the claims process.
• Documenting OSHA Violations: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers obtain and analyze OSHA inspection records and safety violation citations that strengthen your case by demonstrating employer or contractor negligence in maintaining safe working conditions.
• Preserving Critical Evidence: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers act quickly to send spoliation letters ensuring that equipment, maintenance logs, training records, and other crucial evidence is preserved before it disappears or is destroyed.
• Negotiating Maximum Settlements: Our reputation for thorough case preparation and willingness to take cases to trial motivates insurance companies to offer fair settlements rather than face us in court.
• Trial Representation When Necessary: When settlement negotiations fail to produce adequate compensation, we provide aggressive courtroom advocacy to present your case effectively before a judge and jury.
• Handling North Carolina's Contributory Negligence Rules: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers build cases that clearly establish the defendant's fault while protecting you from allegations that could bar recovery under North Carolina's strict contributory negligence standard.
• Coordinating Medical Treatment: Our heavy equipment accident lawyers help connect you with qualified healthcare providers who understand workplace injuries and can document your condition thoroughly to support your claim.

A heavy equipment accident lawyer understands the unique challenges these cases present and knows how to overcome obstacles that injured workers face when seeking fair compensation. Whether you need a construction accident lawyer for a worksite injury or representation for any other heavy equipment incident, The Law Offices of John M. McCabe has the skills and dedication to fight for your rights. Don't settle for less than you deserve—let our firm handle the legal complexities while you focus on healing and rebuilding your life.

Contact Our Raleigh Heavy Equipment Accident Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one has been injured in a heavy equipment accident in Raleigh or anywhere in North Carolina, don't wait to protect your rights. The Law Offices of John M. McCabe offers free consultations to discuss your case and explain your legal options. Our heavy equipment accident lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us today to schedule your consultation and let us fight for the justice and compensation you deserve while you focus on your recovery.