Construction workers often face the most dangerous working conditions compared to other industries. Despite regulations, job safety programs, and inspections at the job site, serious construction site accidents resulting in injury happen all too frequently.

Falls from scaffolds and other elevations, being struck by moving or falling machinery or equipment, electrocution, and injuries caused by unsafe or defective equipment are all hazards construction workers may have to contend with while performing their jobs.

Not only is the risk for accidents high, construction workers may experience health problems as a direct result of exposure to asbestos, dust and chemicals and they may have their ability to earn a living impacted by injuries resulting from lifting and other repetitive stress injuries.

Contact an Iowa Construction Worker Accidents Lawyer

If you are injured on the job, it is important to seek the help of an experienced construction worker accidents lawyer to ensure that you get all the workers compensation benefits you need. In some circumstances, you may pursue a third party liability claim as well. Contact the Des Moines, Iowa workers’ compensation Law Offices of John T. Hemminger at 515-283-2116 for immediate assistance if you or a family member is suffering from a workplace injury.

Driver Fatigue is a key factor in many crashes involving large trucks. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), 1 in 8 highway crashes involve large trucks and 13% of those truck accidents are caused by truck driver fatigue. In 2013, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released new regulations that limit drivers to:

• 70 hours on the road per calendar week
• behind the wheel times to no more than 11 hours per day, and
• on duty totals to no more than 14 hours per day

However, the 2013 regulations neglected to address how long interstate truck drivers could drive to get to work to begin their shift. Many of us are used to commuting to and from work and a 1 or 2 hour commute is common in dense urban areas. We never consider that the driver of a large multi-ton truck speeding down the highway may have driven 6 hours or more before they even started their shift.

This driving of ‘off duty hours to work on duty hours’ played out tragically in the 2014 crash that killed comedian James McNair and seriously injured comedian Tracy Morgan in New Jersey. Driver fatigue and excessive speed were cited as the cause of the accident and, according to the accident report, “the truck driver made an 800-mile overnight drive from his home in Georgia to his workplace in Delaware” to start his shift without sleeping a wink.

Since the incident, the NTSB has made recommendations to support stronger Fatigue Management Programs for interstate truck drivers which takes into account a driver’s commute to and from their duty place. Overall, truck drivers are subject to stringent hours of service regulations to stem the problem of driver fatigue, however, sometimes those rules are ignored by truckers or their companies who may be more concerned with making timely deliveries putting all motorists at risk.

Contact An Experienced Iowa Truck Driver Fatigue Accident Lawyer

If you or a family member has been injured in a motor vehicle accident involving a commercial truck, it is important to contact an experienced truck driver fatigue accident lawyer to determine exactly what lead up to the incident and if all trucking regulations were followed. Contact the Iowa truck accident lawyers of John T. Hemmminger Law Firm at 515-283-2116 for immediate assistance.

Iowa workplace injuries are all too common. Many construction workers, agricultural workers and those working in manufacturing occupations get injured while performing their jobs.

If you have been injured at work you may be entitled to workers’ compensation medical benefits. If eligible, all reasonable and necessary medical care and associated travel to treat your injury must be paid for by the employer. If you miss work to seek treatment, you may also receive payment for lost wages.

Disability benefits are payable for temporary total disability (TTD), temporary partial disability (TPD), healing periods (HP), permanent partial disability (PPD), scheduled member, body as a whole, and permanent total disability (PTD).

Your total weekly workers’ compensation benefit may not be greater than 80 percent of your spendable earnings, or gross weekly earning minus payroll taxes. Your average gross weekly earnings, number of income tax exemptions and marital status, determine your weekly disability benefit amount not to exceed set limits.

If you have been injured at work, medical costs and missed work can add up quickly. The Iowa workers’ compensation benefits for work injuries law offices of John T. Hemminger represents Iowans who have sustained workplace injuries ranging from head or neck, shoulders, back or hips and bilateral injuries to repetitive stress injuries and pre-existing injuries that were exacerbated in the workplace. We will pursue your workers’ compensation benefits and third-party claims to get the benefits you need today.

If you have been injured in an accident caused by another’s negligence, that individual and their insurance company is likely liable for your damages. You may be entitled to compensation for your medical care, lost wages, pain and physical suffering, disability and disfigurement. You may also have a claim for loss of family, social or educational experiences and emotional damages.

To arrive at a figure for damages, an insurance company will determine the medical expenses related to your injury as a starting point for compensation. After tallying-up your medical costs, they will then look at the overall picture related to your injury.

The adjuster will take into account factors such as the degree of pain and how long-lasting or invasive the injury is or will likely be. They will examine medical records for supporting evidence of the extent of the injuries and the anticipated recovery period. The more serious the injury, and whether the result is permanent or created visible effects, will also be considered.

After calculating your medical expenses (referred to as specials) and accessing the general damages of pain and suffering, permanent, partial or temporary disability and emotional effects, the adjuster will determine a range of compensation. The settlement amount will likely be anywhere within this range – a low and a high end – with any lost wages added to the top.

If you have been injured in an accident, you deserve to be fully compensated for your medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost wages. However, because there is built in flexibility in the insurer’s calculation, some insurance companies may offer you an unsatisfactory or hasty settlement in the interest of saving money.

Calculating Personal Injury Damages – Experience Matters

It is important to work with an experienced Iowa personal injury attorney to make sure that you or your loved one is being treated fairly. If you or a family member has been injured, contact the Des Moines personal injury Law Offices of John T. Hemminger at 515-283-2116 for help today. We have been working on behalf of injured Iowans for decades to make sure they get the maximum compensation they deserve.