Explore Your Legal Options for Compensation After Being Injured by a Falling Object in Monmouth County, New Jersey
In public and professional areas around the country, strict laws and safety guidelines are in place to protect citizens and workers. In most cases, these parameters and preventative actions do what they are supposed to do: keep people safe. Unfortunately, even when quality measures are established, accidents happen. Many times, these accidents cause injury, even life-changing serious injury. One common accident causing serious injury on worksites and in public places is falling objects. An injury caused by falling objects can severely impact you physically, professionally, and emotionally in the long term. It could also take the life of someone you love and cause your family immeasurable harm. Our personal injury team is highly experienced in advising people across Monmouth County, Ocean County, and New Jersey, who have been injured in accidents involving falling objects. Contact us today at (732) 303-7857 to learn more about how we can help you recover full and fair damages for your falling object accident injury.
Activities and Professions Frequently Associated with Falling Objects
Traditionally, construction sites have been the primary culprit for falling object accidents. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2020, 44,760 accidents occurred due to a person being “struck by a falling object.” In 2021, 227 of those accidents were fatal. Construction workers and people walking by construction sites are at a disproportionately high risk of being struck by a falling object. Even still, construction sites are not the only place falling object injuries could occur. Such injuries also occur in warehouses and public places, particularly large stores that stock merchandise in warehouse-style, such as Walmart and Ikea.
Leading Causes of Injuries Due to Falling Objects
On construction sites
On construction sites, there are multiple causes of falling objects. The Bureau of Labor Statistics divides falling object injuries that occur on the job into categories of how they occur: falling objects dropped by the injured worker, being struck by falling objects dropped by another worker, and objects fallen from a piece of machinery, equipment, or vehicle. Because of the number of moving parts on a construction site, even safety measures can fall short and result in injury.
In warehouses
Warehouses also pose a risky environment for falling object injuries. The most common of such injuries occurring in warehouses happen due to improper handling or overloading of forklifts. Additionally, imbalanced stacking on high levels can lead to merchandise falls, causing injury.
In public places
As in warehouses, the onset of warehouse-style stores such as Costco, Walmart, and Ikea are leading to an uptick in New Jersey falling object injuries. Because shoppers who are untrained in operating in a warehouse setting are in charge of gathering their own supplies, some of which are located on tall shelves, falling object injuries are a certain danger. But warehouse-style stores are not the only place falling object injuries can happen. In February 2023, four people were injured when a decorative helicopter fell into a pool in the DreamWorks Waterpark in East Rutherford. Given that accidents like this one show that falling object accidents are a risk anywhere, property owners are responsible for taking the strictest precautions to prevent accidents, and public citizens and workers must be alert as well.
Determining Property Owners’ Negligence in Falling Objects Accidents in NJ
Property owners are responsible for ensuring a safe environment on their premises under New Jersey law. Therefore, when a falling object injury accident occurs, the property owner or contractor can be held liable for negligence and be required to cover all costs associated with the injury. As such, a person – either private citizen or worker – who has been injured needs to contact a falling object injury attorney to ensure a full case is built on their behalf. When negligence plays a role in falling object accident injuries, an experienced lawyer on our personal injury team can help to investigate and determine one or more parties who may be held responsible.
Talk to Our Freehold Falling Objects Injury Lawyers in a Free Consultation
Our New Jersey accident attorneys can assist you with gathering sufficient evidence to prove a strong case of negligence in a falling object injury claim. Evidence is collected from the police report, photos of the scene, witness testimony, and other information gathered by our team, and in certain cases, a forensic investigator. Our goal is to represent your best interests, to hold negligent parties accountable, and to obtain full damages on your behalf, as many employers and insurance companies will attempt to discount certain injury or liability elements to lower costs.
Our firm serves injury victims in Sea Bright, Howell, Long Branch, Belmar, Freehold, Brick, Asbury Park, Manasquan, Middletown, Toms River, and elsewhere in Monmouth and Ocean County area in falling object claims, and we are prepared to take your case to court if the responsible party does not settle for an amount that fully covers your medical expenses, associated out-of-pocket costs, lost wages, permanent disability, and emotional suffering. Contact us today at (732) 303-7857 for a free consultation to discuss your claim.
