.avif)
Construction Accident Lawyer
in Fort Wayne, IN
A ladder gives way. An unsupported trench wall gives way without warning. A crew member steps into the blind spot of a skid steer. Fort Wayne's downtown is in the middle of a real building boom, and every crane, scaffold, and open trench poses a real risk to the people working beneath them. Our construction accident attorneys handle both the workers' compensation claim and any separate personal injury case against a negligent third party, so nothing gets missed between the two, and you receive maximum compensation for your construction site injuries.
Honors & Memberships
How Theisen Hubley Law Handles Fort Wayne Construction Cases
Theisen Hubley Law has successfully handled injury cases for clients out of downtown Fort Wayne since 2001. A construction site accident rarely calls for just one simple claim. Workers' compensation covers your medical bills and part of your lost wages no matter who made the mistake, but it will not cover the full weight of a serious, permanent injury. When a general contractor, a subcontractor from another company, an equipment supplier, or a property owner shares blame, a second claim against that third party can recover what workers' comp leaves on the table.
We open the workers' comp claim right away, dig into who else had a hand in the accident, and keep both cases moving on the same timeline so neither stalls while waiting on the other.
Fort Wayne Construction Site Accidents We Take On
Job sites fail in a limited number of predictable ways. Here's what shows up most often in the cases we see across Allen County.
Falls from Height
Roofs, ladders, and open floor edges cause more construction deaths than any other single hazard on a job site. Even a fall from one story can fracture a spine or cause a fatal head injury.
Scaffolding Failure
A scaffold built wrong, overloaded, or missing guardrails can drop a worker or send debris onto anyone standing below. Loose planking and unsecured base plates are behind a large share of these falls.
Struck-By Accidents
Falling material, a swinging beam, or a load slipping from a forklift can cause a serious head or spinal injury. These accidents tend to happen fast, with little to no warning for the worker below.
Electrocution and Arc Flash
Overhead lines and exposed or energized wiring can turn a routine task into a life-threatening one in a second. Contact with a live wire can cause cardiac arrest, severe burns, and even death.
Trench and Excavation Collapse
Soil weighs far more than most people expect. A trench without proper shoring or a protective box can cave in and bury a worker in seconds.
Crane and Rigging Failures
A dropped load, a tip-over, or a rigging failure can injure the operator, a signal person, or a bystander in the swing radius. Worn cables and improperly rated slings are common culprits.
Caught-In and Crush Injuries
Machinery and equipment with moving parts can pin or crush a worker's limbs. Some of these injuries end in amputation or lasting nerve damage.
Power Tool and Nail Gun Injuries
Double-fire nail guns and poorly maintained power tools cause frequent hand, finger, and eye injuries on construction sites. New and inexperienced workers are more likely to be injured by these tools than anyone else.
Heat-Related Illness
Roofing and paving crews working in Northeast Indiana during summer face real risks of heat exhaustion and heatstroke without scheduled breaks and access to water. Left untreated, heatstroke can cause organ damage or death.
Highway and Road Work Zone Crashes
Crews working along I-69, I-469, and local road projects can be hit by a distracted or speeding driver with no warning. A single vehicle intrusion into a marked work zone can injure several workers at once.
One Call Can Sort Out Your Next Step
Skip the guesswork on paperwork and deadlines. Walk us through what happened at the site, and we'll flag which claims are worth pursuing before you talk to anyone else.
Injuries We See After Fort Wayne Construction Accidents
Construction injuries tend to run more severe than the average workplace accident, and some take time to fully reveal themselves. Clients come to us with:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Crush injuries to the hands, arms, or legs
- Amputations and loss of limb
- Severe burns from fire, chemicals, or electrical contact
- Fractures requiring plates, screws, or rods
- Degloving injuries and deep lacerations
- Hearing loss from prolonged equipment noise
- Heat stroke and related organ strain
- Lasting psychological effects after a serious job site incident
If you're unsure whether your injury is serious enough to involve a lawyer, a short conversation with our team can help clarify that quickly.
Ways to Recover Money After a Construction Accident in Indiana
A construction injury claim usually runs on two separate tracks, and most workers only know about one of them.
Your Workers' Compensation Claim
Indiana's workers' comp system pays for medical treatment and roughly two-thirds of your average wage, plus a permanent partial impairment award for lasting limitations. It doesn't matter whose mistake caused the accident, but report the injury to your employer right away. A delay can put the claim at risk.
A Claim Against a Third Party
Job sites involve multiple companies. If a general contractor's safety failure, a different subcontractor's mistake, a negligent property owner, or a defective tool caused your injury, a separate claim against that party can recover what comp doesn't: full lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and the medical costs comp caps.
Wrongful Death Claims
If a construction accident takes a worker's life, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim against a negligent third party alongside any comp death benefit. This type of claim can account for lost financial support and the loss of a parent or spouse.
#cta_start
Find Out If You Have a Second Claim
Many injured workers assume a workers' compensation claim is their only legal option. Share the details of your accident with us, and we will help you understand if a secondary claim is possible.
#cta_end
Indiana Law Behind a Fort Wayne Construction Accident Case
Two-Year Filing Deadline
Under Indiana Code 34-11-2-4, a lawsuit against a negligent third party generally must be filed within two years of the accident. Miss that window, and the claim is typically barred regardless of its strength.
Comparative Fault
Indiana follows a modified comparative fault rule under Indiana Code 34-51-2-6. You can still recover compensation as long as you're not found more than 50 percent at fault, though your total award drops by your share of the blame.
Workers' Comp Doesn't Close the Door on a Lawsuit
Workers' compensation benefits from your employer, administered through the Indiana Workers' Compensation Board, don't block you from pursuing a separate case against a different, negligent company. The two systems run on independent tracks.
OSHA Findings Can Strengthen Your Case
When OSHA cites an employer or contractor for a safety violation tied to your accident, that citation can become useful evidence in a third-party claim, even outside the comp system. Indiana construction sites also fall under the state's own safety arm, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA).
What to Do in the Hours After a Job Site Accident
What happens in the first few hours after a construction accident can shape both your workers' comp claim and any case against a third party. Here's what protects you most:
- Get medical attention right away, even if the injury seems minor at first.
- Tell a supervisor or foreman what happened and ask for a written incident report.
- Photograph the scene, the equipment involved, and your injuries before anything gets cleaned up or repaired.
- Collect names and phone numbers from any coworkers who saw the accident.
- Keep copies of every medical bill, work restriction, and off-work note.
- Avoid giving a recorded statement to any insurance company before you speak with an attorney.
- Call Theisen Hubley Law early. Evidence at an active job site disappears fast.
Why Fort Wayne Construction Workers
Call Theisen Hubley Law
What Our Clients Say
Meet the Attorneys Behind Your Construction Injury Claim
Our attorneys bring decades of experience to workers' compensation and third-party claims arising from a serious job-site accident. From the initial workers' comp filing through third-party personal injury settlement negotiations or trial, the same team handles your case from start to finish.
-
John C. Theisen
Attorney -
Nathaniel O. Hubley
Attorney -
Christina R. Hubley
Attorney
Construction Accident Representation Across Allen County and Northeast Indiana
Our office sits in downtown Fort Wayne, and we meet with injured workers by phone or video when a trip to our office isn't realistic.
We represent construction accident victims throughout:
- Allen County
- Kosciusko County
- Wabash County
- Adams County
- LaGrange County
- Wells County
- DeKalb County
- Noble County
- Whitley County
- Huntington County
- Steuben County
Theisen Hubley Law
Ready to Find Out Where You Stand?
A job site injury rarely comes with a clear next step. Tell us what happened, which company you work for, and what treatment you've had so far. We'll walk through the facts with you and lay out what a workers' comp claim and any third-party case could look like, at no cost.
Questions Fort Wayne Construction Workers Ask Us Most
It can. Indiana workers' comp generally requires an employer-employee relationship, and misclassification is common on Fort Wayne job sites. Bring your pay setup and job details to a free consultation, and we'll tell you where you stand.
Indiana requires nearly all construction employers to carry coverage, but a small subcontractor sometimes doesn't. A claim against the general contractor or another responsible party on the job site may still be available.
Indiana's workers' compensation system generally covers injured workers regardless of immigration status. Bring your specific situation to a free consultation, and we'll confirm exactly where you stand.
Often, yes. A general contractor that retains control over safety on a multi-company job site can carry liability even without directly employing you. We review the contracts and site safety practices to answer this in your case.
There's no single number. Severity of the injury, permanence of any disability, your age and pre-injury earnings, and how many parties share liability all factor into the value of a claim.