Falls on Construction Sites

Massachusetts Construction Accident Attorney Tracy Paulsen is here to help if you have been injured in a fall at a construction site.  Where the fall occurred at work or when you were visiting a construction site, Attorney Paulsen knows that obtaining fair compensation for your injuries can be intimidating and overwhelming, especially when you are still in pain.  With over 15 years of Massachusetts personal injury experience, she is ready to Fight for Your Rights.

As the managing attorney of construction accident law firm Rightful Legal, Attorney Paulsen knows that construction sites run on deadlines and hard work. They also run on the trust that everyone goes home safe at the end of a shift, including bystanders. When that trust is broken by a fall, the result can be catastrophic. Attorney Tracy Paulsen represents injured construction workers and families after ladder, roof, scaffold, and structural fall incidents in Bristol County, Norfolk County, Boston and throughout Massachusetts. The team at Rightful Legal focuses on getting medical bills covered, lost wages replaced, and accountability enforced, so you can focus on healing from your construction fall injuries. Contact us today so we can help get your life back on track as quickly as possible.

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Why Falls Keep Happening On Construction Sites

Falls are not freak events. They are predictable and preventable breakdowns in planning, training, equipment, and oversight. On active jobs in New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, and across the South Coast, we repeatedly see the same patterns: guardrails missing at deck edges, temporary floor openings left uncovered, makeshift ladder setups, hurried scaffold moves, or an anchor that no one verified. Add wind, a wet membrane, scattered debris, or a push to just get it done, and a routine task becomes a life-altering fall.

 Massachusetts and National Construction Accident Statistics

Recent state data show how often these events turn deadly. Massachusetts recorded 178 workplace deaths in the early 2020s. Falls to a lower level accounted for 19 of those deaths, and 12 of those involved construction tasks or tools. Half of the fatal falls were from heights of 10 feet or less, which undercuts the myth that only very tall exposures are dangerous.

Nationally, falls, slips, and trips remain a top killer in construction. In a recent year, nearly one in five workplace deaths occurred in construction, and about 38 percent of construction fatalities were caused by falls, slips, and trips. Construction also accounted for almost half of all fatal falls, slips, and trips across the country that year.

Non-fatal injuries also take a toll. Private industry employers in Massachusetts reported tens of thousands of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2023, a number that reflects thousands of workers sidelined by preventable hazards.

How Falls Happen

Falls on construction sites cluster around familiar scenarios:

• Edges and openings. Unprotected perimeters, stairwells, elevator shafts, skylights, and floor openings are magnets for serious falls if covers and guardrails are missing or not secured.
  
• Ladders. Quick ladder moves, wrong ladder for the job, improper angle or tie-off, standing on top rungs, and slick rungs lead to sudden slips.
  
• Scaffolds. Planks that are not fully decked, missing midrails or toeboards, unsecured wheels, or overloading create cascading risks.
  
• Roof work. Low-slope roofs are deceptive. A small pitch, a wet surface, and a moment of inattention can be enough.
  
• Steel and formwork. Erection activities, decking, and rebar work demand engineered tie-off points, controlled access zones, and methodical sequencing.

OSHA requires fall protection at six feet or more in construction, with specific duties for leading edges, roofing, precast erection, and other tasks. Guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems are not optional in these exposures.

Common Hazards In Bristol County Construction Projects

In Bristol County, each type of project brings its own set of risks. On waterfront and mill redevelopments in places like Fall River and New Bedford, roof edges, parapets, and aging skylights often hide weakened or unstable surfaces. On newer single-family developments and warehouse builds near Taunton and Attleboro, framing crews can outpace the installation of guardrails or perimeter protection. Along road and utility corridors, open trenches, uneven shoring, and temporary work platforms create additional fall and collapse hazards. Strong, site-specific safety planning must anticipate these conditions. In many cases, falls happen when the push for production overtakes proper protection, and the workers are put at risk. 

If you have been hurt in a construction accident do not wait. Contact an experienced Bristol County Construction Accident lawyer today. 

Who May Be Liable After A Construction Fall

Responsibility for fall protection is shared, but legal accountability depends on who controlled the work and violated safety rules.

• General contractors and construction managers control site conditions, coordinate trades, and often have the duty to ensure a compliant fall-protection plan.
  
• Subcontractors and sub-subs are responsible for how their crews perform tasks and whether they use required systems correctly.
  
• Site owners or developers can face liability when they retain control over means and methods or ignore known hazards.
  
• Scaffold, ladder, and equipment companies may be responsible for defective components or improper erection.
  
• Design professionals can face claims in limited circumstances where their contracts give them site-safety responsibilities or they approve unsafe details.

These duties are evaluated against OSHA’s fall-protection standard, which requires protection at six feet, specific systems for low-slope and steep roofs, and fall-protection plans where conventional systems are infeasible.

What To Do After A Construction Fall Accident

Get Care And Report The Incident

Seek immediate medical attention and follow through on every recommended evaluation. Report the incident to your supervisor in writing. Your employer is responsible for OSHA reporting and workers’ compensation paperwork, but do not assume they will do it right without your documentation. 

If you delay seeking medical care and reporting your injury, you are jeopardizing your health and your claim. You deserve to be evaluated and treated for any hidden injuries. An insurance adjuster or construction company may also use delayed medical care and reporting to unfairly cast doubt on your injuries.

Preserve The Evidence

If you can do so safely, photograph the scene before conditions change, including the edge or opening, any guardrails, covers, anchors, ladders, and the path you took. Save the equipment you used. Record the names and phone numbers of witnesses and everyone who touched the area after the incident. If a scaffold, lift, or ladder was involved, capture labels, model numbers, and rental tags.

Ask For The Paper Trail

Request the job’s Site-Specific Safety Plan, fall-protection plan, toolbox talks, Job Hazard Analyses, daily safety inspections, and any incident or OSHA records. These documents can show what the controlling employer knew about fall hazards and whether protections were planned but not implemented. OSHA’s fall-protection standard requires specific systems for leading edges, low-slope roofs, steep roofs, and precast erection.

Call a Construction Accident Lawyer Early

Rapid response matters in construction accident cases. When you hire Rightful Legal, we send preservation letters, secure equipment when possible, coordinate with independent engineers, and ensure no one quietly fixes or removes the very evidence that explains what went wrong. All of this is most effective immediately following a construction accident.  The sooner you contact Rightful Legal, the better.

Hurt in a Construction Fall? 

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Evidence We Use To Prove Negligence after a Construction Site Fall

Site Control and Supervision

We analyze contracts and subcontracts to understand who controlled safety on the construction site, who performed inspections of the site and equipment, and who had authority to stop work when conditions were unsafe. Identifying who had control of the site helps us determine who is responsible for compensating you for your injuries.

Physical Conditions

Edge protection, cover strength and fasteners, guardrail heights, anchor location and ratings, ladder selection and setup, scaffold decking and tie-ins, and housekeeping are measured against the OSHA standard and industry practice. If a fall occurred from a relatively low height, we scrutinize surfaces, slip resistance, and access points. Massachusetts fatality data show that even falls of 10 feet or less can kill, which is why protection at lower heights still matters. Attorney Paulsen is passionate about holding companies responsible for failures to follow any relevant safety standards.

Training And Supervision

We review orientation records, task-specific training, harness and lanyard issuance, competent-person designations, and supervision. Simply having harnesses on site is not compliance. Workers must have anchors to clip to, safe tie-off paths, and oversight that consistently enforces applicable safety measures.

Prior Incidents And Corrective Action

We investigate whether the construction company who injured you has had previous safety incidents, showing a pattern of negligence or misconduct. Past write-ups, near misses, and OSHA consultations can prove a company knew about unsafe conditions. When the same opening was uncovered and led to an injury previously, leaving it open again is not simply an accident. It is negligence.

Injuries We Commonly See After Construction Falls

Attorney Paulsen and her team at Rightful Legal work closely with construction fall victims, including many construction workers and their families. Falls often produce complex trauma that requires coordinated care, which can be extremely costly.  Common injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, intracranial hemorrhage, and diffuse axonal injury.
  
• Spinal injuries, from compression fractures to disc herniations and spinal cord damage.
  
• Complex fractures of the heel, wrist, hip, pelvis, and long bones, sometimes requiring hardware and staged surgeries.
  
• Internal injuries like splenic or hepatic lacerations, as well as thoracic injuries from harness arrest forces.
  
• Psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress and depression that interfere with return to work.

Rightful Legal works closely with your treating physicians and independent experts to document the full impact of your construction fall injuries on your work capacity and quality of life.

Answers to Common Questions about Construction Site Falls

After working with many construction fall victims and their families, Attorney Paulsen has noticed several commonly raised questions.  Here are the answers:

Do I have a case if I fell from a short height?

Yes, you may. Falling from a short height does not keep you from making a case. State data shows that half of the fatal falls in the early 2020s were from heights of 10 feet or less. The absence of guardrails, covers, or safe access can make even a short drop serious or deadly.  

What if I was not tied off?

Failure to tie off does not necessarily keep you from making a claim. Your own lapses in safety procedures are not a free pass for the companies that controlled the work. Massachusetts comparative negligence reduces damages by your share of fault, but it does not bar recovery unless you are more than 50 percent responsible. So if you are 30 percent at fault for tying off, but the company controlling your work is 70 percent at fault for negligent worksite or equipment maintenance, you can still recover compensation for 70 percent of your damages, such as medical bills and lost wages.

At Rightful Legal, we focus on holding accountable the parties who had the power to install guardrails, provide anchors, and direct the work safely but did not.

Can I bring both a workers’ compensation claim and a lawsuit?

You can collect comp benefits through your employer and pursue a third-party negligence claim against other responsible entities. The workers’ compensation insurer who pays you may assert a lien, which an experienced personal injury attorney like Tracy Paulsen can address during settlement negotiations.

What deadlines should I worry about?

For most Massachusetts personal injury cases, you have three years to file suit. Wrongful death claims are generally three years as well. Claims against public entities add a strict presentment requirement within two years, delivered to the correct official. Do not rely on informal notices.

If you were hurt at work, the deadline to bring a workers’ compensation claim, as opposed to a personal injury lawsuit, is typically four years.  Attorney Paulsen and the team at Rightful Legal can help you identify which deadlines apply to your case.

Serving Construction Fall Victims in Bristol County And The South Coast

Rightful Legal represents injured workers from projects along the Acushnet and Taunton Rivers, mill conversions in Fall River and New Bedford, residential builds throughout Dartmouth and Attleboro, and roadway and utility jobs across Bristol County. We also represent bystanders and site visitors who have suffered construction site falls. We know the local trades, the typically involved insurance companies, and how these cases move through Massachusetts courts.  Attorney Paulsen and her team are ready to guide you with personalized compassion, fierce advocacy, and local insight that giant national firms cannot offer.

The Stakes And The Path Forward

A construction site fall can end your career or even your life. It can reshape your family’s finances, routines, and sense of safety in an instant. At Rightful Legal, we know the stress you are under.  That’s why it is our job to translate what happened on the deck, roof, scaffold, or ladder into a clear story about duty, choices, and consequences to persuade an insurance adjuster or other decision-maker to provide fair compensation for your injuries. 

Speak with Tracy Paulsen about Your Construction Fall Injury Case

If you or a loved one suffered a fall on a construction site in Bristol County or elsewhere in Massachusetts, Attorney Paulsen wants to help.  She is passionate about obtaining justice for injury victims, including those injured by falls on construction sites.  She knows that you were hurt by someone else’s poor choices while you were just going about your day or working to provide a life for yourself and your family.  That is why she has devoted herself and her work at Rightful Legal to obtaining justice for each and every client from the negligent companies and individuals who have injured them.

Contact the passionate Construction Fall Victims Attorneys at Rightful Legal to learn your options. We can evaluate any available workers’ compensation benefits, identify potential third-party claims, preserve the evidence, and map a path toward recovery. One free, no-pressure conversation with our team can help you take back control of your life and protect your health and future.