A Findlay construction site fall from heights can leave you facing serious injuries and time away from work, with real uncertainty about your bills. These accidents happen on roofs, scaffolds, and elevated platforms, and through unprotected edges or floor openings. Falls from height are among the most serious hazards in construction work.
Ohio workers’ compensation can provide an important path forward. Schaffer & Associates is a small, local northwest Ohio firm that helps injured workers in Findlay and the surrounding area. Our construction injury attorneys grew up in this region and understand the people and construction work that support the community. When you call us, you speak directly with an attorney and work with the same people throughout your claim.
The main claim you can make after a fall from a height on a construction site in Findlay is an Ohio workers’ compensation claim through the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. The system is generally no-fault, so you usually do not need to prove that your employer was negligent. You still need to show that the injury arose from your employment and occurred in the course of your work.
Available benefits can include treatment authorized through a BWC physician. You may also receive compensation for lost wages while you cannot work and an award for lasting impairment. If a worker dies from the fall, surviving dependents may pursue a death claim. Medical records and incident reports can help establish what happened, while photographs and witness statements may connect your condition to the job-site accident.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 4123.84, a worker generally must file the claim within one year of the injury. Acting promptly also helps preserve workplace records and other evidence.
A construction site fall from heights injury in Findlay may involve more than the basic workers’ compensation claim. Ohio construction safety rules address protections such as guardrails and fall-arrest systems. When an employer violates a specific Ohio safety requirement and that violation causes the injury, you may seek an additional VSSR award, which means Violation of a Specific Safety Requirement, on top of workers’ compensation benefits.
A separate claim may exist when someone other than your employer contributed to the fall. Depending on the facts, that party may be a general contractor or another subcontractor that controlled the unsafe part of the site. A defective harness or guardrail may support a product-liability claim. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.10, bodily-injury and product-liability claims generally carry a two-year deadline, and each possible avenue should be reviewed on its own facts.
A Findlay construction site fall from height accident can raise difficult questions about who controlled the work and why the protection failed. A direct civil claim against your employer is limited by Ohio’s narrow intentional-tort law. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2745.01, the worker generally must prove that the employer acted with intent to injure or with belief that injury was substantially certain to occur.
Most injured workers will proceed through the BWC system. The BWC or a self-insured employer may dispute whether the injury is work-related. It may also challenge the allowed conditions or refuse requested benefits. Schaffer & Associates can file the claim correctly and gather the medical and workplace documentation. We will communicate about the claim and represent you when benefits are denied, and we can appeal a decision that wrongly refuses treatment or compensation.
Findlay construction site fall from heights can affect your health and income. You do not have to manage the claim process alone.
Schaffer & Associates serves injured workers in Findlay and the surrounding area. Our local, boutique approach means that you will speak with an attorney and receive clear answers from a consistent team. Contact us to discuss your construction fall claim and the benefits or additional claims that may apply.