The modern American construction industry is a big one, and this may not come as a surprise. After all, in a developed nation like the United States, many suburban homes, office buildings, banks, libraries, and more need to be built regularly, and today’s construction contractors are on the job. These experts have varied professionals among them, such as plumbers, masons, electricians, concrete specialists, and more to get the job done. During a construction project, a number of construction crews will gather and pool their materials, tools, skills, and more to get the project done, and paperwork will help coordinate all of this. Construction lawyers and attorneys can help with the legal and financial aspects of all this, and construction law will play a major role in coordinating a project. Construction attorneys will protect their client contractors during litigation, and they may also review paperwork and plans to make sure that everything is legal, fair, and safe. What might such attorneys do if something goes wrong during a project?
Construction and the Law
This is a large industry, worth nearly $1 trillion, and sometimes there may be incidents concerning payments, worker safety, or property damage. The American Arbitration Association, or the AAA, is often tasked with handling these large cases. In 2015, for a fairly recent example, the AAA administered some 551 construction industry cases that were worth $500,000 or more each. Of all those cases, the largest mediated case was worth an impressive $2.6 billion, and the largest arbitration case was worth some $96 million. In that year, the total value of all claims and counter-claims came out to $5.5 billion. Some construction projects are quite large, and many workers’ safety or construction materials and invoice promises may be on the line. If disaster strikes, a construction team may use their attorneys to pursue litigation, and in some cases, this may end up in court, too. What might go wrong during a construction project?
Attorneys on the Project Site
It should be noted that construction attorneys will work on the project even if no incidents take place. After all, when a construction project is about to be launched, these attorneys can look over all the invoice payment agreements, blueprints, schedule, and more to ensure that all paperwork is in order. These attorneys may also ensure that the project will meet city and state safety and fire hazard codes, and any other regulations that may apply.
Sometimes, a construction attorney may be asked to help their clients if an invoice payment from another team is very late or probably not going to show up at all, and they may pursue litigation for this. A crew may need that invoice payment to cover their own expenses, and outstanding invoices may have a great total value, so lawyers will be asked to find a solution to this. In other cases, paperwork problems may take the form of wrongful termination. If another crew on the project launches what appears to be wrongful termination of the project as a whole, another crew’s attorney may look into this, and if necessary, attempt to reverse that wrongful termination. But if project termination really is necessary, then a contractor’s attorney may file the paperwork for that. This may be necessary, for example, if the project is bar behind schedule and over budget or if too many worker injuries are taking place.
Property damage and worker injury cases are other major reasons why construction attorneys may be called upon. Property may be damaged when tools are misused or dropped, or if vehicles strike each other or the building itself. Meanwhile, workers face many hazards at construction sites, such as the hazards of getting body parts trapped in machinery or getting crushed under heavy items or loads. Workers may get struck by construction vehicles, or they may even slip and fall a long way and strike sheer concrete or bricks. Workers have been known to be seriously or even killed this way. Such workers may also inhale dangerous fumes or airborne particles, or they may suffer from heat stroke while on the job in hot weather. Workers may turn to their crew’s attorney or even look for local personal injury law firms if they suffer such injuries on the project.
