Crane Accident Lawyer in Orlando
An All-Female Trial Team That Has Recovered Over $20 Million for Injury Clients
Legally Pink Law is an all-female personal injury trial team based in Orlando. We represent workers and bystanders injured at construction sites across Orange County and the surrounding area. Founded in 2010 by Carolyn Salzmann, our firm has recovered more than $20 million for injury clients, including a $4,000,000 result in a construction site accident case.
If a crane accident left you or a family member seriously hurt, we’re available around the clock to discuss your case at no charge. Call (888) 979-4941 for a free, confidential consultation.
What Causes Crane Accidents & Who Is Liable
Crane accidents rarely have a single cause. Rigging or boom failure, exceeding a crane’s rated load capacity, unstable or improperly prepared ground conditions, operator error, and contact with overhead power lines are all documented causes. Because multiple parties control different aspects of a lift, liability is often shared across several defendants.
Potential liable parties include the crane operator, the general contractor overseeing the site, subcontractors working in the crane’s vicinity, the company that owns or rents the equipment, and the manufacturer if a design or manufacturing defect contributed to the failure. Crane accidents don’t only injure construction workers. When equipment collapses or drops a load near a public roadway, bystanders and motorists are also at risk.
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A fantastic group of legal professionals.
“They are caring and supportive but also very thorough and knowledgeable. They were excellent to work with, fought hard for me and helped bring closure. Highly recommend them.”- Allegra G. -
Legally Pink Law has been absolutely WONDERFUL!
“They helped make a stressful situation a lot less stressful for me! Their friendliness was superb, and they communicated every aspect of the entire process with me.”- Jaymi F. -
Legally Pink has been wonderful to work with!
“Carolyn and her team walked me through every step. It was a two-year process, and they never let me down, only lifted me up.”- Tammy H.
Your Questions, Answered
Get Clear, Straightforward Answers from Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys
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In all cases, there are two general categories of damages – economic damages and non-economic damages. You can be compensated for both past and future economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are things such as wage loss, mileage expense to go to doctor appointments, prescription costs, co-pays on insurance, over-the-counter medications, diminution in value to your car, etc. The other category is non-economic damages, which may include things such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, etc.
The non-economic damages are often greater than the economic damages if the injuries are significant enough. Consult with an attorney for a full explanation of these types of damages.
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Yes. Under Florida law, there are very specific, detailed deadlines to file claims. If you do not meet these deadlines, you may be forever barred from bringing your claim forward.
These time restrictions are known as statutes of limitations, and they vary depending on the type of claim you are bringing. It is critical that you consult with an attorney as soon as possible after your incident so you can receive good legal advice on the time limits for filing a personal injury claim.
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Wage loss is paid out under your Personal Injury Protection benefit, which happens to be mandatory coverage for auto insurance in the State of Florida. There are exceptions, such as when you elected to have your wage loss reimbursement excluded on your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefit when you obtained your policy.
Normally, people who have their wage loss benefits excluded are those who are not employed for some reason or another. You can also elect to have a standard PIP (which covers wage loss at 60%) or extended PIP (which covers wage loss at 80%).
You will need to provide proof of income in the form of a paycheck stub, income tax return, or some other verifiable means. The remaining percentage of your wage loss not covered by your PIP insurance will become part of your claim against the defendant driver.
When cases do not involve PIP coverage, the wage loss becomes part of the demand to the at-fault party. In most cases, proof of lost income is rather simple if the injured person receives a paycheck. For our clients who are self-employed, we work very closely with them to help them assemble the necessary documentation to prove the wage loss claim. Tax returns can be helpful in instances where clients are self-employed.
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Out-of-pocket expenses are always made part of your claim and are part of your economic damages that we seek to recover from the at-fault party. When your claim is presented to the at-fault party, we include your out-of-pocket expenses as part of the demand package.
If your case does not settle in what we call the "pre-suit phase," then your case will proceed to court where we will ask a jury for your out-of-pocket expenses as part of your economic damages on the verdict form.
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Your insurance premiums should not go up if you are not at fault for the accident. It will be part of your insurance record, but if you are not at fault, your premiums should not increase.
In most situations, your own insurance company will go after the insurance company that insures the at-fault party to recover the costs it may have paid to you for things such as car repairs or additional medical expenses.
Workers’ Compensation vs. Third-Party Liability
An injured construction worker in Florida typically has two potential recovery paths, and they can run at the same time. Florida workers’ compensation covers medical expenses and partial wage replacement regardless of fault, but it doesn’t compensate for pain and suffering. An employer that carries workers’ compensation coverage is generally shielded from a direct lawsuit by its own employee.
A third-party liability claim targets a negligent party other than your employer, such as the crane’s manufacturer, a general contractor, or a subcontractor, and can recover pain and suffering and other damages workers’ compensation doesn’t pay. Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule applies: a claimant found more than 50 percent at fault for the accident can’t recover from other at-fault parties, so establishing the relative fault of each defendant matters.
Compensation in a Crane Accident Claim
A crane accident claim can recover medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished future earning capacity, including the long-term cost of injuries that prevent a return to construction work. Pain and suffering damages are recoverable in a third-party claim and aren’t capped at a fixed amount under Florida law for most personal injury cases. When a crane accident is fatal, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim seeking compensation for loss of support, companionship, and funeral expenses.
Why Crane Accident Victims in Orlando Choose Legally Pink Law
We keep a deliberately limited caseload. The attorney who evaluates your case is the same attorney who handles it through resolution, with direct access to you throughout, not a rotating team of case managers.
Founding attorney Carolyn Salzmann holds a chemical engineering degree and an MBA in addition to her law degree. That background matters in crane accident cases. We can work through the technical questions surrounding boom design, rated load capacity, and rigging mechanics directly, rather than outsourcing every causation question to an outside expert. Carolyn is a lifetime recipient of the Multi-Million Dollar Trial Lawyers award, and every case at our firm is prepared as though it will go to trial, whether or not it ultimately does.
Florida’s Filing Deadline for Crane Accident Claims
Under Florida Statutes section 95.11, the statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is two years from the date of the accident for incidents occurring on or after March 24, 2023. Accidents that occurred before that date fall under the previous four-year window. Wrongful death claims arising from fatal crane accidents carry the same two-year deadline. Waiting to consult an attorney risks losing the right to recover, regardless of how strong the underlying claim is.
Talk to an Orlando Crane Accident Attorney at No Cost
We offer free, confidential consultations and work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. We’re available around the clock. Call (888) 979-4941 or submit our contact form to tell us what happened.
