If you own a house, you will probably replace the roof at least once in the twenty to fifty years that you own the place. If you get a contractor that is worth his/her salt, he/she will make absolutely certain that every used or bent nail and every broken shingle is removed from your yard. However, if you get a contractor that is careless, or has employees that do not address all of the refuse they throw down from your roof, that is a recipe for major injury and possibly tetanus/lockjaw. If this has happened to you, you should seek a personal injury attorney to address the situation and see if you have a personal injury lawsuit. 

It Is a Bit of a Gray Area

First and foremost, you should understand that stepping on rusty objects ejected from your roof is a bit of a gray legal area when it comes to personal injury. Because the nail came from your roof, the injury you received may actually count against your homeowner's insurance. However, the fact that the rusty nail or rusted bit of metal would not have been where you stepped had your roofing contractor cleaned up thoroughly after the project was complete tips the case toward the contractor and his/her crew. Knowing that this case is a bit tricky to defend, be prepared for an outcome you might not have expected. 

If the Contractor Was Really Reckless and Left Refuse Everywhere

Of course, if the contractor's crew was really reckless and left rusty roof refuse all over your yard and just did nothing to clean it up, you may have a case. You definitely have a case if you, a family pet, and/or one or more children in the home were injured by rusty objects left in the yard and everyone needed emergency medical treatment to address cases of tetanus and lockjaw. If the contractor did not use a dumpster or come around to collect the pile of roof refuse from the yard at all, and injuries followed, you may press forward with your lawsuit. 

What You Can Sue For

In this case, you can sue for all vet and/or medical bills incurred. You can sue for ongoing treatments to wounds, if the wounds were substantial, became infected, or caused significant loss of use of the injured body part. (It is rare, but it is possible to contract flesh-eating bacteria from construction refuse and then lose a body part to amputation.) As for your homeowner's insurance, your lawyer can argue that you do not want to pursue a claim through your insurance because of the negligence of the contractor and his/her crew.