I Was Injured While Visiting or Walking By a Construction Site; Who Can I Sue for My Injuries?
Heavy equipment, construction activity, and the multiple contractors that might be working at a construction site at any given time can make those sites riskier and less safe than other types of properties. Regardless, the construction site owner and all contractors performing services at the site owe guests and bystanders a duty of care to keep them from being injured when they are visiting or walking by the site. An injured visitor or bystander can sue the party that failed to live up to that duty of care for damages to compensate for losses and injuries.
The Los Angeles construction accident attorneys at Ellis Injury Law represent accident victims that have suffered injuries at Southern California work sites. We understand that identifying the party or parties that are liable for your damages and injuries is not a simple or straightforward process, and we apply our extensive knowledge and experience in construction site injury lawsuits to fight for our injured clients.
What are some of the common injuries that construction site guests and bystanders might suffer?
There is no limit to the kinds of injuries that a construction site visitor or bystander might suffer, but some injuries are more common than others:
- being struck by a tool or construction material that is dropped from an overhead location
- illness or injury from exposure to toxic or noxious construction chemicals
- slip and falls on uneven or unstable surfaces or over debris that has not been removed from walkways
- injuries from impacts with construction vehicles
- electrical shock from power sources that are not properly shielded.
Determining which parties to sue for these injuries is always a function of the specific facts of an accident. Injured construction site visitors and bystanders will have a better opportunity to establish those facts when they retain an experienced construction site accident lawyer as soon as is possible after an accident.
When can you sue the construction site owner or manager for injuries?
Among other duties, a construction site owner or manager is obligated to mark or warn about safety hazards that cannot be remedied, to erect scaffolds and overhead barriers to protect guests from falling construction debris, to cover or fix broken pavement and open trenches, to eliminate or provide pathways around slippery or uneven surfaces, and to protect guests from exposure to hazardous materials. An injured construction site visitor can sue the site owner for premises liability if his or her injuries were the direct and proximate result of the owner’s failure to meet these obligations.
When can you sue construction site contractors or subcontractors for injuries?
Contractors or subcontractors will be responsible to pay damages for your construction site injuries if they owed you a duty of care and their breach of that duty was the direct and proximate cause of your injuries. In Southern California, LA construction attorneys will consider the reasons for your visit to a construction site and your relationship or proximity to the contractors or subcontractors to determine the nature of the duty of care that they owed to you.
Can you sue a construction site party for injuries if you signed a liability waiver?
A liability waiver might excuse a party from negligence liability if it operates as a warning of specific risk and your injuries proceeded from that risk. California courts are less likely to enforce a general liability waiver that does not refer to specific hazards or dangers, particularly if the responsible party is deemed to be liable for gross negligence.
In all accident and injury cases, California does apply a comparative negligence standard that reduces the damages a party can recover in proportion to his or her own contribution to an accident and injuries. This means that you cannot recover the full amount of your damages from a negligent party if you ignored their safety warnings or willfully assumed risks that led to your injuries.
Call Ellis Injury Law in Los Angeles if you suffered an injury when you were a visitor or bystander at a construction site
The construction accident lawyers at Ellis Injury Law in Los Angeles will provide a complimentary review of your accident, including an assessment of the parties that you might be able to sue on account of your injuries. Please see our website or call our Los Angeles offices directly to speak with one of our lawyers about how you can recover compensation for construction site injuries caused by someone else’s negligence.