Who Is Responsible for My Construction Site Injury?
Busy construction sites are a perfect storm of different parties, each of which might be responsible for someone’s construction site injury. The specific circumstances of a construction site accident will determine if responsibility for damages falls on one or more of the site owner or manager, the prime contractor, any general contractors or subcontractors, architects and engineers, material suppliers, or equipment manufacturers and installers.
Given the complex interactions of the many parties that might be responsible for an injury, every person that is injured at a California job site should retain experienced Los Angeles construction accident attorneys that understand the dynamics of construction work. A skilled construction accident and injury lawyer, including any of the lawyers at Ellis Injury Law, will fight to help the injured party recover the largest possible damages award from the party or parties whose negligence resulted in an injury-causing accident.
When might a site owner or manager be responsible for a construction site injury?
Construction site owners have an obligation to repair or warn site guests about known unsafe conditions. Those conditions include unstable ground, open ditches, accumulated debris, oily or slippery surfaces, and any other circumstances that can lead to a slip and fall or some other accident. The site owner will be responsible for injuries if the facts show that the owner knew about the risks but did nothing to reduce them or warn the injured party about them.
When might contractors be responsible for a construction site injury?
Employees of a construction site’s prime contractor or of any general or subcontractors that are providing services at the site will be entitled to recover payments from an employer’s workers’ compensation coverage to reimburse medical costs and expenses and lost wages associated with on-the-job injuries. In most cases, workers’ compensation benefits preclude an injured employee from suing his or her employer for additional damages that are not reimbursed by those benefits, including damages for pain and suffering. If another contractor’s negligence caused an accident that led to injuries, that contractor might be responsible for the damages that are not available through workers’ compensation.
Rather than assuming that their damages are limited to the benefits they receive through workers’ compensation, construction site employees in Southern California should consult with LA construction attorneys as soon as is possible after they suffer job site injuries. When the circumstances of the accident are still fresh, those attorneys will be better able to gather facts and evidence that will demonstrate which parties are responsible for the full measure of the injured employee’s damages.
When might other parties be responsible for a construction site injury?
The possible liability of other parties for construction site injuries will be a function of the standards of care owed by those parties and the extent to which their violation of those standards was the direct and proximate cause of an accident that led to injuries. For example:
- Architects, engineers, and other design professionals have a critical role in ensuring the overall safety of construction design. Expert witness testimony might be required to describe the safety standards that applied to a particular construction site and how the professional’s failure to meet those standards precipitated accidents and injuries
- Material suppliers must provide products that meet construction standards and must deliver and store those materials in ways that do not pose risks to other persons at a construction site
- Equipment manufacturers and installers, including producers of tools, scaffolds, heavy machinery, and restraining systems, must deliver products that do not pose excess risks to construction site personnel.
In very limited situations, providers of inherently dangerous systems, including dynamite and other blasting equipment, might bear strict liability for injuries caused by their systems. Under strict liability standards, an injured party will not be required to show that the provider of those systems was in any way negligent.
Call Ellis Injury Law for answers to your questions about who is responsible for your construction site injury
Please refer to our website or call the California construction accident attorneys at Ellis Injury Law as soon as is possible after you have suffered injuries at a construction site. We will provide a no-fee review of the facts of your case and determine which party or parties are responsible for reimbursing you for the losses associated with your injuries.