Each year, thousands of workers are injured and/or killed while on their job on a construction site. A construction site is dangerous because you have many different contractors of many different trades coming together using dangerous equipment and construction materials in order to achieve the end product namely a functioning structure/building.
In the process, many things can go wrong. A screw may come loose and scaffolding may fall, a crane may malfunction and materials fall, other workers can make a mistake and the end result is other workers get injured. As such, employers, owners, contractors, general contractors have to follow all the safety rules put in place by the construction site manager as well as the State of California.
Under most circumstances, an individual/worker that is injured at a construction site can only sue his employer directly under the workers compensation laws of the State of California. However, in some instances, where someone other than the workers’ employer is negligent and creates the danger at the construction site, the injured employee may sue the sub contractor or entity that caused their injuries and obtain compensation from them separate and apart from the workers compensation benefits obtained from their own employer.
This is important because in very serious injury/catastrophic injury cases, the injured worker does not get any money for his “pain and suffering” because the workers compensation system does not take into account pain and suffering. If an injured worker is able to sue the third party responsible for the dangerous condition, the injured worker may then be compensated for his pain and suffering in addition to his loss of income and medical damages.
As has been discussed, construction work is a dangerous business and thousands of workers are injured or killed at work each year. Accidents involve falls from ladders, roofs, or other heights or workers being injured by falling objects or malfunctioning equipment. Some of the responsibility falls on the employer, some on the general contractor, some on the building owner, and some on others that are there to provide proper safety equipment to protect the workers and fail to do so.
Whether a construction site incident involves personal injury, catastrophic injury, or wrongful death, we can help. Torem & Associates handles work place incidents caused by third parties involving:
- Falls from roofs, ladders, or scaffolding;
- Crane accidents or injuries involving items that are dropped by cranes or by other employees;
- Defective machinery;
- Excavations or collapses;
- Fires and explosions;
- Third party negligence and intentional torts;
- Any and all construction related accidents and injuries
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