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The simplest answer is that whoever was negligent—caused accident injuries through their careless action or inaction—can be held liable for a construction accident. More specifically, the possible liable parties include construction companies, other workers, visitors, product manufacturers, and property owners. Some cases even involve multiple liable parties.
A construction accident lawyer in Rutherfordton can narrow down who caused your accident by investigating the site, who was present, and what variables played a role. You don’t have to figure this out on your own.
Construction Companies Can Be Held Liable for Accidents
The most obvious starting point for a construction accident investigation is to look at the company doing the construction. They can cause accidents by:
- Failing to follow safety regulations or enforce rules
- Not adequately training their employees
- Neglecting to maintain or replace equipment
- Not putting up signs to give directions or warn about risks
- Failing to use safety equipment when necessary
Construction workers and bystanders hurt by these or similar types of company negligence can potentially file a lawsuit against the company for their failures. This can allow you to recover all your construction site accident losses.
If You Were an Employee
Construction company employees are barred from pursuing a lawsuit against their employer because they are generally covered by workers’ compensation. When you agree to this coverage, you give up your right to sue.
This doesn’t mean it’s always easy to get the benefits you need following a construction accident injury, so you can reach out to a workers’ compensation attorney from Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC for help.
If you were injured while working on the site but were a contractor or vendor, you aren’t covered by workers’ compensation and can still sue the construction company.
Other Workers at the Construction Site Are Also Potentially Liable
The following could share liability or be held entirely responsible for your injuries:
- Employees
- Contractors
- Subcontractors
- Vendors
- Maintenance workers
- Installers
For construction company employees, you can recover additional damages with a lawsuit against one of these potentially responsible parties even if you have workers’ compensation. For instance, if a contractor didn’t warn about falling debris while they were working in an area, and you were hit, you can hold the contractor liable.
Identifying which of these parties contributed to your injuries can require retracing everyone’s movements at the time of the accident. Some parties might be hard to track down, especially in a chaotic environment like a work site. An investigator from our team can reconstruct what happened, who was where, and how their actions make them liable.
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Additional Liable Parties for Construction Accidents
In addition to investigating the people working in and around the construction site, a personal injury lawyer can expand the field to include other possible negligent parties.
Visitors
Someone completely unrelated to the work at the construction site can nonetheless jeopardize the safety of the work environment. Trespassers, invited guests, business executives—anyone on site is obligated to adhere to the same safety procedures. When they don’t, they don’t just put others in danger, but they also leave themselves open to liability.
Product Manufacturers
Construction sites require a lot of technical equipment and heavy machinery. When it isn’t manufactured correctly, either due to a design flaw or a defect in a single part, malfunctions, leaks, fires, or even explosions can occur. If your construction accident was caused by faulty machinery, you can hold the manufacturer liable.
Property Owners
The owners of the property on which you were working when you got hurt could share liability. An attorney can look into this possibility and potentially file a lawsuit against the owners to recover compensation.
How Can You Determine Liability in a Construction Accident?
Determining who is liable for a construction accident can be boiled down to the following equation:
- A party owed you a duty of care to take reasonable precautions and avoid harm at the construction site.
- Their careless actions violated that duty of care, causing the construction accident.
- In the construction accident, you suffered injuries.
- Because you suffered injuries, you are entitled to compensation from the liable party.
This is how you know if you have a personal injury claim following an accident—if your accident satisfies all four points, you have a case against that party.
However, you have to provide evidence of each step. For instance, if you were a trespasser on the construction site and were hurt, you weren’t owed a duty of care; you weren’t supposed to be there. Likewise, if there was an accident and you didn’t suffer injuries, you don’t have a case.
Evidence From the Construction Accident Site
To prove the elements of negligence, an attorney from our firm can work to recover and preserve:
- Surveillance footage
- Traffic camera footage if it was a roadway accident
- Bystander photos and video footage
- Pictures taken by you or a friend at the site
- Physical evidence like debris, your clothes, or machinery
- Witness testimony from bystanders
Evidence From Research Into the Accident
Building on that initial evidence, we can then delve deeper into the case with:
- History of the liable parties and their track record
- Investigation into whether safety regulations were violated
- Testimony from workers about the accident
- Analysis of evidence and debris
- Reconstruction of the accident by experts
- Testimony from experts about what went wrong
Evidence of Negligence and Liability Also Helps with Damages
We can use any of the above, as well as other evidence like medical bills, physician testimony, medications, and out-of-pocket receipts, to build an argument for specific damages. For instance, accident reconstruction can highlight just how much damage you suffered in the incident, while analysis of debris or machinery can shed light on your injuries.
Based on all the evidence, we can argue that you deserve damages for past and future medical treatment, lost income since the accident, projected lost income, and pain and suffering.
Get Your Construction Accident Case Analyzed Today by a Lawyer
Contact us today to get a free consultation. Our construction accident lawyers are experienced investigators who can recognize the signs that point to who is liable. At Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, we aren’t afraid to go after multiple liable parties for construction site injuries. Call today.
