Construction Accidents: Who is at Fault and Who Pays for Injuries?
The construction industry has one of the highest worker injury rates and the highest fatality rate of any other industry sector, yet construction workers only make up a small percentage of the entire U.S. workforce.
Most construction accidents have fairly basic causes, such as unsafe equipment, work methods or site conditions, workers not using the safety equipment they were given, a poor attitude towards safety and a lack of proper training.
Problems often arise with scaffolds, ladders, excavation and heavy equipment, but injuries or deaths may also be caused by burns, explosions, poisoning and electrocution.
Responsibility
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal laws governing safety and health in the workplace. The prime contractor is always responsible for the job safety on the entire site and for compliance with all OSHA regulations. The reason is that prime contractors have the most influence on safety issues because they monitor and coordinate the work, and often provide equipment that is shared by subcontractors and employees.
If the prime contractor farms out work to a subcontractor, this subcontractor also assumes responsibility for job safety and for following OSHA rules that apply to the part of the construction project the subcontractor performs. However, the prime contractor is also still responsible for that part, so in effect, they are both responsible. For instance, if a prime contractor is building a restaurant and hires a subcontractor to build the kitchen, both the prime contractor and the subcontractor are responsible for the safety of all employees working on the kitchen no matter who has hired the employee.
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation always covers lost wages and medical bills in connection with injuries or deaths at a construction site. However, if there are causes to the accident other than job safety, such as defective tools or other equipment, it may be possible to file a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer of these items too.
Long-term injuries
Employees are entitled to workers' compensation for costs in connection with both short and long term injuries based on the specific laws in the state where they live. In addition, they may be entitled to:compensation for any complete or partial permanent loss of any body part,re-training to enter into a different type of job than the one held before the accident,physical therapy and vocational rehabilitation benefits that allow the employee to get another type of work altogether.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a construction accident, you may want to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney. A good place to start is AttorneyPages.com where you will find a listing of experienced attorneys in your area. If you would like a free case evaluation, simply fill out our case evaluation form and an experienced personal injury attorney will contact you for a no-cost, no obligation consultation.
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