Construction accidents are common enough to make the construction industry one of the most dangerous in the U.S. Construction workers typically suffer a greater risk of both severe injury and death on the job than the average private industry employee.
Oftentimes, the workers or their employers have to accept the liability that comes with a high-risk profession or industry. However, there are also scenarios in which it is obvious that someone other than the worker who got hurt or their employer is to blame. People can potentially pursue a third-party lawsuit when someone other than their employer is at fault for their work injury. These are some of the most common reasons that workers file a third-party claim.
They experience workplace violence
One of the most common reasons that there is an outside party with legal responsibility for construction workers’ injuries is a scenario involving interpersonal violence. It could be a member of the public who showed up at the construction site drunk or under the influence of drugs. It could also be a disagreement between coworkers that gets out of hand. In either scenario, the individual who engaged in violence toward the injured worker could face not only criminal prosecution but also civil penalties for any injuries they caused.
They get hurt by a defective tool or piece of machinery
Sometimes, a worker gets hurt when a tool suddenly fails. A drill that starts running without anyone touching it could cut someone and lead to them falling. Tools that short out could cause electrical injuries and burns. There’s also the possibility that a tool failure at a higher elevation could lead to another worker falling or dropping something, which could cause a severe struck-by incident.
They get hurt in a crash-related situation
Especially if a construction site takes up one lane of traffic on the road, the possibility exists for someone driving a motor vehicle to cause a crash that could damage the equipment at the construction site and possibly hurt some of the workers. A drunk driver who veers off of the road and strikes scaffolding on a sidewalk, for example, could cause severe injury to any workers thrown from the scaffolding as a result.
In any of these scenarios and money others, construction workers hurt on the job may be able to establish that there is a third party to blame for the incident and pursue a lawsuit against that party. Connecting a construction incident with another person or a business is often the first step toward seeking legal guidance and pursuing a compensation claim successfully.