If you were injured in a construction site accident, you might be wondering who is legally liable for your injuries. Determining who is at fault for your accident can be difficult without the help of a construction site accident lawyer, but it can be done.
Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may be able to identify multiple responsible parties. Understanding who is liable for your accident is typically the first step to obtaining compensation for your injuries.
Potentially Liable Parties
In most cases, the more responsibility a legal party has over a construction site’s daily operations, the more liable they will be in the event of an accident. Other times, whoever is responsible for the conditions leading to an accident or death will be the party held liable. In a few cases, there may even be more than one party liable for an accident. The following parties can be held responsible for a worker’s accident injuries depending on their circumstances:
- Site owner. The construction site owner can be held liable for accident site injuries if they have maintained a high degree of control over the project instead of handing it over to a general contractor. If the site owner knew of the specific conditions that caused the accident yet failed to change those conditions, they could be held liable.
- General contractors. Contractors have a legal and moral obligation to ensure the work environment they create is safe and the work performed by workers is done in a reasonably safe manner. They even have a responsibility to hire competent workers who are dedicated to following safety rules and regulations. If a careless coworker or unsafe conditions injure a construction site worker, the general contractor may be held liable.
- Engineers and architects. Engineers or architects can be held liable if the injuries sustained by a worker result from a failure to meet specific safety standards during the construction or design phases. Depending on the architect or engineer’s professional relationship with the site owner, they may be held responsible for an accident caused by one of their mistakes.
- Prime contractors. Unlike general contractors, prime contractors are only responsible for exceptional work. These individuals do not work on an entire project. Instead, they are hired to complete specific tasks. If a prime contracting company is responsible for the accident-causing conditions, they can be held liable in some cases.
- Construction equipment or machinery manufacturers. Producers of construction machinery and equipment have a legal obligation to ensure their products are ready for the market and safe to use. If a defective piece of equipment causes injury or death, manufacturers may be legally responsible.
- Multiple parties. As previously mentioned, more than one party can be liable for a construction site accident. For example, if a contractor knowingly encourages workers to use defective equipment, both the contractor and the equipment manufacturer can be sued in court.
In many cases, the more parties you can identify, the more compensation you will be entitled to.
Obtaining Financial Compensation for Your Injuries
Depending on the circumstances of your injury, you may be entitled to compensation for your accident. With the help of an experienced construction site accident attorney, you may be able to obtain financial compensation from the liable party in civil court. In general, the more extensive your injuries are, the more bonus you will be entitled to. Suppose you intend to take legal action against the party responsible for your damages. In that case, you may be able to receive compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, everyday living expenses, and most importantly, medical bills. No one should be stuck paying their medical bills after being injured in an accident someone else is responsible for.
A Lawyer Can Help You Determine Liability After an Accident
After sustaining an injury at work, you may want to talk to a construction injury lawyer in New York City. Determining who is liable for your damages is not always the most straightforward task, but it can be done with the help of an attorney. There may include different elements of your case, and you must understand all of them. In general, the patient will heavily depend on who was directly and indirectly involved, who was responsible for ensuring your safety, and the cause of the accident. An attorney can also help you better understand what you are up against when the time to go to court arrives.
Schedule a Free Consultation
If you are struggling to determine who is at fault for your accident, you wouldn’t be the first person. Determining liability is hard, but with the help of a seasoned personal injury attorney, you can find out who is responsible for your injuries and hold them liable in court. William Schwitzer & Associates understands New York State Labor Laws, and we take pride in representing injured construction workers. Schedule a free consultation with us today.
