Construction Site Injuries: When Can Workers Sue?

When a worker is injured on the job, the usual remedy is workers’ compensation benefits. This is especially true for construction accidents.

Workers’ compensation benefits cover medical costs and a portion of lost wages. But it is important to understand that workers’ comp typically does not cover damages like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and full wage loss.

However, a separate lawsuit against a third party (someone other than the employer) can allow for those additional damages. This is called a third party claim and may be the best way for injured workers to get the medical treatment they need and deserve after a workplace accident.

Third-party claims offer a way to recover damages beyond what workers’ compensation covers, which can be critical when injuries are serious or result in long-term consequences. They open up liability for parties other than the employer, meaning that the typical protections that an employer enjoys under workers’ compensation exclusivity might be bypassed when a third party’s negligence is involved. Here is what you need to know.

How to Succeed in a Third-Party Claim

To succeed in a third-party claim, the injured party must establish four elements:

• Duty of care: the third party owed the injured worker a legal duty.
• Breach of duty: the third party failed to meet that duty.
• Causation: the breach was both a cause in fact and proximate cause of the injury.
• Damages: the injured person suffered actual losses (such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.

Common situations

When would you file a third-party claim? Here are several scenarios where a non-employer third party may be liable:

• Motor vehicle accidents involving non-co-workers
• Defective products that malfunction and injure the worker
• Premises liability (injuries on property not owned by the employer, like a construction site or client’s site) due to unsafe conditions
• Negligence by other contractors on multi‐employer sites (a subcontractor’s actions cause someone else’s employee to be hurt)
• Toxic substances, in which suppliers or manufacturers of hazardous materials may be liable if inadequate warnings or safety info cause injury.

Can You File a Workers’ Comp Claim and a Third-Party Lawsuit at the Same Time?

An injured worker can collect workers’ compensation benefits and still file a separate third-party injury lawsuit against another responsible party. However, Florida law prevents an injured worker from being paid twice for the same medical bills or lost wages. If this happens, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier may assert a lien to reclaim the benefits it already paid out. This is called subrogation and it ensures there is no duplicate recovery for the same economic losses.

Contact Us Today

While workers’ compensation is the usual remedy for workplace accidents, sometimes it is not enough. Workers may suffer serious injuries or emotional damages that are not covered by traditional benefits.

Contractors should be concerned about jobsite accidents. Do they have enough coverage? Get the legal help you need from a Florida contractor representation lawyer from Linkhorst Law Firm.  Whenever you need representation in a construction dispute, we will be available to protect and promote your interests. Schedule a consultation today by calling 561-626-8880 or filling out the online form.

Source:

justia.com/injury/negligence-theory/third-party-liability/