Who’s Liable for an Injury at a Construction Site?

Construction sites are dangerous areas that are host to a wide range of hazards. These hazards pose risks to construction workers on the job site as well as pedestrians walking near the area.

Objects that fall from construction sites, in particular, pose significant risks to pedestrians walking near the job site. Although construction sites often have scaffolding and other precautionary measures to protect people near the site from hazards, these precautions are not foolproof, particularly if the falling object is heavy or great in number.

Below, we discuss the parties that may be held liable for injuries at a construction site.

A Major Hazard at Construction Sites

One major hazard at construction sites is falling debris. Objects can fall from a construction site for a variety of reasons, including the following:

• The building being worked on has poor structural integrity.
• A construction worker accidentally drops an object.
• Equipment being used on the site fails and subsequently drops an object.

Due to the number of ways that debris can fall from a construction site, it can be complicated to know which parties to hold liable in this situation. However, the two parties most commonly held liable in such incidents are the construction company or the contractor.

In order to win a personal injury lawsuit involving a construction site injury, you and an experienced personal injury attorney will need to prove:

• The defendant had a duty to keep the construction site safe.
• The defendant breached that duty.
• The breach of duty directly caused your injury.

Who the specific defendant is in this situation is often complicated and comes down to a matter of contract law. As such, the answer will depend on the language of the contracts that were signed among all parties involved in the operation of the construction site. However, the defendant(s) will most commonly be the construction company or the general contractor.

Were You Injured at a Construction Site? Contact Us Today

If you have been injured at a construction site, our San Jose personal injury attorneys can help you identify any and all liable parties and recover the compensation you deserve from them.