A construction worker who is hurt on the job usually cannot sue their own employer, because workers' compensation replaces that lawsuit in most states. But construction sites are shared by many companies, and a worker can often bring a personal injury lawsuit against a general contractor, another subcontractor, the property owner, an equipment manufacturer or a driver whose negligence caused the injury. These third-party claims can recover what workers' compensation does not cover, including full lost wages and pain and suffering. People who are not workers, such as pedestrians struck by falling debris, can sue directly.
Key points
- Workers' compensation pays benefits regardless of fault but bars most lawsuits against your own employer. It does not bar claims against other companies.
- Typical third-party defendants are general contractors, other subcontractors, property owners, engineers, equipment makers and rental companies, and drivers.
- Falls are the leading cause of death in construction. Federal OSHA rules generally require fall protection at 6 feet and above, and on scaffolds above 10 feet.
- OSHA violations can be used as evidence of negligence, but OSHA does not award compensation.
- New York's Scaffold Law imposes unusually strict liability on owners and contractors for many fall-related injuries.
- Deadlines for comp notices, lawsuits and claims against public agencies all differ. A lawyer licensed in your state should confirm them.
How construction workers get hurt
Construction has long been one of the most dangerous industries in the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 1,034 workplace deaths in private-sector construction in 2024, and more than a third of them (389) were caused by falls, slips and trips. Construction accounted for almost half of all fatal falls, slips and trips in private industry that year (BLS).
OSHA groups the most common causes of construction deaths into four hazards it calls the Focus Four: falls, struck-by incidents, caught-in or caught-between incidents, and electrocution. In practice, injury claims tend to follow these patterns:
- Falls from roofs, ladders, scaffolds, lifts and unprotected floor openings
- Being struck by falling tools or materials, swinging loads or vehicles backing up on site
- Trench collapses and being caught in machinery
- Contact with overhead power lines or improperly de-energized circuits
- Crane, hoist and aerial lift failures
- Defective tools such as nail guns and saws without working guards
Long-term harms count too. Construction workers who handled older insulation, flooring, drywall compound and pipe wrap may have been exposed to asbestos decades before diagnosis, which our mesothelioma guide covers in detail.
Workers' compensation is the starting point, not the whole picture
Workers' compensation is a no-fault system. An injured worker generally receives medical care and a portion of lost wages without having to prove anyone was careless. In exchange, the employer is protected from most negligence lawsuits by its own employees. Some states allow a suit against the employer for intentional harm or when the employer failed to carry required comp insurance, but those exceptions are narrow and vary.
Comp benefits are limited. They usually replace only part of lost wages, subject to caps, and they do not pay for pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment of life. For a serious injury, the gap between comp benefits and the full loss can be large, which is why the third-party claim matters.
When a worker recovers money in a third-party case, the comp insurer usually has a lien for what it paid and may receive credit against future benefits. Settling a third-party claim without the comp insurer's consent can, in some states, put future comp benefits at risk, so the two claims need to be coordinated.
Third-party claims
A third party is anyone other than your employer and you. On a typical project, many companies share responsibility for safety.
General contractors and construction managers
The general contractor usually controls the overall site, schedules the trades and is responsible for site-wide safety, such as guardrails around floor openings and safe access routes. When a GC knew or should have known about a hazard that affected other trades, it may be liable. Contracts often spell out who was responsible for safety, and those documents become important evidence.
Other subcontractors
An electrician injured because a framing crew removed a guardrail, or a laborer hit by a load swung by a crane company's operator, may have a claim against the other subcontractor. These cases often turn on who controlled the work and the hazard at the time.
Property owners
Owners can be liable for hazards they knew about or for retaining control over how the work was done. Rules on owner liability vary significantly by state, and some states impose special duties on owners, as discussed below for New York.
Equipment manufacturers and rental companies
A ladder that collapses, a lift with a faulty control or a saw sold without an adequate guard can support a product liability claim against the manufacturer, often without proof of carelessness. Rental companies may be liable for renting out equipment that was poorly maintained or missing safety features.
Drivers and vehicles
Construction workers are often hurt by vehicles, both delivery trucks on site and motorists passing through work zones. Those claims proceed like other vehicle cases, and commercial trucks bring in the federal rules covered in our truck accident guide. When a driver who strikes a work zone crew is impaired, the claim may also involve the issues in our drunk driving accident guide.
Architects and engineers
Design professionals may be liable when a design defect or a failure to perform required site inspections contributed to a collapse or other failure. Some states require a certificate or affidavit from a qualified expert before such a claim can proceed.
OSHA rules as evidence
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets minimum safety rules for construction in 29 CFR Part 1926, and states with their own approved plans set rules at least as protective. Several come up constantly in injury cases:
| Rule | What it requires |
|---|---|
| General fall protection | Workers on surfaces with an unprotected side or edge 6 feet or more above a lower level must be protected by guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, with limited exceptions |
| Scaffolds | Each worker on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level must be protected from falling |
| Injury reporting | Employers must report a work-related death to OSHA within 8 hours, and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours |
OSHA does not compensate injured workers. Its role is inspection, citation and penalties. But an OSHA inspection file, including photographs, interview notes and citations, can be some of the best evidence in a civil case. Courts in many states let juries consider safety violations as evidence of negligence. OSHA's fall prevention campaign has more on fall protection requirements.
A lack of citations does not mean a site was safe. OSHA inspects only a fraction of job sites, and an injury lawsuit uses its own standard: whether the defendant acted with reasonable care.
New York's Scaffold Law
New York Labor Law Section 240(1), known as the Scaffold Law, makes owners and contractors responsible for providing proper protection for workers exposed to elevation-related hazards, such as falls from heights and falling objects. When a violation of that duty is a cause of the injury, liability is absolute in the sense that the worker's own carelessness is not a defense to the claim. Owners of one- and two-family homes who do not direct or control the work are exempt. New York is generally described as the last state with a statute of this kind, after Illinois repealed its Structural Work Act in 1995.
The law covers a specific set of gravity-related accidents, and courts have spent decades defining its edges. For a closer look at how these claims work, see this explainer on New York Scaffold Law claims. New York's Labor Law 241(6), which ties liability to specific state safety regulations, often appears in the same cases.
What a third-party claim can recover
A third-party lawsuit is an ordinary personal injury claim, so it can recover the full range of damages that workers' compensation leaves out. That includes all past and future lost earnings rather than a capped percentage, the cost of future medical care and home modifications, and compensation for pain, emotional distress and the loss of activities the worker can no longer do. A spouse may have a claim for loss of consortium.
Construction injuries are often career-ending. A fall that causes a spinal or brain injury can end a trade career at 35 or 45, and the difference between comp wage benefits and decades of lost union or skilled-trade wages can be substantial. Lawyers in these cases often work with vocational experts, who assess what work the person can still do, and economists, who calculate the lifetime loss.
The defense will often argue that the injured worker was partly at fault, for example by not tying off a harness. Outside New York's Scaffold Law cases, most states reduce the award by the worker's share of fault, and a few states bar recovery entirely when the worker was at fault at all. Our guide to personal injury claims explains how these shared fault rules differ.
Special situations
Workers on piers, bridges over navigable waters and vessels may fall under federal maritime law or the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act rather than state comp, which our offshore and maritime injury guide explains. Workers on federal projects, undocumented workers and workers hired through staffing agencies also face distinct rules about who counts as the employer and which claims are available.
When a construction accident is fatal, the family may receive comp death benefits and may also bring a wrongful death lawsuit against third parties.
Evidence and deadlines
Construction sites change daily. Scaffolds come down, debris is cleared and equipment is returned to the rental yard. Useful evidence includes photographs and video of the scene, the names of foremen and coworkers, the equipment involved (and its serial number), daily logs, safety meeting records, incident reports and the contracts between the owner, GC and subcontractors. A lawyer can send preservation letters to the companies involved and request the OSHA file.
There are several separate deadlines. Workers' comp requires notice to the employer within a short period set by state law, and a formal claim within a longer one. A third-party lawsuit follows the state's statute of limitations for personal injury, usually two or three years but as short as one year in some states. Claims against public agencies on public works projects often require a written notice of claim within months. Because these rules differ by state and change over time, a lawyer licensed in your state should confirm each one.
Our personal injury guide explains the negligence, damages and shared fault rules that apply to third-party claims. For an overview of these cases from a firm that handles them, see this guide to construction accident claims. Our editorial standards explain how we research these guides.
