When construction workers go to a job site, they wear steel-toed boots, hard hats, gloves, and other protective gear to keep themselves safe. But their job is still dangerous, and construction workers get hurt on job sites all the time. Protecting yourself after an injury means working with a construction accident lawyer to get the help you and your family need.
Many construction workers are entitled to Workers’ Compensation to cover medical bills and a portion of lost wages after a work-related accident. You may also be entitled to sue at-fault parties (other than your employer), potentially getting pain and suffering and other damages, too.
For help with your case, call Rice Law’s construction accident attorneys at (410) 694-7291 right away.
Workers’ Compensation vs. Lawsuits for Construction Accidents in Maryland
If you were hurt while working as a construction worker, you may be entitled to Workers’ Compensation. However, damages are limited through that process, so a lawsuit might be needed, too.
Purpose of Each System
A lawsuit is there to recover damages – potentially higher damages than in Workers’ Compensation – but you need to prove fault. You also cannot sue your employer, but rather need a third party to sue.
Workers’ Compensation is meant to cover some damages without a worker needing to prove fault. Many accidents are the employer’s fault or the worker’s own fault, and Workers’ Compensation covers these areas, even though a lawsuit would be impossible in those cases.
Proof Required
In a Workers’ Compensation claim, you have to prove you were injured in a work-related accident, and the injury disabled you. In a lawsuit, you need to prove that the defendant injured you by breaching a legal duty.
Damages Available
Workers’ Compensation can pay for medical bills and a portion of lost wages, but not pain and suffering. A lawsuit can pay full damages – medical bills, lost wages, other economic damages, and pain and suffering – if you can prove the case.
Can You File Both Claims?
Yes. Workers’ Compensation claims can be filed first to start your compensation, then we can tackle a potential lawsuit to recover the other damages you have not gotten paid yet (e.g., pain and suffering).
If you file both claims, your employer’s Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier might be able to claim back money from your lawsuit to cover the amounts they already paid you, preventing you from getting paid twice. However, you keep the additional damages they did not cover, such as pain and suffering.
What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover?
Workers’ Compensation pays for these two major areas:
Medical Benefits
All medical treatment should be covered, as long as you get treated by licensed doctors and follow treatment plans.
Wage-Loss Benefits
Workers are reimbursed for a portion of their lost wages. This pay rate might change depending on your injury and degree of disability, but 2/3 of your pre-injury wage is common.
How to File a Workers’ Comp Claim for a Construction Accident
Follow these steps with help from our construction accident lawyers to file a Workers’ Compensation claim for your construction accident.
Get Medical Care
Get checked out as soon as you can after an injury. Go to the hospital rather than an urgent care clinic or your primary care doctor.
Report Injury to Employer
Employees must report their injuries to their employer within 10 days of the accident.
File Claim Form
You also must file a claim form with the state within 60 days. This claim form requires a doctor’s report to file with it.
Benefits or Contest Filed within 21 Days
From the filing date, your employer has to start paying benefits within 21 days, or else contest the claim.
Hearings
If they contest the claim, we can begin negotiating for a settlement. If that fails, the case can progress to a hearing, where a Workers’ Compensation Judge hears the case without a jury.
Do You Need to Prove Fault to Get Workers’ Comp for a Construction Accident?
No. Workers’ Compensation is a no-fault system. This means you can get paid regardless of how the accident happened, as long as it was an accident.
This even covers workers who injure themselves, as long as they did not hurt themselves on purpose to get Workers’ Compensation. Injuries caused by third parties are also covered.
What Workers Are Covered Under Workers’ Comp in Maryland?
Workers’ Compensation covers most workers, as long as they are considered “employees.” In Maryland, this should cover nearly all workers, with a few minor exceptions (e.g., federal workers).
Work Injury Claims for Employees vs. Contractors
If you work as a construction “contractor,” it is possible you might be an “independent contractor,” which has special rules.
Workers’ Comp Only Covers Employees
Only “employees” are covered under Workers’ Compensation, which leaves out independent contractors. However, many construction “contractors” are not “independent contractors,” and would be better classified as employees. That would mean they still get coverage.
Facts Are Important
Your status as an employee or an independent contractor is set based on the facts of what work you do, how you are hired, how much of your work you control, and whether you work in the same industry/trade as your employer.
Your employer cannot just call you a contractor and deny you Workers’ Compensation benefits because they say so. They also must send you a letter notifying you if you are not covered.
Rules for Subcontractors
Many subcontractors fall under the category of “independent contractor.” Others might call themselves “contractors,” but they are actually employees of a contractor (or employees of a subcontractor).
The same rules generally hold: independent contractors are not covered, but employees are, and the status is based on the facts, not the title.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Cover?
A personal injury lawsuit can cover a wider range of damages than Workers’ Compensation can:
Medical Bills
Medical bills are also covered through a lawsuit.
Lost Wages
A lawsuit can pay full lost wages, covering past wages and future lost earnings at 100%.
Other Economic Damages
Damages can also be claimed for clothing, tools, or other property damaged in the accident. You can also claim compensation for incidental expenses, such as transportation to medical appointments, home services you cannot perform with your injuries, and more.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering and other “non-economic damages” are some of the biggest damages you can get in a lawsuit. They are not covered at all under Workers’ Compensation, and your only way to recover is typically to sue a third party.
How to File a Lawsuit for Construction Accidents
Filing a personal injury lawsuit for construction accidents works like this:
Check Who You Can Sue
You cannot sue your employer for a work-related accident. Any share of damages attributed to them cannot be claimed; you would only recover the portions attributed to outside third parties.
You also cannot sue if you were partially at fault, as this blocks lawsuits in Maryland. Check with a lawyer to see if your conduct leading up to the accident might block a lawsuit.
Collect Evidence
You need evidence to prove the claim. This means looking for witness testimony, security footage, work logs, medical records, bills, and more. Our construction accident lawyers can take care of this for you, but bring any evidence you have and save any records or communications about the case for us.
File Complaint
Then, we put together the actual lawsuit and file it in court. We also serve a copy on the defendant.
Preliminary Issues
The defendant may try to fight the case on the filings by saying you have no case or that jurisdiction is wrong. After these sometimes complex legal issues, the case can move forward.
The judge might also want both sides to attend mediation or otherwise try to settle the case first before scheduling any further hearings or trial dates.
Discovery
During discovery, we can get evidence in the defendant’s control. For example, this can get us logs and internal communications about known product defects with a tool or piece of safety gear that injured you.
Trial
If the defendant does not settle the case for a fair value, we can take them all the way to trial. However, most cases do settle sooner in an “in-court” settlement.
Can You Sue for Roadside Construction Accidents?
Construction workers usually cannot sue their employers. With roadside construction accidents, there is typically someone at fault that you can sue: the driver who crashed into you and your worksite.
If your employer is partially at fault, e.g., by failing to erect proper safety barriers, you cannot recover for that portion of the damages.
Suing Product Manufacturers
Many construction accident claims are filed against manufacturers of defective tools, safety gear, and other products. These manufacturers are third parties that you can sue, since you cannot sue your employer.
Can You Sue Coworkers for Injuries on a Construction Site?
You may be able to sue coworkers in their individual capacity in some cases, especially if they injured you while off the clock or doing things unrelated to work tasks.
However, if they were working in the course of their job duties, you might not be able to sue them. They are effectively an extension of your employer, and you cannot sue your employer.
Can You Sue for Workplace Violence on a Construction Site?
Yes. Assault and battery claims can be filed as personal injury cases.
Workers’ Compensation typically only covers accidental injuries. Even so, workplace violence that occurs in the course of your work may still be covered. For example, if a coworker gets mad at you for a mistake and attacks you, those injuries should be covered through Workers’ Compensation.
Can You File a Claim for Injuries While Driving a Construction Vehicle?
If you are operating a bulldozer, backhoe, dump truck, or other construction vehicle on a construction site, you can often file a Workers’ Compensation claim for injuries you sustain during those work tasks. If an outside third party was responsible for your injuries, you may also be able to sue them.
If you were driving a construction vehicle on the road, e.g., while taking it to or from a construction site, that is also potentially covered under Workers’ Compensation. This is true even if you were not at your “workplace.”
You can also sue other drivers if they caused the crash.
Suing for Construction Explosions and Demolition Accidents
Accidents at construction sites involving explosions or wrecking ball accidents might damage nearby buildings and injure people near the site. Although these accidents are rare, our lawyers can help you seek compensation for these kinds of accidents by suing the responsible construction firms.
Construction Collapse Injuries
Accidents on and near construction sites can also occur when buildings under construction collapse. Accidents involving under-construction buildings, parking structures, roads, bridges, and more can all be the basis of a lawsuit if you were injured in the collapse.
Do You Need an OSHA Violation to Prove a Construction Accident Case?
OSHA violations can help you prove fault in a construction lawsuit. However, you do not need a specific violation to file an injury claim.
That being said, most accidents and injuries on construction sites only occur because there was an OSHA violation.
Can You Sue the Construction Firm You Work For?
Generally, you cannot sue the construction firm employing you for injuries sustained in the course of your job. If you were an independent contractor, the rules are different, and you may sue them, as long as your contract does not prevent it.
If you were hurt outside the scope of your job – e.g., during your commute home from work – a lawsuit might be available.
Who is Responsible for Safety Gear and Training at a Construction Site?
Generally, employers are responsible for ensuring their workers are properly trained and equipped with proper gear. This often means checking to make sure workers have gloves, hard hats, and steel-toed boots, but they might require you to provide some of those yourself. E.g., workers are usually responsible for their own work boots.
Can You Sue for Injuries if You Were not Working?
Construction sites may be on sidewalks, inside buildings open to the public, or on roadsides. If you were injured at a construction site as a passerby, you may be entitled to sue the construction site for dangerous conditions and negligence on the site.
Call Our Construction Accident Lawyers in Maryland Today
For help with your potential case, call Rice Law’s construction accident attorneys at (410) 694-7291.