Injuries sustained from an accident on a construction site can be very complex to manage from a legal perspective. There are usually many factors at play in such accidents, and since so few are alike, a great deal of the case is dependent on the circumstances of the accident. If you are a construction worker and you suffer an accident on a construction site, you probably know that you will be entitled to benefits from workers’ compensation coverage. What you might not know is that you could also be entitled to compensation from other sources.
In certain situations, the owner of a construction site could be liable for your injuries. Depending on how much control the site owner exerts over the construction process, the site owner could be held responsible for injuries suffered due to dangerous property conditions that they knew about, just like any other premises liability case. If there is a dangerous property condition that a property owner refuses to address or fix, injuries caused by that condition could make them liable for the injuries.
This is important in a state like New York, where workers’ compensation benefits are capped based on the nature and severity of injuries. If your benefits are capped at a point that is not high enough, you could find yourself needing an alternative source of compensation, and a premises liability lawsuit may be what you need. Site owners are not the only people who may be liable for your injuries. You could receive compensation from contractors, architects, engineers and others whose negligence contributed to your injury.
If you are injured in a construction site accident, it behooves you to speak to a personal injury attorney, even if your employer’s insurance company makes you an offer. Just because you are covered by workers’ compensation does not mean that you cannot be compensated through other means.