Construction Accident – Who is at fault?
Studies show that construction sites have the highest worker injury rates and the highest fatality rates in the entire working sector across the country.
Most construction accidents are the result of common causes such as unsafe equipment and working environment, negligence of other site workers, inappropriate behavior of other site worker, defective machinery on site and lack of proper training. Problems may occur with ladder, excavation, defective scaffolding, defective forklifts, falling loads due to improper loading, trip and fall and the use of heavy equipment but fatal injuries and death maybe caused by burns, explosion and electrocution.
Who is at fault?
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) the contractor is primary liable for any incident that occur within the worksite. It is the principal responsibility of the prime contractor to ensure the safety of the construction site and the compliance of all OSHA rules and regulations. The reason for this is that, prime contractor has the most influence on safety issues because they monitor and coordinate the work and provide the necessary tools and equipment that is shared by subcontractor and employees.
However, when the prime contractor hires a subcontractor to do the work, the latter will assume principal responsibility including following certain OSHA rules and regulations. In this case, the prime contractor is not without liability, he is still liable to the employees working in the project regardless of who hired them.
When can it be a claim for construction site accident or a workers compensation claim?
If you sustained an injury in a construction accident, you cannot directly sue your employer for damages. Instead, you can file a claim under the workers compensation claim. These two kinds of legal claim differ from each other that is why you are required to hire an attorney to assist you in drafting and making legal documents necessary for your claims.
However, even though you cannot sue your employer directly you can still file a third party claims against the insurer or any person who can be held liable for your injuries.
Construction Accident Investigation
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the one primarily responsible for investigating construction accident through a program called FACE which means, Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation. This is a research program that provides a report to the legislature on what takes place in a construction accident. FACE collects data on construction accident and the federal government uses this data to identify major hazards in construction accident. This data enable them to pass a law that will protect the workers and give them a safer place to work.
OSHA has the power to change the laws regarding construction safety. They not only create the laws but also enforce them. Part of their duty is to ensure that construction site are following the rules and regulations issued by their office and comply certain legal permits and other requirements.
Moreover, there is other group responsible for investigating construction accident cases. The legal profession is also involved in solving this kind of incident. The service of a lawyer commence when a victim hires a lawyer to help him/her in a lawsuit. The work of a legal experts commence by determining who is at fault on the accident. If it was prove that it is the fault of the prime contractor, then the victim has the right to seek compensation for the injuries obtained.