In addition to Workers’ Compensation, an injured worker may also sue any person, contractor or company that causes their injuries in civil court except their employer. (An exception is if the employer does not have WC Insurance.) The easy case would be a general contractor’s busy superintendent drives a company truck into a roofer walking to the construction building. The injured worker would be immediately entitled to his employer’s small work comp benefits plus in civil court the general contractor and the superintendent will be civilly responsible for all injuries and damages caused. (They have insurance to cover this accident.) The civil lawsuit for complete justice may take from 6 to 18 months to settle or go to trial.
The more complex catastrophic case that we have been successful in is where the general contractor, another subcontractor, employer and injured worker may all be partly at fault. Here is a real life example:
Rough Carpentry Subcontractor on a building is responsible to install vent shaft covers at the site. The general contractor is responsible to inspect and warn of dangers. The metal grate subcontractor removes the covers to measure the opening but doesn’t properly re seat the cover. A month later a surveyor is directed by his party chief to stand on the cover for a measurement. The surveyor steps on the concealed hazard and falls 22′ breaking bones in both legs that cripples him for life and denying him of his 30 year livelihood of surveying. Who is responsible civilly? The general contractor? Rough Carpentry Sub? Metal Grate Installer? Employer Party Chief? Injured Worker?
The answer is all the above. After pursuing Workers’ Comp, filing a civil suit, taking 22 depositions, declaring experts, and defeating a request to throw the case out of cour, the case settled with all parties contributing in the amount of $2Million. It was discovered through those depositions that the general contractor was sited by Cal OSHA and knew about the concealed hazard. The rough carpenter sub knew of the danger but failed to do anything about it. The fact that the employer had the general duty to provide a safe work place and the injured worker could have discovered it did not prevent a just civil award for all damages. Just a few examples of our recent success in civil work place injuries are:
Injury WC Award +Civil Award Obtained
Carpenter Falls/Wet Roof $150,000 $5,000,000
Electrician Electrocuted $160,000 $2,500,000 to wife
Surveyor Fall Through Vent $75,000 $1,925,000 to worker
The most important part of your civil case is to get us involved as soon as possible after the injury. Our investigator will preserve evidence and take pictures and obtain statements from witnesses. Evidence can only be preserved if it is obtained quickly. Crucial pictures, witnesses, accident reports, inspection reports, daily journals, progress reports all tend to disappear with the passage of time. It is important to get an experienced civil litigator involved soon. Do not concern yourself with anything other than healing, truthfully cooperating with authorities and getting the case in competent hands quickly. The sooner you do, the quicker results will occur. Remember, justice delayed is justice denied.
Next Week Blog: Blood Money: Where Did the Savings from Reduced Worker Benefit Money Go?