Construction site accidents are common industrial accidents because of the nature of the work duties, the use of heavy equipment and hazardous job sites.
Massachusetts’ law permits different types of compensation for construction-site accidents. If the injured person is a worker on the site, the Massachusetts’ workers compensation law permits recovery against one’s own employer. This usually involves payment of medical expenses, lost wage replacement and some specific compensation for permanent injuries and scarring. The employer enjoys immunity from lawsuits from its employees, if the employer participates in the workers’ compensation program.
Depending on the circumstances of the accident, sometimes there is the potential recovery from other persons and business entities on the job site, such as subcontractors, general contractors, architects or property owners.
This recovery is in addition to workers’ compensation benefits, and of sometimes permits the injured worker the chance to be fully compensated for his or her injury.
The injured party in this situation seeks to hold these parties other than their employer liable for their failure to keep a construction site safe, or their liability for the injuries sustained by the employee. Given that most parties on a job site are required to be well insured against accident claims arising from a construction site injury, there is a better chance of the injured worker being adequately compensated for his or her injury.
