Is My Boss Responsible for Construction Accidents?

 Posted on April 14, 2024 in Construction Accidents

When someone gets injured at their job, they are generally eligible for workers’ compensation to cover their injury-related costs. As a construction worker, you know the importance of safe work conditions. If equipment is not properly secured or maintained, the results can be very severe. However, it might be confusing to figure out who is responsible for all of this on a construction site. Is it the construction workers’ responsibility to make sure everything is done the way it is supposed to? Or is it their employer’s job to supervise and check that care is taken to ensure that the construction is happening in a safe environment? Might responsibility fall with a contractor, the owner of the construction site, or the manufacturer of the equipment you used? If you were injured at your construction job, determining who was responsible is critical for you to get compensation for your injuries. An experienced DuPage County, IL workers’ compensation lawyer can review your case and guide you in submitting a claim for damages.

How Does Construction Site Liability Work in Illinois?

There are several ways your employer might be liable for an accident at the construction site that resulted in your injury:

• If they did not provide you with proper protective gear
• If they did not provide proper training for the equipment you are operating or the   specific work you need to do
• If they did not carry out routine maintenance for equipment.
• If they did not take action to ensure that the construction site was a safe work environment

In any of the above scenarios, the employer’s failure to take necessary action to ensure a safe work environment at the construction site could be to blame for the accident that happened.

In addition to the employer, several other people who are neither an employer nor an employee, known as third parties, might have responsibility for a workplace accident. These include:

• The owner of the property who failed to ensure that the construction site under their ownership was a safe place for workers to be.
• On-site contractors who conducted themselves negligently, leading to the development of hazards on the site.
• Manufacturers or sellers of construction equipment that was used when the accident happened, who may have produced the equipment with a defect that caused the accident.

Regardless of who is to blame, your lawyer needs to demonstrate that:

• Your injuries were caused by the workplace accident.
• Your accident-related injuries required medical care and resulted in other costs like loss of income.
• Someone else’s negligence or intentional action caused the accident that injured you.

Schedule a Free Consultation with an Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

If you were injured at work because of someone else’s negligence, speak with a Schaumburg, IL workers’ compensation attorney to understand whether you have a valid claim. At Grauer & Kriegel, LLC, we fight for the justice that our clients deserve. Call us at 847-240-9010 to schedule a free consultation.