Accidents at construction sites in Pennsylvania often give rise to legal action, such as a personal injury lawsuit. An objective of such a lawsuit is to determine who might be liable for the workplace accident. Depending on the accident, there may potentially be several parties who in the final analysis bear responsibility, including the construction site owner, contractors, sub-contractors, general contractors, equipment manufacturers, architects, engineers and insurers.
Establishing liability could depend on the size of the project, with larger projects typically withstanding more responsible parties yet involving a greater deal of delegation of legal responsibility among those parties. The construction site owner is oftentimes the initial focus of an inquiry into a construction accident, because in many cases the delegation of both work and legal responsibility flow down from this party.
Accident liability might also be assigned to various contractors, for they bear legal responsibility for ensuring that work conditions are safe and for enforcing compliance with safety procedures among those working under them. In some cases, architects and engineers could also be held liable, since they too may bear responsibility for complying with safety codes. These design professionals must also adhere to certain standards specific to their profession.
A manufacturer could be liable in a construction accident if a defective product contributed to the incident. Like all of the other parties who may bear responsibility for a construction accident, manufacturers typically maintain insurance coverage. In this way, injured victims can take legal action against the insurance carrier in the event of an accident.
Despite safety measures, sophisticated training and the best efforts of those in charge at construction sites, accidents still sometimes happen because of the inherent danger of the work. It is imperative for people who suffer injuries in these accidents to retain the counsel and representation of a personal injury lawyer. The attorney may provide legal advice and information pertaining to a specific situation, as this article was not intended for either of those purposes.
Source: Findlaw, “Construction Injury Overview“, August 28, 2014