Construction sites are often a dangerous work environment. Building site accidents injure or kill thousands every year. Most employees know they are entitled to workers compensation if injured on the job. However, many construction accidents in Vancouver occur due to the fault of a third party or because the general contractor neglected to follow safety rules. Contact us to start your case with a free consultation.
If you or a family member has been seriously injured or was fatally injured in a Vancouver accident as a result of a Washington construction site accident, contact our experienced Vancouver wrongful death attorney for help. You may be entitled to additional compensation. Our firm has been helping injured workers recover compensation for construction site injuries for over 45 years.
Why Clients Choose our Vancouver Construction Accident Attorneys?
- We are committed to helping hard-working individuals seek justice for preventable injuries in the construction industry in Vancouver. We understand how these cases work.
- Our attorneys care about their clients. We take the time to craft personalized legal strategies to address each client’s specific needs, concerns and goals.
- We offer free consultations and accept clients on a contingency fee basis in Vancouver. This means you won’t pay us anything unless your construction accident case results in compensation.
What Can a Construction Accident Lawyer in Vancouver Do for You?
Construction accident cases in Washington often involve complex laws and legal issues, including federal safety regulations, OSHA violations, workers’ compensation and third-party involvement. Navigating your claim alone could put you at risk of making a mistake that hurts your future, such as missing an opportunity to recover compensation.
When you hire an experienced construction accident attorney in Vancouver, you can relax and focus on healing from your injuries while a skilled professional takes care of legal matters. Your construction accident lawyer can investigate the incident, determine who is at fault, file a claim on your behalf, hire experts to strengthen your evidence, negotiate a fair settlement and take your case to court in Clark County, if necessary, to achieve optimal results.
Common Types of Vancouver Construction Accidents
Construction is one of the deadliest jobs in Washington. Statistics show that this industry has a high number of fatalities each year. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the top four causes of death in construction are:
- Falls
- Struck-by objects, vehicles or equipment
- Caught-in/between objects or trenches
- Electrocutions
Other common causes of construction job injuries and deaths are transportation accidents, crane collapses, exposure to toxic substances and machinery accidents. If evidence shows that someone is responsible for causing the harmful incident, that party can be held accountable.
Why Do Most Construction Accidents in Vancouver Happen?
Employers in the construction industry are responsible for ensuring the safety, health and well-being of their employees. This responsibility includes obeying federal safety laws and maintaining a safe work environment.
Construction companies and general contractors are obligated to provide a workplace that is free of hazards, along with adequate worker training and supervision, safe tools and equipment, and personal protective gear.
Failing to maintain a safe construction zone is an example of negligence that can result in the contractor being held liable (financially responsible) for an injured worker. If a coworker or contractor caused the incident, on the other hand, this party could be held accountable.
The Legal Rights of Injured Construction Workers in Vancouver
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance system that can provide financial benefits for all of your medical costs, partial lost wage replacement, permanent disability (if applicable) and vocational rehabilitation services.
If you report your injury to your employer immediately and file a workers’ comp claim within one year, you can receive benefits without having to prove fault. You generally cannot, however, sue your employer for an on the job injury.
You may still, however, file a claim against a third party, such as a product manufacturer or property owner. If your construction accident attorney can prove that someone other than your employer owed you a duty of care, breached this duty and caused your construction accident, you could receive payment through both workers’ comp and that claim.
Evidence to Preserve After a Vancouver Job Site Injury
A construction site does not stay still. Debris gets cleared, scaffolding comes down, damaged equipment is repaired or scrapped, and the crew that saw what happened moves to the next job. Most of what proves a third-party claim exists only in the first days after an injury, which is why the single most useful thing an injured worker can do is get a lawyer involved before the site is restored to working order.
The records that matter most in a Clark County construction case include:
- The incident report filed with the general contractor or site safety manager, including any written statement you were asked to sign.
- Photographs of the site before cleanup, showing the unguarded edge, the missing railing, the trench without shoring, the tool or part that failed.
- Names and phone numbers of witnesses, including workers employed by other subcontractors who may be gone from the site within a week.
- Safety meeting and toolbox talk records, which often show whether the specific hazard had already been raised.
- Equipment inspection and maintenance logs for any lift, crane, ladder, or powered tool involved.
- Subcontractor agreements and the site safety plan, which set out who was contractually responsible for the condition that hurt you.
- Any Washington Department of Labor & Industries or federal OSHA inspection output, including citations issued after the incident.
Under Washington regulation the general contractor carries a duty for job site safety that it cannot delegate away to the subcontractors working under it. Establishing that duty depends on the site documents above, and those documents are held by the companies with the most reason not to produce them. A written preservation demand sent early keeps them from disappearing.
Filing Deadlines and Fault Rules in Washington
Two rules shape almost every Vancouver construction claim, and both of them work against a worker who waits.
The filing deadline. Washington law generally gives you three years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under RCW 4.16.080. A workers’ compensation claim through Labor & Industries runs on its own, much shorter, reporting timeline, and filing one does not extend the three-year deadline on a third-party lawsuit. Workers may assume their L&I claim has protected their rights and discover otherwise after the civil deadline has passed.
Comparative fault. Washington follows pure comparative negligence under RCW 4.22.005. If a jury finds you were partly responsible for your own injury, your damages are reduced by that percentage rather than eliminated. A worker found twenty percent at fault still recovers eighty percent. This matters on construction sites because the defense will almost always argue that the injured worker chose the ladder, skipped the harness, or worked ahead of the barricade. Being partly at fault is not a reason to walk away from a claim.
If a public agency was involved, because the work was on a state or municipal project, a separate and much earlier claim-filing requirement may apply before a lawsuit can be brought.
Frequently Asked Questions About Vancouver Construction Accident Claims
Can I sue if I am already receiving workers’ compensation?
Yes, when someone other than your own employer contributed to the injury. Washington’s workers’ compensation system generally bars you from suing your direct employer, but it expressly preserves your right to bring a claim against a negligent third party such as the general contractor, another subcontractor, the property owner, or an equipment manufacturer. L&I is entitled to be repaid out of what you recover, and how that repayment is calculated is one of the things a lawyer manages for you.
What if I am an independent contractor rather than an employee?
Your position may actually be stronger. Workers who are genuinely independent contractors are often outside the workers’ compensation bar entirely, which can leave a direct negligence claim available against the company that controlled the site. Job titles do not settle this. What matters is who directed the work, who supplied the tools, and how you were paid.
Who pays my lost wages while I am off work?
Time-loss compensation through L&I replaces a portion of your wages, not all of them. A third-party claim is where the rest of the loss is recovered, including the gap between time-loss payments and your actual earnings, reduced future earning capacity, and the pain and suffering that workers’ compensation does not pay for at all.
What if I was hurt on a site in Washington but live in Oregon?
That is a common situation in the Vancouver and Portland metro area and it does not prevent a claim. Which state’s law applies generally follows where the injury happened and where the companies involved do business. We handle claims on both sides of the river and can sort out which forum and which deadline apply to your case.
Will filing a claim cost me my job?
Retaliating against a worker for filing an L&I claim is unlawful in Washington. A third-party claim is brought against another company on the site, not against your employer, so in most cases your employment relationship is not the target of the case at all.
What does it cost to talk to a construction accident lawyer?
Nothing. The consultation is free and we handle construction injury cases on a contingency fee, meaning there is no fee unless we recover for you. Related reading: our premises liability page covers hazards on property you were lawfully on, and our Vancouver wrongful death page covers the process when a site incident is fatal.
Contact Our Vancouver Construction Accident Attorneys for a Free Consultation
At NW Injury Law Center, we can guide you through the process of seeking justice for a construction injury. We will evaluate your case for free and let you know if you qualify for redress over and above your workers’ compensation benefits.
Consulting an experienced Vancouver accident attorney with a track record of helping workers and those who have suffered loss or injury in an accident is vital to protecting your rights. They can help you file a Vancouver personal injury accident claim.
Please call NW Injury Law Center at (360) 695-1624 if you have any questions or would like to speak with us regarding your injury.