When you’re injured on someone else’s property, your entitlement to sue depends on whether your injuries resulted from another party’s negligence. That means that you might be able to sue the construction company, a contractor, the property owner or even a construction tool manufacturer for a product defect.
Getting to the source of a construction project injury in Indiana can be challenging since so many people and parties are working on the project simultaneously. Hiring a good personal injury attorney is the key to recovering financially from the incident.
Let’s look at the possible third parties involved in a construction project and how the courts determine fault in such accidents.
Possible Third Parties Responsible for Construction Project Injuries
To understand how different parties could be responsible for injuries on a construction site, we’ll evaluate a few scenarios to illustrate how this is possible.
1. Property owner
Property owners have a responsibility to keep their property safe for visitors and contractors that they invite to the property. The property owner must take reasonable precautions to create a safe work environment for individuals who complete work on the property.
If the property owner knows of hazards on the property and does not warn the contractors, the property owner could be liable. For example, the presence of asbestos in a ceiling could impact how a team rips out the ceiling. But if the property owner doesn’t share this information and contractors suffer due to the asbestos, the property owner could be liable.
Or if the property owner provides materials or equipment for the team to use and those materials or equipment are not well kept or present a hazard, the property owner could be liable.
2. General contractor
Large construction projects often have a general contractor who oversees the project and the entire construction site. This individual is charged with scheduling contractors and keeping the site safe and tidy.
Failing to check work before releasing contractors or inspect the site at the end of the day could lead to the general contractor being liable for injuries. A construction site will likely change status from day to day. The general contractor needs to keep all parties informed about when it is safe to move forward with the next phase of a project.
3. Other contractors
Each contractor that works on a construction project has a responsibility to keep the site safe for others. Leaving projects in a dangerous status at the end of the day or leaving dangerous tools out could leave other contractors liable for your injuries.
4. Product liability
Product liability is when there is a manufacturing defect, design defect or marketing for a product use case that the product is not actually approved for.
Product manufacturers that design, market and sell construction tools and materials have a responsibility to make sure that those tools and materials are safe for use. A product defect could be the source of your construction project injury.
For the product manufacturer to be responsible though, you’ll need to prove that you were using the tool or product according to its intended use case, using protective gear as instructed and maintaining the product as required.
Determining Indiana Construction Project Liability
To determine the at-fault party in large construction project injuries, you have to review all evidence and interview witnesses. It’s a big job and takes a great deal of expertise. Finding the liable party means looking at who had a duty of care toward you to keep you safe but failed to uphold that duty of care.
If you’ve been injured on a construction site, the best course of action is to hire an Indiana personal injury attorney. Your attorney will start gathering evidence and evaluating the at-fault parties. In complicated cases, there can be more than one party that knew the construction site was not safe but did nothing about it.
Contact Stewart & Stewart for a free case evaluation. Our team will guide you in understanding possible liable parties and navigate the process of pursuing a lawsuit to recover your financial damages from the accident.