A construction-site injury can leave you facing surgery, time away from work, and uncertainty about how your family will manage the bills. If you were hurt while working on a project in Bensalem Township or elsewhere in Bucks County, workers’ compensation may cover some immediate losses—but it may not be the only source of financial recovery. (buckscounty.gov)
Construction projects often involve an owner, general contractor, construction manager, subcontractors, equipment companies, and other businesses. Fulginiti Law’s role is to investigate what happened and determine which company controlled the work, equipment, property, safety decisions, or dangerous condition that caused the injury.
How Pennsylvania Construction Accident Claims Work
An injured employee may have two distinct claims: a workers’ compensation claim and, when someone other than the employer contributed to the accident, a third-party personal injury claim.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Pennsylvania workers’ compensation generally provides medical and wage-loss benefits for a covered work injury without requiring the employee to prove that the employer was negligent. In most cases, workers’ compensation is also the employee’s exclusive remedy against the employer. (pa.gov)
These benefits can be important, but they do not normally compensate an injured worker for pain and suffering or every long-term financial consequence of a serious injury.
Third-Party Construction Accident Claims
Pennsylvania law allows an injured employee to pursue a separate claim when a third party caused or contributed to the injury. Depending on the facts, that third party could be a general contractor, another subcontractor, a property owner, an equipment company, or another business involved in the project. (legis.state.pa.us)
Receiving workers’ compensation does not automatically prevent a third-party lawsuit. However, the claims must be coordinated because the employer or workers’ compensation carrier may have a statutory right to reimbursement from part of a third-party recovery. (legis.state.pa.us)
What to Do After a Construction Accident
The period immediately after an accident may affect both your health and your legal rights. Take these practical steps when circumstances permit:
- Get appropriate medical care.
Call for emergency assistance when needed. Tell each medical provider how the accident happened, describe all symptoms, and attend recommended follow-up visits. Do not return to work against medical advice. - Report the injury promptly.
Notify your employer or supervisor and, when possible, make the report in writing. Identify when and where you were injured and state that it happened while you were working. Under Pennsylvania law, notice within 21 days can be important to receiving benefits from the injury date. Notice generally must be provided within 120 days unless the employer already had knowledge of the injury or an exception applies. The state’s Workers’ Compensation and the Injured Worker pamphlet provides additional information. (legis.state.pa.us) - Record what you remember.
Write down the time, location, job assignment, weather or lighting conditions, equipment involved, and what happened before the injury. Record the names and employers of witnesses and the different companies working nearby. - Preserve what is safely available to you.
Save photographs, videos, damaged personal equipment, work messages, pay records, medical paperwork, and any incident report you receive. Do not return to a restricted or dangerous site, trespass, or remove equipment that does not belong to you. - Seek legal advice before important evidence disappears.
Construction conditions can change quickly, and equipment may be moved, repaired, or returned to service. An attorney can send appropriate preservation notices and begin identifying the companies involved without requiring you to confront an employer or another project participant.
Who May Be Responsible for a Construction-Site Injury?
Responsibility depends on who created the danger, knew or should have known about it, or had control over the relevant work or equipment. A company is not automatically liable merely because it owned the property or held the title of general contractor.
Potentially responsible parties may include:
- A general contractor or construction manager that created a hazard, directed unsafe work, retained relevant control, or undertook safety responsibilities and performed them negligently.
- Another subcontractor whose employees, materials, debris, equipment, or work methods caused the dangerous condition.
- A property owner or property manager that retained relevant control, created the condition, or failed to address a hazard for which it may have been legally responsible.
- An equipment manufacturer, distributor, rental company, or maintenance provider when defective, improperly maintained, or unsuitable machinery contributed to the accident.
- A delivery company, trucking company, utility, or other project participant whose actions caused a collision, falling load, electrical hazard, or similar danger.
More than one company may have played a role. Contracts, site records, insurance documents, daily reports, and testimony from people on the project can help show which business controlled the activity involved.
Construction Accidents and Injuries We Investigate
Serious injuries may result from:
- Falls from roofs, elevated platforms, scaffolds, or ladders
- Falling tools, unsecured materials, or suspended loads
- Cranes, forklifts, excavators, trucks, and other heavy equipment
- Electrical contact, fires, explosions, and burns
- Trench collapses, structural failures, and caught-between accidents
- Slippery surfaces, uncovered openings, and unsafe access routes
These incidents can cause fractures, head and brain injuries, spinal cord damage, crush injuries, amputations, burns, internal injuries, permanent limitations, or death. The severity of the outcome does not itself prove negligence; the investigation must connect the injury to legally actionable conduct or a defective product.
Evidence That May Help Explain What Happened
You are not expected to collect an entire case file while injured. Preserve what you already have and tell your attorney where other information may be found. Important evidence may include:
- Photographs or videos of the condition, equipment, and visible injuries
- Witness names, contact information, and employers
- Incident reports, work assignments, text messages, and other communications
- Medical records, work restrictions, bills, and wage information
- The identity of any tool, machine, vehicle, scaffold, ladder, or safety device involved
A lawyer may obtain additional materials such as project contracts, safety responsibilities, surveillance recordings, inspection and maintenance records, equipment manuals, training documents, daily logs, and government investigation records. An OSHA citation or other agency finding may be relevant, but it does not by itself establish civil liability.
Compensation That May Be Available
The benefits or damages available depend on the type of claim, the evidence, and the effect of the injury.
A workers’ compensation claim may provide:
- Reasonable and necessary treatment for the work injury
- Wage-loss benefits when the injury limits or prevents work
- Specific-loss benefits for certain permanent losses
- Death benefits for qualifying dependents after a fatal work injury
A successful third-party claim may provide compensation for losses not fully addressed by workers’ compensation, including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Pain, suffering, and loss of normal activities
- Disability, disfigurement, and long-term care needs
- Qualifying wrongful-death and survival losses after a fatal accident
Not every category applies in every case, and any workers’ compensation reimbursement interest must be considered when evaluating a potential settlement.
How a Construction Accident Lawyer Can Help
A construction case should begin with a straightforward question: Who controlled the work, equipment, property, safety decision, or dangerous condition that caused the injury?
Fulginiti Law can investigate that question by:
- Identifying the owner, contractors, subcontractors, and other project participants
- Reviewing contracts and records that allocate control and safety responsibilities
- Preserving available video, equipment, electronic communications, and site documents
- Consulting qualified experts when technical or medical analysis is necessary
- Coordinating the third-party case with workers’ compensation benefits and liens
- Handling communications with insurers and defense attorneys
- Assessing settlement proposals and preparing the case for litigation when appropriate
This investigation can also reveal whether a company that initially appears to be the employer or a third party has a different legal status under Pennsylvania law.
For more information about these cases, visit Fulginiti Law’s construction accident practice page.
Time Limits for Pennsylvania Construction Accident Claims
Pennsylvania generally requires a negligence lawsuit seeking damages for personal injury or wrongful death to be filed within two years. The correct starting date and any exceptions depend on the claim. If a Commonwealth or local government unit may be responsible, a written notice requirement can apply within six months, subject to statutory exceptions. Prompt review is therefore important even when the ordinary two-year period appears to leave time. (legis.state.pa.us)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I receive workers’ compensation and still bring a lawsuit?
Possibly. Workers’ compensation is usually the remedy against your employer, while a separate personal injury claim may be available against a negligent third party. The two claims can proceed at the same time, but they must be coordinated because the workers’ compensation carrier may have reimbursement rights.
Can I sue a general contractor or property owner?
Only when the evidence and applicable law support a claim. A general contractor may be responsible if its own conduct, retained control, safety undertaking, or management of the work contributed to the injury. A property owner may be responsible for certain property conditions or activities under its control. Neither title alone creates automatic liability.
What if someone says the accident was partly my fault?
Workers’ compensation benefits are generally available without regard to fault in most covered cases. In a Pennsylvania negligence lawsuit, an injured person may still recover when that person’s causal negligence is not greater than the negligence of the defendant or defendants, although damages are reduced by the injured person’s percentage of fault. (pa.gov)
What rights may a family have after a fatal construction accident?
Qualifying dependents may be eligible for workers’ compensation death benefits. The personal representative of the estate and certain family members may also have wrongful-death or survival claims against a responsible third party. The available claims and damages depend on family relationships, estate issues, and how the accident occurred.
Other areas where we handle Construction Accident:
- Middletown Construction Accident
- Pottstown Construction Accident
- Camden Construction Accident
- Coatesville Construction Accident
- Abington Construction Accidents
- Lower Merion Construction Accident
- East Norriton Construction Accident
- West Chester Construction Accident
- Chester Construction Accident
- Willingboro Construction Accident
- Glassboro Construction Accident
- Lansdale Construction Accident
- Cherry Hill Construction Accident
- Deptford Construction Accident
- Voorhees Construction Accident
- Upper Darby Construction Accident
- Doylestown Construction Accident
- Pennsauken Construction Accident
- Norristown Construction Accident
- Haverford Construction Accident
- Mount Laurel Construction Accident
- Levittown Construction Accident
- Gloucester Construction Accident
- Media Construction Accident
- King of Prussia Construction Accident
Contact Fulginiti Law About a Bensalem Construction Accident
If you were seriously injured on a construction project in Bensalem or elsewhere in Bucks County, you do not have to determine on your own which company was responsible. Fulginiti Law can review the accident, identify the businesses involved, and explain whether you may have a third-party claim in addition to workers’ compensation.
Call 215-602-4204 or contact Fulginiti Law online to request a free consultation. (fulginiti-law.com)
