A construction-site injury can leave you dealing with emergency treatment, missed paychecks, and uncertainty about whether you will be able to return to the same work. If you were hurt on a project in Cherry Hill or elsewhere in Camden County, your immediate priorities are protecting your health, reporting the accident, and determining which companies may have contributed to what happened. Cherry Hill is a Camden County municipality in New Jersey. (camdencounty.com)
The legal case may involve more than workers’ compensation. An owner, general contractor, subcontractor, equipment company, property manager, or another project participant may have controlled the work or dangerous condition that caused your injuries. The role of a construction accident lawyer is to investigate those relationships, identify the potentially responsible parties, and explain the claims available under New Jersey law.
How New Jersey Construction-Injury Claims Work
An injured construction worker may have rights under two separate legal systems: workers’ compensation and a civil claim against a third party.
Workers’ Compensation
New Jersey workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. For a covered work injury, it may provide authorized medical treatment, temporary wage-replacement benefits, and compensation for a qualifying permanent disability. A worker generally does not need to prove that the employer was negligent to receive these benefits. (nj.gov)
In exchange, workers’ compensation is ordinarily the employee’s remedy against the direct employer. It generally does not provide damages for pain and suffering or the full personal impact of an injury. New Jersey recognizes only narrow exceptions to the usual restriction on suing an employer directly. (nj.gov)
Claims Against Other Companies
Receiving workers’ compensation does not necessarily prevent an injured worker from pursuing a separate claim against another person or company whose conduct contributed to the accident. New Jersey’s workers’ compensation law expressly addresses liability involving third parties. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
A third-party claim may seek compensation for losses that workers’ compensation does not fully address, including pain and suffering, reduced future earning capacity, and the broader consequences of a permanent injury. Because the workers’ compensation carrier may have reimbursement rights if money is recovered from a third party, the two claims should be carefully coordinated.
Who May Be Responsible for a Construction Accident?
No company is automatically liable merely because it participated in the project. Responsibility depends on what the company did, what it controlled, what its contracts required, and whether its conduct contributed to the injury.
Potentially responsible parties may include:
- A general contractor or construction manager that directed relevant work, coordinated trades, controlled access to an area, or assumed responsibility for a safety condition.
- A subcontractor or another trade contractor whose employees, materials, equipment, or work practices created the hazard.
- A property owner or developer that retained control over relevant work, created a dangerous property condition, or had responsibility for addressing it.
- An equipment manufacturer, seller, rental company, or maintenance provider when a defect, missing warning, improper repair, or mechanical failure contributed to the accident.
- A delivery company or material supplier whose driver, vehicle, load, or unloading operation caused the injury.
For example, a worker injured in a ladder fall may have been employed by one subcontractor while another company supplied the ladder, directed where it would be placed, or controlled the work area. The important question is not simply who employed the worker. It is which companies controlled the work, equipment, property, safety decisions, or dangerous condition connected to the accident.
What to Do After a Construction Accident
Take the steps that are reasonably available without delaying emergency care, entering a dangerous area, or interfering with an ongoing investigation.
- Get appropriate medical attention.
Your health comes first. Tell the medical provider that the injury happened at work, explain how it occurred, and identify every affected part of your body. For non-emergency follow-up care, understand that the employer or workers’ compensation carrier generally has the right to select the authorized treating provider. An injured worker may obtain emergency treatment when necessary. (nj.gov) - Report the injury promptly.
Notify your employer or supervisor as soon as possible. When practical, provide the report in writing and keep a copy. Include the date, time, location, basic circumstances, and injuries you experienced. New Jersey law generally requires the employer to have knowledge or notice of the injury within 90 days, but waiting can create avoidable disputes. (nj.gov) - Write down what you remember.
Record the companies present, the work being performed, the equipment involved, instructions you received, and the names of witnesses. Construction sites change quickly, and details that are obvious immediately after the accident may be difficult to reconstruct later. - Preserve what you already have.
Save photographs, videos, messages, work schedules, pay records, and damaged personal protective equipment that belongs to you. Do not alter machinery, remove another company’s property, or return to a restricted work area. - Be accurate when discussing the accident.
Cooperate with necessary medical and workers’ compensation procedures, but do not guess about facts you do not know. Consider obtaining legal advice before signing a settlement, release, broad medical authorization, or statement prepared by another company’s insurer. - Investigate third-party responsibility early.
An employer’s incident report may not identify every company involved. Prompt investigation can help preserve video, equipment, electronic communications, project records, and witness information.
The New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation provides an official overview of injured-worker protections, including available benefits and options when an employer or insurer disputes a claim. An administrative workers’ compensation proceeding is separate from a civil lawsuit against another company. (nj.gov)
Accidents and Injuries That May Require Investigation
Construction claims can arise from falls, falling materials, electrical hazards, collapsing structures, unsafe access routes, vehicle movements, and failures involving tools or heavy equipment. Fulginiti Law provides additional information about scaffolding accidents, crane accidents, forklift accidents, and electrical accidents.
These events may cause fractures, crush injuries, burns, amputations, internal injuries, brain injuries, spinal injuries, scarring, or other lasting limitations. The nature of the accident or injury alone does not establish negligence. The investigation must determine why it happened and how each company’s conduct was connected to the harm.
Evidence That May Matter
You do not need to collect every project document yourself. Preserve what you reasonably have and tell your lawyer where other evidence may be found.
Important information may include:
- Photographs or videos of the work area, equipment, condition, and visible injuries
- The incident report and the names or contact information of witnesses
- Medical records, work restrictions, and information about authorized treatment
- Pay records and documents showing missed work or lost benefits
- Messages or other communications with supervisors, contractors, or insurers
A legal investigation may seek contracts, daily reports, inspection and maintenance records, safety plans, surveillance footage, equipment information, and documents identifying the companies on the project. A government citation or safety finding may be relevant, but it does not automatically prove civil liability.
Compensation and Benefits That May Be Available
The available recovery depends on the type of claim, the severity of the injury, and its effect on the person’s work and daily life.
Workers’ compensation benefits may include:
- Reasonable and necessary authorized medical treatment
- Temporary wage-replacement benefits
- Permanent partial or permanent total disability benefits
- Death benefits for qualifying dependents after a fatal work injury
A successful third-party claim may include compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Disability, scarring, or disfigurement
- Rehabilitation, assistance, or future care
- Losses experienced by qualifying family members
Not every category applies to every case. Any evaluation should consider the person’s medical condition, treatment, work history, future needs, and ability to return to construction or another occupation. (nj.gov)
Important New Jersey Deadlines
A New Jersey personal-injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after the claim accrues. A formal workers’ compensation claim petition generally must be filed within two years of the accident or the last payment of compensation, whichever is later; authorized medical treatment may count as compensation. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
An unusually short rule may apply if a New Jersey public entity or public employee could be responsible. The New Jersey Tort Claims Act generally requires notice of a claim within 90 days after it accrues. Public construction, road, utility, or property-related cases should therefore be reviewed promptly. Exceptions and different accrual rules may apply, so the correct deadline depends on the facts and parties. (pub.njleg.state.nj.us)
How Fulginiti Law Can Handle a Construction-Accident Case
A construction injury investigation often must go beyond the employer’s workers’ compensation paperwork. Fulginiti Law can:
- Identify the owners, contractors, subcontractors, equipment companies, and insurers involved
- Examine which entities controlled the work, property, equipment, or relevant safety decisions
- Seek preservation of equipment, video, electronic records, and project documents
- Work with appropriate construction, engineering, medical, or financial professionals when needed
- Coordinate workers’ compensation issues with a possible third-party lawsuit
- Document lost earnings, medical needs, and the long-term effect of the injury
- Negotiate with insurers and prepare the case for litigation when necessary
Fulginiti Law states that it has recovered more than $76 million in construction-accident cases, including a $22 million result and multiple multimillion-dollar recoveries. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a particular outcome. (fulginiti-law.com)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I receive workers’ compensation and file a third-party lawsuit?
Potentially. Workers’ compensation may cover authorized medical care, partial wage replacement, and disability benefits. A separate lawsuit may be available if another company or person contributed to the accident. The claims should be coordinated because the workers’ compensation carrier may have rights involving a third-party recovery. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
Can I sue the general contractor or property owner?
Only if the facts support a claim against that party. The title “general contractor” or “owner” does not create automatic liability. The investigation may examine who controlled the relevant work, who created or knew about the condition, what the contracts required, and whether that party’s acts or omissions contributed to the injury.
Who chooses my doctor for a New Jersey workers’ compensation injury?
The employer or its insurer generally has the right to designate the authorized treating physician. Emergency treatment is an exception, and other issues may arise if the employer improperly refuses to provide necessary care. Keep the employer informed about emergency treatment and obtain advice before paying for significant non-emergency care outside the authorized system. (nj.gov)
What if my workers’ compensation claim is denied?
A denial does not necessarily end the matter. Disputes may involve whether the injury was work-related, whether treatment is necessary, employment status, notice, or entitlement to wage benefits. An injured worker may file a formal claim petition or request an informal hearing through the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation. A formal petition is generally required to protect the claim before the applicable two-year deadline. (nj.gov)
Other areas where we handle Construction Accident:
- Middletown Construction Accident
- Pottstown Construction Accident
- Bensalem Construction Accidents
- 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
- Camden Construction Accidents
- 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
Speak With a Cherry Hill Construction Accident Lawyer
If you were injured on a construction project in Cherry Hill or elsewhere in Camden County, Fulginiti Law can review what happened, explain how workers’ compensation relates to a possible third-party claim, and investigate which companies may be responsible.
Call 215-602-4204 or contact Fulginiti Law to request a free consultation. The firm handles construction-accident matters on a contingency-fee basis, meaning no upfront attorney’s fee and no attorney’s fee unless it obtains a recovery, subject to the terms of the written fee agreement. (fulginiti-law.com)
