A construction accident can leave you facing emergency treatment, time away from work, and unanswered questions about who was responsible. If you were hurt at a construction site in Voorhees Township in Camden County, your immediate priorities are protecting your health, reporting the injury, and understanding whether you may have more than one legal claim. (voorheesnj.com)
Workers’ compensation may provide important benefits, but it is not always the only source of recovery. Construction projects often involve owners, general contractors, subcontractors, equipment companies, and other businesses. Fulginiti Law investigates which companies controlled the work, equipment, property, safety decisions, or dangerous condition that led to the injury.
How Construction Injury Claims Work in New Jersey
An injured construction worker may have a workers’ compensation claim, a claim against another company or individual, or both. These claims serve different purposes.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits
New Jersey workers’ compensation generally applies when an employee is injured in an accident arising out of and during employment. It may provide:
- Reasonable and necessary authorized medical treatment
- Temporary disability benefits when the injury prevents the employee from working and statutory requirements are met
- Benefits for a qualifying permanent disability
- Dependency benefits after a fatal work injury
An employee ordinarily does not have to prove that the employer caused the accident through negligence. In exchange, workers’ compensation is generally the employee’s exclusive remedy against the employer and people in the same employment, except in narrow circumstances involving an intentional wrong. (nj.gov)
Claims Against Other Project Participants
New Jersey law does not bar an injured employee from pursuing a claim against a legally responsible third party. A third-party claim may be possible when an owner, contractor, equipment company, delivery company, or another business—not the injured person’s employer—contributed to the accident. (nj.gov)
A third-party case may allow recovery for losses that workers’ compensation does not fully address, including pain and suffering and diminished quality of life. However, the workers’ compensation carrier may have reimbursement or credit rights against a third-party recovery. Coordinating the two claims is therefore important. (nj.gov)
What to Do After a Construction Accident
The steps you take after an accident can affect both your medical recovery and your ability to establish what happened.
- Get appropriate medical care. Call 911 or obtain emergency treatment when necessary. Tell the medical provider that the injury happened at work and describe all symptoms accurately. Do not delay emergency care while waiting for insurance authorization.
- Report the accident promptly. Notify your employer, foreman, supervisor, or another person in authority as soon as possible. Although notice does not always have to be written, an email, text, or written incident report can help establish when and how notice was provided. Keep a copy if you can.
- Ask about authorized follow-up treatment. In New Jersey, the employer or workers’ compensation carrier generally selects the authorized provider for a work injury. If treatment is refused, delayed, or discontinued while you remain injured, legal remedies may be available. The New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation provides guidance for injured workers about reporting an accident, requesting treatment, and addressing disputes. (nj.gov)
- Record what you remember. Write down the time, location, task you were performing, companies present, equipment involved, weather or lighting conditions, and anything said immediately after the accident. Construction sites change quickly, so early details can matter.
- Preserve what is safely available. Save photographs, videos, witness contact information, work restrictions, pay records, and communications about the accident. Do not return to a dangerous site, enter restricted property, or take tools or equipment that do not belong to you.
- Be careful with releases and insurance statements. Provide truthful information, but consider getting legal advice before signing a settlement, broad medical authorization, or release—or before giving a recorded statement to another company’s insurer.
Who May Be Responsible for a Construction Site Injury?
Responsibility depends on who controlled the relevant work and what caused the accident. A company is not automatically liable simply because it owned the property or served as the general contractor. The investigation must connect that party’s conduct, contractual duties, control, or product to the injury.
Potentially responsible parties may include:
- A general contractor or construction manager that controlled the work or site-wide safety decision involved in the accident
- A subcontractor or trade contractor whose employees created a hazard, operated equipment unsafely, or left dangerous materials in a work area
- A property owner or manager that retained relevant control or failed to address a dangerous property condition for which it may have been responsible
- An equipment manufacturer, distributor, rental company, or maintenance provider when a defective product, inadequate warning, improper repair, or maintenance failure contributed to the incident
- A delivery company, vehicle operator, or outside vendor that caused a collision, dropped materials, blocked a safe route, or created another jobsite danger
Determining which company employed each person is only the beginning. Contracts, project records, equipment documents, and testimony may reveal that a business other than the injured worker’s employer controlled the activity that caused the harm.
Construction Accidents and Injuries We Investigate
Serious injuries can result from many different events, including:
- Ladder falls, roof falls, and unprotected openings
- Scaffolding accidents and collapsing work platforms
- Falling tools, unsecured materials, and moving loads
- Crane accidents and rigging failures
- Forklift accidents and other heavy-equipment incidents
- Electrical accidents, explosions, and fires
- Trench, wall, ceiling, or structural collapses
- Defective power tools, safety devices, machinery, ladders, or lifting equipment
The resulting harm may include fractures, internal injuries, severe burns, spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, crush injuries, or amputations. Some injuries require surgery and rehabilitation; others permanently affect mobility, independence, or the ability to continue working.
Important Evidence After a Construction Accident
You are not expected to investigate an active construction project yourself. Share what you have and tell your lawyer what you remember. The most useful information often includes:
- Photographs or videos of the location, equipment, and visible condition involved
- Names and contact information for coworkers or other witnesses
- The incident report and names of the companies working nearby
- Medical records, work restrictions, wage information, and benefit documents
- Text messages, emails, or other communications concerning the accident or hazard
A lawyer may seek additional material through preservation requests, insurance inquiries, public records, or litigation. Depending on the case, this may include contracts, surveillance recordings, daily reports, equipment records, inspection documents, training materials, and testimony from people who controlled the work.
Compensation That May Be Available
The benefits and damages available depend on the type of claim, the severity of the injury, and its effect on the injured person’s life.
Through Workers’ Compensation
A qualifying worker may receive authorized medical care, temporary disability payments, and benefits for a permanent work-related impairment. When a construction injury is fatal, eligible dependents may be entitled to death benefits.
Through a Third-Party Claim
A claim against another responsible party may include:
- Medical expenses and future treatment needs
- Lost income and reduced future earning capacity
- Rehabilitation and necessary assistive care
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
- Disability, scarring, or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Losses experienced by a qualifying spouse
- Wrongful-death and survival damages when an accident is fatal
Not every category applies in every case. Any workers’ compensation lien or credit must also be considered when evaluating a third-party resolution.
How a Construction Accident Lawyer Can Help
A construction accident investigation should focus on the injured person’s questions: What happened? Who controlled that work? Could the accident have been prevented? Which insurance policies or legal claims may apply?
Fulginiti Law can investigate by:
- Identifying the worker’s employer and every other company involved in the project
- Determining who controlled the work area, equipment, property, and relevant safety decisions
- Sending requests to preserve video, equipment, documents, and electronic records
- Reviewing contracts and project records to understand each company’s responsibilities
- Consulting appropriate construction, engineering, medical, or financial professionals when needed
- Coordinating workers’ compensation benefits with a possible third-party case
- Documenting future medical needs, lost earning capacity, and the injury’s effect on daily life
- Handling communications, negotiations, and litigation against responsible parties and insurers
The goal is not to assume who caused the accident. It is to investigate the available evidence and determine which claims the facts and New Jersey law may support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue my employer after a construction accident?
Usually, workers’ compensation is the primary remedy against an employer for a compensable work injury. New Jersey recognizes a narrow intentional-wrong exception, but ordinary carelessness or even a serious safety failure does not automatically satisfy that standard. A separate lawsuit may still be possible against another project participant whose conduct contributed to the injury. (nj.gov)
Can I receive workers’ compensation and pursue a third-party case?
Potentially, yes. New Jersey law permits an injured employee to pursue a responsible third party even when workers’ compensation is available. The employer or compensation carrier may have reimbursement and credit rights, so the claims should be coordinated before any third-party settlement is finalized. (nj.gov)
What if someone says the accident was partly my fault?
Workers’ compensation generally does not require proof that another person was at fault. In a third-party negligence case, New Jersey’s comparative-negligence law may reduce damages according to the injured person’s share of responsibility and may bar recovery if that share exceeds the applicable statutory limit. An allegation of worker fault should not end the investigation into equipment defects, project control, unsafe instructions, or hazards created by another company. (lis.njleg.state.nj.us)
How long do I have to act?
Report a work injury as soon as possible. New Jersey’s workers’ compensation statute generally requires the employer to receive notice or have knowledge of the accident within 90 days. A formal claim petition generally must be filed within two years of the accident or, in certain circumstances, within two years of the last payment of compensation. A third-party personal-injury lawsuit is generally subject to a two-year limitation period. If a public entity or public employee may be involved, the New Jersey Tort Claims Act can require a notice of claim within 90 days. Exceptions and accrual rules are fact-specific, so prompt review is important. (nj.gov)
Other areas where we handle Construction Accident:
- Media Construction Accidents
- Pennsauken Construction Accidents
- Bensalem Construction Accidents
- Chester Construction Accidents
- Abington Construction Accidents
- Levittown Construction Accidents
- Doylestown Construction Accidents
- West Chester Construction Accident
- Cherry Hill Construction Accidents
- Willingboro Construction Accident
- East Norriton Construction Accidents
- King of Prussia Construction Accidents
- Camden Construction Accidents
- Coatesville Construction Accidents
- Upper Darby Construction Accidents
- Pottstown Construction Accidents
- Deptford Construction Accidents
- Norristown Construction Accidents
- Mount Laurel Construction Accidents
- Gloucester Construction Accidents
- Middletown Construction Accidents
- Lansdale Construction Accidents
- Glassboro Construction Accidents
- Lower Merion Construction Accidents
- Haverford Construction Accidents
Speak With a Voorhees Construction Accident Lawyer
If you or a family member was seriously injured on a construction site in Voorhees NJ, Fulginiti Law can review what happened, explain the possible claims, and investigate whether another company or project participant may be responsible.
Call 215-602-4204 or contact Fulginiti Law to request a free consultation. (fulginiti-law.com)
