New Jersey Construction Accident Lawyer

You generally cannot sue your own employer or co-workers; workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against them, except for an intentional wrong (N.J.S.A. 34:15-8). But receiving comp does not stop you from suing a third party whose negligence caused the accident, such as a general contractor, another subcontractor, the property owner or an equipment manufacturer (N.J.S.A. 34:15-40). If the third-party case recovers money, the employer or its insurer may be entitled to be repaid part of the benefits it paid.

Yes, but not like New York’s. New Jersey has no equivalent of New York Labor Law 240 or 241, which make owners and contractors specially liable for certain falls and site violations. In New Jersey, a claim against a contractor or owner requires proof of negligence. Federal OSHA standards apply on private construction sites and can be used as evidence of the standard of care, but a violation is not automatically negligence (Alloway v. Bradlees, 1999). New Jersey’s PEOSH program covers public-sector employees.

There are separate clocks. For workers’ compensation, the employer must know of the injury, or be given notice, within 90 days (N.J.S.A. 34:15-17), and the formal claim petition must be filed within two years of the accident or of the last payment of compensation (N.J.S.A. 34:15-51); employer-authorized medical treatment counts as a payment, and an informal-hearing application does not stop the clock. A third-party negligence lawsuit generally must be filed within two years of the accident (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2(a)). If a public entity may be responsible, a notice of claim may be due within 90 days.

Falls from heights (scaffolds, ladders, roofs and floor openings), scaffold collapses, crane accidents and falling loads, electrocution, trench and excavation collapses, caught-between accidents with heavy equipment, burns from fires and explosions, machinery accidents, struck-by injuries, structural collapses, and wrongful death from construction site negligence.

Depending on the facts: a general contractor that controlled the site and could have corrected the hazard, another subcontractor, the property owner, an engineer or design professional who knew of a danger (Carvalho v. Toll Brothers, 1996), equipment owners or rental companies, and manufacturers of defective equipment under the Product Liability Act. Your direct employer is generally protected by the workers’ compensation bar unless the intentional-wrong exception applies.

Workers’ compensation pays medical treatment and, after more than seven days of disability, temporary disability benefits at 70% of the average weekly wage up to a yearly maximum. It does not pay for pain and suffering. A third-party lawsuit can add damages comp does not cover: full lost earnings and earning capacity, pain and suffering, disability and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages are available only on proof of actual malice or wanton and willful disregard.

A third-party case requires (1) a duty owed by the defendant, which for a general contractor depends on foreseeability, the relationship between the parties and the opportunity to correct the hazard; (2) a breach of that duty, where OSHA rules may help define the standard of care; (3) causation; and (4) damages. We secure contracts, daily logs, safety plans, inspection records, OSHA materials, photos and witness statements to show who controlled the hazard.

Only in a narrow situation called an intentional wrong. It is not enough that the employer knew of a risk; the employer must have known that injury was substantially certain to result, and the injury and its circumstances must be more than a fact of life of industrial employment (Millison v. E.I. du Pont, 1985). In Laidlow v. Hariton Machinery (2002), deliberately removing a safety guard while knowing injury was substantially certain could meet that standard. Most construction cases instead proceed through comp plus a third-party claim.

Workers’ compensation benefits can begin while the injury is being treated; disputed claims take longer. A third-party lawsuit usually cannot be valued until treatment shows the long-term picture, and it involves contracts, multiple defendants and expert discovery. We coordinate the comp file and the third-party case so one does not undercut the other, and we do not promise a timetable.

It helps when another company may be responsible, when benefits are denied, or when injuries are serious. The comp claim and the third-party case have different deadlines, forums and proof, and a third-party recovery affects what the comp insurer can claim back. The consultation is free and there is no fee unless there is a recovery.