Lawyers Blog

The general contractor on any work site has a nondelegable duty to enforce all safety regulations for all employees on site, not just the employees of the general contractor. This duty runs from all upper tier subcontractors to all lower tier subcontractors which the sub may hire on the job site. This nondelegable duty to enforce all safety regulations on all work sites applies not just to general contractors but to owners, developers and those with supervisory authority in the work place. All employers are obligated to provide a reasonably safe work place for its employees and those with whom it contracts with to furnish labor and materials for it.

If a worker is injured in the work place, he may file a worker’s compensation claim. An injured worker not only has a right to file a worker’s compensation, e.g. a Labor and Industries claim, but may also have a viable “third party claim” to recover damages against the contractor, subcontractor or any other independent trade which was negligent. This would be a claim against any negligent company or an employee of another company on a job site which caused the worker’s injury. The injured worker may file a third party claim against the employer of the negligent worker and arguably claim that the employer or its employee failed to enforce or follow certain OSHA regulations.

A  man says he lost wages after he stepped on a piece of sprinkler pipe while working as a carpenter at a construction site. He is seeking a judgment of more than $150,000, plus costs.

“While working at said construction site, the man, while walking toward his tools after pouring concrete stepped on a piece of sprinkler pipe thereby causing him to suffer severe bodily injury,” the suit states.

Because of the incident, he was made sick, sore, lame, disordered and disabled, suffered a back injury and incurred medical costs, the complaint says. In addition, he says he suffered disability, experienced pain and suffering and lost wages.

The company in control of the construction site, failed to maintain a clean and safe workplace, failed to clean up construction debris, failed to warn the man of a dangerous condition and failed to hire careful contractors who would keep a safe workplace, the complaint says.

A company had been hired to keep a safe workplace, among other things, but they failed to clean up construction debris and failed to warn the man of a dangerous condition, he claims.