The metro-Atlanta area has experienced consistent growth for the past several years and only continues to do so. With it brings construction and construction jobs, both residential and commercial, all throughout the state. If a construction worker is injured on the job, he most likely knows that he can file a workers’ compensation claim with his employer to get compensation for his injuries. However, there are other avenues of compensation recovery that are beyond the scope of workers’ compensation. These are called third-party claims, and they are often filed in the case of certain types of accidents or injuries.
A third-party claim allows you to hold other parties besides your employer responsible for your injuries after a construction accident. A construction site is often susceptible to such claims since multiple employers have their own employees working on the site. There are typically several types of contractors that are performing work at a construction site, and all of them bring with them their own employees, equipment, material and so on.
Say, for example, your accident was caused by equipment or debris left lying around by the employee of another subcontractor at the same site. In a case like this, you can file a workers’ compensation claim with your employer. You can also file an injury claim against the subcontractor whose worker’s negligence caused your injuries. These claims are filed as personal injury claims, and are separate from your workers’ compensation claims.
There are several situations in which a third-party claim must be investigated. For example, if your injuries were caused as a result of a defective piece of equipment or machinery, you may be able to hold the manufacturer of the equipment liable in your injury claim. Other possible situations include falls, burns, injuries caused a result of improper lighting, injuries caused by electrical equipment and so on. The accident may not even have to be caused on the site for you to be eligible to file a third-party claim. If your construction job involves travel, and you are involved in an accident, there may be grounds for a third-party claim against the other motorist involved in your crash.
The amount you recover through a third-party claim is not dependent on the amount of compensation you recover through your workers’ compensation claim. Your third party claim is therefore independent of your workers’ compensation claim, and offers you an additional source of compensation recovery after an injury. If you have been injured on a construction site, then we urge you to talk with an Atlanta construction accident lawyer to determine whether you have grounds for a third-party claim under personal injury laws. Failing to do so could deprive you of a substantive and valuable source of compensation to make up your financial losses.