Most construction workers who get hurt on the job think workers’ compensation is the only answer. Get your medical bills paid, collect temporary disability, file the claim, and move on. That’s what everyone tells them. That’s what the employer’s HR department tells them. That’s what the workers’ comp adjuster is inferring.
They don’t tell them that workers’ compensation isn’t always the only option. Often in construction accidents, the conditions that led to the injury are the fault of a third party, a general contractor, a subcontractor, a property owner, or an equipment manufacturer. The third party can be sued separately, outside the workers comp system, for the entire range of damages not covered by workers comp.
If you were injured on a construction site in Glendale, talking to a Glendale personal injury lawyer before you make any decisions about your workers’ comp claim could change what you’re actually able to recover.
Talk to Us Before You Assume Workers’ Comp Is Your Only Option
There’s no charge for a free consultation. It takes about 5 minutes, and it could tell you that you have a separate legal claim worth far more than workers’ comp will ever pay.
No commitment. No big deal. You pay nothing unless we win your case.
Call (626) 793-8607 24 hours a day.
Why Glendale Construction Sites Create Real Risk
Development is currently under way in Glendale. Much of the commercial and residential construction in recent years has been in downtown Glendale, on or near Brand Boulevard. High-rise and mixed-use projects in the central business district put large crews, heavy equipment, and multiple contractors on the same sites at the same time. The mix is a genuine safety hazard.
Residential construction in the Verdugo Hills and Montrose areas adds another dimension. Hillside projects have the special hazards of unstable soil, the danger of elevation, limited access for emergency vehicles, and the constant pressure of working on slopes where a mistake can be serious.
San Fernando Road and Glenoaks Boulevard are used by daily construction traffic and equipment movements. Colorado Street and Central Avenue have had infrastructure and commercial work that puts workers in close proximity to moving vehicles and foot traffic from the public.
Construction sites are inherently dynamic and hazardous. The equipment is always on the move. Things change. Different contractors work in overlapping areas but not always coordinating properly. When safety standards are lowered and they are workers get hurt.
What is the Difference Between Workers’ Compensation and a Third-Party Claim?
This is the question that most injured construction workers want answered most, and it’s the one almost no one explains clearly.
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. Injured on the job? File a claim with your employer’s workers’ comp carrier. You are covered for medical treatment and some of your lost wages if you are unable to work. You do not need to prove your employer was negligent. But workers comp restricts your recovery. It doesn’t pay for pain & suffering. It doesn’t cover the full value of your lost wages. And it doesn’t pay for long-term disability the same way a personal injury lawsuit would.
A third-party personal injury claim is a different matter. If someone other than your employer caused the accident, such as a general contractor who created an unsafe condition, a subcontractor who failed to secure work areas, a property owner who knew of a hazard and failed to fix it, or an equipment manufacturer whose product failed, you can sue that party separately. Third-party claims help recover medical expenses, full lost wages, pain and suffering, reduced earning capacity, and more.
And importantly, you can often do both at the same time. Workers’ comp will cover your immediate medical bills and replace a portion of your income while the third-party claim is investigated and resolved. Workers’ comp and a third-party settlement or verdict are not mutually exclusive.
Most employers are required by California Labor Code § 3700 to carry workers’ compensation insurance. California Labor Code § 6400 mandates that employers provide a safe workplace. If a third party’s failure to provide safe conditions caused your injury, you may have a separate civil claim that is outside the workers comp system.
Who Might Be Liable for Your Construction Accident
Construction sites have multiple parties working under the same general project. That’s important because it suggests that more than one party may have been involved in the circumstances that led to your injury.
General Contractors
The general contractor oversees the whole project and is responsible for the safety of the site. The GC might be held significantly liable if they failed to enforce safety protocols, permitted unsafe conditions to continue, or did not properly coordinate among subcontractors.
Subcontractor
Someone from another crew might have been hurt by a hazardous condition created by a subcontractor’s crew. Poor storage of materials, unmarked excavation areas, and poorly secured scaffolding, all of these can lead to injuries to workers who had nothing to do with that subcontractor’s work.
Property Owners.
The property owner is responsible for site safety, especially prior to construction and in some cases during the project. If the owner of the property was aware of a dangerous condition and failed to disclose or fix it, they may be held liable.
Equipment Suppliers
If a piece of equipment failed because of a design defect or a manufacturing error, a scaffold component failure, a tool that broke unexpectedly, or a lift that malfunctioned, the manufacturer may be liable under California product liability law. Such claims are independent of the employment relationship and are pursued separately from workers comp.
Accidents Common in Construction Things We Deal With in Glendale
- Collapse or fall of scaffolding. Serious injuries on construction sites are frequently caused by poorly built scaffolding. A single failure in a connection or support can take down a section with many workers on it.
- Falling tools and materials from above. Objects falling or dropped from above were a constant danger to workers on lower levels of a site. A small object dropped from a few stories can cause serious injury or death.
- Electric shock. Construction sites have exposed wiring, temporary power hookups, and equipment operating near power lines. Electrical injury is one of the most serious and often fatal construction accidents.
- Trench and excavation failures. Trenches that are not properly supported can collapse. Inside there is no time for the workmen to get out. These OSHA-compliant shoring systems are almost always preventable accidents.
- Failure of equipment and machinery. Cranes. Forklifts. Concrete mixers. Compactors. The use or failure of heavy equipment can lead to catastrophic injuries.
- Vehicle struck at or about a worksite. On Glendale streets where construction work puts workers in the path of traffic, such as San Fernando Road, Colorado Street, and Glenoaks, a passing vehicle can hit a worker in seconds.
- Falls from ladders. Falls from ladders are still one of the most common and preventable construction accidents. Improper setup, damaged equipment, or working on an unstable surface dramatically increases the risk of doing so.
- Fell down on an unsafe construction surface. Wet concrete, loose debris, uneven temporary flooring, and unmarked hazards all contribute to falls that result in serious injury.
- Toxic exposure. Construction workers are exposed to asbestos, lead paint, silica dust and chemical solvents. The effects of such exposure are not always immediately apparent but can cause serious long-term health consequences.
- Third-party contractors’ negligence. A worker of one subcontractor gets hurt by conditions created by a completely different crew. This is one of the most common third-party claim scenarios in construction.
How Can Cal/OSHA Violations Work in Your Favor?
Most people injured on construction sites do not know this, and most competitor law firm pages do not explain it.
Cal/OSHA, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, establishes and enforces workplace safety standards for all California employers. If a construction accident occurred, Cal/OSHA could investigate the incident and hand down safety violations to the employer or general contractor.
Those citations are immensely important in a third-party personal injury claim.
A Cal/OSHA citation is an official government record of a violation of a safety standard. That record is good evidence in a lawsuit that the defendant knew or created a dangerous condition and failed to correct it. This doesn’t automatically mean that they’re liable, but it does make for a good case of negligence causing your injury.
If you suffered a workplace accident that led to a Cal/OSHA investigation, we need those records now. If no investigation was conducted, we compare site conditions to applicable Cal/OSHA standards to determine potential violations supporting your claim.
The primary Cal/OSHA regulations for construction work in California are found in Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. Violations of certain standards, fall protection violations, scaffolding regulations, excavation safety, electrical hazard rules, all create a framework for establishing negligence outside of workers comp.
What To Do Following a Construction Accident in Glendale
- Get medical help right away. If the injury is serious, call 9-1-1. Do not refuse medical attention at the scene. Your health comes first and the medical records created the day of the accident are a key part of your claim.
- Report the accident to your employer or supervisor. California law requires you to report work injuries immediately. If you are able, do this in writing and make a copy.
- Log everything you can afford to. Photos of the accident scene, the hazardous condition that caused the injury, the equipment involved, signage (or lack thereof) and your visible injuries. Make sure anything is moved or cleaned up before this.
- Obtain witness information. Names and phone numbers of co-workers or anyone else who witnessed the event. Witnesses are key in construction accident cases because worksite conditions change rapidly.
- Keep any physical evidence. The broken equipment. The section of scaffolding that fell. The ladder that fell down. If you find any of these things, don’t have them thrown out or fixed until a lawyer has had a chance to look at them.
- Do not provide a recorded statement to any insurance company. You may be contacted by the employer’s workers comp carrier. Your general contractor’s liability insurance company may contact you. Be civil. “Say your attorney will be in contact. Then hire a lawyer.
- Contact us before you do anything on your workers’ comp claim. Filing workers comp is often the right first step, it gets your medical bills covered. But how you handle your third-party claim can impact it. A lawyer can see that both are properly dealt with.
Other Compensation Available Other than Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ comp covers some of your losses. The rest can be covered by a third-party personal injury claim.
- Hospital charges. All past and future costs, including emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, specialist visits, medication, and any future treatment your injuries will require.
- Lost wages in full. Workers’ comp pays some of your wages. A third-party claim can recover the entire amount of income you lost, including overtime and benefits.
- Future earning capacity. If your injury has permanently reduced your ability to work in construction or any field, you can recover the difference between what you would have earned and what you are able to earn.
- Suffering and pain. Workers’ comp pays zero for pain and suffering. A third-party claim can obtain significant compensation for the physical pain and the emotional toll of a serious construction injury.
- Scarring and disfigurement. Acknowledged value of permanent visible scarring in California personal injury cases.
- Not enabled. A permanent disability, total or partial, can affect your quality of life, your relationships and your financial future. A third party claim correctly values these losses.
- Wrongful death. Damages. If a construction accident results in a fatality, family members of the deceased may have claims for lost financial support, lost companionship, funeral expenses and other losses.
About Adrianos Facchetti
I have been licensed to practice law in California since 2006 (State Bar No. 243213) and have handled more than 1,000 personal injury cases throughout Los Angeles County, including construction accident cases involving third-party claims against general contractors, subcontractors, and equipment manufacturers.
10.0 Avvo Rating – Top Attorney, BBB A+ Accredited. Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® 2025. MyBurbank’s Best 2025.
Glendale Construction Workers – How to Contact Us
Workers’ compensation isn’t always your only choice. A free conversation with a lawyer can let you know if you have a separate claim worth pursuing, something that will cover what worker comp will never cover.
Free consultation. No strings attached. No charge if we do not succeed.
Call (626) 793-8607 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Results vary from case to case and past results are not indicative of future results.
