Construction projects involve a lot of parties. You have the property owner, contractors and subcontractors all working together to make the project a reality. However, injuries will occur on construction sites. When the injury is caused not by your employer but by a third party involved in the project you may be able to pursue a third-party lawsuit.
What is a third-party lawsuit?
A third-party lawsuit in the construction industry is brought by a worker against a third party such as a contractor, manufacturer or some one other than the party the worker is employed with. This is an option outside of workers’ compensation, which only applies to those in an employer-employee relationship. Instead, it is more like a personal injury lawsuit, in which the aggrieved party sues and is compensated for the damages suffered due to the act of a non-employer party.
More on third-party lawsuits
If you are awarded compensation through a third-party lawsuit, if you have been receiving workers’ compensation in the meantime you may need to pay that back. Otherwise, you are entitled to keep the remaining damages you were awarded along with damages for pain and suffering or even punitive damages.
All third-party lawsuit cases require careful examination to ensure that the third-party claim itself is necessary, rather than pursuing workers’ comp. Third-party lawsuits can be filed against non-employers, product designers and manufacturers and other parties the aggrieved person is not employed by. Nevertheless, there are times when a third-party claim is the right avenue towards compensation for legal issues that you deserve for the injuries you suffered on-the-job.