Construction Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles

Who is liable for a construction accident in California?

On a Los Angeles site there are usually several candidates, and each one brings its own insurance:

• The general contractor, responsible for the safety of the site as a whole.
• Another subcontractor whose crew created the hazard, such as a trench, an unguarded opening or falling material.
• The property owner, who may have left a dangerous condition.
• The company that rented the scaffold or crane, and the supplier of materials or equipment.
• An equipment manufacturer, when a machine failed or a safety device was missing.
• A public entity, for a dangerous condition of public property under Government Code section 835. These claims carry the six month deadline.

The injured worker’s own employer is usually shielded from a lawsuit by the workers compensation system. That protection does not extend to the other companies on the site.

What does workers compensation pay, and what does it not?

Workers compensation is the system with your direct employer. In exchange for paying without arguing about fault, the law normally prevents you from suing that employer. It pays medical treatment and a portion of lost wages. It does not pay for pain and suffering, the permanent limitation or the life that changed.

A third-party claim does. If another subcontractor caused the accident, the equipment failed or the owner left a dangerous condition, there is a second, independent claim against them, and it is based on fault. In a serious injury that is almost always the larger part of the case. Health insurance may also pay treatment as it happens and later claim reimbursement from a recovery, which is negotiated before you receive a net figure.

What are your rights as an injured worker in California?

• Immigration status does not decide your rights. California’s workplace protections are available to every worker regardless of immigration status, including the right to workers compensation and the right to claim against a responsible third party.
• Retaliation is unlawful. Labor Code section 132a bars an employer from retaliating against a worker for filing a workers compensation claim. Firing, cutting hours or threatening someone for reporting an injury is illegal and can create its own claim.
• A 1099 or cash pay does not decide your status. If you were told you are an independent contractor, the law looks at how your work was actually controlled, and many misclassified workers are entitled to workers compensation.

What compensation can you recover after a construction accident?

• Medical expenses, past and future, including surgery, therapy and long term care.
• Lost earnings and loss of future earning capacity.
• Pain, suffering and emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life, which workers compensation does not pay.
• Punitive damages under Civil Code section 3294 where a defendant acted with malice, oppression or fraud.
• Wrongful death damages for the family under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 when an accident is fatal.

A case’s value cannot be known before the medical picture is clear. It turns on the injury, the care still to come, the available insurance and the evidence on who caused the hazard.

How long do you have to file a construction accident claim?

• Two years from the date of injury to file an injury lawsuit against a third party, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
• Three years for property damage only, under Code of Civil Procedure section 338.
• Six months to present a written claim if a public entity is involved, under Government Code section 911.2. This shorter deadline governs.

California applies pure comparative fault, so partial blame reduces a recovery and does not bar it. The workers compensation case has its own deadlines, so have your dates confirmed at the start.

How much does a construction accident lawyer cost?

No fee unless there is a recovery. Broukhim Legal PC takes construction accident cases on a contingency fee, so there is nothing to pay up front and the fee is paid out of what is recovered. If nothing is recovered, no fee is owed. The fee agreement is put in writing and signed before any work starts, as California law requires, and the costs of running the case are explained in that same agreement rather than left to the end. Your first conversation is free, confidential and carries no obligation.

Personal injury lawyers across Los Angeles County

Broukhim Legal PC represents people injured throughout Los Angeles County from its office at 550 S Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles. Each city page sets out the courthouse an incident in that city is filed in, how a claim against that city is presented and the deadlines that apply:

See all locations we serve, or tell us about your construction accident for a free case review.

Meet your Los Angeles construction accident lawyer

Bejan Broukhim, Founder and Lead Attorney
State Bar of California, license number 183036

Bejan Broukhim brings years of California legal experience to injury and mass tort cases and personally reviews each one. He earned his J.D. at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, served as a judicial extern in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Van Nuys Superior Court, and appeared in preliminary hearings as a certified law clerk with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Every case is prepared from day one as though it will go to trial.

Office: 550 S Hill Street, Suite 1390, Los Angeles, CA 90013, serving all of Los Angeles County and California. Get directions