Workplace injuries and workers’ comp

Complete Construction Site Accident Guide

By Million Dollar Lawyer Editorial Team · Updated

A construction worker in a hard hat and safety vest sits on a pickup tailgate while a coworker kneels to wrap his ankle in an elastic bandage

You were hurt on a construction site, or someone you love was: a fall from a ladder or scaffold, a trench that caved in, a load that dropped from above. Now the medical bills are arriving and the paychecks have stopped.

If you were working on the site, you usually have two kinds of claims. Workers’ compensation pays for your medical care and part of your lost wages, usually no matter who was at fault, but it’s generally your only claim against your own employer. You may also be able to sue someone else whose carelessness caused the injury, such as the general contractor, another subcontractor, the property owner or the maker of a defective machine. If you were only walking or driving past, workers’ comp doesn’t apply to you, and you bring an ordinary injury claim against whoever caused the harm. Michigan’s rules are in the boxes marked “In Michigan.”

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How common are construction accidents?

Construction is one of the most dangerous kinds of work. In 2024, 1,034 workers in the private construction industry died from injuries on the job, about one in five of the 5,070 people killed by work injuries in the U.S. that year. Here is how many of those construction workers died from some of the main hazards (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries):

What happened Deaths in 2024
Fall to a lower level 373
Transportation incidents, including 67 pedestrian incidents involving motor vehicles 244
Struck by a propelled, falling or suspended object 79
Exposure to electricity 52
Collapse or engulfment 37
Struck, caught or compressed by running powered equipment 35

The table shows selected causes, not every death. Falls are the leading cause of death in construction, and the construction fall-protection rule was the standard federal OSHA cited most often in fiscal year 2024 (OSHA). OSHA’s construction safety training covers four hazards it calls the “Focus Four”: falls, caught-in or -between hazards, struck-by hazards and electrocution (OSHA).

Illustration of a building under construction with two tower cranes, a cement mixer truck and an excavator

What are the most common construction site accidents?

Federal safety rules for construction, in 29 CFR Part 1926, spell out the protection the law requires, which also helps show what went wrong. For injuries in other kinds of jobs, see the most common workplace accidents.

Falls from roofs, ladders, scaffolds and openings

A construction worker on a surface with an unprotected side or edge 6 feet or more above a lower level must be protected by a guardrail, a safety net or a personal fall arrest system (29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1)). Holes more than 6 feet above a lower level, including skylights, need covers, guardrails or fall arrest systems (29 CFR 1926.501(b)(4)), and a worker on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level must be protected from falling (29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1)). The 4-foot rule you may have read about applies to general industry, not construction (29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)).

Being struck by falling objects

Where workers are exposed to falling objects, the employer must have them wear hard hats and must also use toeboards, screens or guardrails, or else a canopy or a barricaded area workers stay out of, with materials kept back from the edge (29 CFR 1926.501(c)).

Electrocution

An employer may not let an employee work so close to an electric power circuit that the employee could contact it while working, unless the circuit is shut off and grounded or effectively guarded by insulation or other means (29 CFR 1926.416(a)(1)).

Trench collapses and caught-in accidents

Workers in an excavation must be protected from cave-ins, for example by sloping the walls or using supports or shields. The only exceptions are an excavation made entirely in stable rock, and one less than 5 feet deep where a competent person has examined the ground and found no sign of a possible cave-in (29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1)).

Vehicles and moving equipment

Transportation incidents were the second-largest category of construction deaths in 2024, after falls, slips and trips (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Workers can be hit by traffic in a road work zone or by trucks and machines moving around the site.

Does workers’ comp cover you on a construction site?

Workers’ comp covers employees, but on a construction site it isn’t always clear who your employer is. You may work for a subcontractor of a subcontractor, or be paid as an “independent contractor.” Each state has its own test for who counts as an employee, and the answer may not match your paperwork, so don’t assume you aren’t covered until you’ve asked your state’s comp agency or a lawyer.

What does workers’ comp pay, and what should you do first?

Workers’ comp laws give injured workers set benefits without a lawsuit, and they pay benefits to the dependents of workers killed by work injuries or illnesses (Legal Information Institute). Comp pays only what your state’s law lists, and pain and suffering generally isn’t on the list. For amounts, doctors and disputes, see how workers’ comp works, from reporting the injury to settling the claim.

Can you sue your employer after a construction accident?

Usually not. Workers’ comp is generally your only claim against your employer, even if the employer was careless. This is called the exclusive-remedy rule, and the exceptions are narrow and vary by state. If you lost your job after claiming comp, see what counts as workers’ comp retaliation.

Who else can you sue after a construction accident?

A construction site usually has many companies on it: the owner, a general contractor, a chain of subcontractors and the makers of the equipment everyone uses. Any of them whose carelessness caused your injury may have to pay. This third-party claim is a personal injury claim, so it can pay for what comp doesn’t, such as pain and suffering and the rest of your lost wages, but you have to prove the company was at fault. See workers’ comp compared with a personal injury claim and when you can sue after a workplace injury.

The general contractor

The general contractor runs the site and coordinates the trades. Whether it must pay when a subcontractor’s worker is hurt depends heavily on state law. New York, for example, has a statute requiring “all contractors and owners and their agents” on jobs such as building, demolishing, repairing or painting a structure, with an exception for some owners of one- and two-family homes, to provide scaffolding, ladders and other devices that give workers “proper protection” (N.Y. Labor Law § 240(1)).

Other subcontractors

Another trade’s crew can stack materials where they can fall, leave a hole unguarded or run equipment carelessly. A subcontractor that isn’t your employer can be responsible for its own crew’s negligence.

The property owner

The owner of the land usually hires others to build. Whether the owner is responsible depends on how much control it kept over the work and on your state’s rules.

The maker of a defective tool or machine

If a scaffold, lift, saw, harness or other equipment failed because of a defect, its maker may be liable under product liability law. If you can, make sure the equipment isn’t repaired or thrown away, and ask a lawyer to request in writing that it be preserved. See how product liability claims work.

Utilities, designers and drivers

Others can share the blame too: a utility whose power line hung too low, an engineer whose design was unsafe, or a driver who crashed into a work zone.

Not sure which companies share the blame for your injury? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

Does an OSHA violation prove your case?

Not by itself. OSHA regulates workplace safety and health; it doesn’t handle workers’ comp (OSHA). The law that created OSHA says it doesn’t change any workers’ comp law, or the other legal rights and duties of employers and employees for work injuries (29 U.S.C. § 653(b)(4)).

Safety rules can still matter in a lawsuit against a third party, because they can help show what reasonable safety required. OSHA’s online establishment search lists its inspections by employer name and the citations federal OSHA has issued, which can change during the investigation (OSHA). How much weight a violation carries depends on your state’s law.

What if a construction accident killed your family member?

When a worker dies from a work injury, comp generally pays benefits to the family members who depended on the worker (Legal Information Institute). The family may also have a wrongful death claim against a third party whose negligence caused the death. See how wrongful death claims work.

What if you were hurt walking or driving past a construction site?

Workers’ comp doesn’t apply to you. If you were a pedestrian, a driver or a neighbor, you bring an ordinary personal injury claim against whoever caused the harm, often the contractor that created the hazard or whoever controlled the property. You’ll need to show that their carelessness caused your injury.

How long do you have to act?

Every state sets its own deadlines, and one accident can start several clocks: for reporting the injury, for the comp claim, and for a lawsuit against each company that shares the blame. Act on the shortest one first.

What to do next

  1. Get medical care, and tell every provider you were hurt at work. Describe how it happened and everything that hurts.
  2. Report the injury to your employer in writing, and keep a copy. Then make sure a claim is actually filed. In Michigan, if your employer won’t report it, file Form WC-117 with the Workers’ Disability Compensation Agency.
  3. Write down who was on the site. List the general contractor, every subcontractor you know of, the equipment involved and the witnesses. Take photos if you can, and find out whether OSHA or MIOSHA inspected.
  4. Be careful with other companies’ insurers. You don’t have to give them a recorded statement, and it’s safer not to before you’ve had advice. Don’t sign a release until you know what you’re giving up.
  5. Get a free case review. A lawyer can check your deadlines, your comp claim and which companies should also pay. Get a free case review, or, if you were hurt in Michigan, compare Michigan injury lawyers.

What waiting can cost

  • Your comp benefits. A missed notice or claim deadline can cost you benefits (in Michigan, 90 days and two years, MCL 418.381(1)).
  • Control of your lawsuit. In Michigan, if you haven’t sued a responsible third party within a year of the injury, your employer or its insurer can sue in your name (MCL 418.827(1)).
  • The evidence. Scaffolds come down, equipment gets repaired, the site changes every week and crews move on.

What a good outcome looks like

Your medical bills go to the comp insurer, not to you, and your weekly checks arrive on time while you heal. If another company’s carelessness caused the accident, that company pays for what comp doesn’t cover, including pain and suffering and the rest of your lost wages, and you know what you’ll keep after the comp insurer is repaid. If your family lost someone, they receive the death benefits the law provides and a full look at who else should answer for what happened. From wondering who pays after a construction accident to knowing what workers’ comp covers, who else may be responsible and how long you have.

For more on injuries at work, browse the workplace injury guides, or see Michigan personal injury law in plain English.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sue my employer after a construction accident?

Usually not. Workers' compensation is generally your only claim against your employer, even if it was careless. In Michigan, you can sue your employer only if it failed to carry the required comp coverage (MCL 418.641(2)) or committed an intentional tort: a deliberate act by which it specifically intended an injury. It's treated as intending one if it had actual knowledge that an injury was certain to occur and willfully disregarded that knowledge (MCL 418.131(1)). You can often sue other companies whose negligence caused the injury (MCL 418.827(1)).

Can I sue the general contractor if I work for a subcontractor?

Sometimes. In Michigan, general contractors ordinarily aren't liable for the negligence of their subcontractors or the subcontractors' workers. The exception is the common-work-area doctrine: you must show the general contractor failed to take reasonable steps within its supervisory and coordinating authority to guard against readily observable and avoidable dangers that created a high degree of risk to a significant number of workers in a common work area (El-Jamaly v Kirco Manix Construction, 2024, quoting Ormsby v Capital Welding, 2004). Failing any one of those four parts ends the claim.

I was paid as an independent contractor. Am I covered by workers' comp?

Possibly. Each state has its own test. In Michigan, you count as an employee if you don't maintain a separate business, don't hold yourself out to and serve the public, and aren't an employer covered by the Act yourself, and you're presumed to be one if your employer must withhold federal income tax from your pay (MCL 418.161(1)(n)). If your employer was a contractor without the required coverage, the business that hired it can owe your comp benefits (MCL 418.171(1)).

Does an OSHA citation prove my case?

No. OSHA regulates workplace safety, and the law that created it says it doesn't change workers' comp laws or the other legal rights and duties of employers and employees for work injuries (29 U.S.C. § 653(b)(4)). A citation can still be useful evidence. In Michigan, a violation of a safety regulation adopted under state law is evidence of negligence that the jury weighs with all the other evidence (M Civ JI 12.05).

How long do I have to file a construction accident lawsuit in Michigan?

Most lawsuits against someone other than your employer must be filed within three years of the injury (MCL 600.5805(2)), and claims against an equipment maker also have three years (MCL 600.5805(12)). A claim against a licensed architect, professional engineer or professional surveyor over their professional services counts as malpractice, with two years (MCL 600.5805(8), (13)). For workers' comp, tell your employer within 90 days and make your claim within two years (MCL 418.381(1)).

I was hurt walking past a construction site. Who pays?

Workers' comp doesn't apply to you, so you bring an ordinary injury claim against whoever caused the harm, often the contractor that created the hazard or whoever controlled the property. In July 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court held that a jury could find a contractor breached its duty not to unreasonably endanger others when it left a trench in an apartment parking lot uncovered and unmarked (Bowerman v Red Oak Management Co). Your own share of fault can reduce your damages (MCL 600.2959).

Sources

  1. MCL 418.131, Workers' compensation as the exclusive remedy; intentional tort exception · Michigan Legislature
  2. MCL 418.161, Definition of employee · Michigan Legislature
  3. MCL 418.171, Liability of a principal for a contractor not subject to the Act or without coverage · Michigan Legislature
  4. MCL 418.321, Death benefits · Michigan Legislature
  5. MCL 418.335, Death benefits: remarriage and children's age limits · Michigan Legislature
  6. MCL 418.345, Last illness, funeral and burial expenses · Michigan Legislature
  7. MCL 418.381, Notice and claim deadlines · Michigan Legislature
  8. MCL 418.611, Methods of securing payment of compensation · Michigan Legislature
  9. MCL 418.641, Civil action against an employer that violates section 171 or 611 · Michigan Legislature
  10. MCL 418.827, Third-party liability · Michigan Legislature
  11. MCL 500.3107, PIP benefits (work loss limited to the first three years) · Michigan Legislature
  12. MCL 500.3109, Other government benefits subtracted from PIP benefits · Michigan Legislature
  13. MCL 500.3135, Tort liability for noneconomic loss after a motor vehicle accident · Michigan Legislature
  14. MCL 600.2922, Wrongful death; action by the personal representative · Michigan Legislature
  15. MCL 600.2946a, Limits on noneconomic damages in product liability actions · Michigan Legislature
  16. MCL 600.2959, Comparative fault; reduced damages · Michigan Legislature
  17. MCL 600.5805, Injuries to persons or property; period of limitations · Michigan Legislature
  18. MCL 600.5852, Wrongful death saving provision · Michigan Legislature
  19. MCL 691.1401, Governmental immunity definitions (highway includes sidewalks) · Michigan Legislature
  20. MCL 691.1404, Notice of injury and defect in a highway · Michigan Legislature
  21. MCL 691.1411, Claims against government agencies; limitation of actions · Michigan Legislature
  22. Great American Ins Co v Queen, 410 Mich 73 (1980) · Michigan Supreme Court (via the Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School Library)
  23. El-Jamaly v Kirco Manix Construction, LLC (Docket Nos. 164902-164904, decided July 18, 2024) · Michigan Supreme Court
  24. Ormsby v Capital Welding, Inc, 471 Mich 45 (2004) · Michigan Supreme Court
  25. Loweke v Ann Arbor Ceiling & Partition Co, LLC, 489 Mich 157 (2011) · Michigan Supreme Court
  26. Bowerman v Red Oak Management Co, Inc (Docket No. 167718, decided July 20, 2026) · Michigan Supreme Court
  27. Michigan Model Civil Jury Instructions, M Civ JI 12.03, 12.05 and 12.06 (updated July 21, 2026) · Michigan Supreme Court
  28. MIOSHA Construction Safety Standard Part 45, Fall Protection (R 408.44501 and R 408.44502) · Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
  29. A Summary of Your Rights and Responsibilities Under Michigan Workers' Compensation (WC-PUB-001, April 2026) · Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency
  30. Frequently Asked Questions: Filing a Claim · Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency
  31. Frequently Asked Questions: Miscellaneous (checking an employer's coverage) · Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency
  32. Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2024 (news release USDL-26-0230, February 19, 2026) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  33. Table A-9. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure for all fatal injuries and major private industry sector, all United States, 2024 · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  34. 29 CFR 1926.501, Duty to have fall protection (construction) · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
  35. 29 CFR 1926.451, Scaffolds: general requirements · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
  36. 29 CFR 1926.652, Requirements for protective systems (excavations) · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
  37. 29 CFR 1926.416, Electrical safety: general requirements · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
  38. 29 CFR 1910.28, Duty to have fall protection and falling object protection (general industry) · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
  39. 29 U.S.C. § 653, Workers' compensation law and common-law rights unaffected · Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
  40. OSHA's Fall Prevention Campaign · Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  41. Commonly Used Statistics (most frequently cited standards, fiscal year 2024) · Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  42. Construction Focus Four Training · Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  43. Michigan State Plan · Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  44. Frequently Asked Questions (wages, hours worked, workers' compensation) · Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  45. Establishment Search · Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  46. N.Y. Labor Law § 240, Scaffolding and other devices for use of employees · New York State Senate
  47. Workers' compensation · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

Updated September 25, 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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