Construction accident claims
If you were hurt on a site, you have probably been told workers' compensation is your only remedy. For an injury caused by your own employer, that is usually right. For an injury caused by anyone else on that site, it is wrong — and the difference is substantial.
Why the third-party claim matters so much
Workers' compensation is a no-fault bargain: you get medical treatment and partial wage replacement without proving anyone was negligent, and in exchange you generally cannot sue your employer. What it does not give you is compensation for pain, suffering, or loss of enjoyment of life, and it replaces only a portion of your earnings.
A third-party claim is an ordinary negligence claim against someone who is not your employer. It carries the full range of damages. On a construction site, where a dozen companies work alongside each other, there is very often such a party.
| Workers' compensation covers | Medical treatment, temporary and permanent disability payments, supplemental job displacement. No pain and suffering. Your employer, regardless of fault. |
|---|---|
| A third-party claim covers | Full medical, full past and future wage loss, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium for a spouse. Requires proving someone else's negligence. |
Who the third party usually is
- Another subcontractor whose work created the hazard — the trade that left the floor opening unguarded, or dropped material from above.
- The general contractor, where it retained control over safety and exercised it negligently.
- The property owner, in defined circumstances.
- An equipment manufacturer, where a machine, lift, ladder or power tool was defectively designed or lacked guarding — a product liability claim.
- An equipment rental or maintenance company that supplied or serviced defective plant.
- A driver, in the many site injuries that involve a vehicle or delivery.
The Privette line of authority limits when a hiring party is liable for injuries to a contractor's employees, and it is a genuine obstacle. The main exception, from Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198, is where the hirer retained control over the work and exercised that control in a way that affirmatively contributed to the injury. Whether that applies is fact-specific and is the central battleground in many of these cases.
Cal/OSHA and the evidence
California's workplace safety standards are detailed and prescriptive — fall protection above defined heights, scaffold construction and inspection, trench shoring and sloping, ladder duty ratings and placement, guarding of floor and wall openings, crane operation and signaling, and energy isolation procedures.
A Cal/OSHA investigation following a serious injury produces an inspection file, citations and interviews, and that material is obtainable. A citation is not conclusive proof of negligence in a civil case, but it is objective evidence about an industry standard, produced by an agency with no stake in your claim.
Questions people ask
My employer says workers' comp is all I can get.
That is correct as against your employer in most cases, and incorrect as a general statement. Workers' compensation does not bar a claim against a different company whose negligence injured you — another subcontractor, a general contractor in defined circumstances, an equipment manufacturer, or a driver. On a multi-trade site there is frequently such a party.
Will bringing a claim cost me my job?
Retaliating against an employee for pursuing a workers' compensation claim is unlawful in California. A third-party claim is against a different company altogether. Those are the legal positions; if you are being pressured, that is itself worth raising.
I am undocumented. Can I still make a claim?
Yes. California law provides that immigration status is irrelevant to the enforcement of state labor, employment and civil rights laws, and it is generally inadmissible in a personal injury action. Both workers' compensation benefits and third-party injury claims are available irrespective of status.
Cal/OSHA cited the contractor. Does that prove my case?
It helps substantially without being conclusive. A citation is evidence about the applicable safety standard and the failure to meet it, produced by an independent agency. You still have to prove that failure caused your injury.
Related
Reviewed October 2026 by Simon Aziz Budhwani, Esq., the attorney responsible for this site. Legal statements here name the California code section they rely on, so you can check them rather than trust them. This is information about the law in general, not advice about your situation.
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