Kent Construction Accident Attorney
A fall from scaffolding at a warehouse build near the Green River Valley, a crushed foot at a Kent industrial site, an electrical shock on a job where someone else controlled the wiring: each of these leaves a worker with medical bills and a workers’ compensation file that may not tell the whole story. Injury Law Group NW represents people hurt in construction accidents in Kent and throughout King County, pursuing the property owners, general contractors, equipment makers, and other outside parties whose carelessness put a worker or passerby in harm’s way.
If you are searching for a Kent construction accident attorney, the first thing to understand is that a job-site injury is rarely one claim. A worker hurt on the job typically has a workers’ compensation claim against the employer’s coverage, and that system pays benefits without regard to fault. It also generally limits what the worker can collect. When someone other than the employer contributed to the injury, a separate third-party claim can reach damages that workers’ compensation does not, including pain and suffering and the full measure of lost earning capacity. Spotting those outside parties early is the central skill in these cases.
Kent sits in the middle of one of the busiest industrial and warehouse corridors in the region, and the building activity around it brings many trades onto shared sites at once. When electricians, framers, crane operators, and delivery drivers all work around each other, responsibility for a hazard is often split among several companies. Sorting out who controlled which part of the site is where these claims are won or lost.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Construction Injury Claim
Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm serving Kent, Renton, Seattle, Bellevue, and communities across King County and the greater Puget Sound region. Our practice is built around people injured by someone else’s negligence, and construction accidents are one of our core areas alongside car and truck crashes, medical malpractice, brain injuries, premises injuries, and wrongful death. Consultations are free and confidential, and we work on a contingency fee basis, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
What sets the firm apart is where our lawyers learned the work. Troy Hunter, our founding partner, spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer, defending insurers and corporate clients against personal injury, wrongful death, fire loss, and construction defect claims. That last category matters here: he has seen how contractors and their carriers build a defense around a site injury from the other side of the table. Attorney David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov, a Seattle defense firm, trying wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and product liability cases before judges and juries. Both Troy and David are rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. David has been selected to the Super Lawyers list and teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Troy also serves as a dispute mediator. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold round out the team, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice.
Our attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court, and we prepare every claim as though it will be tried. Insurers on construction cases tend to pay more fairly when they know the lawyer opposite them will go to a jury. Our results reflect that approach, including a mid-six-figure settlement for a family of five whose minivan was forced into the I-5 center barrier by a semi-truck, and more than $1 million for parents whose newborn died after a hospital failed to adequately test for Group B Strep, a case that also led the hospital to change its procedures. Clients consistently describe our team as responsive and honest, and our case managers return calls and texts promptly. David Mordekhov is fluent in Russian, and Warren Barreiro speaks Spanish. If injuries make travel hard, we will meet you at home or at the hospital. Our motto is “We give hope. We get results.” Past results do not guarantee a future outcome.
Types of Construction Accidents We Handle in Kent
- Falls from Scaffolds, Ladders, and Roofs: Falls are among the most serious job-site injuries. Claims often turn on whether fall protection, guardrails, and properly erected scaffolding were in place, and on which company was responsible for providing them.
- Trench and Excavation Collapses: Utility and foundation work in the Kent valley involves digging that requires shoring and soil assessment. A collapse can bury or crush a worker in seconds, and responsibility may reach the excavation contractor, the general contractor, and the site owner.
- Electrocution and Arc Flash: Contact with energized lines or poorly locked-out equipment causes burns, cardiac injury, and nerve damage. These cases often involve a third-party contractor who controlled the electrical work or an equipment maker whose product failed.
- Crane, Forklift, and Heavy Equipment Accidents: Warehouse and industrial construction relies on lifting equipment and moving machinery. Operator error, poor maintenance, defective controls, and inadequate signaling can each give rise to claims against parties other than the employer.
- Struck-By and Caught-In Injuries: Falling tools and materials, swinging loads, and workers pinned between equipment and structures cause crush injuries and amputations that carry lifelong costs.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries on Site: A fall, a dropped object, or a blast of force can cause a brain injury whose symptoms are not always obvious right away. We build the medical and vocational evidence needed to show what the injury will mean over a lifetime.
- Injuries to Passersby and Non-Employees: Pedestrians, delivery drivers, and visitors hurt near a work zone are not covered by workers’ compensation at all. They can bring a direct claim against the responsible companies.
- Fatal Construction Accidents: When a worker dies on the job, family members may have claims beyond death benefits, including a wrongful death action against negligent third parties.
What to Do After a Construction Site Injury in Kent
Start with medical care, and tell the treating provider that the injury happened at work so the record is accurate from the first visit. Get emergency treatment if there is any chance of a head, spine, or internal injury; adrenaline hides serious harm. Then report the injury to your employer promptly and in writing, which protects your workers’ compensation claim. Do not let a supervisor talk you out of reporting or into calling it minor.
While you are still at the site or soon after, preserve what you can. Photograph the area, the equipment, any missing guardrails or fall protection, and your own injuries. Get names and contact information for coworkers and anyone else who saw what happened, including workers from other companies, since the outside party you may need to pursue is often employed by someone other than your employer. Keep the clothing, harness, or tools you were using. Do not sign anything from an insurer or a contractor’s representative, and be cautious about recorded statements; adjusters ask questions designed to shift blame onto the injured person.
Timing matters on the third-party side. Washington generally gives three years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, and a wrongful death claim runs three years from the date of death. Claims against a city, county, or other local government, for example where a public works project or a dangerous public right of way was involved, must first be presented to the entity on the state’s standard tort claim form, followed by a 60-day waiting period before suit can be filed. Email and fax generally do not count as presentment. Claims against the state have their own presentation requirement with the same 60-day wait. Separately, claims tied to defects in the construction of an improvement can be cut off six years after substantial completion, so a claim involving a completed structure should not be delayed.
If a lawsuit becomes necessary, a case with more than $100,000 at stake belongs in King County Superior Court rather than district court. For people living south of Seattle and I-90, that often means the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, which keeps the case close to home. Cases involving parties in different states can end up in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. We can tell you which forum fits once we know who is responsible.
How Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims Fit Together
The most common source of confusion is thinking that a workers’ compensation claim ends your options. It does not. Workers’ compensation covers medical treatment and partial wage replacement, but it does not pay for pain, suffering, or the broader loss of enjoyment of life. A third-party claim against a negligent general contractor, subcontractor, property owner, or equipment manufacturer can recover those damages, along with the full value of lost earning capacity.
Washington’s comparative fault rule helps injured workers here. If an insurer argues you were partly to blame, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than eliminated. An adjuster who claims you ignored a safety rule may be overstating your share, and construction defendants routinely point at each other and at the worker. Product claims add another layer: if a defective ladder, harness, or machine contributed, the manufacturer and seller may be liable, though a presumption can arise that a product older than twelve years was past its useful safe life, which the injured person can rebut with evidence.
Our attorneys spent years on the defense side of exactly these disputes. They know which records adjusters request, how site safety documentation gets used, and how responsibility is typically divided among contractors on a shared project. That background lets us build the claim the way a defense carrier will test it.
Kent Construction Injury Questions Answered
Can I sue if I was hurt on a construction site and already receive workers’ compensation?
Often yes. Workers’ compensation generally prevents a lawsuit against your own employer, but it does not prevent a claim against a different company whose negligence contributed, such as another contractor, the property owner, or an equipment manufacturer. Those third-party claims can recover damages that workers’ compensation does not.
How long do I have to file a construction accident lawsuit in Washington?
Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the injury. A wrongful death claim has the same three-year limit, counted from the date of death. Claims against government entities require a formal claim first, followed by a 60-day wait. Because overlapping deadlines can apply, speak with a lawyer early.
What if I was partly at fault for my own injury?
Washington follows comparative fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of responsibility, but you are not barred from recovering. If you were found 20 percent at fault, you could still collect 80 percent of your damages.
Who can be held responsible for a construction accident?
Possible defendants include general contractors, subcontractors, property owners, developers, equipment owners and operators, and manufacturers of defective tools or machinery. Who is liable depends on who controlled the work area and the dangerous condition.
Does my immigration status or language affect my claim?
Injured people can pursue claims regardless of language barriers, and our team serves Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish speaking clients. David Mordekhov is fluent in Russian and Warren Barreiro speaks Spanish, so you can discuss your case in the language you are most comfortable with.
What if the accident happened on a public project?
Claims arising from work for a city, county, or other local government require a formal tort claim presented on the standard form within the limitations period, followed by a 60-day waiting period. Missing this step can end a claim before it starts, so this is a case to raise with a lawyer right away.
Will I be pressured to settle with the contractor’s insurer?
Insurers sometimes make early offers before the full extent of an injury is known. Brain injuries, back injuries, and crush injuries can worsen or reveal long-term limits over time. A quick settlement can leave you without compensation for future care, which is why we document the injury fully before discussing numbers.
Can a worker’s family bring a claim after a fatal job-site accident?
Yes. Washington’s wrongful death statute allows the personal representative to bring an action for the benefit of the surviving spouse or domestic partner and children, and where there are none, for parents or siblings. A related survival action can address the decedent’s own losses before death. Third-party claims can proceed alongside workers’ compensation death benefits.
How are construction injury cases valued?
Value depends on the severity of the injury, medical expenses, lost income and earning capacity, how the injury affects daily life, and the insurance coverage available from the responsible parties. We evaluate claims the way insurers do, so we can tell you what a fair recovery looks like and push for it.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injury seems moderate?
Often it is, because the full cost of an injury is not always visible in the first weeks. Free consultations let you find out whether an outside party may be responsible before deadlines pass, and because we are paid only if we recover, there is no upfront cost to learning where you stand.
How long does a construction accident case take?
It varies with the number of parties, the severity of the injury, and whether the insurer is willing to negotiate fairly. Cases involving several contractors take longer to sort out. Because we prepare for trial from the start, we are positioned to move a claim forward whether it settles or goes before a jury.
Serving Kent Construction Injury Clients Across King County
We represent injured workers and families starting in Kent, from the downtown core and the Meridian area through the East Hill, West Hill, and Panther Lake neighborhoods and out toward the valley industrial districts. From there, our reach extends to nearby Renton, Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Des Moines, SeaTac, and Tukwila, where warehouse, logistics, and commercial construction keep job sites active year-round.
We also serve clients across the Eastside and greater Seattle area, including Issaquah, Bellevue, Sammamish, Redmond, and Kirkland, as well as Seattle and communities throughout the Puget Sound region. Whether your accident happened at a large commercial build, a residential project, or a public works site, we can discuss your case and, if injuries make travel difficult, meet you at home or at the hospital.
Talk With a Kent Construction Accident Lawyer About Your Claim
If you were hurt on a job site or lost a family member in a construction accident, a Kent construction accident lawyer from Injury Law Group NW can review what happened, identify who may be responsible beyond your employer, and explain how a third-party claim fits alongside workers’ compensation. We will listen first, tell you honestly what the case looks like, and handle the insurers so you can focus on recovery.
Call or text Injury Law Group NW to schedule a free, confidential consultation. There is no fee unless we recover compensation for you. We give hope. We get results.
