Redmond Construction Accident Attorney
A construction injury almost never has just one party to blame, and the paycheck-replacement system most workers rely on is only part of what the law allows them to recover. Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that represents people hurt on job sites and around them, and as a Redmond construction accident attorney team, we handle claims for workers, subcontractors, and bystanders throughout Redmond, King County, and the greater Eastside.
Redmond is a city that is constantly being built and rebuilt. Office campuses, mid-rise apartment projects, mixed-use developments, road and utility work, and residential infill all put crews on ladders, scaffolds, excavations, and cranes at the same time. Many of the people on those sites work for different employers under a general contractor, which means a worker injured on one company’s task may have a claim against another company whose conduct created the danger.
That is the central point of this kind of case. Workers’ compensation benefits are generally available to an injured employee regardless of fault, but they do not pay for pain and suffering and they do not fully replace lost earnings. When a property owner, general contractor, equipment maker, or another trade’s crew caused the injury, a separate civil claim may open the door to compensation that workers’ compensation never reaches.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Redmond Job Site Injury Claim
Injury Law Group NW is a Washington personal injury firm that serves injured people and grieving families across Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Sammamish, Seattle, and the rest of King County. Our practice focuses on personal injury, including construction accidents, truck and equipment crashes, brain injuries, medical malpractice, premises injuries, and wrongful death. Consultations are free and confidential, and we take cases on a contingency 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. Founding partner Troy Hunter 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. Attorney David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at the Seattle defense firm Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov, trying catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and product liability cases before juries and judges across Washington. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold work alongside them, and dedicated case managers return calls and texts promptly.
On a construction claim, that history matters in practical ways. These cases are defended by commercial liability carriers who have a playbook: point at the injured worker’s own choices, point at the employer’s immunity, point at another subcontractor. Our attorneys know how those carriers value and contest these claims because they sat on that side for decades. Troy and David are both 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, 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.
The results reflect that preparation. Recent outcomes include a mid-six-figure settlement for a family of five whose minivan was forced into the I-5 center barrier by a semi-truck, a mid-six-figure settlement for an elderly woman struck by a transit bus in a downtown Seattle crosswalk, 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 describe our lawyers as responsive, honest, and clear about what is happening in their case. David Mordekhov is fluent in Russian and Warren Barreiro speaks Spanish, and if your injuries make travel hard, we will meet you at home or at the hospital. Our motto is “We give hope. We get results.”
Who Can Be Held Responsible When a Construction Site Injury Happens Near Redmond
- General Contractors: The contractor in control of a site typically coordinates every trade, sets the schedule, and decides who works where. When fall protection is missing, a trench is dug without proper shoring, or one crew is allowed to work beneath another, the general contractor’s decisions are often the starting point for a third-party claim.
- Property Owners and Developers: Owners and developers of the commercial towers, apartment communities, and mixed-use projects that keep going up around Redmond can bear responsibility when they retain control over site conditions or leave a known hazard in place.
- Subcontractors Working Alongside Your Employer: A framing crew that leaves an unguarded opening, or an electrical sub that energizes a line without warning, can injure a worker employed by someone else entirely. That worker’s claim against the other company is separate from workers’ compensation.
- Equipment and Product Manufacturers: Defective scaffold components, ladders, power tools, forklifts, and crane parts can fail without any mistake by the worker. Claims against manufacturers and sellers follow their own rules, including limits tied to how old the product was when the harm occurred.
- Trucking and Delivery Companies: Job sites depend on concrete trucks, dump trucks, and material haulers entering and leaving busy roads. A worker or passerby struck by a commercial vehicle may have a claim against the driver and the company behind the truck.
- Design and Engineering Professionals: In some cases, defective plans, temporary structure designs, or inspection failures contribute to a collapse. Washington sets a separate, longer outer limit for claims tied to construction and design services, measured from substantial completion of the project.
- Utility and Public Entities: Road, sewer, and utility work in and around Redmond may involve a city, county, or state agency. Claims against government bodies carry their own written-notice requirements before a lawsuit can be filed.
What to Do After a Redmond Construction Accident
Get medical care first and tell the provider exactly how the injury happened. Construction injuries often involve forces that cause damage no one sees at the moment: head trauma from a fall, spinal injury from a drop, or crush injuries that worsen over days. Records created close to the event are the most credible account of what you went through, and gaps in treatment give an insurer room to argue that the injury was minor or came from something else.
Report the injury to your employer promptly and file your workers’ compensation claim if you were on the job. That is a separate track from a third-party claim, and starting it does not give up your right to pursue another responsible company. If you can do so safely, or if a coworker or family member can, photograph the area, the equipment, any missing guardrails or covers, and the site conditions. Write down the names of everyone who saw it happen, including workers from other companies. Job sites change quickly, scaffolds get taken down, and equipment gets repaired or removed, so evidence that exists on the day of the accident may be gone within a week.
Be careful with statements. An adjuster for a general contractor or property owner may call and ask for a recorded account. You are generally not required to give one, and what you say can be used to shift blame to you. Washington follows comparative fault, which means your own share of responsibility reduces your recovery proportionally rather than eliminating it, but an adjuster who persuades you to describe your actions loosely can inflate that share.
The deadline to file most personal injury lawsuits in Washington is three years, and a wrongful death claim is also generally three years, counted from the date of death. A lawsuit is commenced by filing the complaint or serving the summons, provided the other step is completed within 90 days, and missing that second step can cost you the tolling protection. If a city, county, or other local government may share responsibility, a tort claim must be presented on the standard form to that entity’s designated agent, and no lawsuit may be filed until 60 days have passed. Email and fax generally do not count as presentment. Claims against the state have their own 60-day presentation rule through the state’s risk management office.
Lawsuits in King County are filed in King County Superior Court, which hears the full range of civil cases. Claims that fall within the district court’s dollar limit may be heard in King County District Court, East Division, which sits in Redmond, though serious construction injury claims usually exceed that limit and belong in Superior Court. Federal cases in this region go to the Western District of Washington in Seattle. A call to our firm early lets us send preservation demands for site records, equipment, and video before they disappear.
Workers’ Compensation Versus a Third-Party Claim
The distinction trips up many injured workers, so it deserves plain language. Workers’ compensation covers medical treatment and a portion of lost wages for employees hurt on the job, and in exchange it generally prevents an employee from suing their own employer for negligence. It does not pay for pain, loss of enjoyment of life, or the full value of a career-ending injury.
A third-party claim is a civil lawsuit against someone other than your employer whose carelessness caused the injury: another contractor, a property owner, an equipment maker, a driver. In that case, damages can include past and future medical costs, lost earnings and reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Recovery in a third-party case often interacts with the workers’ compensation file, including reimbursement rights, so the two need to be handled together rather than as unrelated matters.
Bystanders and visitors to a site, such as a passerby hit by falling material or a delivery driver injured on an unsecured site, are not employees of any contractor and are not limited to workers’ compensation at all. Their claims proceed as ordinary negligence claims against the responsible parties.
When Construction Injuries Are Fatal or Cause Lifelong Impairment
Falls, struck-by incidents, trench collapses, electrocutions, and equipment rollovers are among the most dangerous events on a job site, and they often leave permanent damage. A traumatic brain injury may not show up clearly on a scan, which is one reason insurers dispute it. Proving what a brain injury or spinal injury will cost over a lifetime takes medical testimony and, frequently, vocational evidence about what work the person can no longer do.
When a worker or a member of the public dies, Washington’s wrongful death statute allows the personal representative of the estate to bring the action on behalf of the surviving spouse or state registered domestic partner and children, including stepchildren. If there is no spouse, partner, or child, parents or siblings may be the beneficiaries. The estate may also pursue the injured person’s own claims through the survival statutes. These cases require care, patience, and honest communication with a family that is grieving, and we handle them that way.
Redmond Construction Injury Questions Answered
How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a construction accident in Washington?
Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the injury, and wrongful death claims are generally counted three years from the date of death. Certain defendants, such as government bodies, require advance written notice, and some circumstances can pause the clock. Because those exceptions are narrow and easy to miss, it is better to speak with a lawyer early.
Can I sue if I am already receiving workers’ compensation?
Yes, if someone other than your employer contributed to the injury. Receiving workers’ compensation does not prevent a third-party claim against a general contractor, another subcontractor, a property owner, or an equipment manufacturer.
What if I was partly at fault for my own fall or injury?
Washington uses comparative fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but is not barred. Defense insurers commonly overstate a worker’s share of the blame, so the facts are worth reviewing carefully before accepting any assigned percentage.
Do I have to give a recorded statement to the contractor’s insurance company?
You are generally not required to. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that minimize an injury or point toward the worker’s own decisions. It is wise to speak with a lawyer before giving any recorded account.
How much does it cost to hire Injury Law Group NW?
The first consultation is free and confidential. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means we are paid only if we recover compensation for you. If there is no recovery, you owe us no attorney fee.
What is a construction accident claim worth?
Value depends on the severity and permanence of the injury, medical costs, lost income and earning capacity, the effect on daily life, and the insurance coverage available. We evaluate cases the way insurers do, which lets us tell you what a fair recovery looks like and push for it.
I am an undocumented or immigrant worker. Can I still bring a claim?
Many injured workers worry about this and delay getting help. We recommend a confidential conversation before assuming anything, and our attorneys can speak with Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish speaking clients in their own language.
Can a subcontractor’s employee sue the general contractor?
Often, yes. A worker employed by one company can have a claim against a general contractor or another trade whose conduct created the hazard, particularly where that party controlled site safety. The facts about who controlled the work matter a great deal.
What if the building or structure was finished years ago and then something failed?
Washington sets a separate limit on claims arising from construction and design services, running six years from substantial completion of the project, which is the point at which the improvement can be used for its intended purpose. That limit cannot be used as a defense by the owner or person in possession and control of the improvement when the claim arises. Product claims against a manufacturer have their own timing rules as well.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
For a work injury, workers’ compensation generally handles treatment for the covered condition. Where it does not apply, such as for a bystander, health insurance may cover care. We work to coordinate the available sources so medical bills are managed while the claim moves forward.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injury seems moderate?
Injuries that look moderate early on can turn out to involve lasting symptoms, especially with head or back trauma. A consultation costs nothing, and a lawyer can tell you whether a third-party claim exists before you sign anything or accept an early offer.
What happens if a family member died in a construction accident?
Qualifying family members, through the estate’s personal representative, may seek compensation for medical and funeral expenses, lost financial support, and the loss of love and companionship. We handle these cases with sensitivity, and we pursue accountability so the family can concentrate on one another.
Representing Construction Injury Clients Across Redmond and the Eastside
We represent injured workers and families in Redmond, from the downtown core and the Overlake area to Education Hill, Grass Lawn, Willows, Bear Creek, and the neighborhoods around the Sammamish River corridor. Across King County, our reach extends to Bellevue, Kirkland, Sammamish, Issaquah, Woodinville, Duvall, Carnation, Snoqualmie, North Bend, Bothell, Kenmore, and Mercer Island, and south through Renton and Kent into Seattle and the rest of the Puget Sound region.
Construction injury claims often involve crews who live in one community and work in another, employers headquartered elsewhere, and developers operating across the whole region. We follow the case wherever it leads in King County, and if your injuries keep you from traveling, we come to you at home or at the hospital.
Talk to a Redmond Construction Accident Lawyer Today
If you were hurt on a job site, or you lost someone to a construction accident, the sooner you speak with a Redmond construction accident lawyer, the better the chance that the evidence, the witnesses, and the legal deadlines all work in your favor. At Injury Law Group NW, you will talk with attorneys who spent decades inside the insurance defense world and now use that knowledge for injured people.
Call or text us for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to what happened, explain whether a claim beyond workers’ compensation may exist, and tell you honestly what to expect. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you.
