Seattle Construction Accident Attorney
The worker who falls from a scaffold in Seattle is usually not the only person with a claim, and the workers’ compensation check is rarely the only money available. Injured construction workers and bystanders often have separate claims against property owners, general contractors, and equipment makers, and those claims can pay for losses that workers’ compensation never touches. Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that represents people hurt on job sites, and as a Seattle construction accident attorney team, we serve injured workers and families across Seattle, King County, and the greater Puget Sound region.
Seattle is a city of cranes. Tower projects downtown and in South Lake Union, mid-rise apartment buildings in Ballard and Capitol Hill, and steady renovation work across the city mean heavy equipment, steel, concrete, and scaffolding sit beside sidewalks and bus lines. When safety slips on one of those sites, the injuries are rarely minor.
Most of these cases turn on one question: who, besides the employer, had control over the hazard? Answering it takes early investigation, because job sites change daily and the evidence disappears with them.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Seattle Job Site Injury Case
Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that represents people hurt by someone else’s negligence throughout King County, Seattle, the Eastside, and the greater Puget Sound region. Our attorneys spent decades defending insurance companies before representing injury victims, and that history shapes how we handle construction claims, which tend to involve several insurers, several contractors, and a lot of finger-pointing about who was responsible for what.
Troy Hunter, our founding partner, spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer. His defense work included construction defect claims along with personal injury and wrongful death cases, so he has seen how contractors and their carriers build a defense from the inside. Troy also serves as a dispute mediator and is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.
David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov, a Seattle defense firm, trying catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and product liability cases before judges and juries across Washington. He is also rated AV Preeminent, has been selected to the Super Lawyers list, and teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. David is fluent in Russian and has represented Russian and Ukrainian speaking families. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro, who speaks Spanish, and Hannah Shergold complete the legal team, supported by case managers who return calls and texts promptly. That language ability matters on job sites, where crews are often multilingual.
Our attorneys have argued at every level of Washington’s court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court. We prepare every claim as though it will go to trial, because contractors and insurers pay more fairly when they know the lawyer across the table will actually try the case. Our results include 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, along with mid-six-figure settlements in serious crash cases. We are members of the Washington State Association for Justice. Consultations are free and confidential, and we work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome.
Where Seattle Construction Injuries Come From
- Falls from Heights: Scaffolds, ladders, roofs, open floor edges, and unprotected shafts cause some of the most devastating injuries on Seattle sites. Missing guardrails, poorly erected scaffolding, and inadequate fall protection point toward the parties who controlled the work area.
- Crane and Hoisting Accidents: Dense downtown projects mean loads swing over active work zones and, at times, public streets. Dropped materials, rigging failures, and operator error can injure workers below and pedestrians nearby.
- Trench and Excavation Collapses: Utility work and foundation digging across King County expose workers to cave-ins when shoring and sloping are skipped. These incidents can cause crushing injuries and suffocation.
- Electrocution: Contact with overhead lines, buried utilities, or improperly protected temporary power can cause burns, cardiac injury, and death. Responsibility often runs to whoever managed the electrical work and site coordination.
- Forklift and Heavy Equipment Accidents: Rollovers, struck-by incidents, and backing accidents involve operators, maintenance contractors, and sometimes manufacturers of defective machinery.
- Struck-By and Falling Object Injuries: Tools, debris, and materials dropped from above injure workers and passersby. Netting, toe boards, and overhead protection are the safeguards that were either in place or not.
- Injuries to the Public Near Job Sites: Sidewalk closures, debris, unsecured fencing, and construction traffic put pedestrians and drivers at risk. These people are not covered by workers’ compensation at all and have claims against the responsible contractor and owner.
- Traumatic Brain and Spinal Injuries: A fall or a falling object can cause brain injuries whose symptoms are not always obvious at first. Insurers often dispute these injuries, so we build the medical and vocational evidence needed to show their lasting effect.
Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims: Why Both Matter
An injured employee in Washington generally receives workers’ compensation, which pays medical care and partial wage replacement regardless of fault. It does not pay for pain and suffering, and it does not make you whole for the full loss of earning capacity. That is where a third-party claim comes in.
If someone other than your employer contributed to the accident, you may be able to bring a separate civil claim against them. On a busy site, that could be a general contractor, a property owner or developer, another subcontractor whose crew created the hazard, an equipment manufacturer, or a maintenance company. A third-party claim can include compensation for pain and suffering and the full measure of lost earning capacity, which workers’ compensation does not cover.
Fault is shared in Washington, but being partly to blame does not end a claim. Under the state’s comparative fault rule, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility, and you can still recover the remainder. Defense lawyers frequently argue that the injured worker ignored a safety rule or took a shortcut. We expect that argument and prepare for it from the start.
Construction cases also raise a timing issue unrelated to the accident date. When a claim is based on the construction itself, such as a defect in the improvement, Washington limits when that claim can accrue after substantial completion of the project. That limit generally runs six years from substantial completion, and it cannot be raised as a defense by an owner or other party in possession and control of the improvement when the claim arises. Whether it applies to your situation depends on the facts, which is one more reason to get a lawyer involved early.
What to Do After a Construction Accident in Seattle
Get medical care first, and report the injury to your employer or site supervisor right away. Tell the treating provider exactly how you were hurt, since early records carry weight later. Brain injuries and back injuries may not feel severe at first, and insurers use gaps in treatment to argue the injury was minor or came from something else.
If you can safely do so, or if a coworker or family member can, photograph the area before it is cleaned up or altered. Capture the scaffold, the ladder, the missing guardrail, the equipment, and any posted signs. Write down the names of everyone who saw it happen, and the names of the companies on the site, which may not be limited to your employer. Keep the equipment, harnesses, and clothing you were using. Do not sign anything from an insurer or contractor without having it reviewed, and be careful with recorded statements. Adjusters ask questions designed to minimize injuries or shift blame.
The general deadline to file a Washington personal injury lawsuit is three years, and a wrongful death claim runs three years from the date of death. A suit is started by filing a summons and complaint or by serving it, and the other step must follow within 90 days or the action may not count as started for deadline purposes. Claims against a city, county, or other local government agency, such as one arising from a public works project, require a formal tort claim to be presented first, on the standard form, and no suit can be filed until 60 days after presentment. Claims against the state have a similar 60-day waiting period. Email and fax are generally not accepted methods of presenting a local government claim. Because these rules are unforgiving, early legal help matters.
Most personal injury lawsuits arising in Seattle are filed in King County Superior Court, a general jurisdiction court that sits at the King County Courthouse in Seattle. King County District Court handles smaller civil claims, but serious construction injuries almost always belong in Superior Court. Cases involving parties from different states may end up in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, which sits in Seattle. Appeals from King County go to Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals, also in Seattle.
If your injuries make travel difficult, we will meet you at your home or the hospital.
Construction Accident Questions Seattle Clients Ask
Can I sue if I already receive workers’ compensation?
Often, yes. Workers’ compensation generally prevents a lawsuit against your own employer, but it does not stop a claim against a different company whose negligence contributed to your injury, such as a general contractor, property owner, or equipment maker.
How long do I have to file a construction injury lawsuit in Washington?
Most personal injury actions must be commenced within three years, and wrongful death claims follow the same three-year period. Claims against government entities need a tort claim filed first, followed by a 60-day wait before a suit can be filed.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Washington’s comparative fault rule reduces your compensation by your share of fault but does not bar recovery. Insurers often inflate an injured worker’s share of the blame, so the facts deserve a careful review.
Who can be held responsible besides my employer?
Depending on the site, responsible parties may include general contractors, subcontractors whose work created the hazard, property owners, developers, and manufacturers of defective tools or machinery. Control over the site and the specific hazard is what matters.
What compensation is available beyond workers’ compensation benefits?
A third-party claim can include past and future medical care, lost wages and lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. These are losses workers’ compensation does not fully address.
What if a construction accident killed a family member?
A wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative of the estate for the benefit of the spouse or state registered domestic partner and children. If there is no spouse, partner, or child, the action can be maintained for the parents or siblings. Washington law also provides survival claims for the injuries the person suffered before death.
I was a pedestrian hurt near a Seattle construction site. Do I have a claim?
Possibly. Members of the public are not limited by workers’ compensation and can pursue the contractor, owner, or others responsible for falling debris, unsafe sidewalk conditions, or construction traffic.
Does a brain injury from a fall still count if my scans looked normal?
Yes. Brain injuries do not always show on imaging, and insurers sometimes use that to dispute them. A claim can be supported with treating providers’ records, neuropsychological testing, and vocational evidence of how the injury affects your work and daily life.
Will it take long to resolve a construction accident case?
It depends on the severity of the injury, the number of parties, and whether the insurers cooperate. Cases with several contractors and serious injuries take longer, and we generally wait until your medical picture is clear before settling, because a settlement closes the claim permanently.
Should I give a recorded statement to an insurance company?
You generally are not required to give one to an insurer for a party you are making a claim against, and it is wise to speak with a lawyer first. Our attorneys spent years on the defense side and know how those statements get used.
How much does it cost to hire Injury Law Group NW?
The first consultation is free and confidential. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Serving Construction Injury Clients Across Seattle and King County
We represent injured workers and families throughout Seattle, from the high-rise corridors of downtown and South Lake Union to Capitol Hill, Ballard, Fremont, and the neighborhoods along the city’s busy redevelopment areas. Our reach extends across King County, including the Eastside communities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Sammamish, as well as Issaquah and the I-90 corridor. We also serve clients in Renton and Kent, and throughout the greater Seattle area and the Puget Sound region, wherever a job site injury leaves a person or a family in need of answers.
Talk with a Seattle Construction Accident Lawyer Today
A job site injury changes finances, work, and family life quickly, and the evidence that proves who was responsible does not stay available for long. If you want a Seattle construction accident lawyer who knows how contractors and their insurers defend these claims, call or text Injury Law Group NW for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to what happened, explain the claims available to you, and pursue the medical care and compensation you need. We give hope. We get results.
