Washington Construction Accident Attorney
The most important fact about a construction injury claim in Washington is that your employer’s workers’ compensation coverage is often not the end of the story. Injury Law Group NW represents injured workers, subcontractors’ crews, and members of the public hurt on job sites across King County and the greater Seattle area, and the firm’s practice centers on the claims that sit outside the workers’ compensation system. If you are looking for a Washington construction accident attorney, the question that matters first is not whether you were hurt at work, but who else besides your employer had control over the conditions that hurt you.
Construction sites are layered. A property owner hires a general contractor, the general contractor hires subcontractors, those subcontractors bring in equipment suppliers, crane operators, scaffold erectors, and electricians, and a dozen different companies may share one fenced lot. When a ladder fails, a trench caves in, or a load drops from above, responsibility rarely belongs to just one party. Sorting out who owed what duty to whom is the real work of a construction injury case, and it determines whether compensation is limited to workers’ compensation benefits or can extend to a full third-party claim.
Why Injury Law Group NW Is a Strong Fit for Construction Injury Claims
Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm serving King County, the Eastside, Seattle, and the greater Puget Sound region, and its attorneys spent decades defending insurance companies before representing injured people. That history matters in construction cases because these claims are defended by commercial insurers and corporate risk managers who know exactly how to shift blame down the contractor chain. The firm’s team prepares every claim as though it will be tried, and it offers free, confidential consultations on a contingency fee basis, so there is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery.
Troy Hunter, the firm’s founding partner, spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer, where he defended insurers and their corporate clients against personal injury, wrongful death, fire loss, and construction defect claims. That construction defect experience means he has seen from the inside how contractors and their carriers evaluate site liability. Troy is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and also serves as a dispute mediator. 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. 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. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold complete the team, and Warren speaks Spanish, which matters on job sites where many crews are Spanish speaking. David is fluent in Russian and has represented Russian and Ukrainian speaking families.
The firm’s attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice. Results 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, 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 the team as responsive, honest, and clear in its communication. If injuries make travel difficult, the firm will meet you at home or at the hospital.
Common Ways Construction Workers and Bystanders Get Hurt
- Falls from ladders, scaffolds, and roofs: Falls remain among the most serious hazards in residential framing, commercial buildout, and roofing work. Missing guardrails, improperly erected scaffolds, and inadequate fall protection point toward negligence by whoever controlled the work area.
- Trench and excavation collapses: Utility and foundation work around the Eastside’s hillsides and Seattle’s dense urban lots involves digging that must be properly shored or sloped. A collapse can cause crush injuries and suffocation.
- Electrocution and arc flash: Contact with overhead power lines, energized panels, or damaged temporary wiring can cause burns, cardiac injury, and nerve damage. Responsibility may fall on a contractor that failed to de-energize or mark hazards.
- Crane, hoist, and forklift accidents: Dropped loads, tip-overs, and rigging failures injure workers below and passersby near the site. Operators, equipment owners, rigging companies, and maintenance contractors may each share fault.
- Struck-by and caught-between incidents: Falling tools, swinging loads, and moving vehicles on congested sites cause head injuries, amputations, and crushing trauma, including traumatic brain injuries that may not show up on an initial scan.
- Defective equipment and tools: When a harness, lift, nail gun, or heavy machine fails, the manufacturer or seller may carry product liability responsibility in addition to the site parties.
- Public injuries near construction zones: Pedestrians and drivers can be hurt by unmarked excavations, debris, inadequate sidewalk protection, or construction vehicle crashes on roads such as I-90, I-405, and local arterials in King County.
What Workers’ Compensation Covers and What a Third-Party Claim Adds
A worker injured on the job in Washington generally receives benefits through the state workers’ compensation system, which pays medical care and partial wage replacement without regard to who caused the accident. In exchange, the worker typically cannot sue their own direct employer. That trade-off is why many injured construction workers never realize they may have a second claim.
A third-party claim targets someone other than your employer whose negligence contributed to the injury. On a multi-employer site, that can include the property owner, the general contractor, a different subcontractor whose work created the hazard, an equipment lessor, or a manufacturer whose product failed. Unlike workers’ compensation, a third-party claim can pursue compensation for pain and suffering, the full measure of lost earning capacity, and long-term disability, categories that the workers’ compensation system does not fully reach. For a roofer or ironworker whose career ends at 38, the difference can be enormous.
These cases are also where fault arguments get aggressive. Washington follows comparative fault, meaning that if a jury finds you partly responsible, your damages are reduced by your share but you are not barred from recovering. Defense lawyers know this and will point to a worker’s alleged shortcut or missed safety step to shave value. An attorney who has defended these claims knows which arguments carry weight with a jury and which are posturing.
What to Do After a Construction Site Injury
Get medical care first and tell the treating provider exactly how the injury happened and that it occurred at work. Report the injury to your employer promptly and start your workers’ compensation claim; delay can create problems with that system even though a third-party claim runs on its own track. If you can do so safely, or if a coworker can, photograph the scene, the equipment involved, the missing or defective safety gear, and any posted warnings before the site is cleaned up or altered. Write down the names of every company working there that day, since the contractor chain is the key to identifying who else may be responsible. Keep the names of witnesses, hold on to your own boots, harness, and clothing, and avoid giving recorded statements to any insurer other than as required for your workers’ compensation claim.
The deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit in Washington is generally three years from the date of the injury. A wrongful death action follows the same three-year period, counted from the date of death. Claims against a city, county, school district, or other local government entity, which can arise when a public works project or public property is involved, require a formal claim to be presented on the standard form to the entity’s designated agent, followed by a 60-day waiting period before suit can be filed. Claims against the state follow a similar 60-day structure. Email and fax generally do not count as proper delivery for local government claims, so the method of presentment matters. Separately, claims tied to defects in the construction of an improvement itself can be cut off under a six-year rule measured from substantial completion, which can matter when a building defect, rather than a site hazard, caused the harm.
Most King County injury lawsuits are filed in King County Superior Court, which sits in Seattle and in Kent at the Maleng Regional Justice Center. Claims valued under the district court’s jurisdictional cap can be heard in King County District Court, though serious construction injuries almost always belong in superior court. Cases that involve parties from different states or federal questions can end up in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle. The firm can tell you at the outset which forum fits your claim.
Wrongful Death After a Fatal Construction Accident
When a construction accident kills a worker or bystander, Washington law allows a wrongful death action brought by the personal representative of the estate for the benefit of the surviving spouse or state registered domestic partner and children, including stepchildren. If there is no spouse, partner, or child, the action may be maintained for the benefit of the decedent’s parents or siblings. Related survival statutes allow the estate to pursue certain claims the decedent could have brought had they lived.
As with injury claims, workers’ compensation death benefits may be available to a worker’s family, and a separate third-party wrongful death claim can pursue accountability from parties other than the employer. These cases require careful investigation of the site, the employer’s safety records, and the equipment involved, and the attorneys at Injury Law Group NW handle them with the patience families need while the evidence is gathered.
Questions About Washington Construction Accident Claims
Can I sue if I was hurt on a construction site while working for a contractor?
You generally cannot sue your own employer because of the workers’ compensation system, but you may be able to bring a claim against other companies on the site, such as the property owner, general contractor, other subcontractors, or an equipment manufacturer. The right defendants depend on who controlled the hazard.
How long do I have to file a construction injury lawsuit in Washington?
Most personal injury actions must be commenced within three years of the injury. A lawsuit counts as commenced by filing or by serving the defendant, but the other step must follow within 90 days, or the filing may not stop the clock. Claims against government entities involve a separate claim process and a 60-day wait before suit.
Does workers’ compensation prevent me from getting more money?
No. Workers’ compensation benefits and a third-party claim are separate. A third-party claim can pursue categories of compensation, such as pain and suffering, that the workers’ compensation system does not provide.
What if I was partly at fault for my own fall or injury?
Washington’s comparative fault rule reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault but does not bar it. If you were found 25 percent responsible, you could still recover the remaining 75 percent of your damages. Insurers often inflate a worker’s share of blame, so the facts deserve scrutiny.
Who is responsible when several companies share a job site?
Responsibility depends on who controlled the area, who created or knew about the hazard, and who owed a duty to keep the site safe. Multiple parties can share fault, and identifying them early is critical because evidence disappears as work progresses.
How much does it cost to hire a construction accident lawyer?
The first consultation is free and confidential. The firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless there is a recovery.
Can a subcontractor’s employee sue the general contractor?
Often yes. Because the general contractor is typically not the injured worker’s direct employer, a claim against it may be available when its negligence contributed to unsafe conditions. The contract structure and control over the work are important facts.
What if my injury was a brain injury that did not show up on a scan?
Brain injuries from falls and struck-by incidents are frequently disputed because symptoms can be delayed and imaging may look normal. Prompt diagnosis, consistent treatment, and medical and vocational evidence are what establish the true impact on your work and life.
What if the product that injured me, like a harness or lift, was defective?
You may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer or seller. Washington sets a three-year period from when you discovered, or should have discovered, the harm and its cause, and a presumption that a product’s useful safe life has expired after twelve years, which can be rebutted with evidence.
Do I need a lawyer if workers’ compensation is already paying my bills?
If anyone besides your employer may share responsibility, a lawyer can evaluate whether a third-party claim exists. Waiting can cost you evidence and time, and workers’ compensation benefits alone rarely reflect the full long-term cost of a serious injury.
Will you meet me if I cannot travel after my injury?
Yes. If your injuries make travel difficult, the firm will come to you at home or in the hospital at a time that works for you.
Serving Construction Injury Clients Across King County and the Puget Sound Region
Injury Law Group NW represents injured workers and families throughout King County, from Issaquah and Sammamish on the Eastside through Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland, and into Seattle itself. The firm also serves clients in Kent and Renton and in communities across the greater Seattle area and the broader Puget Sound region. Construction activity in these markets spans Eastside office and residential development, urban high-rise and infrastructure work in Seattle, and warehouse and industrial building in the south county, and each setting brings its own mix of contractors, owners, and insurers.
Whether the accident happened on a hillside home site near Issaquah, a commercial tower downtown, or a roadside utility project along I-90 or I-405, the firm’s attorneys can investigate and pursue the responsible parties. Spanish and Russian speaking workers and families can work directly with attorneys who speak their language.
Talk to a Washington Construction Accident Attorney Today
If you or someone in your family was hurt or killed on a construction site, a Washington construction accident lawyer at Injury Law Group NW can tell you who beyond your employer may be responsible and what a fair recovery should include. The consultation is free and confidential, and you pay nothing unless the firm recovers money for you. Call or text to speak with the team, and let them take on the insurers while you focus on getting better.
