Florida workers’ compensation limits certain benefits. Third-party claims against general contractors, equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, and property owners are how injured Florida workers actually recover full damages.
What sets a construction case apart — mapping every contractor, subcontractor, OSHA citation, and equipment manufacturer beyond the comp claim.
Construction claims live or die on evidence captured in the first 24 hours. Conditions change, contractors rotate, OSHA records take time, and the comp carrier moves immediately to control the narrative.
Construction injuries — falls from heights, electrocutions, crush trauma — often hide internal damage. Same-day ER documentation builds the medical record both the comp carrier and the third-party defendants will be forced to confront.
Fla. Stat. § 440.185 requires employee notice of a work injury within 30 days. Verbal notice is contested constantly — put it in writing, keep a copy, and note the date and the supervisor’s name.
Active jobsites change by the hour. Photograph the fall point, the scaffolding, the missing guardrails, the unmarked openings, the defective tool, and any visible OSHA-violation conditions before they disappear.
Get names of the general contractor, every sub, the property owner, the equipment rental company, and their insurance carriers. Any of them could potentially be responsible for your injuries, depending on the circumstances.
The workers’ comp carrier may push an early settlement that can affect your third-party claim, which may also be subject to the carrier’s subrogation rights under § 440.39. A free consultation costs nothing and protects every avenue of recovery.
Lock it down today.
A construction claim is not a standard injury claim. Comp exclusivity, multi-contractor liability, OSHA evidence, and lien subrogation all change the playbook. Hiring counsel built for those mechanics is how injured workers actually get paid.
Fla. Stat. § 440.11 generally limits claims against your direct employer, claims against other responsible parties may remain available depending on their role and whether workers’ compensation immunity applies. We build cases where the comp claim ends.
OSHA inspection reports and citations can document alleged fall-protection failures, unsafe scaffolding, missing PPE, and trenching violations. Properly leveraged, they can strengthen the evidence supporting your claim.
A jobsite can involve multiple insurance layers, including coverage carried by the GC, subcontractors, property owner, equipment companies, and the workers’ comp carrier. Missing a layer means leaving recovery on the table.
The workers’ comp carrier may have subrogation and lien rights regarding responsible third parties. We negotiate that lien down so the injured worker actually keeps what was recovered — not the carrier.
Construction claims unlock damages that workers’ comp simply does not pay. A correctly built third-party case captures the full loss — medical, wage, and human — from every responsible party on the jobsite.
Emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, prosthetics, and lifetime care for catastrophic injuries. Third-party claims can open the door to additional recovery from others who may share responsibility, including equipment manufacturers, property owners, contractors, or subcontractors.
Workers’ comp wage benefits are generally limited and may pay about two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to statutory caps. A third-party claim captures full lost wages plus diminished future earning capacity — the difference between the career you had and the one your injury allows.
Workers’ comp does not pay pain and suffering. Third-party claims do. This non-economic component — physical pain, mental anguish, loss of life enjoyment — is often the largest single category in a properly built case.
Construction claims demand careful sequencing — scene evidence first, then OSHA, then medical, then the right defendants. Our four-stage process is built around exactly that.
The first 72 hours
We pull the OSHA inspection file, send preservation letters to every contractor on site, secure equipment before it is repaired or scrapped, identify witnesses, and lock down photographs and safety records before they vanish in the project rotation.
Building the damages picture
We coordinate treating physicians, life-care planners, and vocational experts to project future medical needs and lost earning capacity. Construction injuries rarely heal cleanly — the damages model has to account for that.
Where the money comes from
We identify potentially responsible third parties and pursue appropriate claims while addressing any workers’ compensation subrogation or lien rights under Fla. Stat. § 440.39.
When the offer doesn’t match the harm
Construction defendants and their CGL carriers track which firms file suit and try cases. Decades of South Florida trial experience translate into measurably better offers, even when trial is never necessary.
Get every responsible party on the hook.
Start your free case reviewFlorida’s workers’ compensation chapter, comparative-fault statute, and product-liability doctrine all interact on every construction case. OSHA citations supply the evidence; the statutes decide who pays.
Workers’ compensation generally limits claims against your employer, but claims against other responsible parties may remain available depending on their role and whether workers’ compensation immunity applies.
If you recover money from a responsible third party, the workers’ comp carrier may have a right to be repaid from part of that recovery. We negotiate that lien down so the injured worker keeps the bulk of the settlement.
A plaintiff more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. Below that threshold, recovery is reduced by the worker’s fault percentage.
Defective equipment, scaffolding, and PPE may support a strict product-liability claim against a manufacturer or other responsible entity, providing a potential avenue of recovery beyond other jobsite claims.
Florida workers’ comp law, third-party liability rules, filing deadlines, comparative fault, and OSHA evidence can all affect who pays and how much you recover.
We handle the full range of construction-site cases in South Florida — falls, struck-by, electrocutions, equipment failures, trenching, vehicle strikes, exposure, and fatal incidents.
The vast majority of construction deaths and serious injuries fall into a handful of recurring categories — the ones OSHA tracks most closely and cites most often.
Scaffolding collapses, ladder failures, roof falls, and unprotected floor openings. Fall protection was OSHA’s most frequently cited standard in FY2025 and consistently ranks among its most frequently cited standards.
Falling tools, swinging loads, dropped materials, and unsecured equipment. Often involves crane operations or upper-floor work overhead.
Live-wire contact, missing lockout/tagout, defective wiring, and overhead power-line strikes by booms or aluminum ladders.
Some construction claims involve defective machinery, trench failures, or toxic exposure — each pulling in product-liability or third-party negligence theories beyond the comp claim.
Mechanical lifts, cranes, forklifts, and rented machinery that fail. Manufacturer and rental-company liability often opens recovery beyond the GC.
Unshored trenches and excavation cave-ins. Florida heat and water table make trench failures especially common — and especially preventable.
Silica dust, asbestos, solvents, and chemical burns. Latent-onset injuries that can surface months after the project closes.
We’re ready to help.
Construction injuries are often catastrophic. Heights, heavy equipment, electrical systems, and chemical exposure combine to cause the kind of harm that changes a worker’s career and life.
Falls, struck-by impacts, and even modest head trauma cause concussions and TBI. Symptoms may delay days — same-day documentation is critical.
Falls from heights and crush incidents cause herniated discs, paraplegia, and quadriplegia. Lifetime care needs drive some of the largest verdicts.
Pelvis, femur, spine, and complex extremity fractures. Many require multiple surgeries, hardware, and months of rehab.
Powered tools, equipment pinch-points, and crush events frequently cost workers fingers, hands, or limbs. Prosthetic and vocational damages are substantial.
Electrical contact, arc-flash, chemical burns, and jobsite fires. Deep-tissue injury often understated by ER imaging in the first 48 hours.
Silicosis, asbestos exposure, and chemical inhalation cause progressive disease. Fatal incidents can trigger wrongful-death claims under Fla. Stat. § 768.21.
Workers’ comp covers a fraction of the loss. A third-party claim captures economic damages comp won’t pay plus the non-economic damages comp never reaches — if the claim is built correctly.
Immediate, calculable economic losses in the weeks after the accident.
Non-economic and future losses belong in the third-party claim too.
Find out what your construction case could be worth.
Speak with a lawyer about recoveryWorkers’ comp usually blocks suit against your employer, but claims against other responsible parties may still be available.
Construction claims demand a firm that handles comp coordination, OSHA evidence, multi-defendant litigation, and lien negotiation simultaneously. That’s what we’ve built in South Florida.
Comp and the third-party claim run in parallel and have to be coordinated. A missed deadline or premature comp settlement can wreck the third-party recovery — we manage both tracks together.
We pull the OSHA inspection record, identify every contractor and sub on site, and map the negligence chain to the right defendants. OSHA citations build the foundation; contractor mapping decides who pays.
If you recover money from a responsible third party, the workers’ comp carrier may have a right to be repaid from part of that recovery. We negotiate that lien down aggressively so the injured worker actually keeps the bulk of the settlement.
Defective scaffolding, harnesses, lifts, and power tools can support strict product-liability claims when a product defect caused the injury.
Construction cases routinely involve five or more defendants, each with its own carrier and counsel. Our firm tries multi-defendant cases regularly and knows how to keep the targeting clean.
Find out what your construction case is really worth.
Request a free consultationConstruction coverage is stacked. Florida construction employers with one or more employees generally must carry workers’ compensation coverage. General contractors and subcontractors may carry commercial general liability policies. Equipment makers may carry product-liability coverage. The property owner may also carry premises CGL.
Strategic representation makes sure each policy responds to the claim it should — and that the comp carrier’s subrogation lien does not swallow the third-party recovery.
The deadline for a third-party construction injury claim depends on the type of claim. Negligence claims are generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations, while certain product-liability personal injury claims may have a four-year deadline.
The workers’ comp side has its own clock. Under Fla. Stat. § 440.185, an injured worker generally must notify the employer within 30 days of the injury or its initial manifestation. Giving notice in writing can also create a useful record of when and how the injury was reported. Getting counsel involved in the first week protects both tracks.
Millions+ recovered for construction clients.
— A track record across South Florida courts
— Built for construction claims. Trusted by the courts.
General contractors, equipment manufacturers, and their CGL carriers settle hardest with firms that file suit, marshal OSHA evidence, and try cases. Four reasons clients trust us with their construction claims.
Deep familiarity with Florida Chapter 440 and the third-party claims that survive comp exclusivity.
Preservation letters, OSHA file pulls, and site investigations launched on day one.
You don’t pay attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you.
A documented record of taking multi-defendant construction cases to verdict.
Have you or a family member been hurt on a construction site in South Florida?
Contact our team for immediate legal assistance. We’ll pull the OSHA file, identify every contractor on site, coordinate the workers’ comp claim, and pursue every third-party defendant on the hook. You may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care.
The consultation is free. We come to the hospital, your home, or wherever works for you — and we handle every case regardless of immigration status. Call now, before the comp carrier’s adjuster pushes a settlement that wrecks your third-party claim.
Plain-English answers to the questions construction clients ask most often in their first call with us. If yours isn’t here, the consultation is free.
Generally, no. Fla. Stat. § 440.11 generally makes workers’ compensation the exclusive remedy against your employer for a work-related injury. There are narrow exceptions for intentional torts, but most workers cannot sue their employer. The right approach is often the third-party claim — against the general contractor, a subcontractor, the equipment manufacturer, or the property owner.
A third-party claim is a lawsuit against any party responsible for your injury other than your direct employer. On a typical jobsite, that may include the general contractor, subcontractor(s), the equipment or scaffolding manufacturer(s), the equipment rental company, and/or the property owner. Workers’ comp may still leave room for claims against other responsible parties.
OSHA citations are powerful evidence in a third-party claim. They can document specific safety-standard violations and strengthen the evidence supporting your claim. We pull the entire OSHA inspection file — not just the citation — including witness statements and photos.
The deadline depends on the type of claim. Negligence claims are generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations, while certain product-liability personal injury claims may have a four-year deadline. The workers’ comp side has a separate notice requirement: injured workers generally must notify their employer within 30 days of the injury or its initial manifestation. Giving notice in writing can also create a useful record of when and how the injury was reported. Both clocks run separately.
Not necessarily. Workers’ comp generally prevents suit against your direct employer in most cases — but it does not stop you from attempting to pursue third parties. The workers’ comp carrier may also have a financial interest in the third-party claim because it may be entitled to repayment from part of the recovery under Fla. Stat. § 440.39.
Yes. Undocumented workers may still be eligible for Florida workers’ compensation and may also have claims against responsible third parties. We handle these cases routinely and protect client information throughout.
Construction cases vary widely based on injury severity, future medical needs, lost earning capacity, and the number of available defendants and policies. The cases that combine comp benefits with a strong third-party claim against multiple defendants generate the largest recoveries.
No. Our construction cases are handled on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing up-front, and we only collect a fee if we recover compensation for you. The initial consultation is free.
Speak directly with a construction attorney. Your consultation is free.
Many construction clients have claims that overlap other practice areas. We handle them all in-house, so your case never gets handed off.
Thermal, chemical, and electrical burns from jobsite fires and exposure.
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Property owner negligence claims that overlap construction sites.
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Fatal jobsite incidents under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act.
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Commercial vehicle strikes on and around active jobsites.
Learn moreA brief conversation is often enough to understand whether you have a claim and what it may be worth. There is no charge for that conversation, and nothing you share is ever shared outside our firm.
Call us, or tell us about your case online. There is no fee for the consultation, and no obligation to continue. Everything you share is protected by attorney-client privilege.