Scaffolding-related accidents cause almost 4,500 injuries and 60 deaths per year.1 If you are injured on scaffolding or fall from a scaffold, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit for compensation.
Compensation in a personal injury claim can include:
- Medical bills,
- Loss of income,
- Lost earning capacity,
- Emotional damages, and
- Pain and suffering.
Scaffolding accidents can be caused by defective equipment, negligence, or property owners who fail to provide safe conditions. Potential defendants in a lawsuit include the:
- Scaffolding manufacturer,
- Construction company,
- Contractor or subcontractor,
- Construction worker, or
- Property owner.
Below, our California personal injury lawyers discuss the following frequently asked questions about scaffold collapse and scaffolding accident law:
- 1. What causes scaffolding accidents?
- 2. Who is at fault for a scaffolding accident?
- 3. What financial compensation can I get?
- 4. What if the accident happened at work?
- 5. Scaffolding accident settlements and jury verdict awards
If you have further questions about scaffolding accidents after reading this article, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.
1. What causes scaffolding accidents?
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), thousands of people are injured every year in scaffolding accidents, including almost 60 fatal accidents annually. Most of these injuries involve construction accidents. The majority of workers injured in scaffold accidents reported the accidents were caused by the following:
- Planking giving way – standard practice is that all planking must overlap by at least one foot.
- Supports giving way – scaffolding should support four times (or more) of its weight.
- Slip and fall accidents – to be safe, scaffolding and walkways should be no less than 18 inches wide.
- Being struck by a falling object – any workers underneath the scaffolding must wear hard hats, and workers on the scaffolding cannot let tools or debris to accumulate.
When scaffolding is put up in a hurry or employees are not properly trained in scaffold safety, unsecured supports or planking can cause someone walking on the scaffolding to trip or slip and fall. Damaged or rusted scaffolding or rotted wood can cause scaffolding to collapse. Other common causes of scaffolding accidents are:
- Improper training,
- Lack of supervision,
- Unsecured scaffolding,
- Defective scaffolding,
- Lack of safety equipment,
- Lack of fall protection,
- Bad weather causing the scaffolding to collapse or items to fall from the scaffolding,
- Scaffolding touching electric wires,
- Scaffold roofing accidents, or
- Other workplace injuries.
Common scaffolding injuries include fractures, lacerations, and trauma to the head or neck. Scaffolding injuries can be very serious, including spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, organ damage, internal bleeding, and paralysis. At some worksites, construction injuries can include burns from electrocution.
2. Who is at fault for a scaffolding accident?
In a personal injury lawsuit, the person or group “at fault” for causing the accident may have to pay damages to you if you are injured in the accident. Liability in a construction site accident is generally determined by the following causes of action:
- Negligence,
- Premises Liability, or
- Product Liability.
Negligence
To recover damages in a personal injury lawsuit, you have to prove the following:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care;
- The defendant breached that duty of care;
- The breach caused your injuries; and
- As a result of the breach, you suffered damages.2
Example: Jack is working construction on a scaffold. By accident he knocks over a toolbox, which falls off the scaffolding because he forgot to put up a guardrail. Jen below gets hit and sustains a concussion. She can sue Jack for negligence because he failed to set up the scaffolding property, which resulted in Jen’s damages.
Employers Can Be Liable for Employee Negligence
Under “respondeat superior” laws, an employer may be vicariously liable for the negligence of their employees. An individual employee may not have enough money to pay for damages involving a scaffolding accident. However, the employer (such as a general contractor) is more likely to be able to pay for damages or have insurance that will compensate you.3
In a vicarious liability claim against the employer, you have to show:
- You were injured as a result of the employee’s negligence, and
- The employee was acting within the scope of their employment when the incident occurred.4
Example: In the example above, Jen also files a lawsuit against Jack’s employer, Scaffolder’s Construction. Since Jack was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident, Scaffolder’s Construction may be vicariously liable for Jack’s negligence and will likely have to pay for Jen’s damages.
Property Owner’s Liability
Property owners have a duty to others who come on their property legally to keep the property in a safe condition. If a property owner or occupier has scaffolding set up on the property, the owner may be responsible for making sure the scaffolding is not a hazard to visitors.
Under premises liability laws, property owners generally have a duty to repair hazardous conditions or to warn others about dangers.5
Example: Andie owns an apartment complex. Scaffolding is set up while repairs are being done above the front entrance. Andie forgets to put up a sign warning tenants to use only the back entrance. Later when Audrey walks towards the front entrance, a trowel from the scaffolding gets accidentally dropped on her, causing a deep cut. She can sue Andie for failing to warn her about the safety hazard, which caused her to get injured.
Defective Scaffolding Equipment
Even when workers follow safety regulations and put scaffolding up the right way, a defect in the scaffolding equipment can cause it to collapse, causing serious injuries.
In a products liability lawsuit, anyone who designs, manufactures, or sells a defective product is strictly liable for damages caused by the product defect. You do not need to show that any one person was negligent. Instead, you need to prove:
- The defendant designed, manufactured, or sold the product;
- The product was defective when it left the defendant’s possession;
- You used the product in a reasonably foreseeable manner; and
- You suffered damage as a result of the defect.6
A defective scaffolding product liability claim can be based on:
3. What financial compensation can I get?
In a personal injury lawsuit, the amount of money you are seeking is called “damages.” Compensatory damages are intended to compensate you for your losses caused by the accident. This includes both economic (like medical bills) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering). Lawsuit damages can include:
- Medical expenses,
- Loss of income from not being able to work,
- Loss of future earning potential,
- Compensation for scars,
- Compensation for loss of a limb,
- Loss of consortium,
- Emotional harm, and
- Pain and suffering.
Damages in a Fatal Scaffolding Accident
Falling from scaffolding can result in fatal injuries. If your family member was killed in a scaffolding accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit for damages. A wrongful death lawsuit is also a way for the wrongdoer to be held accountable for their negligence.7
You can file a lawsuit for damages to pay for the funeral and burial expenses. You can also seek damages for the loss of financial support, and loss of companionship.
4. What if the accident happened at work?
When you are injured on the job, damages may be limited to workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ comp is a type of insurance program to compensate workers who are injured in the workplace.
Workers’ comp does not require you to prove negligence. Instead, you are compensated for medical expenses related to the injury and given wage replacement. Therefore, you have limited options for suing your employer.
However, you may still be able to file a lawsuit against your employer if:
- They willfully and physically assaulted you;
- The injury was aggravated by something your employer fraudulently concealed; or
- Your employer did not have workers’ comp insurance.8
Other injuries in the workplace may not be limited by workers’ comp. For example, if your accident was caused by a third-party or independent contractor, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against them for damages.
5. Settlements accident settlements and jury verdict awards
- A construction worker in New York City (Bronx) fell while climbing over cross braces on scaffolding and suffered broken ribs, a torn knee, and injured shoulder. The victim was no longer able to work. An NYC jury returned a verdict in favor of the victim for $2.9 million.
- A worker in Maryland was paralyzed from the neck down after falling from construction scaffolding and breaking his neck. The worker was putting up scaffolding when an electric arc shocked and burned the man, causing him to fall. A jury awarded the victim $21.7 million in damages.
- Scaffolding used for building cleaners in Chicago was blown off the building in high winds and crushed two cars on the street below. Four people were killed and another six people were injured. In a wrongful death lawsuit, the defendants agreed to an out-of-court settlement for $75 million in damages.
- A man in New York was paralyzed from the chest down when a large piece of scaffolding fell on his back. In a settlement with the defendants, the victim received $27 million in compensation.
Legal References:
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Safety and Health Topics. Scaffolding. (Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2003 and 2004 data for the private sector).
- See, for example, California Civil Code section 1714(a) (“Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person.”) See also Turner v. Mandalay Sports Entm’t, LLC, 124 Nev. 213, 180 P.3d 1172 (2008); Perez v. Las Vegas Med. Ctr., 107 Nev. 1, 4, 805 P.2d 589 (1991).
- Perez v. Van Groningen & Sons, Inc. (1986) 41 Cal.3d 962, 967 (“Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for his employee’s torts committed within the scope of the employment.”)
- See, for example, California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) 3701 — Tort Liability Asserted Against Principal–Essential Factual Elements. See also Lisa M. v. Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital (1995) 12 Cal.4th 291, 296–297 (“The rule of respondeat superior is familiar and simply stated: an employer is vicariously liable for the torts of its employees committed within the scope of the employment.“)
- California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) (2017) 1000. Premises Liability. Essential Factual Elements. See also Sprecher v. Adamson Companies (1981) 30 Cal.3d 358.
- Soule v. GM Corp. (1994) 8 Cal.4th 548, 560 (“A manufacturer, distributor, or retailer is liable in tort if a defect in the manufacture or design of its product causes injury while the product is being used in a reasonably foreseeable way.”)
- California Code of Civil Procedure 377.60 (“A cause of action for the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another may be asserted by any of the following persons or by the decedent’s personal representative on their behalf: (a) The decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children, or, if there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the persons, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, who would be entitled to the property of the decedent by intestate succession.”)
- Cal. Lab. Code § 3706.