Workers' compensation is where most injured construction workers stop, and it is usually not where the money is. Comp pays your medical care and part of your wages, then closes. It pays nothing for the pain, and nothing for what the injury costs you over the next thirty years.
Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa represents construction workers injured on job sites across West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County, and we pursue both sides of the claim. Workers' compensation is one of this firm's strongest practice areas, which means we know exactly where comp ends and where a separate third-party claim begins. That second claim is frequently worth many multiples of the first.
Free case review, 24 hours a day, in English or Spanish. No fee unless we recover. Call +1 (866) 640-7117.
Table of contents
- Why do most construction injury claims leave money on the table?
- What kinds of construction accidents do we handle in West Palm Beach?
- What can an injured construction worker recover in Florida?
- Does an OSHA investigation help your claim?
- What happens if you are an undocumented worker?
- How we build a West Palm Beach construction accident case
- Does it matter whether the job site was residential or commercial?
- FAQ for Construction Accident Lawyer West Palm Beach
- One Conversation Tells You Whether There Is a Second Claim
Why do most construction injury claims leave money on the table?
"Because the injured worker files for workers' compensation and nobody tells them a second claim exists. Florida's workers' compensation system is exclusive as against your employer, so you generally cannot sue the company that hired you in a typical workers' compensation case. It says nothing about everyone else on the site."
A Palm Beach County construction site typically involves a general contractor, several subcontractors, a property owner, equipment lessors, scaffolding suppliers, and material manufacturers. Any of them can be liable in negligence if their conduct caused your injury, and none of them are shielded by your employer's comp immunity.
That distinction is the single most valuable thing to understand about a construction injury in Florida.
What does workers' compensation actually cover?
Medical treatment and partial wage replacement, without any need to prove fault. That is the trade Florida's system makes. You get benefits quickly regardless of who caused the accident, and you give up the right to sue your employer for pain and suffering.
Florida's workers' compensation framework is set out in Chapter 440 of the Florida Statutes. Benefits include authorized medical care, temporary partial or total disability payments, impairment benefits, and in some cases permanent total disability.
What comp does not pay: pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, or the full value of long-term diminished earning capacity.
Who else might be liable for your job site injury?
Anyone whose negligence contributed, other than your employer. The candidates on a typical West Palm Beach site:
- The general contractor, for site safety failures outside your employer's control
- Another subcontractor, whose crew created the hazard that injured you
- The property owner, for dangerous conditions they controlled or knew about
- An equipment manufacturer or lessor, where a machine, lift, or tool was defective or improperly maintained
- A scaffolding or shoring supplier, where the system failed or was erected improperly
- A trucking company, where a delivery vehicle or crane operation caused the injury
Identifying the right defendants requires the site's contract structure, daily logs, and safety documentation, which is why these cases benefit from getting a West Palm Beach personal injury lawyer involved before records start disappearing.
Not sure whether you have a third-party claim? That answer is usually available in one conversation. Call +1 (866) 640-7117.
What kinds of construction accidents do we handle in West Palm Beach?
The full range, with particular focus on the injury patterns that generate the largest third-party claims. Falls from height, scaffolding and ladder collapses, electrocution, crane and heavy equipment incidents, trench and excavation failures, being struck by falling material, and common injuries in construction accidents caused by defective tools or machinery.
Falls and electrocution cases tend to be the highest-value because the third-party liability is usually clearest. A scaffold that failed was erected by someone, inspected by someone, and supplied by someone, and each of those is a potential defendant.
The firm's published results include a $4.45 million recovery in a construction accident settlement and a $4 million recovery for a man paralyzed as a result of a property owner's negligence.
Results in past cases do not guarantee a similar outcome in future cases.
What can an injured construction worker recover in Florida?
It depends on which claim you are pursuing, and the difference is stark. Here is how the two compare:
| Category of loss | Workers' compensation | Third-party negligence claim |
| Medical treatment | Covered, through authorized providers | Covered, including future care |
| Lost wages | Partial replacement, capped by statute | Full lost income plus future earning capacity |
| Pain and suffering | Not covered | Covered |
| Loss of enjoyment of life | Not covered | Covered |
| Disfigurement or scarring | Limited impairment benefit only | Covered as a distinct category |
| Choice of treating doctor | Restricted to authorized providers | Not restricted |
| Fault requirement | None | Must prove negligence |
Our guide to compensation for injured construction workers goes further into how these two tracks interact, including how a comp carrier's lien affects a third-party recovery.
One rule shapes every negligence recovery in Florida. Under the state's modified comparative negligence statute, your award is reduced by your share of fault and barred if you are found more than 50% responsible. Defendants on construction sites argue worker error constantly.
Does an OSHA investigation help your claim?
It can help considerably, though an OSHA citation does not by itself establish your right to compensation. The two systems have different purposes. OSHA regulates workplace safety and penalizes employers; your construction accident claim seeks compensation for your injury.
Where OSHA matters is evidence. A citation documents a safety violation, identifies which party was responsible for the condition, and produces an investigation file that can be obtained. Employers are required to report serious incidents to OSHA within specific timeframes, including any fatality and any hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
If an inspection happened on your site, the resulting record is worth having. If one did not, the absence proves nothing about your claim.
What happens if you are an undocumented worker?
You still have rights under Florida law, and immigration status does not bar an injury claim. Florida's workers' compensation system covers employees regardless of documentation status, and a third-party negligence claim does not turn on it either.
This comes up frequently on South Florida job sites, and fear of raising it keeps injured workers from pursuing claims they are legally able to bring. Our attorneys and staff handle these cases in Spanish, from the first call through resolution. Hablamos español.
How we build a West Palm Beach construction accident case
The window for the evidence that matters is short, because job sites change daily by design.
- Free consultation. We determine whether a third-party claim exists alongside your workers' compensation benefits.
- Site and contract investigation. We obtain the contract chain, daily logs, safety meeting records, equipment maintenance history, and any OSHA file.
- Preserve the physical evidence. Failed equipment, scaffolding components, and defective tools need to be secured before they are repaired, returned, or discarded.
- Coordinate both claims. We protect your comp benefits while building the negligence case, and manage the carrier's lien against any third-party recovery.
- Litigate when needed. If the offer does not reflect the case, we file in the 15th Judicial Circuit in West Palm Beach and prepare it for a jury.
If your injury involves only a workers' compensation claim, our West Palm Beach workers' compensation lawyer team handles that directly. For the statewide picture, see our overview of Florida construction accident law.
Does it matter whether the job site was residential or commercial?
It matters a great deal, and usually not in the direction people expect. Large commercial projects in Palm Beach County typically carry layered insurance, documented safety programs, and a clear contract chain, which makes identifying a responsible third party more straightforward.
Residential work is messier. Smaller contractors, subcontractors hired by handshake, homeowners acting as their own general contractor, and crews working without workers' compensation coverage are all common. That can mean less insurance to reach, and it can also mean more paths to liability.
Where a subcontractor carries no workers' compensation coverage, the general contractor is often responsible for covering that subcontractor's workers under Florida law. Where a homeowner directed the work themselves, their homeowners policy may be implicated. Where no employer coverage exists at all, an employer may lose the immunity that normally protects them from being sued directly.
What if you were hurt on a small remodel or a single-family build?
The analysis is the same, though the investigation looks different. Instead of daily logs and safety meeting minutes, the evidence tends to be permits, invoices, text messages, and payment records showing who hired whom and who controlled the site.
Those documents establish the relationship that decides your claim. They also tend to exist only on someone's phone, which is why moving early matters more on residential work than on a project with a document control system.
Hurt on a residential job with a contractor who may have no coverage? That situation has more options than it appears. Call +1 (866) 640-7117.
FAQ for Construction Accident Lawyer West Palm Beach
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' compensation claim?
Florida law prohibits retaliation for filing or attempting to file a workers' compensation claim. Retaliation can include termination, demotion, reduced hours, or reassignment to punish the claim, and a retaliation claim is separate from your injury claim. Proving it usually requires documenting the timing and the reasons given. If your treatment at work changed after you reported an injury, that sequence is worth preserving in writing.
What if I was hurt on a site as a delivery driver rather than a construction worker?
You may be in a stronger position than the workers around you. Someone injured on a construction site who is not employed by any of the contractors there is generally not limited by workers' compensation exclusivity against those parties, which means a direct negligence claim against the general contractor or subcontractor may be available. Delivery drivers, inspectors, and visiting tradespeople fall into this category regularly.
How long does a construction accident case take in Palm Beach County?
Third-party construction claims typically run longer than ordinary injury cases, often a year or more, because multiple defendants each conduct their own investigation and dispute their share of fault. Workers' compensation benefits usually continue during that time, which means medical care and partial wage replacement are not on hold while the larger claim develops. We generally advise against settling before the permanence of an injury is understood.
Do I need to speak English to bring a claim?
No. Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa handles complete cases in Spanish, including consultations, medical coordination, negotiations, and court appearances. Roughly half of this firm's practice is conducted in Spanish, and that is not a translation service layered on top of an English case. If Spanish is the language you are comfortable making decisions in, your case can be handled entirely in it.
Is there a deadline to bring a construction injury claim?
Yes, and there are two separate ones. A workers' compensation claim requires reporting the injury to your employer within a short statutory window, and a negligence claim against a third party generally must be filed within two years of the injury under Florida law. Missing the reporting deadline can jeopardize benefits even where the injury is undisputed. Both deadlines should be confirmed against current Florida law for your specific situation.
One Conversation Tells You Whether There Is a Second Claim
Most injured workers never find out whether a third-party claim existed, because nobody looked. Reviewing the site structure takes one conversation and costs nothing, and it is the difference between a comp file and a negligence case.
We answer around the clock, in English and Spanish, from our West Palm Beach office.
Call Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa Injury Lawyers at +1 (866) 640-7117, or request your free case review online.
Fighting For The Injured Since 1985.