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Workers' Comp Pays Your Medical Bills. It Doesn't Make You Whole.

If you've been hurt on a construction site in Detroit, somebody probably told you to file a workers' compensation claim and leave it at that. Your employer's HR department said it. The insurance adjuster said it. Maybe even a well-meaning coworker said it.

Here's what they didn't tell you: workers' comp in Michigan is a limited remedy. It covers your medical treatment and a percentage of your lost wages, but it doesn't pay for pain and suffering. It doesn't pay for the fact that you can't pick up your kids anymore. It doesn't pay for the emotional toll of a permanent disability. And the weekly wage benefit is capped — it doesn't come close to replacing your actual income if you were earning good money in the trades.

But there's another path. And if someone other than your direct employer caused your injury, you may be entitled to far more than workers' comp alone.

Third-Party Claims: The Exception Most Workers Don't Know About

Under MCL § 418.827, Michigan's Workers' Disability Compensation Act bars employees from suing their own employer for workplace injuries. That's the exclusive remedy doctrine — workers' comp is the only claim you get against your employer.

The exception: you can sue any other party whose negligence contributed to your injury. On a construction site, that list is long. A general contractor who failed to enforce safety protocols. A property owner who knew about a hazard and didn't fix it. An equipment manufacturer whose tool malfunctioned. A subcontractor from another trade who left debris in your work area. An architect or engineer whose design created an unsafe condition.

These are called third-party claims, and they're not limited by workers' comp caps. You can recover full damages — economic losses, pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, and in egregious cases, exemplary damages.

How Detroit Construction Sites Create Third-Party Liability

Detroit is in the middle of a construction boom. The Gordie Howe International Bridge project, Hudson's Site redevelopment, residential projects across Corktown and Midtown — there's work everywhere. And with that work comes a tangled web of contractors, subcontractors, and property owners, each with different safety responsibilities and different insurance policies.

A typical Detroit commercial site might have a property owner, a general contractor, five or six subcontractors, and several equipment rental companies — all working simultaneously. When a scaffold collapses or a trench caves in, the question isn't whether someone was negligent. The question is which parties were negligent, and how their insurance policies stack up.

The Most Common Construction Injuries We See

Falls from height remain the number one killer in construction nationally, and Detroit is no different. Inadequate fall protection, defective scaffolding, and improperly secured ladders cause devastating injuries — spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures.

Struck-by incidents happen when objects fall from overhead, loads swing during crane operations, or equipment operators can't see ground workers. A 2x4 falling from the third floor of a structure doesn't sound that dangerous until you learn it hits with enough force to fracture a skull.

Electrocution from contact with live wiring during renovation or demolition work. These cases often involve negligent failure to de-energize circuits before work begins — a violation of both OSHA standards and basic construction safety practice.

Trench collapses are among the most terrifying construction accidents. A worker buried under even a few feet of soil faces enormous pressure on the chest and can suffocate in minutes. OSHA requires shoring or sloping for trenches deeper than five feet, but enforcement on Detroit job sites is inconsistent.

Why You Need to Act Fast

Construction companies and their insurers start investigating the moment an accident happens. They send rapid-response teams to the scene. They interview witnesses before you've even left the hospital. They photograph the site — sometimes after they've cleaned it up.

Evidence on a construction site disappears fast. The scaffold gets rebuilt. The trench gets filled. The defective equipment gets sent back to the rental company. Daily logs and safety inspection reports have a way of going missing.

Under MCL § 600.5805, you have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit in Michigan. But the real deadline is much shorter. Your attorney needs to send a spoliation letter immediately — a legal demand requiring all parties to preserve evidence related to your accident. That letter needs to go out within days, not months.

Workers' Comp Liens: The Complication Nobody Mentions

If you file a workers' comp claim and then win a third-party lawsuit, your workers' comp carrier has a lien against your third-party recovery. Under MCL § 418.827(5), the comp carrier is entitled to reimbursement for the benefits it paid. A good construction accident attorney structures the settlement to minimize the lien impact and maximize what you actually take home.

Hurt on a construction site in Detroit? Don't just file a workers' comp claim and walk away. Call Koussan Law at (313) 800-0000 for a free consultation. We'll investigate whether you have third-party claims that could recover significantly more than workers' comp alone. You can also use our case calculator to get a preliminary estimate.