Construction Site Accidents
Michigan Construction Accident Lawyer: Third-Party Claims When Workers' Comp Isn't Enough
If you've been hurt on a construction site in Michigan, workers' compensation pays your medical bills and a fraction of your lost wages. But workers' comp does not pay you for pain and suffering, it does not pay your full wage loss, and it does not hold anyone accountable for the unsafe conditions that injured you. A construction accident lawyer's job is to find the parties who are not your employer — the general contractor, the property owner, the equipment manufacturer, the other subcontractor — and make them pay full civil damages. On a construction site, there is almost always a responsible third party, and a third-party claim runs alongside your workers' comp benefits, not instead of them.
I'm Ali Koussan. At Koussan Law I represent construction workers across Michigan who were seriously hurt because someone else cut a corner. Workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer under MCL § 418.131 — but that bar does not protect anyone else on the jobsite. This page explains exactly who can be held liable in Michigan, the legal doctrines that control these cases, and how a construction accident claim is actually built.
The Common Work Area Doctrine: How Michigan Holds General Contractors Accountable
The most important rule in Michigan construction-injury law is the common work area doctrine, created by the Michigan Supreme Court in Funk v. General Motors Corp. and refined in Ormsby v. Capital Welding, Inc. The general rule is that a general contractor is not liable for the negligence of its independent subcontractors. The common work area doctrine is the exception that lets an injured worker hold a general contractor accountable — and most thin competitor pages never mention it.
To hold a general contractor liable, an injured worker must prove all four elements of the Ormsby test. The general contractor:
- Failed to take reasonable steps within its supervisory and coordinating authority;
- To guard against readily observable and avoidable dangers;
- That created a high degree of risk to a significant number of workers;
- In a common work area — an area where the employees of two or more subcontractors eventually work.
Failure to prove any one of the four elements is fatal to the claim, which is why these cases turn on a careful factual investigation of who controlled the site, what dangers were obvious, and how many trades were exposed. This is precise, technical litigation — and it is where experience matters.
Who Can Be Sued After a Michigan Construction Accident
A single construction accident often involves several potentially liable third parties:
- General contractors — under the common work area doctrine, for failing to guard against jobsite-wide hazards within their control.
- Property owners — for dangerous conditions on the premises and for retaining control over the work in a way that creates a duty.
- Equipment and scaffolding manufacturers — through product liability, when defective machinery, lifts, ladders, scaffolding, or safety equipment fails.
- Other subcontractors — whose negligent work (a falling load, an unguarded opening, a live wire) created the hazard that hurt you.
- Architects and engineers — for design defects and unsafe specifications.
- Negligent drivers — in roadwork and delivery-vehicle struck-by cases.
Michigan applies modified comparative fault under MCL § 600.2959, allocating responsibility among all at-fault parties; your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault, and you are barred from non-economic damages only if you are more than 50% at fault.
Workers' Comp vs. a Third-Party Claim — and Why You Need Both
Workers' compensation is a no-fault system: you get benefits regardless of who caused the accident, but those benefits are limited. Comp pays reasonable medical care and roughly 80% of your after-tax average weekly wage up to a state cap. It pays nothing for pain and suffering, disfigurement, or loss of the life you had before the injury. A third-party civil claim recovers the full measure of damages comp leaves on the table.
You can pursue both at the same time. Your workers' comp insurer does, however, hold a statutory lien under MCL § 418.827 on any third-party recovery, meaning it is entitled to reimbursement of benefits it paid. Negotiating that lien down is one of the most valuable things a construction accident attorney does — every dollar shaved off the lien is a dollar that stays with you and your family.
Can you ever sue your own employer directly? Almost never. The only exception is the intentional tort exception to MCL § 418.131, which applies only when the employer had actual knowledge that an injury was certain to occur and willfully disregarded that knowledge. Michigan courts treat this as a question of law and apply it strictly, so the real leverage in nearly every case is the third-party claim.
The OSHA "Fatal Four" and How Violations Help Your Case
OSHA attributes the large majority of construction deaths to four hazard categories, and each maps to a different theory of third-party liability:
- Falls — from scaffolding, ladders, roofs, and unguarded floor openings. Fall protection is governed by OSHA 29 CFR 1926.501 and scaffolding by 1926.451.
- Struck-by — falling loads, swinging crane loads, and flying debris from another trade's work.
- Caught-in/between — trench and excavation collapses (29 CFR 1926.651), unguarded machinery, and equipment rollovers.
- Electrocution — contact with energized lines that should have been de-energized or guarded.
OSHA violations do not automatically win your case, but in Michigan they are admissible as evidence of negligence. A documented citation against a general contractor or subcontractor is powerful proof that a known safety standard was ignored — which is exactly what the common work area doctrine and a premises claim require.
How a Construction Accident Case Is Built
These cases are won in the first weeks, on the evidence:
- Preserve the scene. Equipment gets repaired, scaffolding gets dismantled, and trenches get backfilled. Photographs, the defective equipment itself, and the site conditions are evidence — secure them before they disappear.
- Pull the records. OSHA 300 logs, the incident report, inspection records, equipment maintenance logs, the contracts between owner, GC, and subs (which define who controlled the work), and any prior citations.
- Retain the right experts. Construction-safety experts, accident reconstructionists, and — for serious injuries — vocational economists and life-care planners who quantify lost earning capacity and future care.
- Map the parties. The contract documents reveal who held supervisory and coordinating authority — the heart of a common work area claim.
Koussan Law fronts the cost of this investigation. We handle construction accident claims on contingency: you pay nothing unless we recover, and we do not let a seriously injured worker accept a quick, lowball offer before the full extent of the injury and the available coverage is known.
Deadlines That Can End Your Case
- Three years from the date of injury to file the third-party negligence claim under MCL § 600.5805.
- Workers' comp: notify your employer within 90 days and file your claim within the period set by MCL § 418.381; do not let the comp clock and the civil clock be confused.
- Product liability against an equipment manufacturer follows the three-year limitations period.
- Government-entity defendants (a public road project, a municipal owner) require written notice within 120 days under MCL § 691.1404 — miss it and an otherwise strong claim is barred.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I sue for a construction accident in Michigan if I'm already getting workers' comp?
Yes. Workers' comp is the exclusive remedy against your employer under MCL § 418.131, but it does not bar a claim against a negligent third party — the general contractor, property owner, equipment manufacturer, or another subcontractor. You collect comp and pursue the third-party claim at the same time; the third-party case is where pain and suffering and full wage loss are recovered.
Q: How do I hold the general contractor responsible?
Through the common work area doctrine from Funk and Ormsby. You must show the GC failed to take reasonable steps within its authority to guard against a readily observable, avoidable danger that created a high degree of risk to a significant number of workers in a common work area. All four elements are required, so the contracts and site facts are everything.
Q: What is my construction accident case worth?
Value depends on the severity and permanence of the injury, your medical bills and future care, lost earning capacity, the strength of the liability evidence, and the available insurance. Serious construction injuries — spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, amputations, multiple fractures — drive the highest recoveries because the lost earning capacity and life-care costs are large. We pursue the full third-party value, not just what comp would pay.
Q: Does a third-party claim reduce my workers' comp benefits?
No, but your comp insurer has a lien under MCL § 418.827 and is entitled to reimbursement from the third-party recovery. We negotiate that lien down aggressively so more of the recovery reaches you.
Q: How long do I have to file?
Generally three years from the injury for the third-party claim (MCL § 600.5805), with a 120-day notice trap for government defendants (MCL § 691.1404) and separate, shorter workers' comp deadlines. Because evidence on a construction site disappears fast, the practical deadline is much sooner — talk to a lawyer right away.
Talk to a Michigan Construction Accident Lawyer
If you or someone you love was hurt on a Michigan construction site, contact Koussan Law for a free consultation. We will identify every responsible third party, coordinate your workers' comp and civil claims, and pursue the full compensation the law allows. Call (313) 800-0000, request a consultation online, or estimate your claim with our free case calculator. Contingency representation — no fee unless we win.
