California Construction Accident Lawyer: Suing a Contractor, Owner or Equipment Maker Beyond Workers’ Comp (Updated November 2026)

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a construction injury in California

1. Report the injury to your employer in writing. A workers’ comp claim generally requires written notice to the employer within 30 days of the injury (Lab. Code § 5400).
2. Get medical care and keep every record, starting with the first emergency room or clinic visit.
3. Write down every company on the site: the general contractor, each subcontractor, the equipment rental company and the property owner.
4. Photograph the scene and the equipment before anything is repaired or moved, and get phone numbers from co-workers and witnesses.
5. Do not sign statements or releases for another company’s insurer before you know who may be responsible.

The Department of Industrial Relations states that workers’ compensation benefits are for all workers employed in California, regardless of citizenship or immigration status (DIR, FAQ for California workers). The Labor Code defines an employee as anyone in an employer’s service, “whether lawfully or unlawfully employed” (Lab. Code § 3351).

Workers’ comp and the claim against everyone else

When an injury arises out of and in the course of employment, the employer’s liability is workers’ compensation “in lieu of any other liability whatsoever,” with listed exceptions (Lab. Code § 3600). Comp is the sole and exclusive remedy against the employer (§ 3602). The exceptions in § 3602(b) are narrow: a willful physical assault by the employer, the employer’s fraudulent concealment of an injury that makes it worse, and a defective product the employer made and sold to someone else that later reached the worker.

Filing for comp does not affect your right to sue “any person other than the employer” for all damages caused by the injury (§ 3852). On a construction project that can include:

• a general contractor or another subcontractor whose crew created the hazard;
• the maker or rental company of a defective scaffold, lift, saw or crane;
• a driver or trucking company that crashed into the work zone;
• a property owner or other hirer, in the situations described in the next section.

Work zone crashes show how this works. On September 25, 2026, three construction workers were killed when a big rig struck a parked attenuator truck, a pickup and a water truck inside a Caltrans Interstate 10 project near Blythe; the CHP said alcohol and drugs were not believed to be factors and was still investigating the cause. On September 16, 2026, a 20-year-old worker installing pavement markings on a Caltrans striping project on U.S. 101 in Eureka was hit by an SUV that allegedly drifted into the closed lane. He later died, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Those are allegations. In cases like these, the families’ comp claims and any claims against the outside driver or trucking company run side by side. Our FAQ on third-party claims after a construction accident and our page on workers’ comp vs. a personal injury claim explain the difference.

Property owners and hiring contractors: the Privette rule

In Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, the California Supreme Court held that a contractor’s employee generally cannot use the “peculiar risk” doctrine to make the person who hired the contractor pay for an on-the-job injury, because workers’ compensation already covers that injury. Two exceptions matter most:

• Retained control. A hirer is liable to a contractor’s employee insofar as its exercise of retained control affirmatively contributed to the injury (Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198). Retaining control over safety is not enough on its own. In Hooker, a crane operator on a Caltrans overpass project died after retracting the crane’s outriggers to let other vehicles pass. The court found no evidence that Caltrans exercised its control in a way that affirmatively contributed to the death.
• Concealed hazard. A landowner may be liable when it knew or should have known of a latent or concealed hazard on its property, the contractor did not know and could not reasonably have discovered it, and the landowner failed to warn (Kinsman v. Unocal Corp. (2005) 37 Cal.4th 659). Kinsman involved a carpenter for a scaffolding contractor exposed to asbestos at an oil refinery.

In 2021 the court refused to add a broader third exception. A landowner generally is not liable to a contractor’s worker for a known hazard on the property, unless it exercised retained control in a way that affirmatively contributed to the injury (Gonzalez v. Mathis (2021) 12 Cal.5th 29).

These limits concern claims by the contractor’s own workers. Privette describes the peculiar risk doctrine as making the hirer liable when the contractor’s negligent performance of inherently dangerous work injures others, and its holding addressed the contractor’s employees.

Hurt near a construction site

If you were not working on the project, workers’ comp plays no part in your claim. Everyone is responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their property or person (Civ. Code § 1714). That can cover a pedestrian struck by falling debris, a driver who crashes at an unmarked lane shift, or a neighbor hurt by a collapsing fence or trench.

Many road projects belong to Caltrans, a city or a county. A claim for personal injury against a public entity must be presented within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). See our FAQ on a truck crash in a construction zone.

If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your share and are not barred (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). See comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington.

How comp and a lawsuit work together

The employer’s share. An employer that pays comp may also sue the outside party and recover what it paid (§ 3852). If you sue alone, the court first pays litigation expenses and attorney’s fees and then, on the employer’s application, allows the employer a first lien on the judgment for the comp it paid (§ 3856(b)).

No comp insurance. If the employer failed to secure workers’ compensation, you or your dependents can sue the employer as if the comp law did not apply (§ 3706). The law then presumes the injury resulted from the employer’s negligence, and the employer cannot argue that you were careless, assumed the risk, or were hurt by a co-worker’s negligence (§ 3708).

Deadlines. A lawsuit for injury or death caused by another’s negligence must be filed within two years (CCP § 335.1). Falls and struck-by accidents often cause head trauma; see our California brain injury lawyer page. When a worker dies, the family’s rights are covered on our California wrongful death lawyer page.

California construction deaths

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 419 fatal work injuries in California in 2024. The construction sector had the most, 81, up from 78 the year before, and falls, slips or trips caused 43 of those 81 deaths. Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 51 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state, compared with 24 percent nationally (BLS, Fatal Work Injuries in California, 2024).

California runs its own OSHA-approved State Plan (OSHA, State Plans). Every employer must furnish employment and a place of employment that is safe and healthful (Lab. Code § 6400).

Related local and topic pages: Los Angeles truck accidents and workplace and refinery burns.

California, Texas and Washington compared

In California, a property owner that hired the contractor can be liable for a hidden hazard it failed to disclose, even without exercising control over the work. In Texas, Chapter 95 requires both control over the work and actual knowledge before an owner of commercial property is liable.

Related pages

• At what height is fall protection required in California?
• Texas construction accident lawyer
• Washington construction accident lawyer
• Third-party claims after a construction accident
• Can you sue your employer for a work injury?
• California wrongful death lawyer
• Areas we serve in California

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.