A construction laborer that was buried chest-deep after the walls of a trench collapsed will be allowed to sue his employer for his construction related injuries.  A New Jersey Appellate Court reversed a lower court decision to dismiss the personal injury case, brought by the laborer and his wife.  

The injured employee worked for an excavation contractor that was hired to install a retention pond.  The injured worker was a member of a six person team.  During the project, excessive rainfall created delays in excavation.  Against safety regulations, a supervisor ordered the injured worker to enter the trench to install fabric along the bottom.  After the laborer entered the twenty-foot-deep trench, the walls collapsed.  The construction accident resulted in serious personal injuries.

OSHA investigators determined that the construction worker's employer and supervisor failed to provide proper safety devices and procedures to protect against personal injury from the collapse.  The investigators found that failing to provide the safety equipment was a willful violation of federal safety laws. 

In allowing the personal injury case to move forward, Appellate Judge Edwin H. Stern writes, "Although the motion judge is accurate in stating that construction sites have a dangerous nature, that does not excuse the failure to use safety devices to alleviate the dangers and risks which were clearly known in this case." Normally, worker's compensation insurance covers employees and workers injured while on the job.  Judge Stern's ruling may allow the victim of the construction accident to seek higher civil damages.

A person injured in an accident seeking civil damages may be able to seek a broader range of damages than those that may be available under New Jersey worker's compensation laws. In this situation, an experienced personal injury and worker's compensation attorney may be able to help the worker and his family obtain the compensation they deserve under both areas of laws. 

Source: Insurance Journal, "New Jersey Court: Construction Worker Can Sue Employer," Kenneth J. St. Onge, 31 Aug 2010