San Jose construction accident lawyer.
Workers' comp is not your only option. We pursue full recovery.

Construction accident claims in San Jose — what you're up against

A construction accident lawyer in San Jose deals with cases that are legally complex in a way that most injury cases are not. At most job sites, multiple entities are present simultaneously — a general contractor, subcontractors, equipment lessors, and the property owner. California's workers' compensation exclusivity rule blocks claims against your employer. But it does not block claims against every other entity on that site. Identifying who owes you a duty beyond your employer is the most important early step in any construction case.

Cal. Labor Code §§ 6400–6413 impose safety obligations on every employer at a multi-employer worksite, not just the general contractor. Cal/OSHA regulations, Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, set specific standards for fall protection, scaffolding, crane operation, electrical hazards and trenching. A violation of those standards is not just regulatory non-compliance — it is evidence of negligence in your civil case.

The most common construction accident cases we handle in San Jose

Falls from scaffolding, rooftops and elevated work surfaces are the leading cause of fatal construction injuries in California. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 1670 requires specific scaffold design and load ratings. Failures trace back to the scaffold contractor, the general contractor who accepted the scaffold without inspection, or both.

Crane and rigging accidents involve both the equipment and the operator. A crane defect creates a products liability claim against the manufacturer and the rental company. Operator error implicates the general contractor whose supervisor directed the lift. In multi-story downtown San Jose projects, crane activity involves close coordination with multiple subcontractors.

Trench cave-ins and excavation failures are preventable but common. OSHA's excavation standards at 29 C.F.R. Part 1926 Subpart P, incorporated by Cal/OSHA, require protective systems for any trench deeper than five feet. When a contractor skips that step to save time and the trench collapses, the liability is clear and the Cal/OSHA citation record is evidence.

Electrocution and struck-by-current injuries arise near overhead power lines, from temporary power distribution on site and from equipment contact with buried utilities. California requires utility marking before any excavation, and equipment operators are trained on clearance distances. When those procedures are skipped, the injury is usually catastrophic.

Defective tool and equipment injuries support a products liability claim against the manufacturer independent of any workers' compensation claim. If a power tool guard was removed by a third party rather than by the worker's employer, Cal. Labor Code § 4558 allows a civil claim against that party. We analyze the equipment failure separately from the site negligence claim.

What construction accident evidence we collect immediately after your call

Construction accident evidence exists in parallel across multiple channels: Cal/OSHA investigation records, which are public once concluded but must be requested promptly; site inspection logs and safety meeting minutes maintained by the general contractor; equipment maintenance and inspection records; the incident investigation that every sophisticated general contractor performs internally within 24 hours; and video from site security cameras, which may capture conditions before the accident as well as the event itself.

When you call, we send immediate preservation demands to the general contractor, the property owner, the relevant subcontractors and any equipment supplier involved. We request the Cal/OSHA investigation number and monitor its progress. An independent construction safety evaluation of the site conditions is obtained, separate from the carrier-retained investigators. We identify every entity with potential liability before any claim is negotiated.

What your construction accident case is worth in Santa Clara County

Severe construction injuries — spinal cord injuries from falls, traumatic amputations, crush injuries — involve lifetime medical costs and, in many cases, the end of a skilled trade career. A journeyman electrician or ironworker in Santa Clara County earning $120,000 to $180,000 per year whose injury ends their trade career has a documented future income loss that runs into the millions over a working lifetime.

Policy limits on a construction case routinely include the general contractor's commercial general liability policy, the subcontractor's policy, the equipment lessor's policy, and the property owner's policy. In a serious case, each is a separate source of recovery. As your construction accident lawyer in San Jose, we do not settle within any single policy limit until every liability has been fully documented. We walk you through how comparable Santa Clara County construction cases have resolved at your free consultation.

The two-year construction accident deadline and why acting fast matters

California's statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the date of injury under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1. If a government entity — the City of San Jose, Santa Clara County, or Caltrans — bears any responsibility, the deadline shrinks to six months for filing a government tort claim under Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2. Missing either deadline ends your case permanently, regardless of how strong your evidence is.

Do not wait. Evidence preservation, medical documentation, and case filing all happen faster with representation. The free consultation costs you nothing. Call us today.