Act fast, and you can hear little ‘ol ME from the comfort of your computer speakers today at lunchtime. I’m presenting a brownbag
webinar starting at 12:00 Noon ET on
the 7 Critical Mistakes Designers Make that Could
Sabotage Their Projects. This is an expanded talk based on my white paper. The webinar is for 1 hour, and PDH
credit is available.
Free for members of the Professional Engineers of North Carolina; $30 for non-members.
Today, a guest post by Anne Roberts. Anne Roberts is a freelance writer. She writes blog posts, how-to articles, SEO copies, and many other types of content for several websites. Anne is currently a web content writer for personal injury attorneys. (But we like her anyway!!)
Explaining Negligence in the Construction Industry
The construction world can be regarded as one of the most dangerous industries to work in. Because of the inherent hazards that come with working on a construction or repair project, both construction professionals and laborers uphold certain standards to ensure a safe working environment.
Contractors, surveyors, engineers, project managers to employers–all have a duty of care to observe. They make sure that assessments of risks involved in any facet of construction are made. Laborers, on the other hand, benefit from the assessments by exercising preventive measures.
Still, accidents happen.
Some of the most common accidents that occur in construction sites involve six-feet-or-more falls from ladders or stairs. Other accidents are caused by the failure to implement safety precautions, such as improper building of scaffolding, use of dangerous tools and unsafe machinery, and other hazardous issues. Without proper implementation of safety precautions, working on an elevated surface may result to debilitating injuries and even death.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), it has been estimated that fatal accidents involving construction workers accounted for 15 percent of all job-related deaths in the U.S. Such injuries or deaths may not have happened if a certain construction or repair project employed safety rules or standards of care. Such occurrence is categorized as construction negligence.
Determining Liability
When a serious accident happens, usually all parties involved are brought into the litigation, as cross-allegations of construction safety issues, construction defects, and construction administration/observation/inspection issues. In North Carolina, an employee cannot sue his employer for a workplace accident (but instead seek a workers’ compensation recovery). The employee can, however, bring a negligence action against any/all (other) responsible third parties. [Editor’s Note: The parties may have rights to recover against each other if one is actively negligent and one is only passively negligent. Otherwise, joint & several liability applies.]
To establish negligence, the injured party must prove the following four factors:
[Editor’s Note: The injured party also must not have been contributorily negligent.]
Other than in a construction or repair project site, construction negligence also happens on highway construction and post-construction efforts. Unsafe conditions during roadwork can be considered negligence, especially if workers, as well as motorists, consequently sustained certain injuries.
Even a complete building can be a source of negligence, in which the contractor or subcontractor failed to adhere to building codes. Construction defects, such as low structural integrity of the building, mechanical and electrical failure, and low-quality finishes, may lead to injuries and deaths.
Melissa again: Thanks Anne for your post! Readers: Watch this space– I’m planning on posting an infographic tomorrow that will show construction accidents & related statistics. Stay tuned. In the meantime, please leave any questions or thoughts in the comment section, below.
Photo of workers on bamboo scaffolding (c) Terrance TS Tam.
Triangle Grading and Paving is a Triad-area company with multiple public contracts, 18 since 2000 from the NC Department of Transportation alone. Frequently the low bidder, Triangle Grading has a long history of performing work for the state. However, a recent high profile controversy has threatened to remove the company from the bid lists for public construction work. In this past year, the company was fined $400,000 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Burlington-based company has the highest fine in North Carolina dating back as far as 2009.
As you undoubtedly are well aware, North Carolina law requires that any public construction project requiring an estimated total expenditure of greater than $500,000 (or an estimated expenditure on supplies and materials greater than $90,000) be subject to formal bidding procedures. Further, the state or municipality soliciting the bids is required to accept “the lowest responsible bidder.” Some of the factors taken into consideration when determining what a responsible bid is includes performance, quality, and time to completion as specified in the bid.
Knowing that the contract must go to the lowest responsible bidder, contractors may be tempted to cut corners by hiring undocumented workers, who work for less pay than their documented counterparts. By hiring such workers, contractors can lower labor costs significantly, making them much more likely to be the bidder who wins the lucrative project.
Immigration fines may not cause Triangle Grading to lose all potential public clients. The DOT has stated that, when conducting the yearly review of its list of contractors, that while “safety records will be considered […] immigration fines would not be a factor.” However, Winston-Salem is investigating whether these immigration violations should merit a removal from the bid list.
What are your experiences with the requirement of “lowest responsible bidder” on state projects? Are there changes that need to be made to the program? Can the system be gamed? Post in the comment section, below.
And, if you have not already signed up for email delivery of these posts, please do so on the right hand side of the blog’s main page. You’ll not only never miss another post, but you’ll also get a copy of my free white paper on the 7 critical mistakes that engineers and architects make on construction projects.
Photo: (c) albi(francesca perani)
Today we welcome another guest author to the blog– Jonathan Newby. Jonathan is in the brokerage business, and runs a website relating to brokerage fees. Thanks Jonathan for your sharing your thoughts today.
Arbitration may be a better alternative to some construction disputes, assuming that you use a qualified and skilled arbitrator or arbitration panel. Here are five benefits for using arbitration over litigation:
These are five reasons why arbitration may be better for your construction dispute, so consider using an arbitration provision in your next construction contract.
Editor’s Note: As I’ve previously noted, there are pros and cons to arbitration in lieu of trial. The better venue is in part based on the type and size of contract, as well as numerous other subjective considerations. Discuss whether arbitration is appropriate for you with your construction law attorney.
Thoughts, comments, or questions? Drop Jonathan or me a note in the comments section, below.
Photo (c) freefoto.com.
A lawsuit could cost your company thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of dollars. You will spend more time with your lawyer than you’d like– time you’d otherwise be able to spend on your business. Sound fun? Of course not.
What can you do to lessen your risks of a lawsuit?
Take a few minutes right now to download my free 6 page white paper entitled 7 Critical Mistakes that Engineers & Architects make that Sabatoge their Projects & Invite Litigation. If you know what these critical, yet common, mistakes are, you can take steps to minimize your risk of being sued.