Accident Lawyer Construction Accident 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A worker develops silicosis years after cutting concrete without respiratory protection. When does the statute of limitations typically begin to run?
- When the worker discovers or reasonably should have discovered the disease and its cause (Correct answer)
- On the first day of concrete-cutting work
- On the worker's retirement date
- Occupational diseases have no limitations period
Correct answer: When the worker discovers or reasonably should have discovered the disease and its cause
The discovery rule starts the limitations clock when the latent occupational disease and its likely cause become reasonably knowable.
Question 2: Which duty do most states impose on a general contractor regarding overall job-site conditions?
- A duty to maintain reasonably safe common work areas it controls (Correct answer)
- No duty whatsoever to subcontractors' employees
- A duty to personally supervise every worker
- A duty limited to providing drinking water
Correct answer: A duty to maintain reasonably safe common work areas it controls
General contractors typically owe a duty of reasonable care for site safety in areas and activities under their control.
Question 3: A scaffold plank purchased new snapped under normal load, and testing shows substandard lumber grading. Which products liability theory fits best?
- Manufacturing/quality defect (Correct answer)
- Failure to warn
- Negligent hiring
- Design patent infringement
Correct answer: Manufacturing/quality defect
A unit that fails to meet its own specifications due to substandard material is a classic manufacturing defect claim.
Question 4: What is the primary legal purpose of an indemnification clause between a general contractor and subcontractor?
- To shift financial responsibility for injury claims from one party to the other (Correct answer)
- To set the project completion date
- To waive all OSHA obligations
- To determine union membership requirements
Correct answer: To shift financial responsibility for injury claims from one party to the other
Indemnity clauses allocate who ultimately pays for liability arising from job-site injuries.
Question 5: A worker is electrocuted when a boom lift contacts an unmarked, sagging power line. Besides the employer, which party is a likely third-party defendant?
- The utility company that maintained the power line (Correct answer)
- The worker's labor union
- The state licensing board
- The worker's health insurer
Correct answer: The utility company that maintained the power line
Utilities owe a duty to maintain and mark power lines near work zones and are common third-party defendants in contact cases.
Question 6: What must a construction worker generally prove to win an intentional tort exception suit against their own employer?
- The employer acted with actual intent or substantial certainty that injury would occur (Correct answer)
- Ordinary negligence by a supervisor
- Any violation of an OSHA standard
- That the injury caused more than one week of lost work
Correct answer: The employer acted with actual intent or substantial certainty that injury would occur
Piercing comp exclusivity requires showing deliberate intent to injure or knowledge that injury was substantially certain, a very high bar.
Question 7: Which category of damages is available in a third-party construction lawsuit but NOT through workers' compensation?
- Pain and suffering (Correct answer)
- Medical expenses
- Partial wage replacement
- Vocational rehabilitation
Correct answer: Pain and suffering
Workers' compensation pays medical and wage benefits but never non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Accident Lawyer Construction Accident 4
A worker develops silicosis years after cutting concrete without respiratory protection.
When does the statute of limitations typically begin to run?