General contractors bear primary responsibility for construction site safety. When workers are injured due to unsafe conditions, general contractor negligence often plays a central role. Understanding how general contractor liability works helps injured workers pursue appropriate compensation through third-party claims.
General Contractor Safety Duties
General contractors assume comprehensive safety responsibilities when managing construction projects. By taking control of the worksite, they accept duty to maintain safe conditions for all workers present, including subcontractor employees they don't directly employ.
Key safety duties include implementing site-wide safety programs, conducting regular hazard assessments, ensuring OSHA compliance across all trades, coordinating activities between subcontractors to prevent conflicts, and correcting known hazards regardless of which subcontractor created them.
OSHA's Multi-Employer Citation Policy holds general contractors accountable as "controlling employers" who can be cited for hazards affecting any workers on site, even if subcontractors created those hazards. This regulatory framework reinforces civil liability.
Sources of General Contractor Liability
Retained control over the worksite creates the primary basis for general contractor liability. When general contractors direct how work is performed, control access to work areas, or make safety decisions, they become responsible for resulting injuries.
Contractual safety obligations create additional duties. Many construction contracts require general contractors to maintain safety programs, conduct inspections, and ensure subcontractor compliance. Breach of these obligations supports negligence claims.
Non-delegable duties prevent general contractors from escaping liability by assigning safety responsibilities to subcontractors. Even with contractual indemnification, general contractors remain liable to injured workers - they can only seek contribution from subcontractors after paying claims.
Common General Contractor Negligence
Failure to implement adequate safety programs causes numerous construction injuries. Effective programs require written safety plans, regular training, hazard communication, and enforcement mechanisms. Many general contractors have paper programs without real implementation.
Inadequate site inspections allow hazards to persist uncorrected. General contractors should conduct daily safety walks, document hazards discovered, and verify corrections. Failure to inspect or follow up on known hazards demonstrates negligence.
Coordination failures between subcontractors create dangerous conditions. When multiple trades work simultaneously, the general contractor must sequence activities safely and ensure each subcontractor's work doesn't endanger others. Scheduling pressure often leads to unsafe overlap.
Cost-cutting on safety measures frequently contributes to injuries. General contractors who underbid projects may skimp on safety equipment, training, or supervision. Pressure to meet deadlines often leads to shortcuts that endanger workers.
Evidence of General Contractor Negligence
OSHA citations against the general contractor provide direct evidence of safety failures. Citation history showing repeated violations demonstrates systematic negligence. Willful violations indicate conscious disregard for worker safety.
Safety meeting records reveal whether hazards were known and discussed. Meeting minutes showing unaddressed concerns prove the general contractor knew of dangers but failed to act. Absence of required meetings demonstrates program failures.
Project documents including contracts, schedules, and correspondence reveal safety responsibilities and how they were (or weren't) fulfilled. Emails and texts often contain admissions about known hazards or cost-cutting decisions.
Defenses to General Contractor Liability
General contractors commonly claim they didn't control the work that caused injury. However, courts examine actual site control, not just contractual language. Daily presence, authority over subcontractors, and safety program involvement establish control.
Sole negligence of the subcontractor may limit general contractor liability in some cases. However, this defense requires showing the general contractor had no duty regarding the specific hazard and couldn't reasonably have prevented the injury.
Comparative negligence arguments attribute fault to the injured worker. Worker misconduct may reduce recovery but rarely eliminates it entirely. General contractors must show they fulfilled their safety duties despite worker actions.
Multi-Prime Projects
Some projects use multiple prime contractors without a single general contractor. In these arrangements, each prime contractor bears responsibility for their scope of work but questions arise about overall site safety.
Construction managers may assume general contractor duties depending on their level of involvement. CM-at-risk arrangements typically create greater liability than CM-agent arrangements where the owner retains more control.
When no party has clear overall control, courts examine actual authority exercised on site to determine who should have prevented injuries. Multiple parties may share liability.
Insurance and Indemnification
General contractors typically carry commercial general liability (CGL) insurance that covers bodily injury claims. Policy limits often reach millions of dollars, providing substantial resources for injury compensation.
Subcontracts usually require subcontractors to indemnify general contractors for injuries arising from subcontractor negligence. However, anti-indemnity statutes in many states limit or void provisions requiring indemnification for the general contractor's own negligence.
Additional insured status on subcontractor policies provides another layer of coverage for general contractors. Injured workers benefit from multiple insurance sources available for compensation.
Pursuing Claims Against General Contractors
Document the general contractor's site presence and control through photographs, daily logs, and witness statements. Note whose supervisors directed work, who controlled access, and who addressed safety concerns.
Obtain OSHA records, project contracts, and safety program documents. Expert witnesses can analyze how general contractor failures contributed to injuries and what safety measures should have been implemented.
Third-party claims against general contractors proceed separately from workers' compensation. Consult an experienced construction accident attorney who understands the complex relationships and insurance coverage on construction projects.