West Virginia Construction Accident Lawyers

By J. Brandon Shumaker and J. Tyler Slavey  ·  Slavey & Shumaker PLLC  ·  Morgantown, WV  ·  Last updated November 12, 2026

Construction keeps growing around Morgantown and across North Central West Virginia, from road and bridge projects to new housing, commercial buildings and university construction. Construction work involves heights, heavy equipment, power tools and moving vehicles, and the injuries can be life-changing.

Slavey & Shumaker PLLC helps construction workers, drivers and others injured in construction accidents throughout the State of West Virginia, including Monongalia, Preston, Marion and Harrison Counties. For related injuries, see our spinal cord injury page, our traumatic brain injury page and our serious injury page.

1. Who Gets Hurt in Construction Accidents

• Workers employed by general contractors, subcontractors and trade contractors
• Drivers and passengers in highway work zones
• Pedestrians and neighbors near construction sites
• Delivery drivers and other visitors to a job site

2. Common Construction Accidents

3. Workers: Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims

An employer that procures and continuously maintains workers’ compensation coverage and is in compliance with the law is generally immune from lawsuits for an employee’s injury (W. Va. Code § 23-2-6). Employer immunity does not protect other companies. When a compensable injury is caused, in whole or in part, by a third party, the injured worker may receive workers’ compensation and still make a claim against that third party (§ 23-2A-1(a)).

Construction sites usually have many companies working at once. If you worked for one subcontractor, the general contractor, the other subcontractors, the property owner and the makers of the equipment you used may be third parties, depending on the facts. A third-party claim can recover damages workers’ compensation does not pay, including pain and suffering and full lost earnings. When there is a recovery, the workers’ compensation carrier or self-insured employer generally has statutory subrogation for the benefits it paid (§ 23-2A-1(b)(1)).

An employer can lose its immunity in narrow circumstances under the deliberate intent statute (W. Va. Code § 23-4-2). Slavey & Shumaker PLLC does not handle workers’ compensation or deliberate intent claims directly. We refer those claims to, and co-counsel with, other firms that handle the majority of that work. We can review whether you also have a claim against a third party, which is the part of the case we handle. See our workplace injury guide, our factory and industrial accident page and our oil, gas and pipeline injury page.

4. Who May Be Responsible

You can recover as long as your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of everyone else responsible, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault (W. Va. Code § 55-7-13c(c)). West Virginia generally holds each defendant liable only for its own percentage of fault (§ 55-7-13c(a)), so identifying every responsible company early matters.

5. Work Zones and the Public

People who do not work on a project can also be hurt by it: drivers in highway work zones, pedestrians walking past a site and neighbors hit by falling materials. These are ordinary injury claims, and the workers’ compensation rules do not limit them. A driver who caused a work zone crash, a contractor that set up the work zone unsafely or failed to warn the public, or another party may be responsible, depending on the facts. Claims involving a government body have their own rules and deadlines. See our car accident page and our pedestrian accident page.

6. Evidence in Construction Cases

• Contracts showing who controlled the site and who was responsible for safety
• Site safety plans, daily logs, inspection reports and meeting minutes
• Photographs and video of the scene, equipment and safety devices
• Equipment maintenance and inspection records
• OSHA records and inspection results, where they exist
• Witness statements from co-workers and others on the site

Construction sites change quickly, and the scene of an accident may be gone within days. Prompt preservation letters can protect equipment, records and video.

7. Compensation

A third-party claim may include medical bills and future care, full lost wages and reduced earning capacity, and pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. If a construction accident caused a death, see our wrongful death page.

8. Deadlines

Other deadlines can apply depending on the claim and the defendant. See our West Virginia filing deadlines guide.

9. Why Choose Slavey & Shumaker PLLC

Our attorneys, J. Tyler Slavey, J. Brandon Shumaker, Scott B. Harris and Kasey Libby, practice from our office at 174 Chancery Row in Morgantown. In construction cases, we send preservation letters early, identify every company that may be responsible and its insurer, work with qualified experts when needed, and coordinate with the workers’ compensation claim and the subrogation lien. The consultation is free, and personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no fee unless we recover. No lawyer can guarantee a result. You can read what past clients say in our more than 100 Google reviews.

10. Frequently Asked Questions About Construction Accidents

This page is provided for general informational purposes about West Virginia law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.