The importance of documenting events near the construction site
Dec 28, 2022
By Attorney Shikma Levi Ezra
Events that occur off-site but in immediate proximity to it often result in claims that are filed a year or two later and link the project work to the causes of the event.
In many cases where an incident occurs outside the site scene, in which a passerby is injured as a result of a hazard on the sidewalk, obstacles in the area, etc., site employees notice the incident and naturally assist the injured person.
A careless cyclist who rides on a sidewalk, flips over his bike and is injured – claims a year later that as a result of the project work, the sidewalk was damaged and therefore he was injured. The site workers who left it to help him – become at fault for the incident.
By Attorney Shikma Levi Ezra / Manager of the Claims and Contracts Department
Events that occur off-site but in immediate proximity to it often result in claims that are filed a year or two later and link the project work to the causes of the event.
In many cases where an incident occurs outside the site scene, in which a passerby is injured as a result of a hazard on the sidewalk, obstacles in the area, etc., site employees notice the incident and naturally assist the injured person.
A careless cyclist who rides on a sidewalk, flips over his bike and is injured – claims a year later that as a result of the project work, the sidewalk was damaged and therefore he was injured. The site workers who left it to help him – become at fault for the incident.
Recommendation - Document the event, the environment, and the circumstances
In light of this, we do not recommend refraining from providing assistance to a person in such a case, but the act of documenting the event in real time is of great importance! It is even recommended to define it as mandatory within the company's work procedures.
Already at the stage of assisting the injured worker, the employee must recognize that at that moment the potential for a lawsuit has arisen and must act immediately to document the incident and the surroundings, knowing clearly that the documentation will serve his employer well in the event of a lawsuit from the injured worker alleging negligence or negligence on the part of the contractor who worked on the nearby site.
Documentation is a very important tool and supports verification of the details of the circumstances of the incident.
The documentation will not necessarily work in the contractor's favor, but it must first be carried out as part of the work managers and then its importance and use must be examined in accordance with the claims made by the injured party.
If false claims are made – we have real-time documentation!!
In light of this, we do not recommend refraining from providing assistance to a person in such a case, but the act of documenting the event in real time is of great importance! It is even recommended to define it as mandatory within the company's work procedures.
Already at the stage of assisting the injured worker, the employee must recognize that at that moment the potential for a lawsuit has arisen and must act immediately to document the incident and the surroundings, knowing clearly that the documentation will serve his employer well in the event of a lawsuit from the injured worker alleging negligence or negligence on the part of the contractor who worked on the nearby site.
The documentation will not necessarily work in the contractor's favor, but it must first be carried out as part of the work managers and then its importance and use must be examined in accordance with the claims made by the injured party.
If false claims are made – we have real-time documentation!!
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