On most job sites around Springfield, there is a property owner, a general contractor, and two or three subcontractors. Who pays for an employee’s injuries when a workplace accident happens? Missouri law has a specific answer for that, and our attorneys can make that answer simple (and actionable) for you.
Securing workers' comp for construction workers in Missouri only starts with identifying who should cover your losses. It is usually the first of several obstacles in a construction claim.
This is what we handle at Hall Ansley, P.C. Construction has its own wrinkles, and most of them show up before the first medical bill does.
Table of contents
- Why Do Missouri Construction Workers Face So Much Risk?
- Who Pays My Workers' Comp Claim After an Accident on a Missouri Construction Site?
- What Injuries Can Warrant a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Missouri?
- What Benefits Can Injured Construction Workers Receive in Missouri?
- When Do Injured Parties File Third-Party Claims Alongside a Workers' Comp Claim?
- FAQs: Workers' Compensation for Construction Workers in Missouri
- Your Missouri Workers’ Comp Claim Can’t Wait. Let’s Sort Out Who Owes You Compensation, and How We Will Pursue it for You.
Key Takeaways:
- Under Missouri's statutory employer rule, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.040, a general contractor or principal contractor may be responsible for workers' compensation benefits even when the injured worker was directly employed by a subcontractor, provided the statute's requirements are satisfied
- Construction has one of the highest injury and fatality rates of any U.S. industry, driven largely by falls, struck-by incidents, electrocution, and being caught in or between equipment
- Some construction employers classify workers as independent contractors, a status that is not covered by workers' compensation insurance
- Written notice of an injury is due within 30 days, and on multi-contractor sites, notice to the wrong company can create real delays
- Claims generally must be filed within two years of the injury or the last payment, or three years if the injury report was never filed.
- A separate claim may exist against an equipment supplier, property owner, or another contractor on the site, subject to Missouri's pure comparative fault rule
Why Do Missouri Construction Workers Face So Much Risk?
Construction carries more risk than almost any other line of work, and the numbers back that up. Construction is explicitly named in OSHA data as one of the most lethal professions, and non-fatal injuries are all too common in this laborious field of work.
Four common injury risks in construction are:
- Falls
- Struck-by incidents
- Electrocution
- Caught-in or caught-between accidents
Nail gun and power tool injuries rarely make the fatality statistics, but they fill emergency rooms across Southwest Missouri on a regular basis. The list of hazards on construction sites is lengthy, ranging from acute injuries to long-term occupational disease from repeated exposure. Insurance companies, used to dealing with these claims, may take a cookie-cutter, cost-mitigation approach to your construction site injury workers' comp claim.
Who Pays My Workers' Comp Claim After an Accident on a Missouri Construction Site?
Missouri answers this question through the statutory employer doctrine, as set forth in RSMo 287.040. In plain terms, a general contractor can be treated as the employer of a subcontractor's employees for workers' compensation in Missouri's construction industry when a few conditions are present:
- The work was being done under a contract
- The injury happened on or about the premises where the general contractor's business is carried out
- The work being done was part of the general contractor's usual business, not something outside its normal scope
That rule exists because subcontractors sometimes go uninsured, disappear, or point fingers, and someone still has to pay. This rule can also materially affect how your claim unfolds, and it’s the kind of nuanced legal consideration that highlights why you should engage an attorney from our team.
How the “Independent Contractor Trap” Might Affect You
Being labeled an independent contractor does not automatically strip you of workers' comp rights, since Missouri law looks at how the job actually worked, not just the label on paper. Some construction employers use the independent contractor label specifically because that classification is not covered by workers' compensation insurance.
When evaluating whether you were misclassified, your attorney will consider:
- Who set the schedule and the hours worked each day?
- Who supplied the tools, materials, and equipment on-site?
- Who directed how, where, and in what order the work got done?
- Whether the worker was free to take on other jobs at the same time
If you were told you were a contractor but never had any real independence over how the job got done, you might have grounds for a workers’ compensation claim.
What Injuries Can Warrant a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Missouri?
Framing and roofing crews working the residential growth around Ozark and Nixa deal with different conditions than a crew on a downtown Springfield commercial build. Construction takes many forms, and the particular tasks you engage in and the type of site you work on can heighten your risk for particular injuries.
That said, we see clients who need compensation because of:
- Falls from roofs, ladders, and scaffolding (which can become more frequent on icy Missouri mornings)
- Heat-related illness (including from work done on unshaded roofs during Ozarks summers)
- Overexertion and repetitive strain and stress injuries
- Trench collapses
- Heavy equipment accidents
The nature of your injury will be central to your claim’s value and how the claims process takes shape.
When Do Injured Construction Workers Have to Report Their Injury?
Missouri requires written notice of an injury within 30 days, per RSMo 287.420. Sounds simple enough, right? Think again.
Many construction workers report their injuries to the nearest authority, often a site superintendent, who may not work for the company legally responsible for the injury.
Instead, workers should always submit a written notice of injury that includes:
- The date, time, and exact location of the accident
- A detailed, specific description of how the injury happened
- Your name and the crew or subcontractor you were working under that day
We send copies of such notices to more than one company if there is any doubt about who the statutory employer is.
Verbal notice provided to the wrong person, or written notice that never makes it up the chain from a job-site foreman to the actual employer of record, can become a hindrance to a Missouri workers’ compensation claim.
Is There a Deadline to File a Construction Worker's Compensation Claim in Missouri?
Yes. RSMo 287.430 sets the clock for a construction worker's compensation claim in Missouri based on a few possible starting points:
- Two years from the date of the injury, which applies in most cases
- Two years from the date of the last payment made on the claim
- Three years from the date of injury if the employer never filed the required injury report
A worker who spent a year and a half wrongly assuming an employer was "handling it" can be startled to find that, instead, their window for filing a claim is nearly closed. It is always worth speaking with an attorney right away, and our guide on how to file a workers' comp claim in Missouri walks through the full process, so the filing deadline does not pass you by.
What Benefits Can Injured Construction Workers Receive in Missouri?
Your benefits will depend on your injury, how your recovery progresses, and possibly other relevant considerations. That said, your recovery might include (or reflect):
- The cost of medical treatment for care related to the injury
- Temporary total disability, which pays roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage during the time in which you are unable to work (up to a cap that changes each year)
- Temporary partial disability, covering part of the income gap if someone returns to lighter duty at reduced pay
- Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits, to be paid after your doctor determines you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), meaning your condition has stabilized and is not expected to improve with additional treatment
- Mileage reimbursement for medical appointments and, in some cases, vocational retraining
Securing compensation for any covered loss requires documentation specific to your actual injury and job duties, rather than generic descriptions.
When Do Injured Parties File Third-Party Claims Alongside a Workers' Comp Claim?
Workers' comp is often an injured worker’s only remedy for seeking compensation through their employer. However, if a third party other than your employer or a co-worker caused your injury, you may be able to sue them separately while still collecting workers' comp.
Whether that negligent third party is an equipment manufacturer, general contractor, property owner, or someone else, you should know that:
- While workers' comp pays medical costs and partial wages regardless of fault, a third-party suit may cover damages that workers’ compensation insurance does not
- If you win or settle a third-party claim, your employer's workers' comp insurer may have a subrogation right to be reimbursed from that recovery
One of our Missouri workers’ compensation attorneys can advise you whether a third-party claim is an option (and whether it is the right strategy for you).
FAQs: Workers' Compensation for Construction Workers in Missouri
A few questions come up often enough on construction claims that they are worth answering directly.
The general contractor says my injury was the subcontractor's responsibility. Now what?
This kind of line is often an opening move in a dispute, not the final answer. Missouri's statutory employer rule can still make the general contractor responsible, depending on the contract structure and whether the subcontractor carried insurance. Don't assume the conversation is over just because someone points a finger elsewhere on the job site.
My employer says I was a 1099 contractor, not an employee. Does that end my claim?
We will evaluate your employment circumstances to determine if their claim is true. If you meet the criteria of a misclassified employee, your employer's claim could be false, and you may have a valid workers' comp claim to pursue. A 1099 form alone does not settle how you were actually treated on the job.
I was hurt driving between two job sites on the same day. Is that a covered event?
Generally, yes, if the travel was part of your job duties rather than your regular commute to a single fixed site. Site-to-site travel during the workday is treated differently from the drive to your first job of the day, and that distinction often decides whether the claim is covered.
I was hurt on a weekend or after regular work hours on the job site. Does that matter?
Not necessarily. If you were doing work-related tasks, even outside normal hours, the injury can still be compensable, though insurers sometimes use odd timing to raise questions about whether the work was truly job-related. What you were actually doing at the time matters more than the hour on the clock.
Does a pre-existing back problem get covered if construction work made it worse?
Aggravation of an existing condition through job duties can be compensable, though these claims usually require detailed medical evidence connecting the work activity to the exacerbation of the pre-existing condition. Insurers often push back hardest on this exact type of claim.
My employer is based in Springfield, but I got hurt on a job outside Greene County. Does that change anything?
Usually not for eligibility, though it can affect where a claim is filed and which office handles it. Where the injury happened, not where the company is headquartered, generally drives that procedural detail.
I’m worried about my employer retaliating. Is this a legitimate concern?
Missouri law already prohibits an employer from discharging or discriminating against someone for filing a claim, under RSMo 287.780. However, even if you fear retaliation of any kind (including harmful “word of mouth”), injured workers need fair compensation.
Your foremost concern must be taking care of your medical costs, income loss, and other losses that have resulted (and may continue to result) from your injury.
Your Missouri Workers’ Comp Claim Can’t Wait. Let’s Sort Out Who Owes You Compensation, and How We Will Pursue it for You.
If you were hurt on a construction site anywhere around Springfield, Greene County, Joplin, or Branson, the most productive step you can take is to contact Hall Ansley. Our extensive experience representing injured construction workers allows us to provide you with accurate, straight-to-the-point guidance and answers.
Call Hall Ansley, P.C. at 417-890-8700 so we can start drafting the roadmap for your workers' comp claim and any third-party lawsuit you may pursue.