Palm Beach County · Construction Accident Attorney · Hablamos Español
Injured on a Palm Beach County construction site? Workers’ comp is rarely the whole story. Attorney Marcos Gonzalez recovered $4 Million for a single construction accident victim. Free evaluation 24/7 — no fees unless we win.
Palm Beach County is one of the most construction-active counties in the United States. The Westlake master-planned community near Loxahatchee, the Avenir development in Palm Beach Gardens, the Alton development in Palm Beach Gardens, Canyon Trails in Boynton Beach, and multiple high-rise residential and commercial towers in downtown West Palm Beach together represent tens of thousands of active construction workers across hundreds of active job sites at any given time. Infrastructure projects along I-95, Southern Boulevard, and the Florida Turnpike employ additional thousands. The county’s healthcare sector is expanding with new hospital wings and medical campus construction. The coastal resort industry constantly renovates and builds new hotel and resort facilities.
Construction is the most dangerous industry in Florida by fatality rate. Falls from scaffolding and ladders — the leading cause of construction fatalities nationally — are a daily risk on Palm Beach County’s multi-story projects. Struck-by accidents from cranes, forklifts, and falling materials take lives and produce catastrophic injuries. Electrical contacts with overhead lines and unprotected current take the lives of electricians, roofing crews, and workers operating heavy equipment in proximity to power infrastructure. Trench and excavation collapses are among the most deadly single-incident accidents in the industry.
When a construction accident occurs on a Palm Beach County job site, the workers’ compensation system is activated. Workers’ comp provides medical treatment and partial wage replacement — but it does not compensate for pain and suffering, and it is administered by an insurance carrier whose incentive is to minimize benefits. The far more important question in construction accident cases is whether a third-party claim exists. On most commercial and large residential job sites, the general contractor is legally responsible for overall site safety. When the general contractor — or any subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or other third party — contributed to the accident, a separate civil lawsuit is available that can recover full damages.
Attorney Marcos Gonzalez’s $4 million recovery for a partially paralyzed Palm Beach County construction worker illustrates exactly what full representation looks like. That result was not achieved through workers’ compensation alone — it required identifying the general contractor’s liability, building a comprehensive OSHA violation record, retaining experts to establish negligence, and litigating with the commitment to take the case to trial. This is the standard of representation every Advocates USA construction accident client receives.
Compensation available to victims in Palm Beach County:
Do not sign workers’ comp settlement documents without Advocates USA reviewing your case for third-party liability. You may be releasing claims worth far more than the settlement offered. Call (877) 872-4878.
Advocates USA has represented construction workers injured throughout all of Palm Beach County. These are the most active project types and locations where serious injuries occur most frequently.
The Westlake master-planned community is one of the largest active developments in Florida, encompassing residential, commercial, school, and infrastructure phases across thousands of acres in western Palm Beach County. The scale of the project — multiple general contractors, dozens of subcontractors, and continuous heavy equipment operations — creates the complex multi-party environment where third-party liability most commonly applies. Falls, struck-by accidents, and electrical incidents are the primary injury types on projects of this scale.
Avenir is a large-scale mixed-use development in the northwest portion of Palm Beach Gardens that includes residential neighborhoods, a hotel component, retail, and medical facilities. Multi-story construction creates fall hazards from unprotected edges, scaffolding systems, and ladder work. Simultaneous trade activities create coordinated hazard exposures that the general contractor is responsible for managing. When that management fails, injured workers have strong third-party claims.
The downtown West Palm Beach corridor along Flagler Drive, Clematis Street, and the Rosemary Square area is home to multiple active high-rise residential and commercial projects. Construction at elevation brings the full range of catastrophic risks — edge falls, scaffolding collapses, material hoisting accidents, and complex crane operations over occupied streets. OSHA monitors these urban sites closely, and violations create valuable evidence in third-party claims.
The BRIC redevelopment of the former IBM campus in Boca Raton is one of the most significant commercial construction projects in South Florida. Multiple tenants, multiple building phases, and concurrent trades create a complex safety management challenge. Research, lab, and tech facility construction involves specific electrical and chemical hazards beyond typical commercial construction. Workers injured on BRIC construction phases have both workers’ comp and potential third-party claims.
Active FDOT infrastructure projects along I-95 throughout Palm Beach County — interchange reconstructions at Boynton Beach Boulevard, Glades Road, and PGA Boulevard — employ large crews in high-speed active traffic environments. Workers face traffic intrusion, heavy equipment operations, utility conflicts, and overhead electrical hazards. FDOT and OSHA maintain strict documentation of these projects, producing rich evidence records for injured workers’ claims.
Major hospital expansion and construction throughout Palm Beach County — JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, and Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach — involves complex multi-trade construction in occupied healthcare environments. Healthcare construction involves additional regulatory layers from The Joint Commission, creating extra documentation of safety protocols and violations.
Construction and renovation of resort properties along Singer Island, Palm Beach island, and in Boca Raton involves working at height on oceanfront structures, often with asbestos and hazardous material risks in older buildings, and complex scaffolding on irregular facades. General contractors managing resort renovations carry significant liability for the safety of every worker on site.
Large-scale residential tract development in Canyon Trails and similar communities in western Boynton Beach employs hundreds of framing, roofing, electrical, and finishing crews in environments where fall protection compliance is frequently inadequate. Roofing fall accidents are one of the most common causes of catastrophic construction injuries in Palm Beach County. When roofing contractors or general contractors fail to provide required fall protection, their liability is clear.
Construction and maintenance work at the Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach involves maritime construction, heavy equipment, crane operations, and vessel interface hazards unique to the marine environment. Workers injured in maritime construction may have claims under federal maritime law — the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act — in addition to or instead of Florida workers’ comp. Advocates USA navigates both systems.
The Congress Avenue corridor through Boynton Beach and Lake Worth continues to see significant commercial construction — retail centers, office buildings, medical facilities, and industrial projects. Construction in dense commercial areas with active traffic requires additional safety protocols for protecting workers from vehicle intrusion and for managing material delivery conflicts. Violations of these protocols by general contractors create third-party liability.
Wellington’s equestrian community generates unique construction activity — barn construction, arena building, and equestrian facility renovation — in addition to the residential and commercial development serving this affluent community. Equestrian facility construction involves large structural spans, significant heights, and specialty materials. Workers injured on these projects have the same workers’ comp and third-party rights as workers on any other construction site.
Infill development in Lantana and Lake Worth Beach involves renovation and new construction in dense existing neighborhoods with space constraints that create additional construction hazard exposure. Limited staging areas, proximity to occupied buildings, and utility conflicts are common complicating factors. Injured workers on infill projects often have viable third-party claims against general contractors who failed to manage these unique site conditions safely.
What Florida law says about your claim
All construction employers in Florida must carry workers’ compensation insurance regardless of the number of employees. Injured construction workers are entitled to all medically necessary treatment, temporary disability benefits at 66.67% of average weekly wages, permanent impairment benefits, and vocational rehabilitation. You have the right to a one-time change of authorized treating physician.
When any party other than your direct employer contributed to your injury — the general contractor, a subcontractor, an equipment manufacturer, or the property owner — a civil lawsuit for full damages including pain and suffering is available and runs independently of your workers’ comp claim. Statute of limitations: 2 years from the date of injury under Florida Statutes 95.11(3)(a).
OSHA’s construction safety standards establish the legal duty of care for all construction employers. Violations of these standards — documented in OSHA investigation files and citation records — are powerful evidence of negligence in both workers’ comp disputes and third-party claims. Advocates USA obtains all OSHA records as a first step in every construction accident investigation.
When construction equipment — scaffolding components, cranes, forklifts, power tools, safety devices — fails due to design or manufacturing defects, the manufacturer faces strict liability under Florida law. Product liability claims are pursued alongside third-party and workers’ comp claims for maximum total recovery.
Florida law requires this. Do it in writing, keep a copy, and document who received your report and when. This starts your workers’ comp claim.
Workers’ comp requires use of authorized physicians. Advocates USA helps you understand your rights to proper medical care, including the right to a one-time physician change if needed.
Photograph the exact accident location, equipment involved (including serial numbers if accessible), safety conditions, missing barriers or guards, and your injuries. Get witness names and contact information.
If defective equipment contributed to your injury, request that your employer preserve it — do not allow it to be repaired, modified, or disposed of. A defective product claim requires the physical product.
Do not sign any workers’ comp settlement, medical authorization, or release before Advocates USA reviews your full third-party liability picture. You may be permanently releasing claims worth far more.
We evaluate workers’ comp, identify all third-party liability targets, secure OSHA records, and pursue maximum recovery across all available claims.
OSHA investigation files, citation records, prior violation history, site safety plans — we obtain all available regulatory documentation before it becomes harder to access.
We identify the complete contractor chain — general contractor, every subcontractor, property owner, and equipment supplier — and evaluate each party’s contribution to your accident.
We retain construction safety experts, OSHA compliance specialists, accident reconstruction experts, and life care planners to build the strongest possible case.
We ensure you receive every benefit you are entitled to under Chapter 440 — the correct impairment rating, full wage replacement, authorized treatment for all injuries, and vocational rehabilitation if needed.
When equipment failure contributed to your injury, we investigate the manufacturer’s design history, recall records, and prior incident reports to build the strongest possible product defect claim.
Advocates USA is a trial firm. We prepare every construction accident case as if it will go to trial — because that preparation is what produces maximum settlements and maximum jury verdicts.
Attorney Marcos Gonzalez worked inside major insurance companies before representing injured people. He knows every tactic they use to deny and minimize claims — and applies that insider knowledge against them every single day.
The highest peer-awarded rating in the legal profession for legal ability and ethical standards. Recognized by judges and fellow attorneys across Florida — not purchased through advertising.
Over half a billion dollars won for injury victims across South Florida. Individual verdicts up to $4 million. These are results real clients received — not marketing promises.
Our entire team is fully bilingual. We serve Palm Beach County’s large Spanish-speaking community with complete, dedicated legal representation in their language — from first call through final settlement.
Accidents don’t follow a schedule. Neither do we. Call any hour — we answer and we act immediately to protect your evidence and your case.
Zero upfront cost, zero hourly fees, zero payment unless we win. Our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you. If we don’t win — you owe us absolutely nothing.
Our Results
A sample of results for clients across Palm Beach County and South Florida. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Advocates USA represents injury victims in every city throughout Palm Beach County
Advocates USA handles all personal injury cases throughout Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, Florida
Yes — but not against your direct employer. Florida workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer. However, when a third party contributed to your injury — a general contractor, subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or design professional — you can file a separate personal injury lawsuit against that party. These third-party claims can recover full damages including pain and suffering, which workers’ comp does not provide. Advocates USA evaluates both claims in every construction accident case.
The most frequently cited OSHA violations in Palm Beach County construction cases include fall protection failures (29 CFR 1926.502), unguarded floor and wall openings, inadequate scaffolding (29 CFR 1926.451), failure to lock out electrical energy sources during maintenance, unprotected excavations and trenches, and lack of adequate safety training and supervision. OSHA citations create powerful evidence of the standard of care that was violated and often establish negligence per se in third-party claims.
A product liability claim against the equipment manufacturer is entirely separate from both your workers’ comp claim and any claim against the contractor. If a piece of construction equipment — a crane, forklift, scaffold component, power tool, or safety device — failed due to a design or manufacturing defect and that failure contributed to your injury, the manufacturer faces strict liability under Florida law. These claims often produce significant additional recovery.
Potentially liable parties include the general contractor (overall site safety responsibility), subcontractors (their crew and work areas), property owners (pre-existing site conditions), equipment manufacturers (product liability), equipment rental companies (if improper equipment was supplied), and design professionals (if engineering errors created unsafe conditions). Advocates USA identifies every liable party and pursues all available sources of compensation simultaneously.
Florida workers’ compensation and personal injury protections apply regardless of immigration status. You have the right to medical treatment, wage benefits, and a personal injury claim — regardless of your documentation. We handle cases involving undocumented workers with complete confidentiality and legal protection. Hablamos Español — call us in Spanish.
For workers’ compensation, report the injury within 30 days. For a third-party personal injury claim, Florida Statutes 95.11(3)(a) gives you 2 years from the date of injury. Construction site evidence — equipment configurations, scaffolding, safety conditions — changes rapidly as work continues. Call Advocates USA immediately so we can preserve what proves your case.
Major active projects with elevated injury risk include Westlake near Loxahatchee, the Avenir development in Palm Beach Gardens, downtown West Palm Beach high-rise construction, the I-95 widening throughout the county, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus redevelopment, and numerous large residential developments throughout Wellington and western Boynton Beach. Advocates USA is familiar with the contractor chains, safety histories, and liability structures of major Palm Beach County construction projects.
Advocates USA recovered $4 million for a man who was partially paralyzed in a work accident on a Palm Beach County construction site. This result — one of our firm’s largest individual recoveries — was built on a comprehensive third-party liability claim against the general contractor, supplemented by workers’ comp benefits. It reflects our commitment to pursuing every available avenue of compensation for catastrophically injured construction workers, not accepting the workers’ comp offer as the end of the road.
Possibly — depending on the specific circumstances. Florida’s comparative fault system means you can recover even if your own failure to wear PPE was partially responsible, as long as you are not more than 50% at fault. If the employer failed to provide PPE, failed to enforce its use, or the PPE provided was defective, the employer or manufacturer bears significant fault regardless of whether you wore it. Call Advocates USA for a fact-specific evaluation.
Yes — Hablamos Español. A large percentage of Palm Beach County’s construction workforce speaks Spanish as their first language. Our fully bilingual team represents injured construction workers throughout the county with complete legal representation in Spanish, from the first call through the final check.
Workers’ compensation coverage does not disappear if your employer goes out of business — the insurance carrier remains liable. However, a bankrupt or dissolved employer complicates collection on any direct judgment against the employer. Third-party claims against the general contractor or other solvent parties become even more important in this scenario. Call Advocates USA immediately to protect your rights.
Workers’ comp may be just the beginning. Find out if a third-party claim applies to your case. Free evaluation, 24/7, in English and Spanish. No fees unless we win.
Call (877) 872-4878 — Free, 24/7
Hablamos Español · Greenacres, FL · Serving All of Palm Beach County
