Palm Beach County · Work Injury Attorney · Hablamos Español
Hurt on the job in Palm Beach County? Workers’ comp is rarely the full picture. A third-party claim against a contractor, property owner, or equipment manufacturer can recover far more — including pain and suffering. Attorney Marcos Gonzalez recovered $4 million for one work accident victim. Free evaluation 24/7.
Palm Beach County is one of the most active construction and development markets in the United States. Major residential developments are rising throughout the county — Westlake near Loxahatchee, Avenir in Palm Beach Gardens, high-rise mixed-use projects in downtown West Palm Beach, and dozens of resort, commercial, and institutional construction projects along the coast. Infrastructure work continues on I-95, Southern Boulevard, and military Trail. Agricultural operations throughout the Glades employ thousands of farm workers in high-hazard environments. Warehousing and distribution centers along the I-95 corridor in Boynton Beach and Lake Worth employ large workforces around heavy equipment and racking systems. In all of these environments, serious work injuries occur every day.
When a worker is injured in Palm Beach County, the first response is almost always the workers’ compensation system — which provides medical treatment and partial wage replacement through the employer’s insurance carrier. Workers’ comp has a valuable role: it gets your medical treatment covered and keeps some income flowing during recovery. But it is fundamentally limited. It covers no pain and suffering. It replaces only a fraction of your lost wages. And it is frequently the subject of disputes, delays, and outright denials from insurance carriers whose financial interest is to minimize your benefits.
What most injured workers don’t know is that when any party other than their direct employer contributed to the accident, they have the right to file a completely separate personal injury lawsuit — one that can recover full pain and suffering, full lost wages, future care costs, and all other damages. On a construction site, the general contractor overseeing the project is legally responsible for maintaining a safe work environment. When they fail — by not requiring fall protection, allowing unsafe equipment to operate, or permitting hazardous conditions to persist — and a worker is hurt, they face full civil liability. Subcontractors, property owners, equipment manufacturers, and maintenance companies may all face similar claims.
Attorney Marcos Gonzalez’s $4 million recovery for a partially paralyzed Palm Beach County construction worker was built on exactly this framework: a workers’ comp claim ran in parallel with a third-party lawsuit against the general contractor, and the combined result reflected the true cost of a catastrophic injury. This is what full representation looks like — not accepting the workers’ comp settlement offer as the end of the road.
Compensation available to victims in Palm Beach County:
Do not sign workers’ comp settlement documents before Advocates USA reviews your case for third-party liability. Call (877) 872-4878 immediately — free evaluation, 24/7.
Advocates USA represents injured workers from every industry and job site type throughout Palm Beach County. These are the environments where serious and fatal work injuries occur most frequently.
The Westlake master-planned community near Loxahatchee is one of the largest active residential developments in Florida. Thousands of construction workers in multiple trades — concrete, framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing — work across the site under multiple general contractors and dozens of subcontractors. This complex multi-party environment makes both workers’ comp and third-party liability analysis essential for any injured worker on this project. Falls, struck-by accidents, and equipment incidents are the dominant injury types.
Avenir is a large-scale mixed-use development in northwest Palm Beach Gardens encompassing residential, retail, hotel, and medical components. Multi-story construction creates serious fall hazards from scaffolding, unprotected floor edges, and ladder accidents. The presence of multiple contractors working simultaneously creates overlapping responsibility for site safety — which is exactly the scenario where third-party liability against the general contractor becomes most valuable for injured workers.
West Palm Beach’s downtown corridor is undergoing rapid transformation with multiple high-rise residential and commercial towers under construction. High-rise projects carry the full spectrum of catastrophic accident risks — falls from extreme heights, crane operations over occupied streets, material hoisting accidents, and complex multi-trade electrical work. OSHA compliance on these projects is monitored closely, and violations are thoroughly documented.
FDOT and county road infrastructure projects throughout Palm Beach County — I-95 widening, interchange reconstructions, bridge projects — employ large crews in high-speed traffic environments. Workers face risks from traffic intrusion into work zones, heavy construction equipment, overhead electrical hazards, and trench operations. OSHA and FDOT have strict safety protocols for these projects, and violations are well-documented through regulatory records.
The Glades communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee — Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay — host one of the most productive agricultural areas in the United States. Farm workers operate heavy harvest equipment, work with chemicals and pesticides, ride transport vehicles on public roads, and work in intense South Florida heat. Equipment accidents, chemical exposure events, heat stroke, and transport vehicle crashes are among the most common serious injuries in this sector. Advocates USA serves Glades agricultural workers in Spanish.
Major distribution operations along the I-95 corridor — Amazon fulfillment, FedEx Ground, UPS, and numerous third-party logistics operators — employ thousands of workers in environments with forklift traffic, heavy pallet racking, conveyor systems, and loading dock operations. Forklift strikes, falling inventory, repetitive motion injuries, and loading dock falls are common. Third-party equipment manufacturer liability is a significant component of many warehouse injury cases.
Construction and renovation of resort properties along Singer Island, Palm Beach island, and in Boca Raton involves working at height on oceanfront structures with wind exposure, asbestos risk in older buildings, and complex scaffolding on irregular facade profiles. Hospitality company general contractors managing these sites carry significant liability when their safety protocols fail.
JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center employ large workforces of nurses, aides, and support staff who face daily risks of patient handling injuries, needle sticks, exposure incidents, and workplace violence. Healthcare workers are among the most injured employee groups in the county by volume, and their claims often involve both workers’ comp and third-party liability depending on the circumstances.
Florida’s year-round growing climate supports a massive landscaping industry throughout Palm Beach County. Commercial mower injuries, chainsaw and trimming equipment accidents, heat exhaustion and heat stroke during summer months, pesticide exposure, and vehicle accidents during transport between job sites are the primary injury categories. A significant portion of Palm Beach County’s landscaping workforce is Spanish-speaking, and Advocates USA serves them fully in their language.
The Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach is an active commercial freight and passenger ferry hub. Longshoremen, port maintenance workers, and logistics employees work in environments with heavy equipment, crane operations, large vehicle traffic, and maritime hazards. Port accidents involve a complex interplay of federal maritime law (Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act), state workers’ comp, and third-party liability — a combination that requires specialized legal knowledge.
Restaurant workers throughout Clematis Street, Atlantic Avenue, and the many dining corridors across Palm Beach County face daily risks from kitchen burns, slip and fall injuries on wet floors, repetitive motion disorders, and delivery-related accidents. Back injuries and laceration injuries are the most common. Third-party liability against property owners for unsafe kitchen configurations or maintenance failures is often available.
The Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRIC) redevelopment and multiple commercial office and research facility construction projects in Boca Raton’s tech corridor employ large crews in multi-story construction environments. Electrical contractors, HVAC installers, and specialty trades working alongside general construction crews operate in environments where coordination failures between trades create serious accident risk.
What Florida law says about your claim
Florida Statute 440 requires workers’ compensation insurance for all construction employers regardless of size, and for all other employers with four or more employees. As an injured worker, you are entitled to all medically necessary treatment through an authorized physician, temporary total or partial disability benefits at 66.67% of your average weekly wage, permanent impairment benefits if your injury produces permanent limitations, and vocational rehabilitation if you can no longer perform your pre-injury work. 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, you have the right to file a separate civil lawsuit for full damages. This is entirely separate from workers’ comp and can run simultaneously. Third-party defendants may include the general contractor (site safety responsibility), subcontractors (their work area responsibility), equipment manufacturers (product liability), property owners (premises liability), and maintenance companies (equipment maintenance failures). The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of injury under Florida Statutes 95.11(3)(a).
OSHA citations issued against an employer or contractor are powerful evidence of the standard of care that was violated. FDOT and local building department records also document safety requirements and site conditions. Advocates USA obtains all available regulatory records — OSHA investigation files, inspection records, prior violation history — as part of every construction and work injury case.
Florida prohibits employer retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Discharge, demotion, reduction in hours, or other adverse employment actions in connection with a claim are actionable. If you experience retaliation, document everything and call Advocates USA immediately.
Florida requires reporting within 30 days. Do it in writing, keep a copy, and record the date and the name of the supervisor you reported to. Verbal reports can be denied — written documentation is essential.
Workers’ comp requires treatment through an authorized physician in most cases. Seeking unauthorized treatment can create coverage complications. Advocates USA helps you understand your treatment rights from the start.
Photograph the exact location, the equipment involved, safety conditions, missing guards or barriers, and your injuries. Identify witnesses. Note any safety violations or missing required safety equipment. OSHA may investigate — these records become available through discovery.
Workers’ comp carriers move quickly to close claims. Do not sign any settlement agreement, Form DWC-16, or medical authorization releases without Advocates USA reviewing your complete case for third-party liability. What looks like a final settlement may be leaving millions on the table.
We evaluate workers’ comp rights, identify all third-party liability targets, send preservation demands for site safety records and equipment data, and pursue every available avenue of compensation simultaneously.
We review your entire workers’ comp claim — benefits owed, authorizations, physician assignments, impairment ratings — and challenge any deficiency aggressively through the adjudication process.
We investigate every contractor, property owner, equipment supplier, and other third party on the job site to identify every party whose negligence contributed to your injury.
We obtain all OSHA investigation files, prior citation history, and safety plan documentation. These records establish the duty of care that was violated and create powerful evidence of negligence.
When defective equipment contributed to your injury, we investigate the manufacturer, distributor, and rental company. Product liability cases are handled alongside your other claims.
For serious injuries, we retain life care planners and economists to document the full lifetime cost of your injury — future medical needs, in-home care, adaptive equipment, and lost earning capacity — and present that full value in negotiations and trial.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys settle for more when they know your attorney will go to trial. Advocates USA is a trial firm — our readiness directly translates into better outcomes.
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
Workers’ compensation under Florida Statute Chapter 440 provides medical treatment and wage replacement benefits to injured employees regardless of fault — but it does not compensate for pain and suffering and caps wage benefits at 66.67% of your pre-injury average weekly wage. A personal injury lawsuit against a third party — anyone other than your direct employer — can recover full damages including pain and suffering, full lost wages, future costs, and more. When your accident involved a general contractor, subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or any other third party, both claims can and should be pursued simultaneously. Advocates USA evaluates every work injury case for all available avenues of recovery.
In most cases, Florida’s workers’ compensation system is the exclusive remedy against your direct employer, meaning you cannot file a civil lawsuit against them. However, Florida law fully permits personal injury lawsuits against third parties — anyone other than your direct employer whose negligence contributed to your injury. General contractors, subcontractors, property owners, equipment manufacturers, and maintenance companies are common third-party defendants in work injury cases. These claims often produce far greater recoveries than workers’ comp alone.
A denial is not the final word. Advocates USA challenges denied workers’ compensation claims through Florida’s workers’ compensation adjudication process, including the Division of Administrative Hearings and, if necessary, the First District Court of Appeal. We also evaluate whether a separate third-party personal injury claim exists, which is entirely unaffected by a workers’ comp denial. Do not accept a denial without speaking to an attorney — call (877) 872-4878 immediately.
Yes. Florida’s workers’ compensation system does not distinguish between documented and undocumented workers. If you were injured on the job and your employer carries workers’ compensation insurance — which is required of all construction employers and most employers with four or more employees — you are entitled to the same medical treatment and wage benefits as any other worker. We handle cases involving undocumented workers with full confidentiality and legal protection. Call us in Spanish — Hablamos Español.
Third-party liability refers to a personal injury lawsuit against any party other than your direct employer. Workers’ comp only covers medical bills and a partial wage replacement — it provides no compensation for pain and suffering, which in serious injury cases is often the largest component of total damages. A third-party lawsuit can recover the full scope of your damages. In our $4 million work accident result, the majority of the recovery came from a third-party claim against the general contractor — not from workers’ comp. Every work injury case deserves a full evaluation of all available claims.
You must report the injury to your employer within 30 days under Florida workers’ compensation law. The employer then must report the injury to their carrier within 7 days. For a third-party personal injury claim, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of injury under Florida Statutes 95.11(3)(a). If any government entity is involved, notice requirements may be shorter. Call Advocates USA immediately after any serious work injury — both deadlines are critical.
Construction is statistically the most dangerous industry in Palm Beach County by fatality rate, followed by agriculture and farming in the Glades communities, warehousing and distribution, landscaping, healthcare, restaurant and food service, and manufacturing. Advocates USA has represented injured workers from all of these industries throughout the county — from construction workers in Westlake and downtown West Palm Beach to agricultural workers in Belle Glade and warehouse workers in Boynton Beach’s distribution corridor.
Florida Statute 440 requires workers’ comp insurance for all construction employers and most employers with four or more employees. When an employer who is required to carry insurance fails to do so and a worker is injured, the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation’s Special Disability Trust Fund may provide a remedy. The employer also becomes directly liable for the full value of the worker’s damages — including pain and suffering — in a civil lawsuit. Advocates USA identifies the correct enforcement mechanism for uninsured employer situations.
Florida Statute 440.205 prohibits employer retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you are discharged, demoted, have your hours cut, or are otherwise disciplined in connection with filing a claim, you have a separate retaliation claim against your employer. Document all adverse employment actions with dates and names. Call Advocates USA immediately if you suspect retaliation is occurring.
The most frequently cited OSHA violations in Palm Beach County construction accident cases include: fall protection failures (29 CFR 1926.502), unguarded floor openings and wall openings, inadequate scaffolding (29 CFR 1926.451), failure to lock out electrical energy sources during maintenance, unprotected excavations and trenches, and failure to provide adequate safety training. OSHA citations issued after a work accident are powerful evidence of negligence in both workers’ comp disputes and third-party personal injury claims. We obtain all available OSHA investigation records as part of every work injury case.
Absolutely — Hablamos Español. A large portion of Palm Beach County’s construction, agriculture, landscaping, and food service workforce speaks Spanish as their first language. Our fully bilingual team represents injured workers throughout the county with complete legal representation in Spanish. From the first phone call through the final settlement check, you will work with people who understand you fully in your own language.
The $4M result started with a free call. Find out what you’re really owed — 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
