Hi All, Quick question regarding accident costs. Scenario is a manager employed by us "Sub Contractor" was injured on a construction site as a result "IMO" as a result of the Principal Contractors failings. Can we as a Sub Contractor claim our costs such as lost time etc; against the Principal Contractor. If so how and has anyone ever done this before and won? Your thoughts and advice would be welcome. Regards Clive

Hi Clive, I have not had personal experience of this, but working in the construction industry I am aware that Principal Contractors take a deep aversion to being pursued by sub contractors for anything. Assuming that you notify your own insurers of the accident, they may pursue the PC's insurers for any monies that they may have to pay out, by way of compensation, employers liability claims, damages etc. That way, you / your IP can truthfully say that you are not chasing the PC. However, be prepared to be unsuccessful in bidding for sub contract work with that particular PC for a while (unfortunately). PH2

You also need to check your contract details. For example, in the oil & gas sector (including for construction activities) it's standard practice for contracts to have clauses specifying that each party bears their own losses from an accident, regardless of who/what caused it (this is actually quite good protection for contractors & sub-contractors as otherwise they could be liable for the costs of lost/delayed production). I've no idea whether such clauses are usual in civil construction contracts.