Insufficiently secured or own fault?

How is he doing?

So far, I have not received any feedback from the construction contractor... I only learned about the fracture of the sternum and that he is still in the hospital. I will talk again later with his colleagues or the site manager of the company. Of course, emotions come into play here when accusations are made against me for a serious injury of a construction worker that I consider unjustified in my eyes...

We can now argue ourselves blue in the face here - but no one really knows anything for sure.

Sure, you can refer to common sense, but you can’t rely on it. I congratulate you on not living in the USA, because there, damage claims rarely have anything to do with common sense. There, you could already expect a million-dollar lawsuit.

In the end, all that’s left for you is to talk to the BG and possibly consult a lawyer (personally, I would wait and see how things develop).


Shouldn’t the securing of the unfinished shaft be done by the construction company that built it (probably the civil engineers in this case) or does the entire securing responsibility lie with the client?

Hello f-pNo,

Shouldn't the securing of the unfinished shaft actually be carried out by the construction company responsible for its creation (probably the civil engineers in this case) or does the securing as a whole fall under the responsibility of the client?

I see it similarly and pointed this out in my first answer #21.

To what extent the whole securing is the client's responsibility, I cannot answer, since he has a site manager who surely supervised the work of the civil engineers ;)

Rhenish greetings

And that is the crux of the matter why I believe it was inadequately secured: Something was placed on the shaft where you couldn’t tell if it would give way. Normally, a shaft is walkable – as logical as that may seem to the OP, it doesn’t have to be to an outsider (including the construction worker).

A ground-level shaft with a cover is indeed walkable…but not an orange plastic pipe protruding 30-40 cm out of the ground and equipped with a provisional cover…

Can I then also lean against a construction fence at an excavation site? A fence should normally hold this… but I bet it would give way and I would fall into the hole…? Who can I then sue for damages?

To the builders, because then the fence was not installed correctly either (distance & stability) - you can twist and turn it however you like ;).

At least that's what I think - it could all be wrong. But you won't get absolution from the forum here - even if it would surely be better for your nerves ;).

Hello f-pNo,

I see it similarly and pointed this out in my first reply #21.

To what extent the entire safety is the responsibility of the builder, I cannot answer, because he has a site manager who surely controlled the work of the civil engineer ;)

Rhenish greetings

That was, for example, an aspect unknown to me until now, which only became known through the discussion: whether the civil engineer should have secured the shaft better....

In this case, however, the site manager only coordinates his own trades (those of the contracted construction company)... shell construction, windows, screed, interior plaster, insulation, facade, painting, drywall... but the shaft was created by a civil engineer commissioned by the water association...