On Friday, October 23, three construction workers were taken to the hospital after reportedly falling from a cherry picker — an aerial lift — at a Miami Beach oceanfront construction site, according to local reports. OSHA is investigating, and no conclusion about fault has been announced. Cases like this are rarely simple: the lift may belong to one company, the crew may work for another, and a third may control the site. In Florida, workers’ compensation is often only part of an injured worker’s case.

What Florida Workers’ Compensation Covers — and What It Leaves Out

Florida workers’ compensation is a no-fault system: if you are hurt at work, you generally do not have to prove your employer caused it to receive benefits. Those benefits typically include authorized medical care and partial wage replacement — for temporary total disability, generally about two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a state maximum — plus impairment benefits for lasting limits.

What it does not pay matters just as much: no pain and suffering, no full wages, and generally treatment only with an authorized provider. Under Fla. Stat. § 440.11, it is also usually the exclusive remedy against your employer, so you ordinarily cannot sue your employer for negligence over the same injury. A narrow exception for certain intentional conduct exists, but it is hard to prove and applies only in extreme circumstances.

Report the injury promptly — Florida law generally requires notice within 30 days under Fla. Stat. § 440.185. Waiting can give the insurer a reason to dispute that it happened at work.

The Claim Many Injured Workers Miss: Someone Else Caused It

Accepting workers’ compensation benefits does not end the inquiry. If a person or company other than your employer — a true third party — contributed to your injury, Florida law generally allows a separate personal injury claim against that third party in addition to workers’ compensation. See Fla. Stat. § 440.39.

That claim is different in kind, not just in size. Unlike workers’ compensation, it can seek full lost wages, future earning losses, and pain and suffering. If it succeeds, part of the recovery may have to reimburse the benefits already paid — a lien the insurer or employer can assert — which is why the two claims should be evaluated together. An OSHA investigation, by itself, pays nothing: OSHA examines safety compliance; it does not award compensation.

Who Can Count as a Third Party on a South Florida Job Site?

Examples include another contractor on a shared site whose work created the danger and who is not your statutory employer; the maker or rental company behind a defective lift, scaffold, or harness; a negligent driver who strikes you while you are working; and a property owner whose unsafe premises contributed to the injury. The same analysis applies beyond construction — in warehouses, hotels, hospitals, and delivery work across Miami-Dade and Broward.

One warning: companies that qualify as a statutory employer can share your employer’s immunity, so a logo on a badge does not answer the question. Who employed whom, who controlled the work, and who owned the equipment must be checked against contracts and site records before anyone assumes there is — or is not — a third-party claim.

Fault and Deadlines: Two Clocks Are Running

Workers’ compensation itself is no-fault, but a third-party claim follows Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule: recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault and barred entirely if you are more than 50% at fault. Early evidence therefore matters — photos of the lift and work area, safety equipment as it was, and every company and witness on site.

The deadlines run in parallel. Beyond the 30-day reporting rule, a petition for benefits must generally be filed within two years of the injury, with additional limits tied to the last benefit provided, and a third-party negligence lawsuit is generally subject to a two-year limit as well. One filing does not protect the other claim. Equipment gets repaired, sites change within days, and video is overwritten — prompt review preserves options delay can eliminate. Coverage also does not turn on immigration status; get confidential advice rather than assuming status ends the inquiry.

What to Do in the First Days After a Work Injury

1. Get medical care — in an emergency, get treated first; make sure the work connection is documented.
2. Report the injury in writing promptly, and keep a dated copy.
3. Photograph what you safely can — equipment, work area, injuries, safety gear; do not re-enter an unsafe area.
4. Write down every company on the job, plus witnesses and who owned the equipment.
5. Keep the paperwork — incident reports, pay records, bills, and insurer letters.
6. Do not sign releases or give recorded statements about fault before you understand them.
7. Have both claims reviewed together — compensation alone, and whether a third party shares responsibility.

If you or a loved one was seriously injured at work in Miami-Dade or Broward County, Tacher Law offers free consultations for work injury and other personal injury matters. Call +1 (305) 644-2211 or visit our contact page to discuss your situation.

Tacher Law, 16445 Collins Avenue, Suite 1625, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160.