Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

A person can always be sued for an accident they cause. If the person is an employee acting within the scope of their employment at the time, they may likely be entitled to indemnification by their employer under the labor code, but that only helps if the employer is insured or has enough assets to answer for the liability. Whether a plaintiff can go after a house or bank account depends first on the plaintiff actually winning the case and getting a judgment. Once there is a judgment, whether or not any particular asset can be reached to satisfy the judgment is subject to complex rules regarding homesteads and other exemptions from judgments; so what the plaintiff can go after can only be answered with specific information about the defendant's assets and finances.

If the operator caused the accident then the operator is liable. Whether he caused the accident has nothing to do with whether he owned the crane. Presumably, most crane operators don't own their cranes.

I agree with what Mr. McCormick has said about the potential liability of the operator's employer, as well as his comments about how the plaintiffs might be able to collect if they win a judgment.

If you were injured at work, you sue your own employer for workers' compensation. If the crane operator worked for your employer, then your worker's compensation claim is limited to workers' compensation only. If the crane operator worked for another company while you were working for your employer at the moment of your injury, then you may have a 3rd party claim, coupled with your workers' compensation claim. However, a credit might apply absent certain exceptions.

If you were simply some guy walking by a construction site and you were injured, then you would sue the construction company. If you walking by the construction site while on other business for your employer, you're back to a workers compensation claim with a 3rd party lawsuit against the construction company.

Finally, to sue some guy who operates a crane is possible, but chances are, he doesn't have the big bucks to pay you.

In any event, please call me if you have any possible claim.

Good luck.