The Injury on Your Jobsite (Not Your Employee): Decision Tree

Why this matters

A homeowner trips over your hose, a customer's kid grabs a tool, a delivery driver slips on your wet floor. The person hurt is not your employee, so workers' comp does not cover them, and your general liability and your conduct in the next ten minutes decide everything. Handle the person right and document it straight, and a scary moment stays a moment. Freeze, argue, or admit fault on the spot, and you hand a plaintiff their case. This tree is the order of moves when someone who is not on your payroll gets hurt where you are working. It is general guidance, not legal advice; your insurer and an attorney handle the legal side, and you call them early.

Start here: care for the injured person first

Before liability, before photos, before anything, take care of the human being.

1. Assess how badly they are hurt. Do not move someone with a possible head, neck, or back injury unless they are in immediate danger.
2. Call 911 for anything serious - unconsciousness, heavy bleeding, a bad fall, trouble breathing, a possible break. When unsure, call. Erring toward care is never the mistake that sinks you.
3. Render aid within your training, stop bleeding, keep them still, keep them warm and calm.
4. Remove the ongoing hazard so no one else is hurt: shut off the water, kill the power, clear the tool, block the area.

Getting them help fast is both the right thing and, frankly, the thing that looks best later. Nobody wins a case against a contractor who immediately took care of the person.

Step 1: control the scene without altering the evidence

Once the person is cared for, protect the scene as it is.

• Photograph the area before you clean up. The hose, the spill, the open panel, the lighting, exactly as it was. This is your record of conditions and it cuts both ways honestly. See related: The Photo That Protects vs the One That Incriminates.
• Do not rush to "fix" the hazard out of guilt before you have documented it, unless leaving it endangers someone else. If you must clear it for safety, photograph first.
• Note the time, the conditions, and who was present.

Step 2: what you say (and do not say)

This is where good people talk themselves into liability.

• Show concern for the person, not fault for the cause. "Are you okay, let's get you help" is right. "I'm so sorry, I should have moved that hose" is an admission, and it can be used against you.
• Do not admit fault, assign blame, or speculate on cause. Not to the injured person, not to bystanders, not to family. You do not yet know the full picture, and your insurer needs to control that.
• Do not promise to pay medical bills or anything else on the spot. A well-meant "we'll cover it" becomes an alleged contract.
• Get names and contact info for the injured person and any witnesses, factually.

Kindness and an admission are not the same thing. Be fully the first and never the second.

Step 3: notify the right people fast

• Call your general liability insurer promptly, the same day if you can. Late notice can jeopardize coverage. They will tell you what they need and often take over communication.
• Tell your office and document internally, a factual incident report: what happened, when, conditions, who was present, what you did, who you called. Dated. Stick to facts, not conclusions.
• If it is a commercial site with its own safety rules, notify the site contact or general contractor per their requirements too.

Step 4: judge the severity and your exposure

• Minor and they are clearly fine (small scrape, declines help). Still document it and still consider an insurer heads-up; minor injuries sometimes grow into claims weeks later.
• Serious injury or any talk of a claim or a lawyer. Stop all direct discussion of fault. Route everything through your insurer and, if needed, an attorney. Do not put a "what happened" narrative in writing to the injured party.
• A possible regulatory angle (a serious injury on certain commercial sites may carry reporting duties). Confirm obligations rather than assume there are none.

The recap

Person first, every time: assess, call 911 if serious, render aid, kill the hazard. Then document the scene before you alter it, show concern without admitting fault, promise nothing, gather names, and notify your insurer fast. The throughline: be genuinely good to the injured person and rigorously disciplined about not narrating blame. Those two things are not in tension, and together they are your best protection. None of this replaces your insurer's and attorney's guidance; bring them in early.

References

• OSHA general guidance on hazard control and injury response (29 CFR 1910)
• General liability insurance claim-reporting requirements (per your policy; notify promptly)
• General principles on admissions and incident documentation (confirm with an attorney)
• See related: The Photo That Protects vs the One That Incriminates; Building a Documentation Habit the Crew Will Follow