Free checklist
A third-party construction injury claim runs on two tracks at once: the damages record and the liability record. Both need building and the workers' compensation file sits across them.
16 items across 4 categories. This is a general guide for a typical claim of this type, not an exhaustive or jurisdiction-specific list. Confirm exact evidentiary requirements with counsel before submission.
The comp carrier's subrogation lien is routinely underestimated and it comes straight off a third-party recovery. Getting the lien statement early changes what a settlement is actually worth to the client.
A checklist is only useful if you know why each item is on it. Reviewers do not ask for records to be thorough; they ask because each one answers a specific question that the calculation on its own cannot.
What it proves. Establishes causation and the course of treatment. Gaps in treatment are the most common argument for reducing an injury claim.
Where it comes from. Every provider, not just the main one: emergency department, imaging, physical therapy, specialists. Request the complete file, not a summary.
What it proves. Fixes past medical specials. Billed and paid amounts differ substantially and which one is recoverable varies by state.
Where it comes from. Provider billing departments, plus any health insurer or hospital lien statements.
What it proves. Supports future medical costs, which are usually the largest and least documented component.
Where it comes from. A retained life care planner or the treating physician's written projection.
What it proves. The defence's own view of causation and prognosis. Reading it early tells you which components will be contested.
Where it comes from. Defence counsel or the comp carrier, whichever commissioned it.
What it proves. Establishes the pre-injury earnings baseline that all wage loss is measured against.
Where it comes from. The injured worker and their employer. Two to three years is the usual window.
What it proves. Confirms rate, hours, overtime pattern and any lost advancement in a single document a reviewer can rely on.
Where it comes from. The employer's HR or payroll department, on letterhead.
What it proves. Converts a medical restriction into a dollar figure for diminished earning capacity, which is what actually gets claimed.
Where it comes from. A retained vocational rehabilitation expert.
What it proves. Corroborates earnings independently of the employer and is essential where income includes cash, self-employment or seasonal work.
Where it comes from. The injured worker, or IRS transcripts where returns are unavailable.
What it proves. A citation against the third party is powerful evidence of a breach of duty. The inspection file often contains witness statements taken before anyone lawyered up.
Where it comes from. OSHA's establishment search for the citation and a FOIA request for the full inspection file. Allow weeks for the file.
What it proves. Contemporaneous account of what happened, usually written before positions formed.
Where it comes from. The general contractor's safety department, the employer's own report and any owner's incident log.
What it proves. Duty is the element most often missing. The prime contract and subcontracts define who controlled the work area, who was responsible for the hazard and who indemnifies whom.
Where it comes from. The prime contract, the relevant subcontracts and the site-specific safety plan.
What it proves. Fixes conditions at the moment of injury. Sites change within hours and are frequently remediated before anyone returns.
Where it comes from. Co-workers, the safety department and any phone photographs taken that day. Move fast on these.
What it proves. Where equipment was involved, these establish whether it was defective or improperly maintained, which can add a product or negligent-maintenance defendant.
Where it comes from. The equipment owner or rental company, plus any third-party inspection certificates.
What it proves. Comp benefits do not reduce a third-party claim directly, but they establish the medical and wage record and identify the lien.
Where it comes from. The comp carrier or the state comp board file.
What it proves. The lien comes off the recovery. A net-to-client figure calculated without it is wrong, sometimes by a great deal.
Where it comes from. The comp carrier, in writing, with a current figure. Ask whether the carrier will reduce for attorney fees under common-fund principles.
What it proves. Several states require notice to the comp carrier before settling a third-party claim and failing to give it can jeopardise the settlement.
Where it comes from. The state comp statute. Confirm the requirement and the deadline before, not after, you negotiate.
These are the omissions that cost real money, in rough order of how often they come up.
The lien comes off the recovery. A net-to-client number calculated without a current written lien statement can be wrong by tens of thousands and the client finds out at the worst possible moment.
Sites are remediated within days. Witness statements, photographs and equipment records are the items to chase first, before anything else on this list.
A third-party claim needs a contractual or statutory basis for the defendant's responsibility for the hazard. The prime contract and subcontracts are where that lives and they are often requested far too late.
The same 30% fault allocation produces completely different outcomes depending on the state and in a contributory negligence jurisdiction any fault at all can bar recovery. Establish the governing state's rule before quoting a range to anyone.
Citations appear in OSHA's public establishment search fairly quickly. The full inspection file, which is where witness statements and photographs sit, requires a FOIA request and can take weeks, so file it early.
Not directly, but the comp carrier generally has a subrogation lien against any third-party recovery and that lien comes off the net. Many states reduce the lien pro rata for attorney fees under common-fund principles, which the calculator accounts for.
It depends entirely on the state. Pure comparative negligence reduces recovery by the worker's share; modified comparative bars recovery above 50% or 51%; a few jurisdictions still apply contributory negligence, where any fault can defeat the claim. Select the state in the calculator and it applies the correct rule.
The ClaimDuke calculator carries this same checklist. Tick what you already have and add your own items and they carry through to the Excel workbook, the Word document and the PDF report you export, so what you hand over shows exactly which records are in the file and which are still outstanding.
Free to calculate, with a free one-page summary. Paid reports add your branding, a live-formula Excel workbook and the cited methodology behind every line.
Evidentiary expectations and the underlying entitlement both vary by jurisdiction. ClaimDuke carries a cited reference for all 50 states + DC covering statutory interest, actual cash value and labor depreciation, delay-claim limits and injury liability.
