How Are Labor Accidents on Construction Sites Handled? The Responsibilities of Contractors and Investors

A construction site is always a high-risk environment for occupational safety, from falls from height, falling objects and electric shock to machinery and equipment failures. When a labor accident occurs, particularly a serious or fatal one, an enterprise faces not only the loss of human life but also a complex chain of legal obligations: reporting, investigation, first aid, compensation and, in severe cases, administrative and even criminal liability. Many contractors and investors only truly turn their attention to this process after an accident has happened, when a single misstep can aggravate their own liability.

This article analyses the legal responsibilities arising from a labor accident on a construction site, based on the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Health and the safety management framework for construction that is being updated under the 2025 Law on Construction and its guiding decrees, effective from 1 July 2026.

Mục 01Who is responsible for ensuring safety on the site?

On a construction site, occupational safety responsibility does not rest with a single party but is allocated by role. The construction contractor, as the direct employer of the workers, bears the heaviest obligation to ensure safe working conditions, provide personal protective equipment, conduct safety training and organise on-site safety management. The investor is responsible for organising, checking and supervising the contractors’ safety work, while the supervision consultant has the duty to oversee compliance. This division of roles is decisive when determining fault and allocating liability after an accident.

In the current transitional period of the law, safety management in construction is guided by the decree on the management of quality, construction and maintenance of construction works implementing the 2025 Law on Construction, applicable from 1 July 2026. At the same time, the core obligations of the employer towards an injured worker remain established under the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Health. These two frameworks operate in parallel and must both be observed when handling an accident.

Mục 02First aid, scene protection and the duty to report

When an accident occurs, the employer’s first obligation is to promptly give first aid and emergency care to the victim and to advance the costs of first aid, emergency care and treatment. The employer must pay the co-payment portion and the costs not covered by health insurance for workers participating in health insurance, and must pay the full medical costs for workers not participating in health insurance. This obligation does not depend on who is at fault; the life and health of the worker take priority, and the allocation of financial responsibility is settled afterwards.

In parallel with saving lives, the enterprise must protect the scene and perform its reporting duty. For a fatal accident, or one seriously injuring two or more workers, the report must be made immediately to the competent authority to serve the investigation. Arbitrarily altering or disturbing the scene without permission may be regarded as concealment or falsification of the investigation results and may aggravate the enterprise’s liability. This is a mistake many contractors make out of a desire to clear the site quickly and resume work.

Mục 03Compensation and allowance liability: distinguished by fault

The core factor determining the employer’s financial liability is the worker’s fault in the accident. Under Article 38 of the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Health, if the labor accident was not entirely caused by the worker’s own fault, the employer must compensate the worker. The compensation is graduated by the rate of reduction in working capacity: at least 1.5 months’ salary for a worker suffering a reduction of 5% to 10%, with further increments for each additional percentage point; and at least 30 months’ salary for a worker suffering a reduction in working capacity of 81% or more, or for the relatives of a worker who died as a result of the labor accident.

Conversely, if the accident occurred due to the worker’s own fault, the employer must still pay an allowance of at least 40% of the above compensation amounts, corresponding to the level of reduction in working capacity. The distinction between compensation and allowance is often confused in practice, leading to incorrect payment and labor disputes. It should be noted that compensation and allowances from the employer are independent of the labor accident benefits paid by the social insurance fund; the worker is entitled to both sources rather than having to choose one.

By way of illustration, where a worker falls from scaffolding and the accident is not caused by his own fault, then in addition to the social insurance benefit, the employer must also compensate at least 30 months of that worker’s salary, alongside the full treatment costs and wages during the treatment period. This figure shows that the cost of a serious accident can be very large, which is why investing in preventive safety is always far cheaper than remedying the consequences.

Mục 04Potential administrative and criminal liability

Beyond civil liability towards the worker, the enterprise and the individuals concerned may also face administrative liability for breaching occupational safety regulations, and criminal liability in serious cases. Where a breach of labor safety regulations causes death or serious injury, the person responsible for organising the construction work or commanding the site may be prosecuted for the offence of violating labor safety regulations. This is why clearly allocating in writing who is responsible for safety management at each position is not merely an administrative formality but a mechanism of legal protection for the managing individuals themselves.

Mục 05Frequently asked questions

If the accident is caused by a subcontractor’s worker, is the investor jointly liable? In principle, the subcontractor and the main contractor bear direct liability towards their own workers under the labor relationship and the subcontract. However, the investor may still be examined for liability if it failed to fully perform its duty to organise, check and supervise safety work. The contract between the parties should therefore clearly allocate safety responsibility and a coordination mechanism for incident handling, so as to avoid the passing of blame when an accident occurs.

Is a worker without a formal contract entitled to compensation? Occupational safety and health law protects, within a certain scope, even workers who work without a labor contract. The absence of a formal contract does not free the employer from its obligations towards the victim; on the contrary, it may create additional liability for breaching the rules on contract conclusion and insurance contributions. This is a significant risk for sites using seasonal labor without strict record-keeping.

Mục 06Conclusion and recommendations

Handling a labor accident lawfully requires the enterprise to act simultaneously on several fronts: rescuing the injured, protecting the scene, reporting, investigating and correctly performing its compensation and allowance obligations under the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Health. More importantly, most of this risk can be controlled in advance through a systematic safety management system and a clear allocation of responsibility in the contracts. Enterprises may consult the construction lawyers of HTIC Law Firm for support in building prevention and incident-handling mechanisms.

HTIC Law Firm specialises in construction and labor legal advice for domestic enterprises and FDI investors. Fixed fee quotation per matter or project — Hotline +84 379 044 299.

This article is for reference only and does not replace legal advice on any specific matter.