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Construction is among the industries with the highest incidence of injury. Across the country in 2019 (the year with the most recent data), there were 1,061 fatal injuries on the job, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Other data from the BLS also reports around 200,100 non-fatal injuries in the same year.
Construction workers injured on the job could be entitled to compensation for their injuries. Many of these accidents involve third parties who can be sued any time they cause injuries. There may also be opportunities for workers to opt out of workers’ compensation programs, allowing them to sue their employers for dangerous construction sites and safety hazards that lead to injury.
For help with your potential case, call the Houston personal injury lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm today. Set up a free consultation with our attorneys by calling (817) 476-1797.
Common Types of Construction Accidents in Houston, TX
Accidents on construction sites can happen in many different ways. Our Houston construction accident injury attorneys can help victims of these accidents or any other construction accident seek compensation for their injuries.
Transportation Injuries
It may come as a surprise, but the most common way that people are killed on construction sites is actually from transportation injuries. This could commonly include accidents involving road crews and roadside construction. It may also include accidents involving vehicles used on construction sites. When worksite operators put workers in dangerous environments or fail to properly cordon off work sites from traffic, these accidents can be very serious or deadly.
Dangerous Substances
Exposure to various dangerous substances also accounts for a large number of fatal construction accidents. Fires and explosions are tracked separately, so this would refer to exposure to gasses and chemicals that are dangerous to breathe in, get on your skin, or consume. These substances can be dangerous or deadly without proper safety gear and safety training.
Equipment Injuries
Contact with dangerous objects is the other main cause of death on construction sites. This would likely include machinery, power tools, and other equipment used on construction sites. These items can be extremely dangerous without proper training and supervision.
Other Injuries
Other injuries could involve burns, slip and falls, falls from heights, electrocution, and more. While these injuries and accidents are less likely to be deadly, about 60.7% of injuries in the construction industry result in lost time at work or transfer to lighter job duties while the victim recovers. This data point comes from BLS statistics on injury rates and rates of time-loss injuries from 2019.
Suing for Injuries at a Construction Site in Houston, TX
The Houston construction accident injury lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm work to help construction accident victims get compensation for their injuries. In many cases, this means filing a lawsuit against the responsible parties – potentially your employer – to get you the money you need for bills and expenses related to the injury.
Suing Your Employer for Construction Injuries
Typically, workers in Texas have to file through workers’ compensation when injured at work. However, employers and workers are entitled to opt out of this system if they want to. If you are not in the workers’ comp. system, then you reserve your right to sue – but you have to be able to prove the at-fault party was legally responsible to get them to pay you for your construction injuries.
Courts look for “negligence” in injury cases to award damages in a lawsuit. When you sue, you have to prove that the defendant owed you a legal duty and breached that duty and that that breach of duty caused your damages and injuries. When suing an employer, the claim typically involves a breach of safety regulations and requirements such as the following:
- Failing to provide safety gear
- Failing to provide safety training in a language the worker understands
- Failing to investigate and correct previous safety issues
- Failing to fire dangerous employees or employees with a history of violence.
In many cases, it is difficult to sue when a co-worker caused the injuries, and you must typically point to something that your employer did directly. You can also sue your employer for intentional violence at work. This is the cause of a surprising number of injuries each year, and workers’ comp. rules do not usually limit your ability to sue for violence at work.
Suing as an Independent Contractor
If you are not an employee at a construction site, workers’ comp. rules probably do not apply to you anyway. This means that you can sue anyone who potentially caused your injuries, even a client. Working on a construction site for a client who leaves the property in an unsafe condition is one of the most common ways injuries can happen.
To get compensation, you must still prove fault. However, you are not limited to finding an excuse to get around workers’ comp. rules.
Suing a Third Party for Construction Injuries
As mentioned, many injuries on construction sites involve car crashes. Other injuries involve faulty safety gear or malfunctioning equipment. In these cases, the at-fault party might not be an employer, but some third party. In cases involving injuries from auto accidents, you can often sue the driver who caused the crash. In injuries involving defective equipment, you can often sue the manufacturer of the defective products that injured you. You can also sue any other third party responsible for your injury. This is true even when workers’ comp. rules might prevent you from suing your employer.
Call the Houston Construction Accident and Injury Attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm
If you or a loved one suffered injuries while working at a construction site in Houston, call The Queenan Law Firm. Our Houston construction accident and injury attorneys can find the right parties to sue and the right legal arguments to help fight for the compensation you deserve. For a free case consultation, call us today at (817) 476-1797.