What are your rights as an injured construction worker?
Every year, thousands of construction workers are injured in sites across the United States. The case is no different in Texas. Construction workers have rights and can claim compensation for all of their work-related injuries. A Texas construction accident attorney can help you sort through your rights and get you the best possible compensation.
Crane Topples at Galleria-Area Intersection
On Sunday, April 3, 2017, traffic at the intersection of Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road in Galleria came to a halt after a crane accident. Construction workers were removing a large street sign over the intersection when the crane toppled over.
The work at the intersection was being done as part of a road expansion plan. According to the workers, the street sign weighed seven tons while the crane that was doing the heavy lifting weighed 90 tons. The crane toppled just about the time the crew was preparing to remove the last cable holding up the sign.
One construction worker was seriously injured. He was rushed to hospital. Another sustained minor injuries and was treated on site.
What Are The Most Common Types of Construction Injuries?
Construction site workers are usually exposed to numerous hazards as a result of their work. The workers may be injured as a result of:
- Falling from high windows or scaffolding
- Getting hit by falling rocks, construction equipment or heavy machinery such as cranes
- Collapsing trenches
- Slipping and falling on dangerous surfaces
- Electric shock from exposed wiring
- Explosions from combustible materials
- Contact with leaked corrosive liquids
- Breakdowns in defective equipment.
All these can cause all manner of injuries including burns, bruises, permanent scarring, bone breakages, head trauma, paralysis, stress injuries and even psychological trauma.
Rights of Injured Construction Workers
Construction workers have rights. The first is workers compensation benefits. Texas’ workers’ compensation law allows workers, including construction workers, injured in the course of employment to receive compensation for their injuries. The compensation they receive is prescribed by law and will depend on the type and extent of injury. The benefits cover medical expenses arising from the injury and lost wages. You may even be eligible for future payment in case the injury leads to physical impairment.
Injured construction workers do not have to prove that their employer was negligent in order to claim workers’ compensation benefits. They need only prove that they were injured and that the injury was as a result of employment.
Some employers do not have workers’ compensation insurance. Texas law does not require all employers to do so. In this instance, an injured worker can bring a lawsuit against an employer if the injury was as a result of the negligence of the employer. The injured employee can seek damages for medical expenses, lost wages and physical and mental pain and suffering.
To prove negligence and succeed in such a claim, an injured worker only need prove that the employer owed a duty of care, the employer breached that duty and the worker suffered injury as a result.
A lawsuit may also be a remedy where a construction worker was injured not by the employer or a co-worker, but by a third party. There are usually many people present at a construction site. Some include: contractors, sub-contractors, engineers, architects and even suppliers. If a worker was injured at work by the fault of any of these people, the worker can start a lawsuit against such party and the party’s employer.
Injured construction workers should reach out to an experienced Texas construction injury attorney to help you figure out and claim the remedies you have a right to. Contact our office at 361.LAWYERS (361-529-9377) today for a free initial case consultation.