If you have suffered an injury due to collapsed scaffolding, you may be entitled to compensation. A Houston scaffolding accident lawyer can help. If your injury is due to the negligence of another party, either in part or in full, you may receive financial compensation for your injuries, medical bills, time lost at work, and other related expenses. Construction workers who have lost income due to injuries of this kind need to be paid for their time and losses. It is for these reasons that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA) provides clear regulations that are intended to prevent scaffolding accidents, including spinal cord injuries (SCIs).
Still, despite the clear guidelines provided by OSHA, scaffolding accidents are among the most frequent violations of OSHA standards.
If you have suffered an injury due to an accident involving scaffolding or a scaffolding collapse, get in touch with a Houston scaffolding accident lawyer now at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000.
Filing a Construction Accident Claim After a Scaffold Accident
Scaffold work requires both skill and experience. However, even if you are a competent scaffold worker, chances are that you rely on someone else on your team to set the scaffolding up properly and securely. This means if you are injured in a scaffolding accident, you may not be at fault.
You and your company should have insurance to help mitigate the dangers of scaffolding work. Here in Texas, however, many employees are left unprotected without any workers’ compensation insurance coverage. For injured workers covered by workers’ comp, often these benefits are grossly insufficient. Construction accident can involve such catastrophic injuries that they exceed the policy limits of applicable insurance policies designed to help in the absence of official state workers’ compensation insurance coverage. Even if the construction company has coverage, it may not be responsible for the accident. A contractor or subcontractor may have negligently assembled the scaffolding. Likewise, it may have been an employee of either of these kinds of parties who may be ultimately responsible because of their negligent actions.
When you have been hurt in an accident like this, too much is at stake for you to place your interests in the hands of an inexperienced lawyer. Lawyers who have not worked on many cases like this may be too quick to settle, especially when the chain of responsibility gets complicated. Certainly, a quick settlement can seem attractive, but it may be in your interest to take your case to trial to get the most for your losses. At the end of the day, depending on the nature of your injuries, this may be the only way to ensure your that losses are fully covered.
Have You Been Injured from a Fall from Scaffolding? Our Houston Scaffolding Accident Attorney Can Help
Our scaffolding injury lawyer and their support team are passionate about fighting for justice for injured construction workers and their families.
Working on scaffolding is one of the most dangerous things a construction worker can do. Many construction jobs involve the use of scaffolding. When you are working in such precarious circumstances, you still need to focus on what you’re doing, and the condition of the scaffolding on which you rely for your safety may fall outside the parameters of your attention.
This is just part of the reason why others are almost certainly responsible, at least in part, when a scaffolding accident takes place.
Your Options After a Scaffolding Injury
After a scaffolding accident, there is usually a lot of work to do to figure out who is at fault, who pays, and how much. It may give you some peace of mind to know that your options after such an event are pretty simple. Your two primary options are:
- File a workers’ compensation claim
- Make a personal injury claim
Workers’ Compensation Claims
Workers’ comp is a form of insurance that delivers benefits to employees who have been injured in the course of their duties. In other states, employers are required to carry workers’ comp insurance; however, Texas is a special exception. Still, for many Texas construction workers, a workers’ comp claim is the most common remedy. One of the benefits of making such a claim is the likelihood that a zero-fault clause will protect you. This means that you do not need to prove that any specific party was at fault to receive your compensation.
The drawback of a workers’ comp claim is the fact that the available benefits may not cover you for the entire time you will be unable to work, and they may not be enough to pay for the full scope of your injuries. An experienced Houston scaffolding accident lawyer may be able to help find viable third-party claims to pursue, when a claim against the employer is otherwise comp-barred. Similarly, they can assess a potential non-subscriber work injury claim against a negligent employer who failed to provide a safe work environment.
Personal Injury Claims
If the extent of your injuries and the cost of your losses are such that a workers’ comp claim won’t be enough, a personal injury claim may be your best option. If the scaffold you were using was defective, and if the defect was part of the cause of the accident, you may have a claim against the manufacturer of the equipment. You may also have a claim against the person or persons who set it up, or their employer.
Naturally, few people are going to willingly accept fault for your accident and injury, which means that hiring a Houston scaffolding accident lawyer will probably be necessary.
If you were a bystander who was injured in a scaffolding accident, a personal injury claim is almost certainly your best bet. Your attorney would need to prove that the owner or operator of the scaffolding was at fault. But that is likely to be a simple thing since you were not involved with the use of the scaffolding.
The Dangers of Scaffold Work
Working on even the lowest level of a scaffolding rig can be dangerous. Every level must be stable, secure, and in good condition. As a construction job moves toward completion, the likelihood that scaffolding could somehow lose its integrity only multiplies. These support systems must be assembled properly and checked regularly throughout their period of use. If these precautions are not adhered to, accidents are increasingly likely to occur.
There are an estimated 4,500 injuries each year involving scaffolding on construction sites. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 70% of persons injured in a scaffolding accident were hurt because of a slip and fall, a broken support board, or an object falling from above. These are just a few of the ways construction workers can and do get hurt on and around scaffolding.
In a majority of cases, scaffolding accidents are usually not the fault of the injured party. If you have been injured due to a scaffolding accident, get in touch with our team today. Our Houston scaffolding accident lawyer will do everything possible to secure the compensation you deserve. Call (713) 973-8888 now.
FAQs
How do I know if I should file a workers’ comp claim or a personal injury claim?
If your employer does not carry official state workers’ compensation insurance, or a third party with ample insurance coverage was primarily responsible for your injuries, then a personal injury claim may be your best recourse. In any event, consult a Houston scaffolding accident lawyer to help you decide on the best course of action, after informing you of your rights and the various potential claims you could bring.
What OSHA regulations pertain to construction scaffolding?
OSHA regulates the foundation on which scaffolding stands. They require that all scaffolding be set up by competent, trained, and certified persons. OSHA requires that scaffolding does not sway during use and that guardrails must be present. They also require that a competent inspector look the structure over before it is used. If any of these and other regulations are not followed, you may have a strong personal injury case.
What if I am partially at fault for my scaffolding injury?
You may believe you are partially at fault when you are not. Perhaps you were not fully trained. Or maybe in the confusion of the event, you believe you made a misstep when, in reality, a malfunction was the cause. Even if you believe you may be partly at fault, it’s best to let your Houston scaffolding accident lawyer complete an investigation to discover the truth.
What are the most likely causes of a scaffolding collapse?
The most common causes of this type of accident are negligence in manufacturing, poor scaffold design, failure to set up the equipment properly, inadequate overhead protection, a lack of guardrails, and malfunctioning breaks. If your accident was caused by any of these common causes, it should be easy to prove with an examination of the equipment.
Reach Out to a Houston Scaffolding Accident Attorney
You need an experienced work injury lawyer with a comprehensive background, legal knowledge, and a deep understanding of the system. Don’t wait for the other party or the legal system to decide the outcome for you. Take action and call our law firm today.
If you have suffered an injury due to an accident involving scaffolding or a scaffolding collapse, get in touch with our Houston scaffolding accident lawyers now at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000.
Attorney Terry Bryant
Terry Bryant is Board Certified in personal injury trial law, which means his extensive knowledge of the law has been recognized by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, setting him apart from many other injury attorneys. The 22 years he spent as a Municipal Judge, Spring Valley Village, TX also provides him keen insight into the Texas court system. That experience also helps shape his perspective on personal injury cases and how they might resolve. This unique insight benefits his clients. [ Attorney Bio ]
