Houston Loading Dock Accidents and Associated Injuries

Have you been involved in a loading dock accident in Houston, Texas?

A forklift operator can suffer a major or catastrophic loading dock work injury or even death if he backs his forklift off of a loading dock.

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A “loading dock injury“ refers to an employee who while working in the course and scope of his employment injures himself in a way involving the loading dock. The number of ways an employee or worker can get injured around a loading dock is limitless. Another incident would involve the employee or worker being crushed between the loading dock and an 18 wheeler or tractor-trailer - an 18 wheeler trucking accident.

A forklift operator is especially vulnerable to grave injury or death if he or she is crushed by the forklift. If the forklift operator is working at or near a loading dock, the possibility of being crushed by the forklift is foreseeable.


I've Been Injured on the Company Loading Dock - What Next?

The employer could potentially be sued if it did not have workers compensation coverage or the employee or worker was killed. Please see our pages regarding “workers compensation” and “non subscriber cases” to obtain more detailed information.


Traumatic Brain Injury Often Results From Loading Dock Accidents

It is not unusual for loading dock accidents to result in traumatic brain injury “TBI”. Any traumatic brain injury case can be difficult to quantify. Brain damage as a result of an accident must be handled with extreme care by the attorney from a damages point of view.

A traumatic brain injury is different from a broken arm or a herniated disc. In order to determine the full extent of a brain injury, especially a severe brain injury requires the opinion of a brain surgeon, a neurologist, and possibly a neuropsychologist. Significant testing will be necessary to determine the full extent of the injury and the long term permanent damage. If the injury is significant enough, the injured worker may need total retraining for a new profession. A vocational expert may become necessary.


Our Houston injury attorneys work hard to get what you deserve for your loading dock accident.

The benefit of hiring Grossman Law Office Houston injury attorneys in these types of cases is that we have experience representing the victims of loading dock injury cases and injury relating to a traumatic brain injury. Our team of experts is the leaders of their respective fields. By involving the most credible experts across the country, the case will become more believable to the jury increasing the likelihood of success.


Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases
$300,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident / Work Injury (Facial Fractures and Head Trauma)
A loading dock worker suffered serious including numerous facial fractures and minor brain trauma when an 18-wheeler back into him, crushing him against the loading dock. The plaintiff's employer was a subscriber to Texas Workers' Compensation coverage, thus a claim was rightly filed against the third party trucking company whom the truck driver operating the reversing 18-wheeler worked for.

The plaintiffs asserted the position that the trucking company in question was liable on the basis of respondeat superior and negligent retention. The defendants argued that the plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his injuries by virtue of the plaintiff putting himself in harms way. They maintained that the plaintiff simply walked behind the reversing tractor trailer as it pushed back toward the loading dock.

It was later determined through deposition testimony that the truck driver had indeed instructed the plaintiff to stand behind the trailer in order to determine the vehicle's proximity to the dock. Once this fact came to light, the defendants agreed to mediate whereby the case was satisfactorily settled.
Total Recovery:
$300,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$120,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$9,807.00
$75,000.00 Recovery - Workplace Accident (Soft-Tissue Injuries)
Recovery for worker who suffered soft tissue injuries when his fork lift was struck by a delivery truck.
Total Recovery:
$75,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$25,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$350.00
$125,000.00 Recovery - Workplace Accident (Closed-Head Injury)
Recovery for injured worker who suffered a closed head injury in a scaffolding accident.
Total Recovery:
$125,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$30,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$2,135.00
$1,450,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Brain Injury)
Our firm was hired by a delivery driver who suffered a closed head injury resulting in the permanent loss of smell in a head-on accident. The incident occurred as the driver of an 18-wheeler lost control of his vehicle and veered into oncoming traffic. Our client's delivery vehicle was struck head-on, causing massive damage to both vehicles.

Our client was taken to an area hospital where he was treated for minor bodily injuries and a closed head injury which originally manifested itself as a concussion and temporary memory loss.

Suit was filed against the defendants following their failure to respond to our correspondence in a timely manner and litigation began. Included in the suit were both the defendant truck driver and his employer. The results of our investigation and the physical evidence from the accident scene made it apparent that the defendants had indeed caused the accident. Defense counsel soon conceded liability
Total Recovery:
$1,450,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$560,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$31,410.00
$1,010,000.00 Recovery - Workplace Accident (Hand Lacerations)
A young worker was negligently trained to operate a piece of machinery. During a routine cleaning procedure, he suffered a serious hand injury consisting of numerous deep lacerations across his palm. The defendants claimed that he was a contract laborer and therefore owed no legal duty. Through litigation, our attorneys showed evidence to establish an employer-employee relationship thereby creating a non-subscriber work injury cause of action.
Total Recovery:
$1,010,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$333,300.00
Litigation Expenses:
$50,000.00
$550,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Workers' Compensation Gross Negligence
(policy limits) A father of two was killed on the job when he fell from a personnel platform atop an elevated piece of machinery. The defendant was initially afforded protection from a liability suit by virtue of their workers' comp policy. Upon thorough investigation, it became evident that gross negligence was at the root of the accident, and suit was filed accordingly. A successful outcome was obtained through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$550,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$220,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$40,000.00
Confidential Recovery - Wrongful Death / Commercial Vehicle Accident
(policy limits) Our attorneys secured a recovery against a major trucking company for the daughter of a man who was killed after his vehicle collided into an 18-wheeler which was blocking the roadway. Litigation is ongoing against additional defendants.
Total Recovery:
Confidential
Attorney Fees:
Confidential
Litigation Expenses:
Confidential
$700,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident / Work Injury (Fractured Pelvis, Other Internal Injuries)
A loading dock employee suffered a fractured and damage to internal organs as the result of a crushing injury sustained when an 18-wheeler backed into him and crushed him between the trailer and loading dock.
Total Recovery:
$700,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$175,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$1,084.00
$335,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death/ Commercial Vehicle Accident
The mother of a young man hired our firm to investigate the death of her son following a fatal car accident. The incident occurred as one of the two vehicles involved ran a red light and drive into the path of the other. The defendant was driving a work vehicle for a construction company. The defendant survived the accident and stated to police that the decedent caused the accident. The police could not conclusively determine who was at fault, yet the police report strongly implied that the decedent was likely at fault based on the statement provided by the defendant.

The plaintiff's mother was not convinced. Through a thorough investigation, we ultimately determined that the stoplight that the defendant claimed that our client ran, in fact, worked on a timer whereby the light was always green between certain hours unless a vehicle traveling on the intersecting road had been stopped at the right light for more than 30 seconds. Based on an analysis of the vehicles and tire markings, it was conclusively determined that both vehicles were traveling at the speed limit, which clearly indicates that the defendant driver had not accelerated from stop, rather, he was traveling at the speed limit, which would not have triggered a green light for the defendant.

The logical implications of this information is that the light could not have been red for the plaintiff, and it certainly would have been red for the defendant. As a consequence of this information, the case was resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$335,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$134,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$63,000.00
$550,000.00 Recovery - Workplace Accident (Closed-Head Injury)
A painter fell from an apartment balcony resulting in a closed-head injury and other minor bodily injuries. The case was successfully resolved through litigation against the plaintiff's employer and the general contractor.
Total Recovery:
$550,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$220,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$20,465.00

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