Houston Fatal Construction Accident Lawyers

If a loved one has been killed in a Houston construction accident, discuss your situation with our Houston attorneys.

Work related construction accidents that result in a wrongful death have to be analyzed from the standpoint of whether or not the deceased was employed at the construction site or an innocent bystander. An employee on a construction site may be employed by a contractor, sub contractor or other entity.

An innocent bystander would have a negligence cause of action against the entity responsible for the accident. If the accident resulted in death, the family of the deceased would bring a negligence cause of action pursuant to the Texas Wrongful Death Statute and the Texas Survival Statute. The Wrongful Death Statute has completely different damages applicable to it as compared to the Survival Statute. It is critical to understand the different damages applicable to each statute.

What Happens After a Fatal Construction Accident?

The possible defendants include but are not limited to the entities mentioned above. If a bystander is killed at or near a construction site and immediate investigation must be initiated. Witness’s statements would need to be taken, private investigator, an expert to take pictures and video, take measurements, test equipment and determine what safety procedures were in place.

If the person killed was an employee of one of the contractors working at the construction site, then the analysis of workers compensation coverage must be determined. Does the employer have workers compensation coverage? If the employer is a subscriber to workers compensation then it has the protection of knowing that it cannot be sued, unless there was death, the deceased had financial dependents, and the employer was grossly negligent.

If on the other hand the employer did not have workers compensation coverage, then the deceased family can sue the employer and the employer is limited to the primary defense of sole proximate cause. The Legislature imposed this burden on the contractor in an effort to encourage the employer to have workers compensation coverage.

Some Examples of Houston Fatal Construction Accidents

Many times construction accidents can have horrific results. One Houston case involved three Hispanic workers who were working on tall scaffolding that broke. The three men all fell to there deaths. Each man had a wife and multiple children. OSHA investigated the accident and found multiple violations that were a proximate cause of the deceased accident. But the employer wasn’t the only entity responsible for the deaths of the three men. Another contractor was controlling the “who, what, where, when, and why” of the events at the work site. This contractor directed the workers with regard to when to do his work, how to do it, supplied the tools etc. such that a duty was created. The duty was to make sure that the three men worked in a reasonably safe workplace.

Other Houston cases that I am aware of involved a carpenter who fell from a homemade scaffold, a worker who was killed while operating a ride on roller, worker struck by a steel header beam. Each of these cases would potentially result in wrongful death lawsuits by the family of the deceased.

Why Should I Choose Grossman Law Offices to Represent me in a Fatal Construction Accident Case?

Experts can be very effective in construction case as they can give guidance with regard to creation of safety polices and procedures, hazard communication, electrical safety, safety inspection, site audits, fall protection, job safety analysis, accident investigation, forklift safety, backhoe safety, evacuation safety and trench or trenching safety.

One recent case out of Houston involved a trench collapse killing a worker. The trench was not properly reinforced and ultimately the weight of the dirt caused the collapse. If proper and safe trench protocol had been used, this death would most likely have been prevented.

The benefit of hiring a Houston fatal construction accident attorney in these types of cases is that we can assist the family of the deceased find the right experts to investigate what happened and get answers. Our law firm would work hand in hand with OSHA with a common goal of finding out the cause of the accident and make sure policies and procedures were put in place to prevent it from happening in the future. We work closely with the families of the deceased to provide the support necessary to help them get through this difficult time.