Alvin Workplace Accidents Lawyer Helps Victims of Construction Accidents and Other Job Injuries Recover Medical Bills and Much More
Statistics show that most people spend a third of their life at work. While you may be at home for more hours, a large percentage of the time at home is spent sleeping. So, if you’re going to be injured in an accident, there’s a very good chance that it will happen while you’re at work.
This can make it much more likely that your accident will result in catastrophic injuries. Industries such as construction and oil and gas are known for their hazardous work conditions. Still, the fact is that workers also frequently suffer serious injuries on other job sites such as big-box stores and even standard office settings.
Dealing with the insurance company after a workplace accident is usually a frustrating experience at best because companies often try to do all they can to avoid paying claims. They may wrongfully deny coverage for accident victims or delay paying or responding for unreasonably long periods of time. This is one reason it can be so helpful to consult an Alvin workplace accident lawyer as soon as possible after an injury on the job. At DeKeyzer Law, we understand exactly how insurance companies operate so we know how to get accident victims the resources they need to cover medical bills, lost wages, and to meet other needs.
Common Types of Workplace Accidents
Regardless of your work setting, there are many situations where you face the risk of serious injuries, often without realizing it. Construction accidents often involve falling from great heights or being crushed by falling objects. However, administrative assistants working in offices can suffer debilitating back injuries if a chair collapses or they fall while reaching for a file. Grocery store stockers and teachers are frequently hit by objects falling from shelves. A workplace accident can happen anywhere in Alvin, particularly when someone has been negligent in fulfilling their obligations to protect the safety of those around them.
As a legal team dedicated to helping accident victims get fair compensation for their losses, here are some of the most common types of workplace accidents that we see:
- Falls: Often caused by slipping on a slick surface or tripping over an unexpected hazard, falls are one of the most frequent and often the deadliest types of workplace accidents. Falls can result in spinal cord injuries, leading to paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, and other devastating consequences.
- Overexertion causing bodily reaction: One of the ways workers are most frequently injured at work is through overexertion—doing more than the body is capable of sustaining. Overexertion often results in debilitating back injuries.
- Transportation accidents: Workers are injured in various ways in transportation accidents, whether involving cars on public roads, trucks at warehouse facilities, or specialized workplace vehicles.
- Contact with equipment and objects: Many construction accidents as well as accidents in the manufacturing, agriculture, and retail industries involve injuries caused by impact or harmful contact with objects and equipment. This includes not only situations where a moving object strikes a worker but also where a worker is pushed onto an object or part of a worker’s body is crushed in equipment.
- Exposure to harmful substances or environments: This includes exposure to electricity, radiation, temperature extremes, pressure changes, infectious diseases, oxygen deficiency, and even traumatic or stressful events
- Violent conduct: Fighting causes more workplace injuries than most people realize. It may occur between co-workers or between workers and customers or third parties. In addition, those who work with animals in any capacity can be injured by an attack.
- Fires and explosions: Any workplace can be vulnerable to fire or be at risk of an explosion. Accident victims often find their injuries are increased because escape routes have been blocked or emergency equipment is not functioning properly.
These are just a small sample of the types of accidents that happen in Alvin workplaces. Any time you are injured at work, you may have the right to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and other losses, but it can take some intense legal work to finally obtain what you deserve.
What Causes Workplace Accidents?
Except in cases where someone deliberately attacks you at work, most of the time, when a worker is injured on the job, it is because someone failed to act responsibly, and their negligent conduct led to an accident. Someone can be negligent by doing something they shouldn’t have or failing to do something that they should.
Often, the negligent actions of more than one person combine to create the setting for an accident. When this is the case, each action may be analyzed so a percentage of fault can be attributed to each person. For instance, if someone fell off scaffolding when the railing became unattached, the fault might be allocated to the company that made or assembled the scaffolding and the person responsible for performing safety checks on the scaffolding. Construction accidents often involve a combination of factors and more than one responsible party.
Workplace accidents are often caused by factors such as:
- Inadequate lighting: This is one of the most common and yet most frequently overlooked causes of workplace accidents in Alvin.
- Failure to provide appropriate training for potentially hazardous situations: To save time and cut costs, employers often neglect to train workers, and this can lead to dangerous conditions that put them and others at risk.
- Fatigue/overwork: Supervisors need to be aware of the dangers and insist on regular breaks. Instead, they often push workers to exceed their physical and mental limits.
- Expecting one worker to handle a job meant for two or more: Many workers suffer back injuries by lifting or carrying objects that are too heavy.
- Failing to warn about slick surfaces: Surfaces that are newly cleaned, wet, icy, or otherwise made slippery require warnings, proper footwear or possibly modification to make them safe.
- Failing to provide property safety equipment for handling hazardous materials: Supervisors need to prepare all data sheets, provide appropriate protection for workers, and train them in safe practices when handling hazardous materials or equipment.
These factors lead to additional risks on job sites that are already dangerous, which is one reason construction accidents happen so frequently. An experienced Alvin workplace accident lawyer can investigate to determine the cause of a workplace accident and those responsible so that the appropriate insurance company will have no justifiable reason to avoid paying claims.
Types of Compensation Available for Workplace Accidents
The circumstances surrounding a workplace accident determine the types of compensation that may be available. For instance, if you are an independent contractor rather than an employee, your recovery might be based on a personal injury lawsuit, but if you are an employee, you might be seeking recovery through workers’ compensation insurance. If some or all of your injuries were caused by someone other than your employer or something under the control of your employer, you may have the option of bringing a lawsuit against that person, which affects your options for recovering compensation.
In a Texas workers’ compensation case, you do not need to prove that your employer (or anyone else) was negligent in any way. This simplifies your case, although you still will probably need to work with an Alvin workplace accident lawyer to get the insurance company to pay the claim. When a workplace injury is covered under workers’ compensation, the injured employees can receive coverage of medical bills (when handled appropriately) and compensation to make up for a percentage of the wages lost due to time off work. When a workplace accident leads to permanent loss of bodily functions, additional compensation may be available.
For workplace accidents not covered by workers’ compensation, accident victims must collect and present evidence to prove that the employer or another party is liable for negligence. This can be extremely difficult to prove, but a skilled Alvin workplace accident lawyer will be able to assist in seeking evidence and making persuasive legal arguments to prove to the insurance company or to the court why the worker is entitled to full compensation. In this situation, compensation includes not only money for medical bills and lost income but also funds to make up for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and other effects of the injuries.
In some cases, even when an accident involves a worker covered by workers’ compensation insurance, it will also be possible for a workplace accident lawyer in Alvin to file a lawsuit against a third party whose actions contributed to the injuries. For instance, if a delivery driver was injured in a car accident involving a drunk driver, they might be entitled to some recovery through workers’ compensation and some through a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Or, in construction accidents, it may be possible to bring claims against outside companies that manufactured or maintained equipment that turned out to be faulty.
Talk to an Alvin Workplace Accident Lawyer at DeKeyzer Law for a Free Case Evaluation
Workplace accidents are scary, and they can cause tremendous worry for everyone in the family. Allow Holland and Meagan DeKeyzer to help you during this difficult time. We work to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation available in your situation. However, it is important to act quickly to avoid mistakes that could interfere with your recovery and to gather evidence to show liability. So call us at 713-904-4004 or contact us online today to schedule a free consultation with an Alvin workplace accident lawyer at DeKeyzer Law.