Houston Construction Accident Lawyer
If you’ve been severely injured while working on a construction site, you may be worried about managing your life because of how devastating these workplace injuries can be. With the help of Houston construction accident lawyer Hector Longoria, you can get your life back on track. Call today for a free consultation.
Construction Accident Injuries
Texas is on the verge of an economic and population boom, and construction in the state is greater than ever before. Greater Houston’s construction workers play a priceless role in helping Houston and its suburbs grow to meet demand. Whether it is repaving well-traveled roads, building immense high rises in the downtown core of the city, or putting up housing for new arrivals in the state, Houston’s construction workers turn plans for the metro area into reality. With thousands of people from other states and countries migrating to Houston each year, the need for construction in the city will remain on the rise for much of the twenty-first century.
Read Our Construction Accident Guide
Despite the valuable work that construction workers do every day, their jobs carry with them a high chance of injury. Construction workers in the Houston area are at a particularly elevated risk; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found in 2014 that Greater Houston had the greatest number of deaths on the job in the United States, with 20 fatalities occurring that year. Texas has been home to over 100 construction worker fatalities, the most of any state, in recent years, and workers in the state owe it to themselves to be prepared for accidents. Our team of attorneys has collectively worked for decades to help people injured on construction sites in Houston, and we pledge to fight for you to receive the compensation that you deserve.
How Do Construction Accidents Happen?
Houston’s workplace-related fatality rate was several times those of Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, and the Houston metro area even outranked Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City in terms of construction-related mishaps and injuries. Though Texas’s construction injury rate has steadily been declining, the state still has a long way to go in improving safety conditions on construction sites.
OSHA reports that the most common cause of injuries and fatalities on construction sites is falling. Tripping over exposed wires, slipping on water, and tumbling from great heights constituted almost 40 percent of construction worker deaths in 2016. If leaks are not stopped in time, railings are not adequately supported, or scaffolding is not secure, the chance of slipping, tripping, and falling is all too high.
Other frequent reasons behind construction-related fatalities are transportation accidents, exposure to unsafe objects, and contact with dangerous materials. Crashes between two motor vehicles, collisions between a vehicle and a stationary object, and overturned vehicles together accounted for one quarter of injuries and deaths among construction workers and pedestrians alike. One in six workers suffered injuries due to falling objects and becoming trapped in collapsing buildings and structures, and factors such as electrocution, overdoses, and heat contributed to another 15 percent of deaths.
Many of these fatalities and injuries stem from violations of workplace safety standards. Inadequate scaffolding, poor communication, insufficient protections against respiratory threats, and issues with wiring are all unacceptable hazards. Construction workers and pedestrians whose injuries stem from any of these safety violations may have legal recourse, so consulting a personal injury attorney will only help them recover from their accidents.
Seeking Representation from a Houston Construction Accident Lawyer
Because of the uniquely high rate of construction accident-related injuries in the Houston metropolitan area, local personal injury law firms are well-versed in representing clients whose injuries resulted from negligence. Construction workers may be hesitant at first to reach out to personal injury attorneys because of matters like cost, other priorities, or fear over losing their jobs. Pedestrians who were injured on construction sites can blame themselves for their injuries, brushing off major ailments as resulting from their own doing, and may believe that a Houston construction accident lawyer would never want to hear their cases. The truth is that there is no harm in seeking help, and attorneys with substantial backgrounds in personal injury law will work hard to advocate for their clients.
Before an initial consultation with a personal injury attorney, it is of paramount importance to be prepared, to provide a wealth of documentation, and to be ready to move quickly with legal proceedings. Once you have been injured, as soon as you receive appropriate medical care, it is your time to begin taking action. Gather the contact information of any witnesses who either saw the accident or were present when medical personnel were called. Request and keep several copies of all your medical charts and relevant bills. Return to the scene of the accident as early as possible to take photos. You may not be able to speak to employees of the contractor responsible for the construction site, but if you create and maintain a sizable collection of documents, collecting statements from other employees at the scene of the accident will become a lesser concern. Do not take too long to gather all these documents, though, as prompt action is key.
When you have recovered from the worst of your ailments, you should make it a priority to seek the advice of a Houston construction accident lawyer. Make sure that you show up to the consultation with as many documents as you can, as your attorney will be able to identify what will and what will not help your case. Any detail may prove helpful; a photo of the construction site can show an unsafe condition, and a note from a doctor will demonstrate the full extent of your injuries. Remember that mental trauma is just as important as physical conditions are, and a diagnosis from a psychologist can underscore the severity of the accident’s effects.
Pursuing legal action after an injury on a construction site may feel intimidating, but you need to consider your health. If inadequate safety precautions led to your injuries, it is the contractor overseeing the construction site who is responsible, and you should not have to bear the physical, emotional, and financial costs of the accident. Dedicated construction accident lawyer Hector Longoria has years of experience representing clients from the Greater Houston metro area in personal injury cases, and we vow to work tirelessly to get you the compensation that you deserve.
Read Our Construction Accident Guide
If you’ve been hurt in an construction accident, call Hector now to fight for you. Because of his extensive experience in these types of cases, Houston construction accident lawyer Hector Longoria understands the physical, emotional and financial burdens that come with a construction accident or injury. His goal is to help you and lessen the stress. Hector will deal with the insurance companies, adjusters, and defense lawyers to make sure your rights are being protected.
Call Hector today at 713-929-3996 and let his experience work for you.