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The construction industry is arguably one of the most dangerous. Each year, it reports some of the highest rates of workplace injuries and work-related fatalities in the United States. If you suffered an injury while working in construction, a Katy construction personal injury attorney can explain your most viable recovery options.
Experienced Legal Counsel for Construction Accident Claims in Katy, TX
Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner offers compassionate legal counsel to those injured while working in construction. The available legal options for recovering losses will depend on the circumstances of the accident and whether the employer has workers’ compensation insurance. Navigating the situation becomes much easier with the assistance of an experienced construction accident attorney.
Our team has decades of experience representing injured clients in Katy and the surrounding areas. We have successfully helped many clients obtain compensation for their damages after suffering various types of personal injuries, including workplace accidents.
Navigating the workers’ compensation claim process can be challenging, but having the right attorney at your side can make it much smoother. Additionally, you may have grounds to pursue a claim directly against the party who caused your injury. Ultimately, you may have more options for recovering your losses than you initially expected, and we can help you take full advantage of your legal options to maximize your recovery.
While it may be technically possible for an injured construction accident victim to pursue recovery without hiring legal counsel, it is likely to be far more challenging than the average person would expect. You may encounter various unexpected issues that you will not know how to resolve on your own, or you could settle for far less compensation than you legally deserve.
With our firm’s assistance, you can rest assured that you will have a dedicated legal advocate ready to help you recover fully from your injuries. We know how to help our clients navigate the workers’ compensation claim filing process and to establish fault. Whatever your situation demands, trust our team to help you navigate your recovery efforts as efficiently as possible.
Proving Fault for Construction Accidents in Katy
Construction is an inherently dangerous industry in many ways. Construction workers operate in unfinished structures around various hazards. They are required to use dangerous tools, handle heavy materials, and face the risk of injury from electrocutions, toxic exposure, falls, and vehicle accidents on job sites.
Liability following a construction accident may become a key legal issue if the injury resulted from another party’s negligence or misconduct. Workers’ compensation claims are generally processed under a no-fault statute, meaning that an injured worker will not have to prove fault as long as their injury occurred in the course and scope of their employment wile they were performing their duties in good faith.
Even if a worker’s own actions contributed to their injury, they may still be eligible for worker’s compensation benefits, provided the injury resulted from simple negligence or an honest mistake. However, if the worker was impaired due to drug or alcohol use at the time of the accident or willfully violated workplace safety regulations, they could be disqualified from receiving benefits.
If a third party was directly responsible for causing the accident, you may still pursue benefits through your employer’s workers compensation insurance. However, to recover damages in a third-party personal injury claim, the injured worker must establish fault to recover any compensation for the damages they caused.
Depending on how the accident happened, you may require multiple forms of evidence to prove liability for your construction accident. An experienced Katy construction accident lawyer can help gather any evidence you may need to establish fault for your damages.
Once you navigate the workers’ compensation claim filing process and receive your benefits, any remaining damages may be recovered with a personal injury suit against the at-fault third party.
Benefits Available Through Workers’ Comp Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance in Texas serves two important purposes. First, it shields a covered employer from civil liability for their injured workers’ damages. As long as the employer operates in good faith and facilitates injured workers’ claims, they will likely not face any civil liability for their workers’ damages. Second, workers’ compensation insurance provides a financial safety net to an injured worker to help them recover.
Medical Expense Coverage
During the process of filing a claim, a workers’ compensation insurance carrier may require a claimant to have a physical evaluation by one of their approved physicians in the area, who will assess the severity of the harm they suffered. This doctor assigns the injured worker a disability rating, a numerical indicator of the severity of the harm they suffered. This rating will be an important factor in determining the injured worker’s benefits.
When a workers’ compensation claim gets approval, the claimant can usually expect their employer’s insurance company to cover all the medical expenses related to their workplace injury. This includes both immediate care they need following the injury as well as many rehabilitative treatments to reach maximum medical improvement.
If any specific medical procedures are not covered, or if any billing discrepancies arise, the injured workers’ attorney can help them resolve any such matters.
Disability Benefits
An injured construction worker may not be able to work during their recovery from their injury. In this situation, their employer’s insurance company will pay them weekly disability benefits to make up for their lost earnings. The amount they receive each week will depend on the scope and severity of their injury, how much they earned prior to the injury, and their functional ability to work.
Disability benefits may be paid on a partial or total basis. Partial disability benefits are paid when an injured worker is able to continue working in a limited capacity after their injury and cannot earn their usual level of income. Partial disability benefits help make up the difference until they are able to resume their previous duties at full earning capacity.
Total disability benefits are paid when a claimant cannot go back to work during their recovery. They can expect to receive approximately two-thirds of their average weekly wage each week until they recover sufficiently to go back to work. There are limits to how long these payments can continue, but severely injured workers may qualify for extensions or even qualify for disability benefits that are permanent under certain conditions.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim for a Construction Accident
In some cases, an injured construction worker will need to start a personal injury claim to recover from their accident. Workers’ compensation insurance may not be available if their employer does not have this insurance, or the victim may have grounds for a personal injury suit against the third party who caused their injury. In either case, proving fault will be a necessary first step.
The victim will need to identify the party or parties they believe caused their injury and prove exactly how it was caused. Many personal injury claims arise from acts of negligence, or failure to use reasonable care in certain situations, but these claims can also arise from willful acts of illegal misconduct.
Your Katy construction accident lawyer can help gather the evidence needed to firmly establish liability for the injury you suffered. Once you have proven fault for the injury, your attorney can help determine the damages you may seek to recover.
Medical Expenses in a Personal Injury Claim
Most personal injury claims filed in Texas pertain to physical injuries. When a defendant has physically harmed you, they are legally responsible for all the medical treatment you will need to recover.
If you are able to file a workers’ compensation claim for your construction accident injury, your employer’s insurance company may cover all your medical expenses related to the injury. However, if there are any medical expenses that insurance will not cover, these may be claimed in your personal injury suit as economic damages.
Lost Wages
Workers’ compensation insurance may only provide limited compensation for the income you are unable to earn in the aftermath of your accident. If there are grounds to file a personal injury suit on top of the workers’ compensation claim, you may potentially recover recompense for the lost wages and lost earning capacity that workers’ compensation does not cover.
Pain and Emotional Suffering Compensation
Workers’ compensation insurance does not offer compensation for a victim’s pain and emotional suffering, even if they suffered a catastrophic and life-changing injury resulting in permanent disability. The victim can, however, claim compensation for their mental anguish and physical pain with a personal injury lawsuit. Texas law does not limit or cap such compensation in most personal injury cases, so this could form the bulk of their recovery if they suffered a serious injury resulting in permanent damage.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages can come into play in a personal injury case when the defendant has broken the law or if they have been egregiously negligent in the actions that resulted in the injury. As the name implies, punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for their wrongdoing, not to compensate the victim for a loss.
If punitive damages are likely to come into play in your case, your Katy construction accident lawyer can advise you as to what to expect in terms of the amount you may receive. It is possible for a defendant to owe a plaintiff punitive damages to reflect their illegal actions, as well as for an employer to face punitive damages and other penalties if their actions directly caused harm to their employee, such as failure to follow applicable safety regulations.
What to Expect From Your Katy Construction Accident Lawyer
Navigating the legal aftermath of a construction accident can be far more challenging than resolving most other injury cases. The team at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can help you understand the legal mechanisms that your case entails, help you develop a cohesive strategy that aims for maximum compensation, and ultimately guide you toward recovering the compensation you rightfully deserve.
Our firm has successfully helped many clients in their recovery efforts after all types of workplace injuries, including those within the construction industry. We know the unique legal challenges that a construction accident victim can face in their efforts to recover, whether they are filing a workers’ compensation claim, a personal injury suit, or pursuing a combination of legal efforts to recover fully.
When you hire our firm to represent you, we can immediately investigate exactly how your accident happened and determine whether any party bears responsibility for the incident. If so, you can rely on our firm to help you determine the optimal method for holding them accountable.
Contact Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner
If you can file a workers’ compensation claim, trust us to represent you before the insurance carrier. We know the tactics some insurance companies employ in their efforts to minimize how much they are required to pay to injured claimants. We will do everything we can to ensure you receive a fair determination of benefits.
If you are pursuing any type of personal injury claim in response to your injury, trust our firm to help you build a cohesive case that addresses all the damages you are legally able to claim from the defendant. The sooner you reach out to our firm, the more time we have to work on your case, so contact us today and schedule your free initial consultation.
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