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Did You Suffer an Injury on a Construction Job? Get Help From Our Sugar Land Construction Accident Lawyer
Construction is widely recognized as the most inherently dangerous industry in the United States, and each year, the industry reports some of the highest workplace accident and fatality numbers in the country. It’s crucial for everyone working in this field to acknowledge the risks they face in the workplace. A Sugar Land construction accident attorney is an invaluable resource if you or a loved one have experienced such an incident.
Helping Construction Accident Victims Recover in Sugar Land, TX
Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can help you make clearer sense of your legal options in the aftermath of an unexpected construction accident in Sugar Land. Our firm’s professional record spans more than 75 years, and in that time we have assisted many clients with all types of personal injury and workplace accident claims in the Sugar Land area.
Whether you were injured while working construction or you suffered an injury from a construction accident as a bystander, you can rely on our legal team to identify your most viable options for legal recourse. We have successfully guided many clients through the workers’ compensation claim filing process, and we’ve built many effective personal injury claims on behalf of our clients.
Whatever your recovery requires, you can rest assured that if you choose our firm to represent you, you will have a dedicated legal representative readily available to address concerns, answer questions, and prepare you for each new stage of your legal efforts to recover your losses. Our goal for every client we represent is to obtain maximum compensation for their damages in the most efficient manner.
Understanding the Risks of the Construction Industry
Construction is inherently dangerous in many ways. Those working in this industry must acknowledge the risks they face in their workspaces, and employers in this field are required to ensure that all employees have the tools, equipment, and safety gear necessary to complete their work safely and efficiently. Even when all precautions are followed, accidents can still occur in many different ways:
- Slip and fall accidents account for most of the workplace injuries reported in the construction industry. The height and location of the fall typically determine the severity of the resulting injuries, and it is possible for any fall to result in broken bones, traumatic brain damage, spinal injuries, and more.
- Heavy equipment is often necessary on construction sites and large specialized machinery can easily be capable of inflicting tremendous injuries. It’s possible for heavy equipment accidents to happen because of device malfunctions, insufficient training with these tools, and negligence.
- Dropped objects on construction sites can potentially inflict life-changing head injuries. Even if construction workers wear appropriate hard hats, they can still suffer severe injuries if a dropped tool, piece of debris, or other object hits their head.
- Vehicle accidents can easily cause severe injuries. Construction often requires the use of specialized vehicles, and roadside construction is inherently dangerous due to passing traffic. Whether you were injured by a construction vehicle or a third party driving negligently near your construction site, you should consult an attorney to see if you have grounds for a claim.
- Toxic exposure is a risk on many construction sites. For example, demolition of an older building could expose workers to harmful substances such as asbestos. Alternatively, there are many substances used in construction work that can be harmful when in direct contact with the skin.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the workplace risks one might face in the construction industry. It is also possible for construction accidents to not only harm workers but also bystanders. The recovery process you could face after a construction accident as a worker would be very different from what you could expect if you were injured as a bystander.
Construction Accident Lawyers Can Help With Workers’ Compensation Claims
Texas law does not require every employer to have workers’ compensation insurance, but most construction industry employers do carry this insurance to limit their liability for their employees’ injuries. If you experienced an injury related to a construction accident and your employer has this insurance, you have the right to seek compensation with a workers’ compensation claim.
Dealing with this type of insurance claim, you will have a much easier time with the filing process and much greater chances of maximizing your benefits if you have legal representation you can trust on your side. A successful workers’ compensation claim can yield full coverage of your medical expenses, along with disability benefits, during the time you are unable to work in recovery.
While it is technically possible for an injured worker to file their workers’ compensation claim without hiring legal counsel, this would be challenging in several ways, and the claimant would be more likely to reach a positive outcome if they had legal representation on their side. Your Sugar Land construction accident attorney can help you file a workers’ compensation claim and resolve any disputes you encounter throughout the claim filing process.
Third-Party Personal Injury Claims
Workers’ compensation insurance may be a valuable economic lifeline to anyone who suffers an injury on the job in Texas, but this insurance is limited in terms of the compensation it can provide. With workers’ compensation, you’ll be unable to obtain compensation for non-economic damages or full repayment of your lost income. Depending on how your injury happened, you may have grounds for additional legal recourse that, if successful, could enhance your recovery.
For example, if you were injured by a third party while working, you would have grounds to seek additional compensation for the losses that workers’ compensation insurance won’t cover with a third-party personal injury suit.
Your Sugar Land construction accident attorney can help you determine whether you have grounds for such a claim against a vendor, subcontractor, or any other third party who bears direct liability for your construction accident. If you are able to prove fault, you can hold the defendant accountable for any damages that workers’ compensation insurance won’t cover, such as your pain and suffering.
Building a Personal Injury Suit for a Construction Accident
A personal injury suit is a type of civil claim in which an injured party seeks compensation for the damages they suffered because of another party’s actions. Most of the personal injury claims filed in Sugar Land each year arise from acts of negligence, or failure to use reasonable care in specific situations. The injured victim must know how to prepare their suit to ensure their success in their recovery efforts.
The foundation of a personal injury claim is proving fault. If you intend to pursue a personal injury claim in response to your recent construction accident, you must identify the party you believe to be responsible for the accident, prove how they caused it, and then establish causation between their actions and your claimed damages. In other words, you must prove that the defendant is directly responsible for your damages and that they did not result from any other cause.
Many forms of evidence could come into play in a construction accident case. For example, if you were injured while working in roadside construction because of a distracted driver who crashed into your worksite, you would need to prove they were negligent in a manner that directly caused the accident. In this case, an attorney could help you obtain cell phone records, traffic camera recordings, and witness testimony to help you prove fault for the accident.
Damages in a Sugar Land Personal Injury Suit
The goal of your personal injury claim is to recover the compensation you need to be as “whole” as possible again after another party has injured you. Once you have proven how your accident happened and identified the party responsible for causing it, you may then proceed with claiming compensation for the losses they inflicted, which may be economic and/or non-economic in nature:
- When someone else damages or destroys your property, they are responsible for the cost of repairing or replacing that property. Your attorney can help you accurately estimate the value of any property losses you intend to seek from the defendant.
- The defendant who injured you is fully liable for all of your medical expenses related to your injury. If you were injured because of the actions of another person, they are responsible for paying immediate medical expenses like hospital bills, but they must also pay for future medical treatment costs if you require ongoing care for a serious injury.
- When you are unable to work due to a personal injury, the defendant who injured you is liable for the income you are unable to earn during recovery. If you can file a workers’ compensation claim, your disability benefits can make up for some of these losses, but you can seek compensation for the remainder of your lost income with a third-party suit.
- Texas law allows an injured plaintiff to claim compensation for the pain and suffering they experienced because of a defendant’s actions. There is no limit on pain and suffering compensation in most personal injury cases, and this can sound too subjective to put into monetary terms. However, your Sugar Land construction accident attorney can assist you in determining a fair amount to include with your claim.
If you are filing a workers’ compensation claim in Sugar Land after your construction accident, your attorney can assist you with maximizing the benefits you receive. If you have grounds to file a third-party personal injury suit, success with this claim could yield compensation for the damages that workers’ compensation insurance will not cover.
If you must file a standalone personal injury claim in response to your construction accident injury, an experienced Sugar Land construction accident attorney will be an invaluable asset for every stage of your case, from gathering the evidence needed to prove fault to assessing the total value of the damages you can claim from the defendant who injured you.
Comparative Fault in Texas Personal Injury Cases
If you believe you might share fault for your construction accident, you should keep Texas’ modified comparative negligence statute in mind. Under this statute, if a plaintiff bears partial liability for causing their damages, they will lose a percentage of their case award equal to their percentage of fault for causing the accident in question. However, their fault percentage must be lower than the defendant’s; otherwise, they lose the right to claim compensation.
Fault is typically not a factor in workers’ compensation claims, as these claims generally function on a no-fault basis. This means it is possible for a worker to have caused their own injury and still qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. However, they must have caused the injury while working in good faith. If they were working under the influence of drugs or alcohol or intentionally violated safety regulations, these factors could disqualify them from benefits as it would be considered that the employee was not working in good faith.
If you have any concerns about comparative fault coming into play in your impending personal injury suit, it is vital to discuss these concerns with an attorney as soon as possible. Even if you do bear partial responsibility for your accident, the right attorney can potentially help you minimize the fault percentage assigned to you, ensuring you can recover as much compensation as possible for your damages.
What to Expect From Your Sugar Land Construction Accident Attorney
Construction accident lawyers help their clients navigate the complex legal aftermath of unexpected injuries in the workplace, and they can also assist those who are injured as bystanders to construction accidents. Whatever your case may involve, you can trust the team at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner to provide compassionate and responsive legal representation throughout all stages of your case.
When you choose our team to represent you, we can immediately begin gathering the evidence that will form the foundation of your claim and assist you in determining the optimal route to recovering your damages. If you must file a workers’ compensation claim, you can trust our team to guide you through this process.
Our firm excels at handling complex personal injury suits as well, so if you must file a third-party personal injury claim or a standalone personal injury suit, rest assured that we will do everything we can to help you maximize your case award as quickly as possible.
Contact Our Team Today
It’s wise to start developing a recovery strategy as soon as possible after your construction accident in Sugar Land. Contact Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner today and schedule a free consultation with a Sugar Land construction accident attorney you can trust with your case.
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