Construction Site Injuries
San Antonio Construction Accident Lawyer
These days, it’s hard to travel anywhere in San Antonio without passing a construction site. Almost one million Texans work in the construction industry earning a living and providing for their families.
Although safety practices have improved drastically over the years, sometimes job sites can still be dangerous places for those who work there. In fact, it’s estimated that about one out of every 25 construction workers nationwide gets injured on the job each year and many benefit from hiring experienced San Antonio work injury attorneys.
Some of the most frequently-seen construction site work injuries include:
- Electrocution – due to exposed wiring, unfinished electrical systems, and nearby power lines
- Falling objects or debris – such as tools or building materials
- Falls from heights – involving workers who fall from scaffolding, roofs, windows, beams, ladders, or unwalled buildings
- Fires or explosions – caused by leaked gases, flames from welding and other building processes, vehicle fires, demolition materials, or unfinished piping or electrical systems
- Getting stuck – in tight spaces surrounded by falling debris, equipment, work vehicles, and walls or other immovable objects
- Machinery accidents – involving power tools, cranes, earth movers, or other equipment
- Overexertion – such as strokes, heart attacks, heat stroke, and other conditions caused by working long hours in unfavorable conditions
- Slips and trips while walking – involving holes, uneven ground, scattered tools, stray building material, or other objects
- Trench collapses – while working below ground in trenches for plumbing, cable, electrical, natural gas, or other building systems
- Vehicle accidents – involving pickup trucks, forklifts, dump trucks, equipment, or even a passenger vehicle passing by the site
Often, these accidents couldn’t have been foreseen by an employer and may not be anyone else’s fault. Still, building companies, contractors, and other firms who employ construction workers have a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment for their employees.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is the federal agency tasked with ensuring that all employers protect their workers while on the job. Some of the OSHA rules governing workplace safety include:
- Providing and maintaining safe tools and equipment for their employees
- Eliminating common hazards from the workplace
- Creating general operating procedures (and keeping them up to date) that outline safety guidelines for their employees
- Creating operating procedures regarding the use, transport, and storage of hazardous substances
- Communicating all safety guidelines, practices, and procedures to employees and providing periodic safety training in these areas when necessary
- Reporting serious or fatal accidents that occur on the job to the nearest OSHA office
- Keeping track of workplace-related injuries and illnesses
- Offering periodic medical examinations and training
If you are a construction worker and suffer an injury on the job site, the two most immediate actions you should take are to notify your supervisor and seek medical attention. Once your condition has been stabilized, it is important to contact a San Antonio work accident and injury lawyer.
In some cases, you may feel that you are not being properly compensated for your medical bills, lost wages, and other injury-related expenses. That’s where a qualified worker injury lawyer can help. The law offices of Ronald A. Ramos, P.C. can help people who have been hurt while working on a construction site in San Antonio and the rest of Bexar County. For more information or to set up a free, one-on-one consultation, fill out our contact form or call our office today.
Common Construction Accident Injuries in San Antonio
Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in Texas, and San Antonio’s ongoing growth means construction sites are everywhere — along with the hazards they create. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies four leading causes of death in construction, known as the Fatal Four: falls from heights, being struck by objects, electrocution, and being caught in or between equipment or structures. Beyond fatalities, construction workers frequently suffer traumatic brain injuries from falling objects or falls from scaffolding, spinal cord injuries that can result in partial or complete paralysis, broken bones and crush injuries from heavy equipment, burns from electrical contact or chemical exposure, and amputations caused by power tools or unguarded machinery.
Who Is Liable for a Construction Accident?
Determining who is responsible for a construction site injury in Texas can be complex because multiple parties are often involved in a single project. Potentially liable parties may include the general contractor responsible for overall site safety, subcontractors who created or failed to address the hazardous condition, property owners who knew about dangerous conditions on the site, equipment manufacturers if defective tools or machinery contributed to the accident, and architects or engineers whose design flaws led to structural failures or unsafe working conditions.
Texas construction sites frequently involve layers of contractors and subcontractors, which can complicate the question of who owes you a duty of care. However, this multi-party structure can also work in your favor by providing multiple sources of compensation beyond just your direct employer.
OSHA Violations and Your Construction Injury Claim
If your employer or another party on the construction site violated OSHA safety regulations, that evidence can strengthen your injury claim. Common OSHA violations on Texas construction sites include failure to provide fall protection on elevated surfaces, inadequate scaffolding construction and maintenance, lack of proper trenching and excavation safeguards, missing or defective personal protective equipment, and insufficient hazard communication about dangerous chemicals. While an OSHA violation does not automatically prove negligence, it is strong evidence that the responsible party failed to meet accepted safety standards. An experienced San Antonio construction accident attorney can investigate your case and identify all potential sources of liability and compensation.
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