Carabin Shaw is one of the leading personal injury law firms in Laredo. They have extensive experience in car accident cases, focusing on securing compensation for clients’ medical bills, property damage, and pain and suffering.
Specialization: Personal injury, car accidents, wrongful death, 18-wheeler accidents.
Why choose them? Carabin Shaw offers a free initial consultation, and their team is known for fighting aggressively for their clients’ rights.
Construction Accident Injuries in Laredo: Who Is Liable?
Construction work ranks among the most dangerous occupations in Texas, and Laredo’s ongoing development means construction accidents affect Webb County workers with troubling frequency. Falls from heights, equipment accidents, struck-by incidents, and electrocution create hazards that produce severe injuries and fatalities on job sites throughout the region. Personal injury lawyers in Laredo help injured construction workers navigate the complex liability issues in these cases, identify all responsible parties, and pursue maximum compensation. Understanding who bears liability for construction accidents often requires examining the relationships among general contractors, subcontractors, property owners, equipment manufacturers, and other parties whose conduct or negligence contributed to the injuries.
Common Construction Accident Causes
Construction sites present numerous hazards that cause injuries across all trades and experience levels.
Falls from Heights. Falls from scaffolding, ladders, roofs, and other elevated surfaces cause more construction fatalities than any other hazard. Workers may fall due to inadequate fall protection, unstable work surfaces, or failure to use provided safety equipment.
Struck-By Accidents. Falling objects, swinging loads, and moving equipment strike workers throughout construction sites. Hard hats provide some protection, but heavy objects falling from heights can cause catastrophic injuries despite protective equipment.
Caught-In/Between Incidents. Workers become caught in machinery, trapped between equipment and fixed objects, or buried in trench collapses. These accidents often produce crushing injuries, amputations, and fatalities.
Electrocution. Contact with overhead power lines, exposed wiring, and improperly grounded equipment causes electrical injuries ranging from burns to cardiac arrest. Construction workers face higher electrocution risks than most other occupations.
Equipment Accidents. Cranes, forklifts, excavators, and other heavy equipment cause injuries when operators make errors, equipment malfunctions, or workers enter dangerous areas. Rollover accidents, tip-overs, and collision incidents produce severe trauma.
Understanding Construction Site Liability
Determining who bears responsibility for construction accidents requires examining the relationships between multiple parties present on job sites. Truck accident attorneys in Laredo and personal injury lawyers handling construction cases understand these complex liability issues.
General Contractors. General contractors often bear overall responsibility for job-site safety, even when subcontractor employees are injured. Texas law may impose liability on general contractors who fail to maintain safe conditions or adequately supervise subcontractor work.
Subcontractors. The subcontractor that employs an injured worker typically bears direct respxfonsibility for ensuring safe working conditions. Subcontractors must provide safety equipment, training, and supervision adequate to protect their employees.
Property Owners. Owners of property where construction occurs may bear liability for dangerous conditions they knew or should have known existed. Owners who retain control over safety matters or fail to ensure contractors maintain safe sites may face claims.
Equipment Manufacturers. Defective construction equipment that malfunctions and causes injuries supports products liability claims against manufacturers. Design defects, manufacturing defects, and inadequate warnings can all create manufacturer liability.
Architects and Engineers. Design professionals whose plans create inherently dangerous conditions may be held liable for resulting injuries. Structural failures and other design-related accidents may support claims against architects and engineers.
Personal injury attorneys in Laredo investigate accident circumstances thoroughly to identify all potentially liable parties.
Workers’ Compensation vs. Third-Party Claims
Texas construction workers may have access to multiple compensation sources depending on their employment circumstances and the cause of their accident.
Workers’ Compensation. Employees of companies that carry workers’ compensation insurance may receive benefits for medical expenses and wage replacement, regardless of fault. However, accepting workers’ compensation generally bars claims against the subscribing employer.
Non-Subscriber Claims. Employers who opt out of workers’ compensation lose important legal protections. Injured workers can sue non-subscribing employers directly for negligence, potentially recovering damages, including pain and suffering, that workers’ compensation does not provide.
Third-Party Claims. Regardless of workers’ compensation status, injured construction workers may pursue claims against third parties whose negligence caused the accident. General contractors, other subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, and property owners may all face liability for construction injuries.
Our accident lawyers in Laredo who handle construction cases help injured workers understand all available options and pursue maximum compensation from all responsible sources.
OSHA Violations as Evidence of Negligence
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration establishes detailed safety standards for construction work. When employers violate these standards and violations contribute to injuries, OSHA regulations provide powerful evidence supporting negligence claims.
Common OSHA violations in construction include failure to provide fall protection, inadequate scaffolding, improper excavation and trenching procedures, lack of required personal protective equipment, and insufficient hazard communication.
Citations issued by OSHA following accident investigations can support claims against employers and contractors who violated safety requirements. Even without citations, evidence that industry safety standards were not followed demonstrates negligence.
Personal injury lawyers in Laredo use OSHA standards and evidence of violations to establish liability and secure fair compensation for injured construction workers.
Compensation Available to Injured Construction Workers
Construction accidents often cause severe injuries requiring extensive medical treatment and producing lasting disability. Compensation should reflect the full impact of injuries on victims’ lives.
Medical expenses, including emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, and ongoing treatment, can be recovered. Future medical needs should be projected and included in claim valuations.
Lost wages during recovery and diminished earning capacity when injuries prevent return to construction work represent significant damages. Young workers facing lifetime earnings reductions may recover substantial future wage losses.
Pain and suffering, disfigurement, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life reflect non-economic damages that compensation should address.
Construction accidents involve complex liability issues that require experienced legal guidance. Call Carabin Shaw at 956-333-3333 to speak with Laredo personal injury lawyers who understand construction injury claims. Hablamos español.