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Beware of Self Representation

Representing yourself before these legal defense teams and skilled insurance adjusters is rarely a wise idea. As the old saying goes, any lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. This saying is even more appropriate for 18 wheeler mishap claims where the law is more complex and more difficult to successfully negotiate than in the average passenger vehicle lawsuit.

Knowledge of the law is only a tiny portion of the necessary tools in order to be victorious in a trucking accident case. You need a skilled and experienced big rig accident law firm whose attorneys have over twenty years of experience in taking on the strategies of skilled defense lawyers. Like anything, it requires years and years of practice to obtain the necessary skills and experience to be successful in a court of law or at the negotiating table. Are you familiar with answering interrogatories? Can you prepare a demand pocket? Respond to a list of admissions? You will need to know these if you want even the slimmest chance of winning in court.

You need a truck accident law firm with a considerable record of success so that insurance carriers will negotiate with you in good faith and offer a full and fair compensation settlement then risk going to trial with one of the nation’s premier truck accident law firms and losing a large compensation award. Our attorneys have taken on and defeated every single major insurance company in the United States, and we have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. These companies and their defense attorneys have no fear of non-lawyers and novice attorneys because they know that they will defeat inexperienced parties. They do, however, fear our Law Office. When our attorneys threaten a lawsuit, these companies prepare to settle. They do not wish to face us in a court of law.

What Can You Do?
The first thing you need to do is take the actions necessary to preserve the evidence in your case. You need to hire legal representation as soon as possible so that your lawyer can begin investigating the accident before it is too late. Every second you delay, is a second where evidence is degraded or disappears, for example, accident sites get cleaned up or weather destroys subtle but crucial evidence. Our Law Office thoroughly and meticulously investigates the scene of the mishap to collect the substantial evidence necessary to prove the truck driver, trucking company, etc., negligent and responsible for your injuries and losses. We will measure skid marks to points of impact, we will review any surveillance video, we will examine police and fire department records, we will inspect the involved vehicles, in short, we will do what it takes to gather the evidence to win your case.

In one case we handled, we had two clients, one who was severely injured, and the family of another victim who was killed in the same accident with an 18 wheeler at night. The truck driver left his trailer completely lying across the road, with his trailer acting as a complete barrier to any oncoming traffic. As noted, this accident happened at night and the trailer involved did not have any lights on its side to indicate its presence, in effect, the trailer was invisible to any traveling motorist. Our client drove around a corner and smashed directly into the trailer and the top of the automobile was completely shorn off and killed the driver instantly while the passenger was severely injured. The next day our services were retained and we rushed our attorneys to the accident scene to begin our investigation, but by the time we got there, the passenger vehicle had already been towed to the junkyard. After we arrived at the salvage yard, oddly, we found that the destroyed car was missing its headlights. As with the case mentioned above, our attorneys noticed a surveillance video at the junkyard and they asked to review the video. On the tape, our lawyers found an employee of the trucking company trespassing and stealing the car’s headlamps. Later, at trial, the trucking company tried to argue our clients were at fault for driving at night without headlights installed in their car. Not only did we embarrass them and win at trial, but we also exposed criminal wrongdoing and now the trucking company will be held liable for that behavior.

It was a good thing our clients contacted us when they did. The surveillance video was set to automatically erase and begin re-recording every forty-eight hours. Had our clients delayed, chances are that this crucial evidence would have been destroyed and the chances of our clients recovering fair compensation would have been diminished. Investigating immediately is the best chance you will have of recovering the necessary evidence you need in order to receive full and fair compensation.

We Can Help
The trucking accident law firm at our Law Office has been using its deep knowledge and experience of personal injury and wrongful death law involving tractor-trailer accidents in Texas for over twenty years. If you have been harmed in a big rig mishap, we can help you recover fair and adequate compensation for your injuries and losses, and we can help you seek justice as well.

If you or a family member has been involved in an 18 wheeler accident in Texas, call us for a free consultation to discuss your legal or other alternatives.

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Truck Accident Lawyer Explains Why You Should Never Trust the Insurance Company After an Accident

It’s simple advice that’s been proven time and time again. In the many cases our Law Office has seen over our twenty years of practicing law: Don’t trust the insurance company. You may have already gone through a negative experience with an insurance agent or insurance company.

On the other hand, maybe you’ve never had to deal with an insurance agent and aren’t aware of the possible pitfalls that can occur when seeking compensation for a claim. In either case, there are many instances where the interests of the insurance company often outweigh your best interests. In other words, some insurance agents might not be quite like good neighbor. Because insurance agencies are still a for-profit business, this often means that, if an insurance agent can deny our greatly lessen your claim, they stand to save their company the most amount possible. In other words, your loss is often their gain. The Texas truck accident law firm of our Law Office provides the following story as proof that you shouldn’t automatically trust the insurance company.

When An Insurance Company Takes Advantage
As an example of the statement, “Don’t trust the insurance company,” a woman once contacted our Law Office after her husband and the father of her children was killed while changing a flat tire on the side of the road by a reckless 18-wheeler driver. Because the truck driver knew he was at fault, he contacted his company, and his company subsequently contacted their insurance company. This insurance company then quickly deployed a team of highly trained professionals, involving accident recreation specialists, defense attorneys, and top-notch insurance agents, to the field in order to pursue all possible routes towards vindicating the negligent driver. However, this team was unsuccessful at disproving the driver’s fault at the scene of the accident.

But insurance agencies, especially in the case of accidents involving 18-wheelers where large sums of money are on the line, seldom give up so easily. Employing an oft-used tactic that preys on the emotional vulnerability of those in the initial stages of the grief process, this particular insurance agency sent an agent to visit the recently bereaved woman while she was at the morgue identifying her husband’s body. Hoping to catch her during this understandably difficult time, the insurance agent was attempting to get her to agree to a settlement offer that was far less than fair. Fortunately for the woman, her brother was also there and was able to escort the offensive insurance agent away from his sister. This is a common tactic that often results in an aggrieved party agreeing to a less than fair settlement because they were not in the right emotional or mental state to make a rational decision regarding their legal rights. If you ever happen to be in the same circumstances, it’s in your best interest to contact competent legal help before agreeing to any settlement offered by an insurance agent. As a reminder, it’s best to have a healthy skepticism when it comes to what an insurance agent may be offering you, or, in other words, don’t trust the insurance company.

The saga continues. The lady who lost her husband because of a negligent truck driver simply wanted fair compensation in order to take care of herself and her three children in light of her husband’s death. Assuming that this was quite fair grounds for compensation, she agreed to later meet face-to-face with an insurance adjuster. This seemingly innocuous meeting would eventually be the undoing of any possible legal remedies she could have sought in a wrongful death lawsuit.

For starters, the insurance agent blatantly lied to her that she would only receive compensation for her husband’s lost wages if she chose to sue the insurance company. The agent was fully aware of his lie, but the woman believed he was telling the truth. The truth was that many different types of damages could be sought in such a case, including loss of future earnings, which would have likely greatly increased the amount of compensation this lady could have received. Because she believed the insurance agent honestly had her best interests at heart and was telling her the truth, she stood to lose a sizable, and justly due, amount of compensation because of her innocent and trusting nature. Since she was under the impression that this was the only way she would ever receive any type of compensation, and that this would be the only way in which she’d be able to take care of herself and her family, she was on the brink of signing the insurance agent’s prepared papers in order to agree to the settlement.

However, she still had some misgivings about the situation and asked if she could speak with a lawyer before signing the papers. Rather quickly after that moment, an attorney arrived at her door, looked over the papers, and agreed that the settlement was fair and likely all she would receive. Because of this “outside” source of knowledge, she signed the papers, agreeing to a paltry settlement that was far less than what was fair or necessary for her to able to provide for herself or her family. What she was not aware of in this particular situation was the fact that the lawyer who happened to appear at her house at the right time was in fact hired by the insurance company to do exactly what he did. In other words, the “outside” attorney was in fact “on the inside” and was going to always agree that the settlement was just and all she could hope for. Her innocence in dealing with insurance companies was taken advantage of, and she wound up losing immense amounts of possible compensation because of it.

Unfortunately, by the time the wrongful death attorneys at our Law Office had been contacted by this woman and told about her case, we were unable to assist her as she’d already signed proper documentation. By accepting a settlement, she was then legally prevented from bringing a lawsuit against the negligent driver’s insurance company. Had she contacted us at anytime prior to signing the dotted line, we would have likely been able to help her see all of her possibly legal remedies, and she would have known that she should have likely been compensated for her husband’s loss of future earnings, her own pain and suffering, and funeral expenses. She could have stood the chance to have received over a million dollars in compensation for everything she had been through. However, because of the often unscrupulous and unethical tactics of some insurance companies, and because she believed the lie that her best interests were being looked after by these insurance companies, she wound up with a settlement that included only a few years of her husband’s lost wages that eventually devolved to a measly $600 per month once her children became independents. The sad but true conclusion to this story isn’t that she lost so much, but that the insurance adjuster involved likely received a raise, a bonus, or a promotion for what they did.

Get Legal Help from our Law Office Before Dealing with an Insurance Company
Don’t let what happened in the story above happen to you. By contacting our Law Office quickly in the aftermath of a personal injury, auto accident, or wrongful death case, you can be sure that will work assiduously to protect you from the sometimes unethical treatment and tactics used by some insurance companies. Especially as the stakes of an accident case escalate, such as in the event of wrongful death, it’s vitally important to have experienced legal help on your side to ensure that insurance companies are held liable for the policies they provide to their clients and for their clients’ negligence. Our Law Office has two decades’ worth of experience in personal injury and wrongful death law, as well as a proven track record of success in seeking full and fair compensation for our clients. Call us for a free consultation, especially if you think you might be in over your head dealing with an insurance company. We will listen to the details of your case and inform you as to your possible legal remedies for compensation. Above all, remember one thing: Don’t trust the insurance company. They may not always be on your side, but the Texas personal injury and wrongful death law firm of our Law Office is.

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If You’ve Been Injured in a Scaffolding Accident, Call Our Lawyers

Injuries resulting from on the job construction site falls are the most frequent causes of highly damaging and often traumatic occupation death. The dangers of falling from scaffolding are well known by those working in the construction industry, and falls from scaffolding are often the result of a number of factors.

Injuries from scaffolding fall accidents range in cause from defective hardware (such as the use of screws, or bolts improper for the load capacity being supported) or equipment, improper installation or operation of scaffolding equipment, failure to provide proper safety equipment, or improper to inadequate worker training.

If you have lost a loved one in a scaffolding accident, it is in your best interest to know your legal rights regarding compensation for their loss. The Scaffolding Accident Attorneys of our Law Office have been fighting for the rights of those needlessly killed in on the job construction scaffolding accidents, for over 20 years. We can help you determine your most beneficial legal avenue to compensation for funeral, medical, and financial hardship costs incurred as a result of the loss of your loved one. Our attorneys have helped thousands of Texans suffering from the needless death of their loved ones resulting from construction scaffolding accidents caused by negligence. An understanding of Workers’ Compensation Law is essential for determining your legal course of action in pursuit of compensation, and our Scaffolding Accident Attorneys of our Law Office stand ready to assist you.

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Scaffolding Injury Cases: The Potential for Multiple Party Liability

There exists a great potential for third party liability in cases of on the job deaths. With regard to construction scaffolding accident deaths, third parties that may be held liable for compensation for damages arising from a fatal accident may be as likely as a source of compensation for your damages, as the employer under whose responsibility your loved one was wrongfully killed. Liable third parties could include the manufacturer or installer of the scaffold, or the persons(s) responsible for the maintenance of the scaffolding equipment, the general contractor (GC), subcontractors having a physical presence on the job site, or other workers. According to Texas State Law, all companies, and individuals have a legal duty to provide a certain measure of safety, and owe a duty of no harm, to workers designated, or recognized by law as “general employees”. The deceased employee’s employer may also be held liable for damages arising from a fatal scaffolding accident, in addition to third parties. The complexities of pursuing compensation in the event of a fatal work-related injury require the service of an experienced professional legal counsel. Such counsel will be able to fully navigate the tumultuous backwaters of legal code, and case law to determine the most appropriate course of legal action relevant to your case, and will also be able to provide for you a means of protecting your legal right to seek compensation for damages sought. One of the first, and often most formidable obstacles to be assessed and analyzed in your pursuit of compensation for the death of your loved one is that of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance status of the deceased worker’s employer. The pursuit of compensation for the wrongful death of a loved one from an employer subscribing to Workers’ Compensation Insurance, will differ from cases of compensation sought from an employer who does not subscribe to Workers’ Compensation Insurance.

The Complexity of Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Essential to your legal pursuit of compensation is knowledge of the employer’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance status. As mentioned before, this will determine the legal routes by which you may legally pursue compensation for your financial and emotional losses. Your Scaffold Accident Death Attorney will best be able to assist you in determining this essential factor. In Texas, Workers’ Compensation Law has recently been reshaped to be of greater benefit to the employers who have opted to carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance. This has come about as a result of pressure placed upon the Texas Legislature by companies wishing to cap their liability for damages in the event of worker injuries and or fatalities. “Tort Reform”, as it has since been labeled reduces an employer’s liability for further damages sought by injured workers or the families of workers who have been killed on the job for employers who carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance (subscribers). However, do not be misled into believing that you are not legally entitled to sue for damages awarded under Workers’ Compensation simply because of this fact. Even in cases of fatal workplace accidents in which the employer is a subscriber, third parties exist, from whom compensation can be sought. On the other hand, Tort Reform/ Workers’ Compensation Insurance Law punishes employers who did not subscribe to Workers’ Compensation (non-subscribers) by not shielding them from damages sought by injured workers, and the families of workers wrongfully killed in on the job or work-related accidents. Lawsuits arising from the families of workers killed in work-related accidents often provide damages that exceed the customary amounts paid by Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Lawsuits against subscriber and non-subscriber employers are handled differently and involve their own resulting complexities.

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Workers’ Compensation Subscriber Lawsuits

Subscriber employers have the advantage of being shielded against further lawsuits from injured workers and the families of workers killed, and cannot be sued directly by an injured employee, or the family of a worker wrongfully killed on the job. However, if the family of a worker who has been wrongfully killed on the job can prove that the employer’s gross negligence played a crucial role in the death of their loved one, they may be eligible to pursue damages in addition to those awarded by Workers’ Compensation for their losses via a wrongful death lawsuit. Workers’ Compensation pays the worker of the family of a deceased worker a stated amount as compensation for their pain and suffering. However, this amount is usually insufficient to cover the costs incurred and often leave the grieving family without the financial means to recover sufficiently from their emotional and financial losses. Do not be fooled into believing that you are not entitled to take any further legal action to obtain compensation for your loss because the employer of your deceased loved one carried Workers’ Compensation insurance. It is often the case that third parties may also be liable for damages in the event of a fatal scaffolding accident. Your scaffolding accident attorney is more than capable of assisting you in determining a course of legal action most beneficial to the conditions of your case and will utilize his or her high level of experience and professional dedication to help you obtain the fair and just compensation you and your family deserve for your losses. For over twenty years, the scaffolding accident, and wrongful death attorneys of our Law Office have been helping Texas families protect their legal rights, hold those accountable for the deaths of their loved ones, recover damages for their losses.

Non-Subscriber Lawsuits
The families of workers wrongfully killed in scaffolding accidents may pursue damages under a wrongful death lawsuit and only need to prove the employer’s negligence as being the cause of the fatal accident. Facing the potential of unlimited liability in the event of a work-related scaffolding accident, non-subscriber employers often begin building a legal case against the injured or wrongfully killed worker long before any such incident occurs. These employers, along with the legal defense lawyers of any insurance company with whom they may have a policy, will go to incredible and often underhanded lengths to prove that the injured, or deceased worker was responsible for their own injuries, or death. Such tactics may include outright slander, attacks upon the character, work ethic, or mental capability of the worker, or the manipulation of eyewitness statements, or any statements, which do not favor their legal, or financial interests. Another tactic utilized by non-subscriber employers to avoid having to pay damages is the definition of a worker as a “contractor, temporary worker”, or any other than a “general employee”. This is a tactic based upon the knowledge and recognition of the different duties of safety, which employers must provide for their employees. While “general employees” must be provided by law the duty of a safe working environment, contractors and temporary workers must, themselves, see to the safety of their own work environments. The scaffolding accident attorneys have over twenty years of experience in thwarting the tactics of non-subscriber employers and their defense lawyers attempting to avoid liability for damages. We have helped thousands of Texans recover damages for their financial and emotional losses. Do not allow those responsible for your injuries to remain free from justice. Contact our Law Office, and let’s work together to protect your legal rights, and obtain fair and just compensation for the scaffolding death of your loved one.

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Who, Exactly, is Entitled to Legally Pursue Damages Arising from an Injurious or Fatal Scaffolding Accident?

With the right attorney: one who is highly experienced and knowledgeable of case law regarding construction-related injuries and deaths, almost everyone who has been injured, or wrongfully killed at the hands of a negligent employer may be legally eligible and entitled to seek compensation for their pain, suffering, and financial losses. The differing factors pertinent to your individual case will demand that certain courses of legal action be taken. If you have been injured in a scaffolding accident, or have lost a loved one in a fatal scaffolding accident, it is of the utmost importance that you immediately seek out and designate an appropriate legal representative, to protect your legal right to seek compensation, and pursue damages for your pain, suffering, and financial losses. Under certain conditions, even workers designated as “contractors”, or “temporary”, or even workers borrowed from another employer to complete job duties for another employer may be eligible and legally entitled to pursue compensation for any scaffolding injuries or deaths. In these instances, it will be essential to establish the proper and legal definition of the “employer-employee” relationship, and determine the Workers’ Compensation status of the employer.

If you have been injured in a scaffolding accident, or if you have lost a loved one in a fatal scaffolding accident, the Scaffolding Accident and Wrongful Death attorneys of our Law Office are here to help you obtain restitution for your losses. It is unfortunately frequently the case that other law firms overlook the details of a case and refuse to take it, due to inexperience in the field of practice. Our Law Office has specialized in the litigation of Texas Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Law for over twenty years. Our attorneys are well-practiced, and extremely knowledgeable of the legal hurdles, twists, and turns of pursuing personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, and we have helped thousands of Texans suffering from injuries and the deaths of their loved ones secure the restitution they need to move on with their lives.

In one case of an injured worker’s case being dismissed, a client working on the job site of a stadium renovation project had his foot crushed by a cement spreader went to a Workers’ Compensation Insurance lawyer to have his situation reviewed. He was told, by this lawyer, that because he was a “temporary” worker, that he was not eligible to receive compensation for his pain, suffering, and financial losses. This client then contacted the attorneys of our Law Office, and we were able to properly prove that an “employer-employee” relationship did indeed exist between the client and the defendant. Proof of this relationship allowed us to help him recover damages for his injuries, and hold those responsible for his injuries accountable.

The Scaffolding Accident Attorneys of our Law Office are Here to Help You
Regardless of your situation, whether you are designated by your employer as a contractor, temporary worker, or volunteer, we can help you determine your legal rights, and obtain compensation for construction-related and scaffolding accident injuries, or fatalities. If you have lost a loved one, we can help you and your family hold those responsible for the wrongful death of your loved one accountable for their negligent actions, and secure fair and just compensation for your pain, suffering, and financial losses. Having the Scaffolding Accident and Wrongful Death Attorneys of our Law Office on your side will send a clear signal to those responsible for your pain and suffering. Contact our Law Office today for a free consultation.

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Construction Industry Workers’ Compensation Law Explained

Constant exposure to potential physical danger is unfortunately common in the construction industry as workers are called upon to work with heavy or dangerous equipment, handle potentially dangerous chemicals, or do physical labor high above the ground.

The dangers are everywhere, and while your employer may offer workers’ compensation benefits, this doesn’t always mean that your rights and interests are as protected as they should be.

There are many prevailing misconceptions about the process and complexity of how workers’ compensation actually works, and how it commonly plays out with construction-related accidents. We’d all like to believe that employers and workers’ comp insurers will always do the right thing, but it is important to remember that the employers and insurers are there to protect each other’s interests—not yours. To be sure that you receive fair and appropriate treatment, contact one of the attorneys at our Law Office for a free consultation and we can advise you of your rights and responsibilities, as well as help you determine if there are legal remedies that can help you get the compensation you need.

Why Would Your Employer Try to Deceive You or Omit Important Details in the Course of Helping You With Your Workers’ Compensation Claim?
In some circumstances, pure ignorance can cause an employer to fail to provide an injured worker with the proper resources to receive care under Workers’ Comp. The claim process is paperwork intensive and riddled with fine print and many construction managers simply do not have the time or the detailed orientation to devote to fully understanding the process.

In other cases, your company may intentionally be vague about Workers’ Compensation because they have no workers’ comp policy, and while it isn’t illegal for a construction company not to have Workers’ Comp Insurance, having it shields them from personal injury lawsuits so they may mislead you to believe that they are covered when in fact, they are not.

Finding the answer to this question is critical to determining how much compensation you may be able to receive, and if your employer does not carry the insurance, then there are more legal remedies you can pursue than if your employer subscribes to workers’ comp insurance because the laws say that carrying the workers’ comp coverage allows employers a certain immunity to workplace injury lawsuits.

Thus, many employers may try to take care of the expenses and lost wages as would be covered by workers’ comp to give the illusion of having workers comp insurance in hopes they can avoid getting sued. If you have questions about the validity of your employer’s workers’ compensation benefits, call us today.

Our firm has assisted countless construction workers who thought that they had a subscriber case when in fact they were dealing with a non-subscriber. As mentioned before, construction work is dangerous. Because of the risks, workers’ compensation is very expensive for construction companies. Therefore, they often choose not to subscribe. But when a worker is hurt, they may pretend to have workers’ compensation insurance in order to avoid a lawsuit. An experienced workers’ comp claim lawyer, however, can help you dig through any construction company tricks and determine precisely what options are available to you.

With over 20 years of experience in personal injury construction worker cases, the attorneys at our Law Office are poised and ready to investigate and ensure that you are not bamboozled by devious employers and you receive the full benefits you deserve.

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Are You a Contractor or an Employee?

Because Texas law says only general employees are eligible to file construction work injury suits or workers’ comp claim, many employers in the construction industry believe that by having workers sign waivers that state they are contractors renders them immune to personal/workplace injury lawsuit.

However, the State of Texas has case laws that have been established that protect workers from falling into this trap by instituting standard criteria by which the existence of an employer-employee relationship is established regardless of whether you are listed by the company as a contractor or otherwise. These standard criteria evolved out of a volume of related cases in which similar determinations were made by the courts.

Based on Texas case law, an employer-employee relationship may be proven if:

The contract states the worker is an employee
The worker is working exclusively for that company
The employer provides the tools or materials the worker uses to complete the work
The employer manages the worker at various points throughout the project
The amount of time the employer is expected to continue working for the employee is not specified
If the worker is paid by the hour rather than by the project
The borrowing employer can hire or fire the employee
The borrowing employer requested to use a specific employee
The borrowing employer provides the tools and materials necessary for the worker to complete his or her job
The lending employer cannot interchange the borrowed employee with any other worker
The borrowed worker is used to fill a position that almost anyone could fill
The borrowing employer pays the worker’s taxes and social security
These very technical details along with your employer’s status as a subscriber are critical in determining what benefits you are eligible to receive and whether you have been receiving them fairly.

To ensure that you are not cheated out of the economic relief and potential damages you deserve, make sure that you absolutely DO NOT accept any offer of payment from the construction company. DO NOT sign any documents without having them reviewed by an attorney. DO NOT make or write out any statements detailing the incident.

Our Law Office has been handling construction accident injury cases in and around Texas for more than 20 years, and we are here to help you understand your rights and responsibilities so that you can get the best legal remedy you deserve.

If you think that you may be ineligible to recover benefits because you were a contractor, our construction law experts can review the criteria of your employment with the construction company and determine if you are actually still eligible for legal treatment as a general employee by meeting the credentials established in Texas state law.

Why should I choose your Law Office to help me with my case?
We have been helping injured parties with both subscriber and non-subscriber cases all over the state of Texas for more than 20 years.
Our experienced lawyers can efficiently determine which kind of case you have and what potentially liable parties you should pursue to get the best possible outcome.

We have won cases against almost every major insurance provider in the United States and have a proven track record that encourages many defendants to make generous out of court settlements, which saves you time and money. Our dedicated attorneys care about you and will do everything possible to get you through the process as quickly and painlessly as possible. We will fight to ensure you get the compensation you need to get back on your feet and help ensure that the punitive remedies in your case encourage the construction company to be less negligent and understand that safeguarding their employees is of the utmost importance if they wish to remain in business.
Call us today for a free consultation.

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There are 125,000 cranes being used in America right now. We use them for transporting heavy objects and supplies to that we can have our skyscrapers, stadiums, and churches. Any complication that may arise will make operating the crane dangerous for its driver, the co-workers at the site, and any bystanders below the crane.

People can be easily killed if the crane loses its payload or if the line snaps. Buildings can be crushed if a crane falls or hits other structures. An operator can be electrocuted if a crane strikes a power line. That accident can be easily avoidable if the employer purchased a non-conductive hook and had it installed onto the crane. But, here are some other types of crane injuries and deaths that are unavoidable: Electrical shock, dismemberment, burns, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain trauma.

Who was responsible if you have become a crane accident victim? There are numerous parties that are responsible. If your employer failed to provide a safe working environment to you, under a workers’ compensation claim, they will be held accountable. But what if another party’s negligence caused the accident? A property owner may have had equipment that would have blocked the path of the crane, causing the accident. If negligence was the cause of the accident, you can file a lawsuit. The crane accident attorneys of our Law Office have been litigating lawsuit claims for twenty years. We can help you with your case.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have the following guidelines on the use of cranes on construction sites:

Regarding the operation of the crane, employers have to obey all manufacturer limitations and instructions.
Instructions about the crane’s load capacity and safety warnings must be visible to the crane operator.
The crane has been inspected by a safety inspector prior to operation. If there is anything broken or defective, it must be replaced immediately.
The employer’s responsibility is ensuring the crane is placed away from overhead power lines. If a crane must be operated near a power line, then the employer must ensure the power line is shut down.
If an employer fails to comply with OSHA rules and guidelines on the use of cranes resulting in your injury, you have the right to file a lawsuit. However, depending on whether or not your employer has purchased worker’s compensation will depend on the amount of compensation that you could demand. A Texas employer who buys workers’ comp is called a subscriber. A Texas employer who doesn’t buy workers’ comp is called a non-subscriber.

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The state of Texas doesn’t require all employers to have worker’s compensation. But having workers’ comp is very expensive, so a lot of employers chose to turn it down. If an employee does get injured, an employer is willing to lie about having workers’ compensation in order to avoid a lawsuit. You can’t believe what an employer tells you. You need an experienced crane accident attorney in order to find out what the truth really is.

The real reason employers buy workmen’s compensation is because they are looking for protection from lawsuits. If you’ve been injured on the job or a loved one’s been killed on the job, you can’t sue your employer. The only way to sue a subscriber employer would be if the employee committed gross negligence. But it does not mean that this will end there. The insurance provider will be more than happy to provide for the injured and or family members of the deceased. They’ll pay for the medical bills and lost wages without a hassle. They’ll do all of that because they’re here to help their business. It only looks as though they’re helping you.

Every year, they’ve denied claims to countless employees. Insurance companies of non-subscriber employees will do anything to avoid providing compensation to injured employees. Workers’ compensation is needed in order to decrease lawsuits for injuries or accidental deaths in the workplace, but sometimes a lawsuit is the only way to get justice. It’s important that you have an experienced crane accident attorney on your side to take on the insurance companies.

The insurance companies will have a team of attorneys on their side. They’ll either try to convince you or force you into taking a poor settlement offer that couldn’t be enough to get you back on your feet. The attorneys at our Law Office will not only access your damages, we’ll determine if the insurance company is not being honest.

There are ways in which a victim can seek compensation from their subscriber employer or any third party:

If the gross negligence of the employer-led to the death of your loved one, then you can file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Someone else’s negligence, besides the employer, may have led to your injury suffered in a crane accident. The property owner didn’t provide safe working conditions. Manufacturers may be liable for malfunctioning machinery. The operator may not have operated the crane properly. Another contractor or employee could have negligently caused the injury. In this case, you can sue the responsible party.
It takes experience to identify all parties responsible and make them accountable for the injuries they have inflicted. If a worker suffers an injury due to the negligence of a subscriber employer and a negligent third party, the injured worker may seek compensation for both a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury lawsuit.

Employers avoid buying workers’ compensation insurance because, in the construction business, insurance costs can be expensive. These employers are called non-subscribers. And when taking on a non-subscriber, you will need an attorney that will ensure that you get adequate compensation.

The Texas Government implemented workers’ compensation laws so that subscribers could be protected from lawsuits. Since you’re pursuing a lawsuit against a non-subscriber, you can look forward to greater compensation for your injuries or damages. You only need to prove standard negligence.

In a non-subscriber case, the law can be very complex. You would need an experienced crane accident attorney that can help you through this process.

The plaintiff will file a claim against the defendant that will inform them of the injury and the amount of compensation needed for damages. The easy way would be for the defendant to pay or negotiate with the plaintiff about the settlement. However, the defendant will contest the settlement and the parties will go to court. The plaintiff will have the burden of proving that the defendant was responsible for the injury leading up to medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Luckily, the plaintiff has to establish standard proof of negligence.

At this point, the non-subscriber employers will use some clever maneuvering to avoid paying you anything in court. Here are some examples:

A defense that the employer will use to their advantage is called sole proximate cause. They will claim that the plaintiff is 100 percent responsible for their own injuries. The defense lawyers are willing to destroy your name and credibility so that you will look like the negligent employee that was responsible for the accident.

The employer avoided paying for workers’ compensation, but they are willing to pay for the best attorneys that money can buy. Dragging an injured victim through the mud is a small price to pay for the employer who doesn’t want to take responsibility. You need an attorney with the expertise and the skills to defend your rights.

Do you know why many construction companies hire their employees as contractors? There is no obligation of safety for contractors. Your employer will deny that an employer-employee relationship exists between you two. How can they pay for your injuries, if there’s no evidence that states that you have been employed by them?

In some cases, the employer knows that an employer-employee relationship exists with the victim and they were able to secure compensation. The law sees you as an employee and you are entitled to compensation for injuries suffered on the job.

You need a crane accident attorney who can establish the employer-employee relationship between parties, if they meet the following standards:

Social security and taxes were withheld by the employer
The employer-provided equipment on the job
The employer-provided a set schedule
You were managed, trained, and inspected by the employer daily
Documents that prove that you had to perform tasks in order to work for the employer: such as taking a drug test
You were hired for an undetermined period of time
You were was being paid on an hourly or salary wage
Our crane accident attorneys have the experience handling on the job injuries. We can help you identify all of the parties responsible for your accident and make them pay for all of the damages.

For twenty years, the lawyers of our Law Office have helped injured construction workers recover millions in damages. We can handle any crane accident case, including those with many defendants. We know the OSHA regulations and can provide expert witnesses who can testify about the issues of workplace safety and operating heavy machinery. Call us today for a free consultation.

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