Construction Injury Lawyers Austin | Struck-By Accident Claims
Shaw Cowart represents accident injury victims in Austin and the surrounding areas
Construction Injury Lawyers Austin: Struck-By Accident Claims
You never saw it coming—a tool falling from above, a load swinging from a crane, or a vehicle backing toward you without warning. Struck-by accidents are one of OSHA’s “Fatal Four” construction hazards, causing approximately 10% of construction worker fatalities each year. Austin’s busy construction sites feature constant movement of materials, equipment, and vehicles that create struck-by hazards for workers at every level. Our construction injury lawyers Austin have represented numerous victims of struck-by accidents, understanding both the devastating injuries these incidents cause and the safety failures that allow them. The Austin construction accident attorneys at Shaw Cowart fight for workers injured by falling objects, swinging loads, and moving equipment, pursuing every responsible party.
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The Struck-By Hazard
Construction sites are dynamic environments where materials move constantly—vertically and horizontally, by crane and by hand, on vehicles and on foot. This constant movement creates ever-present struck-by hazards. Our Austin construction accident lawyers know that proper safety management should control these hazards through exclusion zones, secured materials, and communication protocols. The construction accident attorneys Austin at Shaw Cowart investigate struck-by accidents to determine exactly what safety failures allowed preventable injuries to occur. More here: https://www.carabinshaw.com/austin-road-construction-accident-experienced-injury-attorneys-c.html
Types of Struck-By Accidents
OSHA categorizes struck-by hazards into four types: struck-by flying objects, struck-by falling objects, struck-by swinging objects, and struck-by rolling objects. Each type requires specific protective measures.
Struck-By Falling Objects
Objects falling from height cause devastating injuries.
Tools and Materials
Tools dropped from elevated work areas, materials knocked from scaffolds and platforms, and debris falling during demolition strike workers below. Even small objects become dangerous projectiles when falling from height.
Building Components
Structural elements, panels, and fixtures being installed can fall when improperly secured or when connections fail. These heavy components cause fatal injuries.
Overhead Work
Any time work occurs overhead, workers below face falling object hazards. Proper barricading should exclude workers from areas beneath overhead work.
Hard Hat Limitations
Hard hats provide essential protection but have limits. Heavy objects falling from significant heights overwhelm hard hat protection. Hard hats don’t protect faces, necks, or bodies.
Struck-By Swinging Objects
Swinging loads and materials present serious hazards.
Crane Loads
Loads suspended from cranes swing when accelerated, decelerated, or affected by wind. Workers in swing zones can be struck with tremendous force. Proper rigging and load control minimize swing.
Materials Being Moved
Long materials like pipes, lumber, and steel being carried or lifted swing unexpectedly, striking workers who thought they were at safe distances.
Mechanical Equipment
Excavator buckets, backhoe arms, and similar equipment swing through areas where workers may be present.
Struck-By Moving Vehicles and Equipment
Construction vehicles and equipment strike workers constantly.
Backing Vehicles
Trucks, heavy equipment, and vehicles backing up strike workers in blind spots. Spotters should guide backing operations, but this protection is often skipped.
Mobile Equipment
Forklifts, skid steers, and other mobile equipment operating in work areas strike workers who enter travel paths or whom operators fail to see.
Delivery Vehicles
Vehicles delivering materials to job sites strike workers in staging areas and travel ways.
Struck-By Flying Objects
Objects propelled through the air create struck-by hazards.
Power Tool Debris
Saws, grinders, and nail guns propel fragments at high velocity. Eye protection and face shields provide essential protection.
Pressurized Systems
Pneumatic and hydraulic system failures propel hoses and fittings with dangerous force.
Explosive Events
Compressed gas cylinder failures, battery explosions, and similar events propel fragments and equipment.
Struck-By Injuries
Struck-by accidents cause severe injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Objects striking heads cause skull fractures, brain contusions, and fatal brain injuries. Even with hard hats, significant impacts cause serious brain trauma.
Crushing Injuries
Heavy objects and equipment crush limbs and bodies, causing amputations, internal injuries, and fatal trauma.
Spinal Injuries
Impacts to backs and necks damage spines, causing paralysis and permanent disability.
Fractures
Struck-by impacts break bones throughout the body, from facial fractures to broken legs.
Fatal Injuries
Struck-by accidents kill approximately 75 construction workers annually in the United States.
Preventing Struck-By Accidents
Struck-by hazards are controllable through proper safety measures.
Secured Materials
Materials must be secured against falling, shifting, and rolling. Proper stacking, strapping, and storage prevent uncontrolled movement.
Toeboards and Debris Nets
Toeboards on elevated platforms prevent objects from rolling off. Debris nets catch falling materials.
Barricaded Work Zones
Areas beneath overhead work and within swing radius of crane operations should be barricaded to exclude workers.
Spotters for Vehicle Operations
Spotters guiding backing and maneuvering operations prevent workers from being struck by vehicles they can’t see.
Communication Protocols
Clear communication about equipment movement, load handling, and overhead work alerts workers to hazards.
Liability in Struck-By Cases
Multiple parties may be responsible for struck-by accidents.
Employers
Employers who fail to secure materials, fail to barricade hazard zones, or fail to provide spotters bear direct responsibility.
General Contractors
General contractors controlling sites bear responsibility for site-wide safety including material storage, equipment operation protocols, and overhead work protection.
Equipment Operators
Operators who strike workers through negligent operation share liability for injuries.
Other Contractors
Contractors whose workers drop objects or create hazards bear responsibility for injuries to workers of other companies.
Equipment Manufacturers
Defective equipment contributing to struck-by accidents creates manufacturer liability.
Fighting for Struck-By Victims
Struck-by accidents are preventable through basic safety measures—securing materials, barricading hazard zones, and using spotters. When these protections fail and workers are injured, they deserve full compensation. Our construction injury lawyers Austin at Shaw Cowart pursue all responsible parties in struck-by cases.
If you were injured in a struck-by accident on an Austin construction site, contact us today. We’ll investigate the accident and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Unsafe Working Conditions in Austin | Shaw Cowart Work Injury Lawyers
This blog was posted by Shaw-Cowart Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, representing clients in Austin and the surrounding areas
When Austin Employers Fail to Provide Safe Working Conditions: Your Legal Rights
Every Austin worker deserves a workplace free from recognized hazards. Federal and state laws establish employer responsibilities to protect employees from foreseeable dangers. When employers ignore these obligations and workers suffer injuries as a result, legal consequences follow. More about the Work Accident / Work Injury Lawyers in Austin here
Understanding what constitutes unsafe working conditions helps injured workers recognize when their employers bear responsibility for accidents. Austin workers who get hurt due to employer negligence have legal options that can provide compensation for their injuries and hold negligent employers accountable. Find more Information about https://www.carabinshaw.com/workers-compensation-lawyers-in-austin.html
Employer Duties Under Texas and Federal Law
Employers operating in Austin must comply with safety standards established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and enforced through the Texas Department of Insurance. These regulations cover virtually every aspect of workplace safety, from fall protection to chemical exposure to machine guarding.
The OSHA General Duty Clause requires employers to provide workplaces free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. This catch-all provision applies even when no specific standard addresses a particular hazard. Employers cannot escape responsibility simply because regulators have not written a rule covering their exact situation.
Industry-specific standards establish detailed requirements for construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and other sectors. These standards specify exactly what employers must do to protect workers from identified hazards. Violations of these specific standards provide strong evidence of negligence when workers suffer related injuries.
Texas law imposes additional obligations on employers regarding workplace safety. Non-subscriber employers who opt out of workers’ compensation lose important legal defenses and face enhanced exposure when injuries result from their negligence.
Common Unsafe Conditions in Austin Workplaces
Unsafe working conditions take many forms depending on the industry and work environment. Recognizing these hazards helps workers understand when their injuries result from employer failures rather than unavoidable accidents.
Missing or inadequate safety equipment leaves workers vulnerable to preventable injuries. Employers must provide appropriate personal protective equipment including hard hats, safety glasses, hearing protection, respirators, and fall protection gear. They must also train workers on proper use and enforce compliance with equipment requirements.
Defective machinery and equipment causes injuries when employers fail to maintain equipment properly or continue operating machines they know have dangerous defects. Regular inspection, preventive maintenance, and prompt repair of identified problems represent basic employer responsibilities.
Inadequate training sends workers into dangerous situations without the knowledge to protect themselves. Complex equipment, hazardous materials, and high-risk work environments require thorough training before workers face these dangers. Rushing new employees into production without proper preparation demonstrates disregard for their safety.
Excessive workloads and fatigue contribute to accidents when employers push workers beyond safe limits. Mandatory overtime, understaffing, and unrealistic production quotas create conditions where tired workers make mistakes. Sleep-deprived employees have reaction times and judgment comparable to intoxicated individuals.
Failure to correct known hazards shows deliberate indifference to worker safety. When employers know about dangerous conditions and choose not to fix them, any resulting injuries reflect conscious disregard for worker welfare. Documentation showing management awareness of hazards before accidents proves particularly damaging in litigation.
How Unsafe Conditions Affect Your Legal Claims
The nature of unsafe conditions causing your injury significantly affects your legal options and potential recovery. Employers who create or tolerate dangerous conditions face different consequences than those whose workers suffer injuries despite reasonable safety efforts.
Workers’ compensation generally provides benefits regardless of employer fault. Even if your employer maintained perfectly safe conditions, injuries arising from your employment trigger benefits under this no-fault system. However, workers’ compensation limits damages and prevents most direct lawsuits against participating employers.
Non-subscriber employers who opt out of workers’ compensation face negligence lawsuits from injured workers. Proving unsafe conditions caused your injury opens the door to full damages including pain and suffering. These employers also lose traditional defenses like contributory negligence and assumption of risk.
Gross negligence claims become possible when unsafe conditions reflect extreme disregard for worker safety. Proving gross negligence requires showing the employer knew of the hazard, understood the extreme risk it created, and proceeded despite this knowledge. Successful gross negligence claims trigger exemplary damages designed to punish particularly egregious conduct.
OSHA Violations as Evidence of Negligence
OSHA citations issued to your employer provide powerful evidence in workplace injury litigation. These citations represent official findings that your employer violated specific safety standards designed to prevent exactly the type of injury you suffered.
Citation records are public documents available through OSHA’s online database. Checking whether your employer has received prior citations reveals patterns of safety violations that support negligence claims. Repeated citations for similar violations demonstrate knowledge of hazards and failure to correct them.
Even without citations, OSHA standards establish what reasonable employers should do to protect workers. Expert witnesses can testify that industry standards required certain safety measures your employer failed to implement. Deviation from these standards supports findings of negligence.
Post-accident OSHA investigations often occur after serious injuries or fatalities. Cooperating with these investigations while protecting your legal interests requires careful coordination. An experienced work injury attorney helps navigate this process.
Documenting Unsafe Conditions After Your Injury
Building a strong case based on unsafe working conditions requires evidence gathered before conditions change or memories fade. Taking immediate steps to document hazards preserves your legal options.
Photograph the accident scene, including the specific hazard that caused your injury, surrounding conditions, and any safety equipment that was missing or defective. Multiple angles and perspectives provide the most complete picture for later use.
Identify witnesses who observed either the unsafe condition or your accident. Obtain their contact information before they leave employment or become unavailable. Written statements taken promptly carry more weight than memories reconstructed months later.
Request copies of incident reports, safety inspection records, maintenance logs, and training documentation. These records may reveal prior knowledge of hazards or patterns of safety failures. Employers sometimes make documents disappear after accidents, so requesting them quickly matters.
Report the hazard to OSHA if you believe it violates safety standards. This creates an official record and may trigger an investigation that produces valuable evidence. You have legal protection against retaliation for making good-faith safety complaints.
Shaw Cowart Holds Negligent Austin Employers Accountable
Shaw Cowart represents Austin workers injured by unsafe working conditions. Our attorneys investigate the circumstances of workplace accidents to identify employer negligence and pursue maximum compensation for our clients.
Contact our Austin office for a free consultation about your work injury case. We explain your legal options and help you understand whether unsafe conditions contributed to your accident.
Construction Accident Attorneys
Carabin Shaw is one of the leading personal injury law firms in San Antonio. They have extensive experience in construction 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 Attorneys
Tenacious, Aggressive and Caring Attorneys | Handling Construction Accident Claims
The law permits immediate family members of someone who died while working to file claims to recover compensation and damages. The exact type of claim depends on the circumstances of the death. It is important to consult a knowledgeable and sympathetic wrongful death attorney to learn about your rights after the death of a loved one turned your world upside down. More about our construction accident lawyers in San Antonio here
At our Law Firm, our lawyers have been helping clients with personal injury and wrongful death matters for more than 25 years. A focus of our practice is construction accident injuries and deaths. Because of our vast experience, we are able to advise clients about filing wrongful death claims after a fatal accident at a construction site.
Helping Clients Relieve Their Anxiety
We know that recovering compensation will not solve your problems or take away your grief. However, we have observed over the years that having adequate financial resources removes one source of worry and anxiety and allows the bereaved to start putting their lives back together after a fatality.
We have also observed that another source of stress is not knowing where the case stands. To address this, our attorneys are committed to providing clients with frequent updates about the status of their cases. We are available to respond to questions as the case progresses through the legal system.
Examples of Our Cases
We have handled wrongful death cases involving:
Scaffolding accidents
Ladder falls
Crane accidents
Electrocutions
Falls from heights
Trench collapses
Benefits and Types of Wrongful Death Claims
Accidents such as these and others cause many deaths each year to construction workers and passersby. Our attorneys can help you recover compensation for the deceased’s lost income, pain and suffering before death, your pain and suffering, the loss of support and consortium, funeral expenses, final medical expenses, and other costs and losses related to the death of your loved one. The precise awards depend on the type of claim.
Our wrongful death lawyers help clients file wrongful death lawsuits against liable individuals and entities that are not the victims’ employers. These can include subcontractors, delivery companies, maintenance providers, equipment manufacturers, and other third parties. We seek the maximum recovery available from all sources of compensation after a wrongful death.
Contact a Wrongful Death Attorney After a Fatal Construction Accident
We offer complimentary consultations and charge no legal fees unless we recover compensation for our injured clients. To learn more about our wrongful death lawyers and to schedule an appointment, call us toll-free.
WORKPLACE ACCIDENT INJURY LAWYERS / WORKERS’ COMP
“Workplace accidents can have lasting consequences. Trust J.A. Davis & Associates, your local Texas work accident injury lawyers, to handle your case with the attention and care it deserves.”
WORKPLACE ACCIDENT INJURY LAWYERS / WORKERS’ COMP
Defendants Will Certainly Charge you as Being the Sole Proximate Cause of the Accident.
Your workers’ comp non-subscribing employer is certainly not likely to suddenly change his or her nature and agree to pay you for the harm you’ve suffered due to that negligence. Our experience in these matters has taught us that most non-subscribers insurance companies (and their lawyers if it comes down to a trial) begin their defense with a couple of relatively predictable strategies to avoid paying injured employees the restitution they deserve. We’ve mentioned the sole proximate cause defense. To make an effective case, your opponents will add insult to your injuries and soil your reputation by charging you were a negligent employee and causing your injuries. They try to hold you alone responsible for them.
This is the first step of their besmirchment campaign. Your character comes into question: ‘When did you stop beating your wife? Did we see you selling drugs on the job site?’ Questions begin popping up. They have no shame (or aversion) to painting the wrong picture of you as they desperately try to wiggle out of paying rightful damages. So, in addition to your burden of proof, you and your attorney have an equally-important burden of dis-proof. Insurance defense lawyers know how close to the line truth and lie they can go without stepping over it, yet still make their sinister points against you. Your employer may have been too cheap to buy workers’ comp coverage. But you can be sure they will think nothing of paying tens of thousands of dollars to defend themselves. You need your cunning work accident attorney to place the spotlight back where it belongs, squarely on the negligent employer.
The Next Defense: Questioning the Existence of an Employer-Employee Relationship
The sole proximate cause defense has been thwarted. But there’s another defense trick awaiting you. Many clever employers begin avoiding liability even before accidents occur by trying to distance themselves from you as an employee and their responsibility to compensate you fairly. Some even start building that paper trail to prove their argument from the first day you show up for work. Texas employers are not liable for what happens to contractors vis-à-vis job site injury liability. So many companies will claim to hire their employees as contractors. By calling you a contractor, your employer believes it’s possible to deny that an employer-employee relationship existed between you and the company. Then they will tell you that you don’t have a legal claim to compensation for your injury-related damages. Their logic is simple: why should they be responsible for an injury to someone who was technically never their employee? While many companies try to claim they hire their employees as contractors or as temp workers through a third party, the business owner knows an actual employer-employee relationship exists in many of these cases. An injured worker can still obtain compensation. So don’t be discouraged by this ploy. Even though your employer initially claims you are a contractor, you are likely still considered an employee in the eyes of the law; and entitled to recover financial compensation for injuries suffered on the job. A skillful and well-seasoned workplace employee injury attorney knows how to prove the employer-employee relationship by meeting at least one of the following standards and often proves more than two:
Social security and withholding taxes have been deducted from your paycheck by your employer.
Your employer supplied the essential equipment for the job.
Your employer has regularly managed, overseen, or inspected your work.
A specific work schedule has been set for the job by your employer. You are not free to come and go from the workplace as you, please.
Your employer requires you to complete a task or sign a document that limits your rights while working for the employer. The most common examples are taking a drug test or signing a document that states you comply with an employee handbook.
You have been employed for an undetermined period, not just for a single job.
A salary or an hourly wage pays you not on a job-by-job basis.
In cases where a worker is borrowed from another company, or a third-party agency, the rules for determining the working relationship are related, but there can be some crucial differences. These conditions may include the following:
If the borrowing employer can hire or fire a borrowed worker at any time, the worker is an employee. Otherwise, the worker is a
contractor.
Most of the time, if the borrowing employer is allowed to pick a particular worker, the worker is an employee.
If the agency that provides the worker is allowed to send any worker they choose, the worker is a contractor.
If the worker must provide them, that person is a contractor.
If the employer offers them, the worker is an employee.
The worker is a contractor if the employment agency can substitute the borrowed worker for another.
If the lending agency cannot, then the worker is an employee.
If the worker is borrowed indefinitely, then the worker is an employee.
If the worker is borrowed for a specific project with a completion date and no further, the worker is a contractor.
If a worker is being borrowed or “leased” because of a unique or hard-to-find skill, then the worker is a contractor.
On the other hand, if an employer borrows a worker to fill a position that just about anyone can supply, then the worker is an employee.
If the borrowing employer agrees to pay the worker’s social security and income tax, the worker is an employee.
The worker is a contractor if the borrowing employer does not accept this responsibility.
Our Law Office conducts a thorough investigation to demonstrate at least one of these standards and prove an employer-employee relationship existed between you. We will depose co-workers, review contracts and examine pay stubs to establish that you were an employee when you suffered an on-the-job injury. A couple of other important things: if you were hired by an employment agency to work at an “employer’s” company and suffered a workplace-related injury or accidental death, your attorney must determine if the employment agency has workers’ comp. If so, you would file a workers’ comp claim against the agency, which would make the company where you performed the work a third-party contributor to the accident and subject to the full extent of civil law. Also, suppose your employer loaned you to another company where the accident occurred. In that case, the issue of a workers’ comp subscription with your employer comes to mind, and the company where you suffered your injury will likely be treated as a third-party defendant in any civil claim or suit. Or maybe they’re both non-subscribers, so there are no civil restrictions.This brings another important point to mind. Workers’ comp claims are less than adequate when major injuries include wrongful death. So the traditional way for an employee to recover fair damage compensation is to file a workers’ comp claim against the employer of record (assuming that the employer subscribes) and then supplement the claim with the appropriate number of third-party claims or lawsuits. Finally, sometimes employers will deduct that Social security and withholding taxes and then put the money in their pocket, then try to claim an employer/employee relationship did not exist. They change their tune if we ask if the IRS will back them up. Then they change their tune quickly. They know that we’ll know that truth in less than five minutes. Some people: and another benefit delivered by an experienced workplace injury lawyer.
More great blogs on Work Injury Law – Workers Comp here:
https://www.devineandfanning.com/contact-fatal-work-accident-attorneys/
https://www.nancysearerattorneyatlaw.com/is-my-employer-a-workers-compensation-insurance-subscriber/
https://www.prestilaw.com/workers-compensation-what-can-i-do/
https://www.bethkrulewitch.com/workers-compensation-osha-cannot-help-you/
https://www.nbalawblog.com/workers-compensation-what-is-a-contract-employee/
https://www.jdavidmarkham.com/frequent-problems-in-nonsubscriber-work-injury-cases/
https://www.clarkbyarlay.com/workers-compensation-non-subscriber-employers/
https://www.lawofficeofkarenross.com/workers-compensation-law/
https://www.sainilawyers.com/workers-compensation-attorney/
https://www.hensleylawteam.com/legally-pursue-damages-arising-from-an-injurious/
https://www.ftlauderdaledefense.com/workers-compensation-non-subscriber-lawsuits/
https://www.fastinjuryclaims.com/the-complexity-of-workers-compensation-insurance/
https://www.car-accident-lawyers-today.com/understanding-your-rights-after-a-car-accident/