Everything is bigger in Texas—including the death toll to construction workers.  Construction workers work hard.  They are also placed into life and death situations due to the brisk pace, poor safety conditions, and an unrealistic schedule they must follow.  Often times, meeting deadlines means construction companies need to do things less safely—less by the book.  In 2015, OSHA documented that a construction worker in Texas dies once every three days.  Too often, construction workers are taken from their families due to the deadly working conditions of the Texas construction industry.

Despite existing safety standards and regulations in the construction industry, construction workers routinely work among serious work hazards and are at risk of severe falls.  Most accidents are preventable with proper planning, training, and safety equipment.  Despite most construction accidents being completely avoidable, construction workers are still at risk of falling from cranes, grain elevators, and elevated construction sites.

The simple fact is that employers are responsible for their employee’s safety.  That means, employers are responsible for ensuring employees are properly trained and given all needed safety equipment.  If an employer falls short of their responsibility and one of their employees is hurt or killed, the employer is negligent.

Construction Site Hazards

Many construction sites have fall hazards.  The OSHA Training Institute has identified major areas where falls occur:

• Unprotected roof/floor openings
• Structural steel and leading edges
• Improper scaffold construction
• Unsafe portable ladders

Your employer can and should protect you from injury by providing you with fall protection systems (including, guardrail systems, safety net systems, and personal fall arrest systems), ensuring scaffolding is properly constructed, ensuring ladders are properly maintained and used, inspecting the construction site for dangers or hazards, and providing training to employees.

Speak with a Construction Site Injury Lawyer in Houston, TX

If you or your spouse has been injured working on a construction site, it is important that you speak with an attorney about your legal rights. At Morrow & Sheppard LLP, we offer free consultations, and you pay nothing unless we win. Don’t wait to find out if you are entitled to compensation, please call (800) 489-2216 or request your free consultation online today.