A fall from a scaffold or a crush injury from heavy equipment can end your ability to work in a moment. If you were hurt on a jobsite, a construction accident lawyer in Houston can help you find out who is responsible and what your claim may be worth. At Thiessen Law Firm, we fight giants, including the contractors and insurers behind big projects.
Construction claims often involve several companies, several insurers, and a Texas workers’ compensation system with its own rules. We can review what happened, explain your options, and start gathering evidence before the site changes.
If you are weighing your next step, a free consultation with a Houston personal injury lawyer at our firm can help you decide.
How Construction Accidents Happen in Houston
Construction work in Houston puts crews in heat, at height, and near heavy equipment all year. Refinery expansions, highway projects, warehouses, and new housing each carry their own hazards. When one company cuts a corner, the worker on the ground often pays for it.
Common construction accidents include:
- Falls from scaffolds, ladders, roofs, and unguarded edges
- Being struck by falling tools, materials, or moving vehicles
- Electrocution from exposed wiring or overhead power lines
- Trench collapses and caught-between injuries
- Crane, forklift, and heavy equipment accidents
Houston’s summer heat adds its own risk. Heat exhaustion can cause dizziness and falls, and Texas has no statewide rule requiring water or rest breaks for outdoor workers. When a contractor pushes crews through triple-digit heat index days without breaks, that choice may become part of your claim.
For a free legal consultation with a construction accident lawyer serving Houston, call (713) 864-9000
Who Our Houston Construction Accident Lawyers May Hold Responsible
Your employer is not always the only party at fault. A typical Houston project has a property owner, a general contractor, several subcontractors, and outside vendors, and each one may have safety duties. Any of them could be responsible if they created a hazard, knew about it, or failed to fix it.
Depending on the facts, liability could fall on general contractors who controlled site safety, subcontractors whose crews created a danger, property owners, equipment rental companies, or suppliers of faulty tools. We look at contracts, incident reports, maintenance logs, and witness statements to see who controlled what.
Federal OSHA safety standards can also matter. A missing fall protection system or an untrained equipment operator may point to negligence, even if no citation was issued. Several parties often share fault in construction accidents, and each may carry its own insurance policy.
Houston Construction Accident Lawyer Near Me (713) 864-9000
Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims in Texas
Texas lets private employers choose whether to carry workers’ compensation insurance. If your employer is a nonsubscriber, you may be able to sue them directly for negligence. Under the Texas Labor Code, nonsubscribers also lose some defenses, such as arguing that you were partly to blame.
If your employer does carry coverage, workers’ compensation benefits are usually your main remedy against that employer. Those benefits cover medical care and part of your lost wages, but not pain and suffering. They also do not stop you from bringing a claim against another company whose negligence hurt you.
Some large projects use a single insurance program that covers every worker on site. That setup can affect which companies you may sue. A construction accident lawyer in Houston can review the project’s insurance structure and tell you which claims may be open to you.
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Injuries and Compensation After a Houston Construction Accident
Construction injuries are often severe. Workers suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, broken bones, burns, amputations, and crush injuries. Many cannot return to physical work, which can cut their earnings for years.
Depending on your claim, compensation may include:
- Medical bills, surgery, and rehabilitation costs
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Physical pain and mental anguish
- Disfigurement and physical impairment
- Funeral costs and lost support in wrongful death cases
When a worker dies, Texas law may allow a spouse, children, or parents to bring a wrongful death claim. Any settlement should account for future surgeries and years of lost income as well as current bills. Once you settle, you generally cannot reopen the claim.
Steps to Take After a Jobsite Injury
Get medical care first and follow your treatment plan. Prompt care protects your health and creates records that tie your injuries to the accident. Tell your doctor exactly how you were hurt.
Report the accident to your supervisor in writing and keep a copy. In Texas, you generally have 30 days to notify your employer for workers’ compensation purposes. If you can, take photos of the scene and equipment, and write down the names of co-workers who saw what happened.
Be careful with insurance adjusters. The first offer may not reflect what your claim is worth, and a recorded statement can be used against you. Texas generally gives you two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, so waiting can cost you options.
Why Injured Workers Choose Our Construction Accident Lawyers in Houston
Thiessen Law Firm is a family-owned firm, and our team is Houston-born and raised. We have been serving since 2011, and our attorneys bring over 90 years of combined experience. Our founding partner, Mark Thiessen, is a board-certified attorney who worked in insurance defense before he chose to represent injured people.
That insider view matters when a general contractor and three insurance giants are pointing fingers at each other. We prepare every case as if it is going to trial, because insurers tend to take trial-ready cases more seriously. A retired radiologist on our staff reviews imaging, which may help show injuries an adjuster wants to downplay.
We can also connect you with medical providers in our network, help schedule appointments, and help arrange Uber rides to treatment. We can come to you for your consultation, and our team serves clients in English and Spanish.
Talk to Our Team About Your Jobsite Injury
Evidence on a construction site can be cleaned up, repaired, or thrown away within days. Thiessen Law Firm can start investigating now while you focus on recovery. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
If you or a loved one was hurt on the job, speak with a construction accident lawyer in Houston at our firm about what happened. Call Thiessen Law Firm or reach out online today for your free consultation.