Injured on the job in San Antonio or McAllen? J.A. Davis & Associates offers expert legal representation to help you navigate your workers’ compensation claim and fight for your rights.
Fatal Work Accident Attorney
If You Need Information From A Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer: Our Fatal Work Accident Attorneys Can Help You With Workplace Wrongful Death Lawsuits
One of the most tragic and overwhelming experiences a family can endure is losing a loved one in a workplace accident. Family members of a deadly work-related mishap may wish to seek justice by initiating a wrongful death legal action, but in their grief, they may not know where to turn. More about Work Injury Lawyers San Antonio here
Because a fatality is involved, wrongful death lawsuits are very difficult and complicated, and work injury jurisprudence only makes these cases additionally technical. Wrongful death claims are a type of legal action that you do not want to engage in on your own; you will need the aid and expertise of an experienced and skillful attorney. Our fatal work accident attorneys can inform you regarding how these lawsuits are prosecuted, what difficulties you will face, and how the fatal work accident attorneys at our Law Office can help you seek and attain the justice and compensation that is rightfully yours. More Information here
Familiar Types of Lethal Job Site Accidents
Most deadly worksite accidents occur in dangerous occupations like heavy construction, heavy industry, working oil rigs, and the like, but no workplace is immune from a fatal accident. Job site fatalities can happen nearly any place and at any time, and they can be caused by drivers, by careless, reckless and/or negligent coworkers, by an unsafe work area, or by merely tripping on a stair. In nearly every on-the-job mishap or incident, and whether someone is killed or not, the injured worker or his or her loved ones can seek compensation through various means, and this is almost always an arduous process. With each accident, there are a number of factors that affect the way the case must be dealt with, and many questions must be answered before you can choose from alternative plans of action. For example, did the owner of the workplace carry workers’ compensation or not? Was the employer grossly negligent in providing a safe and secure job site? Was your family member a regular employee or a contractor? Are there any responsible third parties? Your legal options will change as each of these, and many more, questions are answered, and your legal choices must be made to address each and every issue. As we mentioned above, filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim can be exceedingly complex and time-consuming, even well before litigation becomes an option.
Why Are Workplace Accidents So Complicated?
Deadly workplace accident lawsuits in Texas are made much more difficult due to the fact that the state allows workers’ compensation insurance. Workmans’ comp is not a standard insurance policy in that it is supported by and highly regulated by the state. Yes, workers’ comp insurance usually does provide settlements to injured workers and their loved ones, but these settlements are rather small and they are usually not even close to being sufficient compensation for one’s injuries or for the deceased’s bereaved family. But what most Texans do not know about workers’ comp, is that it was signed into law in order to protect businesses and corporations from lawsuits. After decades of pro-business interest lobbying, lawmakers put significant barriers in place in order to prevent injured employees or their families from easily pursuing litigation against careless, reckless, or otherwise negligent employers. In order to take legal action against a negligent employer for a personal injury or wrongful death suit, very specific conditions have to be met. Most non-lawyers are unaware that these types of cases are very exclusive. It is just a fact that if workmans’ comp insurance is not taken into consideration in your instance, you simply will not be successful. Fortunately, our very experienced and aggressive fatal work accident attorneys are extremely skilled in handling workman’s compensation issues and can ensure that your family receives both justice and full and fair compensation.
Gross Negligence MUST be Proven in A Fatal Workplace Accident
There are two basic standards of negligence to consider when considering a deadly worksite accident legal action, and they are gross negligence and standard negligence. If the employer in question does not subscribe to workers’ comp insurance, then the standard you will need to meet is standard negligence in order to receive compensation for your loss and suffering. But, should your loved one have been killed in a worksite where the employer carries workmans’ compensation insurance (these employers are called subscribers), in order for the employer to be found responsible for your family member’s death, you must be able to show gross negligence. The standard of proof to establish gross negligence is considerably higher than to show standard negligence, and in order to prove gross negligence, you must have an absolutely concrete case. Most non-lawyers and many attorneys without considerable experience many times will make tiny mistakes when pursuing these claims, mistakes that will let a negligent employer escape responsibility for their careless part in the accident. But what is important that you should know is that it is not a concern if the employer was negligent or not. In fact, the employer in question can admit to being negligent, and he or she may even admit that the employer’s negligence led to the death of your family member, but it will not matter if you cannot establish gross negligence. Most non and inexperienced lawyers do not know this, and they believe that just because an employer admits to being negligent, the case is already won. Never believe this.
The difference between the two standards of negligence has to do with the egregiousness of the negligence. Normally, standard negligence is basically a simple mistake or a fleeting slip in paying attention that causes the mishap and injury. For example, a roofer sets a ladder upon unstable ground and causes another roofer to fall off of the ladder. In this case, generally, the employer can be held responsible by a legal principle known as respondeat superior. Respondeat superior means that an employer can be held responsible for the actions of his or her employees, and in this example, the employer likely would be found guilty of standard negligence. An employee made a simple mistake due to an error in judgment and as a result, caused a job-site injury, but this is not gross negligence.
Let’s take a different example. Now we will assume that the employee in question has a history of ladder accidents due to careless or reckless behavior and several employees have been hurt by his actions, and he has demonstrated that he simply does not care about safe ladder placement. It becomes safe to assume that this worker should not be allowed to place ladders for other roofers to use, since you can also assume more accidents will happen. Now if another worker is injured or killed due to a ladder accident where this employee had a hand in placement, then it is likely that this employer can be found guilty of gross negligence since the accident was foreseeable (since this employee has a history of ladder placement accidents) and preventable (the employer could simply prohibit this employee from placing the company’s ladders). Since the employer did not take active measures to improve job-site safety by banning this employee from placing ladders, the employer then becomes liable for gross negligence.
We can take another example and consider electrocution when laying power lines. If the electrocution was caused by some sort of bizarre incident that no one could even foresee, and if all the workers were following necessary safety and security protocols, then the electric company would more than likely not be found guilty of gross negligence, and the incident would be nothing more than a tragic mishap. But however, if workers and foremen repeatedly warned their employer about unsafe protocols and procedures, and if experts in laying power lines had warned that certain procedures and practices were unsound, then you can almost be assured the electric company would be responsible for gross negligence.
Contact our Fatal Work Accident Attorneys to Discuss Your Situation
The undertaking of proving gross negligence is usually very difficult. And very often, the success of wrongful death lawsuits comes down to a painstakingly thorough and detailed examination of the accident site, through the in-depth interviews with witnesses and by testimony from experts in the applicable topic. Non and inexperienced lawyers just do not know, nor do they have the resources to build the necessary concrete case and then present the facts and evidence in such a way that is admissible to a court of law. Even though this is difficult enough, you must also consider that the negligent employer’s legal defense team will be doing everything in its power to defend the negligent employer while at the same time proving that your loved one is the guilty and negligent party.
Our Law Office attorneys are dedicated to ensuring that you and your family receive the justice and full and fair compensation that you deserve for your loss and pain and suffering. We will do whatever we can to help you prove your case, whether you need us to negotiate a just settlement, litigate in court, or simply answer your questions. We have over twenty years of experience in the courtroom, in conducting detailed and thorough investigations and resolving personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. We have won hundreds of court actions against every major insurance carrier in the United States. Insurance carrier defense teams know of our success and reputation, and they usually are very cooperative with our legal teams so they do not have to meet us in a court of law. Put simply, we have the skill, experience, and know-how to level the playing field between you and powerful corporate and insurance legal defense teams; and we can help you receive the justice and rightful compensation for your loved one’s death and your resulting loss. If you’ve lost a family member in a workplace mishap, call us toll-free for a free legal consultation to discuss your settlement and legal alternatives, and to help you attain the justice that is your right.
More Great Law Blogs Here:
https://www.gultanoff.com/workplace-accident-injuries-fatal-forklift-accidents/
https://www.jlezman.com/advocating-for-injured-workers/
https://www.michiganlawattorney.com/champions-for-injured-workers/
https://www.griffithlaw.net/lawyers-specializing-in-workplace-accidents/
https://www.leslie-gladstone.com/a-guide-to-workplace-injury-lawyers/
https://www.dirfirm.com/workplace-accidents-the-safety-net-you-deserve/
https://www.kimpersonalinjury.com/why-you-need-work-related-injury-attorneys/
https://www.mcdowellforster.com/navigating-injuries-with-lawyers-specializing-in-workplace-accidents/
https://www.jividen-wehnert.com/workplace-injury-lawyers/
https://www.daytonlitigators.com/when-work-turns-risky-finding-workplace-accident-legal-help/
https://www.enniscoleman.com/blindsided-by-a-workplace-injury/
https://www.sandrajpeake.com/the-importance-of-workplace-injury-legal-representation/