Workplace Accident Injuries

The workplace can be a potentially dangerous environment, no matter what type of job you do. Whether working on a construction site or in an industrial setting, a workplace accident can result in catastrophic injury or even death.

If you or a loved one has suffered a Workplace Accident, you should discuss your rights and options with an experienced Work Injury Attorney. Without experienced representation, you could settle for far less than you are entitled to.

The Dallas Work Injury Lawyers of Miller Weisbrod offer informed counsel and experienced representation to clients in Texas and nationwide. To discuss your case in a free initial consultation with an experienced lawyer, please fill out the contact form on this page to schedule an appointment. You can also call us directly at 214-987-0005 or toll free at 888-987-0005.

Recovering Compensation For Catastrophic Work Injuries Independent contractors are not covered by workers' compensation laws, unless they have been misclassified. If you are an independent contractor who is injured at a work site, you can sue for personal injuries under theories such as negligence, product liability, and premises liability.

In Texas, not all employer’s have insurance that is true Texas Worker’s Compensation insurance. Some employers have what is called “non-subscriber” insurance (often these are called Occupational Accident and Injury Plans). Under these circumstances, the employee can bring suit to recover money damages in addition to what is provided for employee. This can be a tricky area! You should have an experienced Work Injury Attorney review your case and your insurance policy to advise you of your rights.

A "non-subscriber" is any employer who chooses not to subscribe to workers' compensation coverage. When your employer opts out of workers' comp coverage, you cannot file a workers' comp claim. Instead, your only option is to pursue a non-subscriber work injury claim. Instead, your only option is to pursue a non-subscriber work injury claim which includes the right to sue your employer for full damages NOT just those covered under an occupational injury plan.

Occupational accident coverage provides a degree of coverage for accidents or injuries while a person works. It is optional coverage and typically costs about 50% less than workers’ comp coverage. It may suit companies that do not need all of the benefits that a comprehensive workers’ comp policy provides. Occupational accident insurance covers lost wages, medical expenses, and death benefits up to the policy limit. Additionally, businesses can choose the deductible, limits, and disability coverage they want to buy.

Even if you are an employee covered by worker’s compensation insurance and someone other than, or in addition to, your employer is responsible for your injuries, then you can recover. This is true even if your employer is partially responsible!

OSHA’s Top Ten Frequently Sited Violations

• Fall Protection, construction
• Hazard Communication Standard
• Respiratory Protection, general industry
• Scaffolding, general requirements, construction
• Ladders, construction
• Control of Hazardous Energy
• Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry
• Fall Protection–Training Requirements
• Eye and Face Protection
• Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements

Fatal Falls According to OSHA, out of 4,674 worker fatalities in private industry for the calendar year 2017, 971 (or 20.7%) were in construction. Additionally, fall protection in construction was the number one most frequently cited OSHA violation for 2018.

A recently constructed CDC Occupational Safety database allowed researchers to determine that falls accounted for nearly half of all construction worker deaths. This database was also able to track and analyze all fall incidents from 1982-2015.

• 42% percent (325) of the fatalities involved falls
• 54 percent of the workers killed had no access to a personal fall arrest system, and 23 percent had access to a PFAS but did not use it
• Most of the workers with no access to PFAS worked for residential building contractors and contractors in the roofing, siding and sheet metal sectors
• 107 of the 325 falls were from 30 feet or higher
• 20 percent of the 768 deaths occurred in the victims’ first two months on the job

Throughout the industry, these falls were largely preventable. More than half of the workers involved in falls lacked access to fall protection. This includes even basic protections such as freestanding handrail systems.

Our experienced Work Injury Attorneys understand the serious and potentially lifelong impact a Catastrophic Work Injury can have. From amputated limbs to paralysis to traumatic brain injuries, we use our experience and resources to help clients recover just compensation from negligent parties for their medical expenses, lost wages, partial or permanent disability, and − most importantly − the pain and suffering they have endured.

Common Accidents

• Construction accidents: trench collapses, scaffolding falls, uncovered holes, and unsecured guardrails
• Warehouse accidents
• Inadequately guarded machines
• Lack of safety policies, e.g. lock-out/tag-out, etc.
• Accidents caused by defective machines or defective products
• Electrical accidents
• Oil field accidents
• Fires or explosions
• Delivery or commercial trucking accidents
• Other commercial vehicle accidents
• Accidents resulting from repetitive physical or psychological stress
• Slip-and-fall accidents and other issues of premises liability
• Other on-the-job accidents

A general contractor ignored its own requirements for safety training of a subcontractor workforce. As a result, Our client never received training in how to properly use his fall protection equipment. Our client fell two stories and hit the ground because the equipment was hooked up improperly. He was left paralyzed. When the general contractor refused to tender their insurance limits, Clay Miller tried the case to a Dallas County jury in October 2017, and obtained a verdict of $26,500,000, including $15,000,000 of punitive damages.

Experienced Representation Against Insurance Companies
Employees who have suffered an injury in a workplace accident find that insurance companies are often quick to offer settlements, or pressure them into signing waivers that limit their rights. Our Work Injury Attorneys have significant experience taking on big insurance companies or liable third parties, and defend our clients' right to receive full and fair compensation.

If you or someone you love suffered a fall injury at a construction site, do not hesitate to contact the Dallas Work Injury Attorneys of Miller Weisbrod. Call our offices in Dallas at 214.987.0005 or toll free at 888.987.0005 for a free consultation. You may also contact us by filling out the form on this page for answers to your important questions or to schedule an appointment.

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Workplace Deaths at an 8-Year High

Workplace Deaths at an 8-Year High: When Workers' Comp is not the Sole Remedy

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its annual report on work place fatalities.

The report revealed that workplace deaths have climbed to nearly 5,000 deaths. This is the highest number of workplace deaths since 2008. Workplace fatalities had been declining since hitting a peak in 2006.

Several interesting observations about the report: Men accounted for 93% of all workplace fatalities, the occupation with the highest number of deaths was truck driver (745 deaths), 903 Hispanic/Latino workers died on the job (two-thirds were foreign-born) which is the highest number from any other year, other than 2007 when the home building market was at its pre-crash high and 650 of the workplace deaths involved workers over the age
of 65.

Several factors have played a role in this decline during the last several years. First, the strengthening of government and industry safety regulations has provided workers with safer environments. Second, the economy following the crash of 2008 led to a reduction in building and manufacturing — two of the more dangerous occupations. As the economy recovers and the new President-elect promises to roll back government regulations, a likely consequence of both will be increased workplace accidents and fatalities.

Many employers carry workers’ compensation insurance in Texas. Under these plans, the employee is compensated regardless of fault and the employee’s family, in the case of death, receives partial income replacement benefits for various periods of time. The trade-off is the employee’s family cannot sue the employer for actual damages if the employee’s death was caused by negligence. This statutory immunity is granted by the Texas Labor Code.

What if a family comes to your office and their loved one has been killed on the job due to the wrong-doing of the employer, is the family limited to just workers’ compensation benefits? The answer is “Maybe Not.”

Here are the questions to ask:

• Did the deceased employee leave a spouse and/or any children?
• Was the death caused not just by negligence but by possibly “gross negligence” of the employer? (meaning the risk was known and the company ignored the risks despite this knowledge)
• Is the gross negligence attributable to a vice-principal (i.e. manager/supervisor) or caused by conduct that had been ratified by the company (even implicitly) on previous occasions?

If the answer to the above three questions is “Yes” then Texas Law allows the surviving spouse and/or the children (but not the parents) of the deceased employee to sue the employer for punitive damages only. The Burden of Proof is high and the punitive damages are subject to a cap of 2 times the economic damages plus $750,000 of non-economic damages (so actual damages must be proven, even though not recoverable, for purposes of the cap calculation.)

At Miller Weisbrod, we have successfully handled dozens of cases involving the death of an employee caused by the gross negligence of the employer.

Examples of cases successfully resolved over the last year include the following fact patterns:

• Employee killed when a house being demolished unexpectedly collapsed—the employer failed to have OSHA-mandated Engineering Survey completed prior to starting work
• Employee’s death caused by a failure to control traffic during a highway construction project
• Employee killed when a form fell on him at a manufacturing facility—employer failed to brace the form during maintenance activities despite warnings to do so
• Employee’s died after a forklift carrying a wooden box being used as a work basket flipped over—the employer knew the 17 year old forklift driver had no experience and knew the practice was dangerous
• Employee falls to his death when lifting up a piece of wood he believed was trash—the wood was covering a hole in a multi-story parking garage and was not marked or secured pursuant to OSHA regulations

If you are contacted by a family of a worker killed in a situation that involves wrong-doing of some degree, we would be honored to work on this case with you. We will put our resources to work in order to investigate the facts to determine if a gross negligence case can be made. While evidentiary and legal hurdles exist in these cases, we can put our experience and expertise to work to maximize the potential for recovery.

Miller Weisbrod, LLP is a national law firm specializing in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Partners Clay Miller and Les Weisbrod have built the firm’s reputation with successful verdicts, settlements, appeals and favorable decisions across the country. With resources and finances available to take on the powerful interests that have caused harm, the firm is committed to providing quality representation for clients who are seriously injured and families of victims who are killed as a result of the negligence or misconduct of others.

Miller Weisbrod has offices in Dallas and affiliate offices in Houston and Austin. For more information call toll-free at (888) 987-0005.

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Construction Worker Freed From Trench

IRVING, TEXAS — Crews were able to a free a construction worker more than three hours after he became stuck in a 15-foot trench in Irving. The accident was reported at about 2:52 p.m. Thursday (5/5/16) in the 2100 block of Ridgewood Street.



At about 6:20 p.m., the worker, strapped onto a gurney, was pulled from the trench and placed into a ground ambulance in unknown condition.

Trench Accident Lawyers
Working in trenches or other contained breathing areas is one of the most dangerous jobs in the construction industry. Contractor and subcontractor negligence and OSHA safety violations can turn an already hazardous situation into a recipe for a serious and fatal trench accident.

Miller Weisbrod, LLP serves the legal needs of construction accident victims and their families in Texas and nationwide. Our attorneys are nationally-recognized leaders in the field of plaintiffs' personal injury trial law. We have the experience, skills and resources to help you seek maximum financial recovery after a trench accident results in catastrophic injury or wrongful death due to a trench accident.

If you were badly hurt or permanently disabled or a loved one died in a trench accident anywhere in the United States, please contact us today to schedule a free consultation with an experienced lawyer.

Call 888.987.0005 for Legal Help After a Trench Accident

Miller Weisbrod, LLP has a proven record of success in obtaining large financial settlements and jury awards for victims of negligence. Our lawyers have the experience, industry knowledge and legal skill to handle a wide range of trench accident cases, including:

• Broken natural gas lines leading to suffocation or explosion
• Trench collapse accidents caused by improper shoring and supports
• Water infiltration resulting in drowning
• Accidents in other enclosed spaces such as manholes, sewers, storm water drains and tunnels
• Any trench accident resulting in brain injury, spinal cord injury, other catastrophic injury or wrongful death

Contact Us
If you were seriously injured or a loved one died in a trench accident caused by contractor negligence or OSHA violations, we encourage you to call our main offices in Dallas today at 214.987.0005 or toll free at 888.987.0005 for a free consultation. You may also contact us by e-mail today for answers to your important questions or to schedule an appointment.

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"Do's" of Being in a Car Accident

Injured in a Car Accident — What You Should Do?
Over 6 million car accidents take place in the U.S. each year. 1 of every 3 car accidents involves injury to at least one of the persons involved. If you were recently one of those statistics, contact an experienced accident attorney at Miller Weisbrod to determine if you are entitled to be compensated for the injuries you have suffered.

Every car accident is unique, yet there are some common tips that any car accident victim can follow to ensure the situation is resolved as quickly as possible.

Seek proper medical attention:
Unquestionably, the health and safety of you and your loved ones should be your top priority. Seek medical treatment for any injuries sustained as soon as possible.

Avoid discussing the accident and save your apologies:
You were just involved in a traumatic event and might not be thinking clearly — limit your discussions to avoid admitting liability. Discuss the accident with the police and your insurance agent only.

Have someone obtain vital information:
Get the names, insurance information, phone numbers and addresses of everyone involved in the accident.

Have someone photograph the scene:
Many insurers recommend obtaining photos of the accident scene to avoid discrepancies and to obtain accurate evidence.

Have someone take notes:
Detailing the nature of your injuries, the damage to your property and anything you find unusual could be very beneficial down the road.

Do not accept initial insurance offers:
Insurance companies do not have your best interests in mind. They want your case to go away as quickly and quietly as possible, and typically undervalue the damages accident victims sustained.

Contact an experienced car accident lawyer:
Speak to a knowledgeable car accident attorney to discuss your case, learn your options and determine if you are entitled to compensation.

If you or your loved one were injured in a car accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence, you may be able to recover financial compensation for your injuries.

To help determine whether you may be able to file a claim against the other driver, contact the car accident lawyers of Miller Weisbrod to discuss your accident.

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