Given the nature of the work involved, injuries sustained by falling from scaffolding or some other object while on a construction site are all too common. If you have been involved in such an accident, you may be wondering what legal options are available to you. If you are considering filing a personal injury suit against the construction company, you need to know all the factors involved.
Suits against construction companies are complicated because many construction companies use some underhanded methods of avoiding liability in these cases. For instance, many construction companies choose not to subscribe to workers' compensation insurance (Which is fine so long as they plan to fully compensate you for your work injuries). Workers' compensation insurance is designed to cover the expenses of work-related injuries sustained by employees of an employer who has a workers' compensation policy. It costs the employer to have such coverage (which is why many companies get creative in avoiding having to pay for it), but if the company has it, they are protected from law suits in the event that an employee is hurt and the employee is compensated for their injury, albeit a lot less than what most people would consider to be fair. In other words, if the company buys workers' comp insurance, they are protected by special laws and them employee gets compensated even though it's not particularly great compensation.
But workers' compensation doesn't apply directly to contractors, so many construction companies will choose not to subscribe to workers' compensation and then only hire contractors, thinking they have escaped all liability for their workers' injuries without having to pay for insurance.
And unfortunately, this plan often works. Many personal injury firms will dismiss your case as soon as they learn that you are a contractor since they interpret the laws at face value and know that workers' comp only applies to employees. However, our experienced attorneys are familiar with the ever-changing case law that surrounds these types of cases. Armed with this knowledge, we have helped numerous clients by revealing the deceptive methods used by the employer in order to deny the employee any benefits. The Dallas construction attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have been winning cases just like these for twenty years. Our attorneys know all the legal strategies to determine all possible defendants and make them pay.
Posted by:
Dallas construction attorney Michael Grossman
| Posted on:
10/13/2009
| Comments (0)
As a Texas attorney practicing for 20 years, I have litigated all manner of personal injury cases. I use this blog as a place to write opinion / editorial articles on a variety of topics that catch my interest and as a means of sharing news stories relevant to personal injury accidents. I think the overwhelming majority of people are unaware just how common these types of accidents are and I hope this blog raises awareness to rather serious public safety concerns. However, this blog is simply a means for me to share my opinions and I would recommend that anyone who is considering seeking legal counsel should contact their family attorney.
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