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Stephen Whitehead Killed at Lubbock Rail Port by Construction Accident

Update [November 18, 2015]:Stephen Whitehead died from his injuries yesterday, Tuesday, November 17. The cause of the accident is still being investigated, but it looks like he was working on a scissor lift that day when he accidentally fell to the ground, about 35 feet below. United Properties Southwest, LLC is apparently in charge of the construction project.

Lubbock, TX — A worker at the Lubbock Rail Port was injured this past Monday (November 16, 2015) after an accident at a building that is currently under construction. This is the facility off I-27, a few miles north of Lubbock. His name was later released as Stephen Whitehead, age unknown.

The accident happened on Monday afternoon at about 12:00 p.m., but not many other details were released.

According to the very scant news reports, Whitehead was critically hurt after a construction accident and an ambulance was sent to take him to a hospital.

So far, just the one injury was reported and it’s not clear how it happened.

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Map of the Approximate Area

Commentary:

Since this accident happened at a building under construction, I’m going to guess that the worker who was hurt wasn’t employed by the LEDA (or whoever the general contractor is), but was contracted as a laborer for the project. Thus, determining who is liable in a situation like that can get a little sticky, because nobody usually wants to take responsibility for an accident on the job, and the law offers a lot of protection to certain employers.

The bottom line is that employers who subscribe to workers’ compensation insurance coverage are protected from lawsuits in civil court — that’s what the workers’ comp benefits are for. However, Texas doesn’t require all businesses to carry workers’ comp insurance, and so employers that don’t carry it are vulnerable to lawsuits like anyone else would be.

I don’t really know what happened here or who was employed by whom, obviously, but I wanted to give a short explanation of Texas’ labor law, because I know that kind of thing can be confusing for a lot of folks.

— Grossman Law Offices

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What this blog is all about

This blog was started as a source for information and news regarding Texas personal injury accidents. This blog has since evolved to feature related stories from all over the country.

Additionally, we hope our blog provides a place for personal injury victims, their family members & loved ones to express their concerns, raise new questions, or to share memories of a loved one who has suffered as a result of such an accident. We update our blog daily and will be happy to keep any and all memories or comments posted live for visitors to view at any time.

Michael Grossman

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