Construction Site Accident Fatalities

If you lost a family member due to a construction site accident, you must first determine whether or not the construction company purchased workers’ compensation insurance, whether or not your family member was considered an employee of the company according to the eyes of the law, and, most importantly, if the negligence of the construction company led to the fatal accident. There are myriad questions that need to be answered, and many aspects of the case to prove. Your family needs a wrongful death attorney who knows how to investigate this kind of accident to provide the answers to those crucial questions and to devise an effective plan in order to secure equitable compensations, no matter the circumstances of the case.construction accident lawyers

Subscriber vs. Non-Subscriber

The way your case is handled depends almost entirely on whether the construction company either purchased, or “subscribed” to, worker’s compensation, or chose not to pay for workers’ comp insurance, and is, therefore, a “non-subscriber.” There is a vast difference in the manner in which claims are handled between the two.

Subscribers

The State of Texas strongly encourages companies of all types to purchase workers’ compensation insurance in order to stem the tide of lawsuits involving injuries or death, lawsuits that further choke an already exceedingly over-burdened legal system. Thus, when an employer purchases workers’ comp, it’s getting more than just insurance – it’s buying lawsuit protection. The reason is simple. Family members of those killed in construction accidents cannot sue a subscribing company unless gross negligence occurred. Workers’ comp is designed to compensate loved ones for the loss of a family member, however, a lot of times insurance companies will attempt to goad you into settling for an offer that doesn’t come close to compensating you for the tragedy you and your family have experienced.

Insurance providers are in business for one reason – to make money. They are not concerned with helping you and your family heal from your devastating loss. If there’s any way they can get you to accept less money, they will make more money. Hundreds of families of construction workers who die due to a workplace accident in Texas either see their claims flat-out denied or significantly under-cut, all in the name of making the insurance company more money.

Most insurance companies respect only negotiations with lawyers. If a representative of an insurance provider walks into a negotiating room and sees someone sitting at the table without legal help, he or she will probably laugh quietly, then celebrate later after you have settled for a ludicrously low amount of money. You simply must have an experienced lawyer on your side if you have any intention of getting fair restitution.

There are only two instances where family members of a loved one wrongfully killed in a construction accident can sue a subscribing company:

If the death occurred due to the gross negligence of the construction company.
When there may be more than one party in addition to the employer that may be to blame for the wrongful death. Other employees, other contractors, or independent third parties that provided malfunctioning equipment could be liable for either all or part of the death and a lawsuit may be filed against them as well.
A skilled wrongful death attorney is very familiar with examining all of the details surrounding a case and formulating a plan of attack to get the compensation you have coming. The attorneys at our Law Firm will immediately launch an investigation of the accident scene to ascertain what third parties may share responsibility and make them all pay dearly for your family’s tragic loss.