This Blog was brought to you by the Carabin Shaw Law Firm, Principal Office in San Antonio
There are over 1000 cranes being used in America right now. We use them for transporting heavy objects and supplies to that we can have our skyscrapers, stadiums, and churches. Any complication that may arise will make operating the crane dangerous for its driver, the co-workers at the site, and any bystanders below the crane.
People can be easily killed if the crane loses its payload or if the line snaps. Buildings can be crushed if a crane falls or hits other structures. An operator can be electrocuted if a crane strikes a power line. That accident can be easily avoidable if the employer purchased a non-conductive hook and had it installed onto the crane. But, here are some other types of crane injuries and deaths that are unavoidable: Electrical shock, dismemberment, burns, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain trauma. More about San Antonio construction site accidents here
Who was responsible if you have become a crane accident victim? There are numerous parties that are responsible. If your employer failed to provide a safe working environment to you, under a workers' compensation claim, they will be held accountable. But what if another party's negligence caused the accident? A property owner may have had equipment that would have blocked the path of the crane, causing the accident. If negligence was the cause of the accident, you can file a lawsuit. The crane accident attorneys of our Law Offices have been litigating lawsuit claims for twenty years. We can help you with your case.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have the following guidelines on the use of cranes on construction sites:
Instructions about the crane's load capacity and safety warnings must be visible to the crane operator.
The crane has been inspected by a safety inspector prior to operation. If there is anything broken or defective, it must be replaced immediately.
The employer's responsibility is ensuring the crane is placed away from overhead power lines. If a crane must be operated near a power line, then the employer must ensure the power line is shut down.
If an employer fails comply with OSHA rules and guidelines on the use of cranes resulting in your injury, you have the right to file a lawsuit. However, depending on whether or not your employer has purchased workman's compensation will depend of the amount of compensation that you could demand. A Texas employer who buys workers' comp is called a subscriber. A Texas employer who doesn't buy workers' comp is called a non subscriber.
The state of Texas doesn't require all employers to have worker's compensation. But having workers' comp is very expensive, so a lot of employers chose to turn it down. If an employee does get injured, an employer is willing to lie about having workers' compensation in order to avoid a lawsuit. You can't believe what an employer tells you. You need an experienced crane accident attorney in order to find out what the truth really is.
The real reason employers buy workmen's compensation is because they are looking for protection from lawsuits. If you've been injured on the job or a loved one's been killed on the job, you can't sue your employer. The only way to sue a subscriber employer would be if the employee committed gross negligence. But it does not mean that this will end there. The insurance provider will be more than happy to provide for the injured and or family members of the deceased. They'll pay for the medical bills and lost wages without a hassle. They'll do all of that because they're here to help their business. It only looks as though they're helping you.
Every year, they've denied claims to countless employees. Insurance companies of non-subscriber employees will do anything to avoid providing compensation to injured employees. Workers' compensation is needed in order to decrease lawsuits for injuries or accidental deaths in the workplace, but sometimes a lawsuit is the only way to get justice. It's important that you have an experienced crane accident attorney on your side to take on the insurance companies.
The insurance companies will have a team of attorneys on their side. They'll either try to convince you or force you into taking a poor settlement offer that couldn't be enough to get you back on your feet. The attorneys at our Law Offices will not only access your damages, we will determine if the insurance company is not being honest.
