Construction Accidents

Construction Accident Lawyer

If you were injured on a construction site in Texas, you have the right to pursue compensation from every party whose negligence contributed to your injuries — not just your employer. Texas law allows injured workers and bystanders to file third-party claims against contractors, site owners, equipment manufacturers, and others, often recovering far more than workers’ compensation alone would provide.

At Varghese Summersett, our Fort Worth construction accident lawyers represent people who have suffered catastrophic, life-altering injuries on job sites across North Texas. Our Personal Injury Division is led by Ty Stimpson, a former prosecutor at both the Dallas County and Tarrant County District Attorney’s offices who now devotes his practice to fighting for injured Texans. Our team has the experience, resources, and courtroom commitment to take on large construction companies, insurers, and their legal teams. We work on contingency, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

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What Are the Most Common Causes of Construction Accidents in Texas?

Construction workers face hazards every day that most people never encounter in their careers. The most common causes of serious construction injuries include:

Falls from heights remain the leading killer in the industry. A worker falling from scaffolding, a roof, or an elevated platform may suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, or fatal injuries. OSHA’s “Fatal Four” — falls, struck-by incidents, electrocutions, and caught-in/between accidents — account for the majority of construction fatalities nationwide.

Struck-by accidents occur when workers are hit by falling tools, flying debris, swinging equipment, or vehicles moving through the site. Electrical accidents expose workers to live wires, faulty equipment, or inadequately grounded systems. Machinery accidents involving cranes, forklifts, excavators, and other heavy equipment can result in amputations, crush injuries, and death. Structural collapses, trench cave-ins, explosions, and heat-related illnesses round out the list of site hazards that send thousands of Texas workers to trauma centers each year.

Construction sites are also prone to slip-and-fall accidents caused by wet surfaces, uneven ground, scattered debris, and open trenches. Vehicle accidents — such as a dump truck backing over a worker or a loader rolling into an excavation — are particularly deadly in confined site areas with poor visibility.

How Common Are Construction Site Accidents in Texas?

Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in America. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction and extraction occupations accounted for 951 of the 5,190 fatal workplace injuries recorded in the United States in 2021 — roughly 20 percent of all work-related deaths. Texas consistently ranks among the states with the highest construction fatality totals, driven by its massive size, rapid urban growth, and significant oil and gas infrastructure.

For every fatal accident, many more workers suffer serious non-fatal injuries that require surgery, months of rehabilitation, and permanent changes to how they live and work. If you or someone you love was hurt on a Fort Worth construction site, you are far from alone — and you are not without options.

Who Is Responsible for a Construction Accident in Texas?

Identifying liability after a construction accident requires a thorough investigation. Multiple parties can share responsibility, and holding each one accountable is essential to maximizing your recovery. Parties that may be liable include:

Construction companies and general contractors are responsible for overall site safety, proper training, and supervision of all workers. When they fail to enforce safety protocols or ignore known hazards, they can be held liable for resulting injuries. Subcontractors bear responsibility for the work they control — if a subcontractor’s crew creates a dangerous condition that injures someone else, that subcontractor can be sued directly.

Site owners have an independent duty to maintain reasonably safe premises. If they knew about a hazard and failed to disclose it or correct it, they may share liability even if they did not perform the construction work themselves. Architects and engineers who produce defective designs or fail to communicate hazards to contractors can be held accountable for the consequences.

Equipment manufacturers that produce defective machinery — whether from a design flaw, manufacturing defect, or inadequate safety warnings — may be subject to a products liability claim under Texas law, which does not require proving negligence. Negligent operators who run equipment recklessly, while impaired, or without proper inspection can also be named as defendants.

Our attorneys will investigate every angle of your case, identify all liable parties, and pursue claims against each one. Construction accidents are rarely the fault of a single actor — and your recovery should reflect the full scope of the harm caused.

What Does a Construction Accident Victim Have to Prove in Texas?

Construction accident claims in Texas are governed primarily by negligence law under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. To recover compensation, you must establish four elements by a preponderance of the evidence — meaning it is more likely than not that each element is true. The burden of proof rests entirely on you as the plaintiff.

The four elements are: (1) Duty — the defendant owed you a legal duty of care. For a general contractor, that duty includes maintaining a safe worksite. For an equipment manufacturer, it includes producing a product that is reasonably safe for its intended use. (2) Breach — the defendant failed to meet that duty. Proof of breach often relies on OSHA violation records, site inspection reports, photographs, and witness testimony. (3) Causation — the breach directly caused your injuries. Texas courts require both “cause-in-fact” (the breach was a substantial factor in producing the harm) and “proximate cause” (the harm was a foreseeable result). (4) Damages — you suffered actual harm as a result.

Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001. If you are found to be more than 50 percent responsible for the accident, you cannot recover damages. If your percentage of fault is 50 percent or below, your recovery is reduced by that percentage. This is why defendants and their insurers aggressively try to shift blame onto injured workers — and why having experienced attorneys on your side matters.

For premises liability claims against site owners, Texas law under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 95.003 imposes additional requirements when the injured person is a contractor’s employee. Your attorney will analyze the specific facts of your case to determine which legal theories provide the strongest path to recovery.

Get the Compensation You Deserve. Our Fort Worth construction accident lawyers are ready to fight for you. (817) 203-2220

What Insurance Policies Cover Construction Accidents in Texas?

Construction sites involve multiple overlapping insurance policies, and navigating those policies is one of the most complex parts of a construction accident claim. General liability insurance covers third-party bodily injury and property damage claims against the construction company or contractor. Workers’ compensation insurance covers employees’ medical expenses and lost wages — though Texas is unique in that private employers are not required to carry it, making third-party claims even more important in some cases.

Builders risk insurance covers damage to the project itself. Professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance covers architects and engineers against claims arising from design mistakes. Umbrella liability insurance provides additional coverage above primary policy limits — which matters enormously in catastrophic injury cases where damages far exceed baseline coverage. Commercial auto insurance covers accidents involving company vehicles on site. Equipment breakdown insurance covers damaged machinery, while contractor’s pollution liability covers incidents involving hazardous materials.

Our attorneys understand how each of these policies applies and how to pursue claims across multiple carriers to maximize your total recovery. Insurance companies will work hard to minimize what they pay. We work just as hard to ensure they pay what they owe.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Construction Accident?

Serious construction injuries often mean months or years of medical treatment, lost income, and diminished quality of life. Texas law allows injured workers and their families to seek compensation for both the financial and human costs of those injuries.

Economic damages are the measurable financial losses you have incurred and will continue to incur. These include past and future medical expenses (emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, pain management, assistive devices, and long-term follow-up care), lost wages during recovery, and diminished future earning capacity if your injuries prevent you from returning to your prior work. Out-of-pocket costs related to the accident are also recoverable.

Non-economic damages compensate for the intangible losses that don’t come with a receipt but are just as real. These include physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and permanent disability. In Texas, there is no cap on non-economic damages in most personal injury cases, which means a jury has broad latitude to compensate you fully for what you have endured.

Punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, are available in cases involving fraud, malice, or gross negligence — defined under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.001 as an act or omission involving an extreme degree of risk, committed with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others. Cases involving a company that ignored repeated OSHA citations or deliberately cut corners on safety may qualify.

If a loved one was killed in a construction accident, certain family members — spouses, children, and parents — may file a wrongful death claim under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.002. The estate may also bring a survival action for the injuries the decedent suffered before death.

What Treatment Do Construction Accident Victims Typically Need?

The medical journey after a serious construction accident can be long and demanding. Depending on the nature and severity of your injuries, you may need emergency surgery, hospitalization, physical and occupational therapy, pain management, mental health support, and assistive devices such as prosthetics, wheelchairs, or orthotic braces. Many victims require long-term follow-up care as they adjust to permanent physical limitations.

Seeking prompt medical attention is not only important for your health — it is essential to your legal case. Insurance adjusters will look for any gap in treatment as evidence that your injuries are less serious than claimed. Follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations diligently, keep all documentation and receipts, and do not delay care for financial reasons. Our firm works with medical providers throughout North Texas and can help ensure you receive the treatment you need while your case is pending.

Find Out What Your Case Is Worth. Call our Fort Worth construction accident lawyers for a free case evaluation. (817) 203-2220

What to Expect From Varghese Summersett

When you hire the Varghese Summersett, you get a team that is genuinely committed to your recovery — not just your settlement. Our Fort Worth personal injury attorneys handle the investigation, the legal strategy, the negotiations, and the courtroom advocacy so you can focus on healing. Here is what our representation includes:

We conduct a thorough, independent investigation of the accident, including site visits, review of OSHA records, analysis of surveillance footage, and consultation with engineering and safety experts. We identify every liable party and every applicable insurance policy. We document the full extent of your damages — medical costs, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and long-term care needs. We negotiate aggressively with insurance companies, and if they refuse to offer fair compensation, we take your case to trial.

Ty Stimpson, who leads our Personal Injury Division, is a former prosecutor whose trial experience gives him a distinct advantage in the courtroom. Damian Williams, our Dallas-based partner, has secured multiple seven-figure verdicts and settlements in industrial accidents, oilfield explosions, and construction-related injuries. Our team also includes Katie Steele, Senior Counsel with six years as a Tarrant County prosecutor and prior experience representing insurance companies — insight that proves invaluable when those same companies try to deny your claim.

We work on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. If we don’t win your case, you owe us nothing. Period.

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How Long Do You Have to File a Construction Accident Claim in Texas?

Texas imposes a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury claims under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. The clock begins running on the date of the accident. Miss that deadline, and your right to sue is permanently barred — regardless of how serious your injuries are.

Two years may sound like plenty of time, but construction accident cases require extensive investigation, preservation of physical evidence, and consultation with expert witnesses. Evidence disappears quickly on active job sites. Witnesses move on. The sooner you contact an attorney, the stronger your case will be. Don’t wait.

There are limited exceptions — including claims involving government entities, which may have much shorter notice deadlines. If a government agency owned or managed the construction site, different rules apply and you may need to act within 60 to 180 days. An attorney can advise you on any exceptions that may affect your specific situation. For more on Texas filing deadlines, see our guide on the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Texas.

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Watch: Texas Industrial Accidents — Who’s Responsible and How to Get Compensation

Frequently Asked Questions: Texas Construction Accident Claims

Talk to a Fort Worth Construction Accident Lawyer Today

If you were injured — or lost a loved one — in a construction accident in Fort Worth or anywhere in North Texas, do not try to handle this alone. Construction accident cases involve multiple liable parties, complex insurance coverage, and aggressive defense teams. The sooner our attorneys get involved, the better positioned you are.

At Varghese Summersett Injury Law Group, we take construction accident cases on contingency. There are no upfront fees and no out-of-pocket costs. If we don’t recover compensation for you, you owe us nothing. Contact us today at (817) 203-2220 for a free case evaluation. We are here for you.