Industrial Accident FAQs
What exactly is an industrial injury?
Industrial injuries are workplace injuries that include refinery injuries, plant injuries, fabrication plant injuries, dock worker injuries, railroad injuries, and oilfield injuries, to name a few. There are a lot of different pieces of equipment that could cause a workplace injury in an industrial setting, including explosions, pinch-point injuries, machine injuries, crane collapses and malfunctions and scaffolding injuries.
How will I know if I am talking to the best industrial injury lawyer for my case?
Because industrial injuries are usually severe and because they implicate a lot of different laws, the best industrial accident lawyer will have experience with a broad range of industrial accident cases. The best industrial injury lawyer will also have results to back up his or her experience. Results are important because it lets the plant’s lawyers know that your lawyer has handled cases like yours before and done it well. Finding the best industrial lawyer for your case is also a personal decision. You will be putting your and your family’s future in the hands of the industrial injury lawyer that you hire, so you should choose someone you trust and someone you like. You should meet with any lawyer you are considering hiring and look them in the eye – your gut will probably tell you if you are looking at the best industrial injury lawyer for your case.
What regulations are implicated in an industrial injury case?
Most workplace injuries, if they are severe, are investigated by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA is a governmental agency created to assure that workplace conditions are safe and healthful for people on the job. To accomplish that task, OSHA puts out regulations that are supposed to be followed on every job site. These regulations cover everything from wearing a safety harness if you are working more than three feet in the air to the duties of a crane operator performing a lift. Not only does OSHA make the rules, but if there is an accident, they investigate the accident and cite the employer if any regulations were not followed. There are thousands of pages of regulations and you need an industrial accident attorney who is familiar with the regulations and how to use them.
What if my employer has worker’s compensation insurance?
Usually, worker’s compensation insurance prevents an employee from suing his or her employer, but not always. The “exclusive remedy” against an employer with worker’s compensation insurance is worker’s comp. But that does not mean you do not have a case. A lot of times, an employee’s injury is caused by a third-party (like a contractor working on the employer’s site) or the landowner. And, if the employee was killed because of their employer’s gross negligence, his or her family can sue the employer for gross negligent.
If you have a question about whether you have a case, you should call the experienced industrial accident lawyers at the Merman Law Firm. The consultation is free and you can ask all of the questions you need to.
