Houston Lifting Injuries
Grossman Law Offices - Houston - Here to help.
A “lifting injury” refers to an employee who is hurt while working in the course and scope of his employment while lifting a heavy object. Often times it involves movers who move heavy furniture for stores like Walmart, Sears, Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Dollar General.
Industries in which lifting injuries can occur
Nurses will often times be required to lift heavy patients who have paralysis or some sort of physical limitation that does not allow them to lift themselves. Heavy lifting occurs on shore and off shore while working in the oilfield industry. Here in Texas, the Barnett Shale Formation has dramatically increased the number of drilling rigs. Much of the equipment is heavy making the work dangerous and prone to cause injury. The technology advances in oilfield work has advanced significantly, but the advances in safety for the workers has not kept up. Most catastrophic injury or even death in the oilfield industry or work site is caused by a lack of communication between the rig operator and the heavy equipment operator or an equipment failure. Injuries occur in the oilfield, derrick, rig and refinery areas. Many injuries can occur including amputations and breathing disorders. Derrick collapse or the falling of a rig structure can cause catastrophic injury.
Construction Lifting Injuries
Construction work involves heavy lifting injuries. The lifting can involve work on scaffolding and other situations that may constitute OSHA violations. The employer has a legal duty to provide a “reasonably safe workplace” for its employees. A scaffold collapse can cause catastrophic injury.
Construction work involves more than lifting. The improper use of heavy equipment or machinery can result in injury or even death. Toxic chemicals and improper warnings can also lead to massive injury. It is the employer’s duty to create safety manuals and have regular meetings for its employees to help insure their safety. Many employers do not have any written safety material or safety meetings for its employees which greatly increases the likelihood of injury. By having written material that the employee is required to be familiar with and regular safety meetings there is a two-fold benefit. First, the employee’s safety is insured. Second, it would be much more difficult to obtain a verdict against that employer for safety violations.
What can Grossman Law Offices do for my lifting injury?
The benefit of hiring a Grossman Law Office work injury attorney for these types of cases is that we can assist with both elements to the case, liability and damages. From a legal point of view, the injured worker must prove that the employer did something wrong that caused the injury. We can help prove the employer committed the wrongful act and establish a monetary value to the injury.