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Usually the company that controlled what should have stopped the fall. That can be a general contractor, a scaffold company, an equipment supplier or the property owner. The claim turns on guardrails, anchor points, inspections and who was responsible for each.
The evidence of a fall does not stay in place. Scaffolds are taken down within days, and harnesses and ladders go back into use. Ask for the records before the structure you fell from is changed or gone. Call 713-521-0059.
The questions are specific: whether the scaffold was erected and inspected by a competent person, and whether guardrails and toeboards were in place. The investigation also asks whether the planking was secure, whether the base was level and stable, and whether anyone had tagged the scaffold as safe to use that day.
Scaffolds are often put up by one company and used by several others. The company that built it, the company that inspected it and the company that told you to work on it can each have a role. Scaffolds are dismantled within days, so photographs of the structure as it stood matter a great deal. The inspection tags and the erection records are the other half of the proof.
A ladder fall raises its own questions. Who supplied the ladder, whether it was the right type and height for the job, whether it was damaged, and whether it was set on firm footing. A roof fall turns on the roof edge, openings and skylights, and whether anchor points existed for a harness.
Lighting matters in both situations. Work that runs into the evening or takes place in a dim attic, a stairwell or a mechanical room can hide an edge or an opening. Weather matters too, because rain, wind and extreme heat can change what safe work on a roof actually requires.
If you were working on a home or a business rather than a construction site, the property owner and the company that hired you may both have a role. Keep the ladder if it belongs to you. If it does not, write down its brand, size and color and who owned it.
Responsibility follows control. On a multi-employer site those responsibilities are divided by contract. A general contractor coordinating the site, a subcontractor erecting the scaffold, an equipment supplier, and the premises owner can each bear a share. Each usually carries its own insurance.
The fall protection plan, the site safety rules and the subcontracts show who agreed to provide guardrails, nets, anchor points and harnesses. They also show who agreed to inspect them. The question is whether a harness and lanyard were provided and inspected, and whether there was anything to tie off to.
Texas divides fault by percentage under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. You generally may recover so long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible. Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage. Identifying every responsible party can change what is recoverable.
Under Section 406.002 of the Texas Labor Code, most private employers can choose whether to carry workers’ compensation insurance. If yours does not, Section 406.033 of the Texas Labor Code bars it from arguing contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, or the negligence of a fellow employee. Our page on non-subscriber work injury claims explains those cases.
If your employer does carry it, Section 408.001 of the Texas Labor Code generally makes those benefits your exclusive remedy against that employer. The statute preserves one exception, for a worker’s death. Where the employer’s intentional act or omission or gross negligence caused the death, the surviving spouse or heirs of the body may recover exemplary damages. The protection covers the employer and its agents and employees.
Whether you also have a claim against the general contractor, the scaffold company or the property owner is a separate question. A claim against a company other than your employer can be separate from workers’ compensation. A general contractor can be different. Under Section 406.123, a general contractor that has agreed in writing to provide workers’ compensation coverage to a subcontractor’s employees may be treated as their employer for workers’ compensation purposes.
Scaffolds are dismantled within days and harnesses are returned to service. Photographs of the structure as it stood, the inspection tags, and the fall protection plan are some of the most important evidence you will have, and they stop existing quickly.
You and your family can help preserve what remains. Keep any photos or videos from your phone or a coworker’s phone. Write down the names of everyone on the crew and the supervisor that day. Keep your harness, boots and hard hat if they were given back to you. Note the height you fell from and what you landed on, as best you can.
A Texas personal injury claim generally must be filed within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury. That rule is in Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The evidence of a fall is usually gone much sooner.
If the fall was fatal, the surviving spouse, children and parents may bring a wrongful death action under Section 71.004 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Section 71.021 allows a survival action for the injured person’s own claim. For a death claim, Section 16.003(b) generally runs the two years from the date of death.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Most of this belongs to the contractors and the property owner, and some of it is gone in days. A letter asking each company to keep it is usually the first step.
We start by asking every company on the site to keep the scaffold records, the fall protection plan, the inspection tags and any photos. Then we sort out who controlled each part of the work, because that decides who is responsible.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
The company that erected the scaffold, the company that inspected it, the general contractor coordinating the site and the premises owner can each bear a share. The inspection tags and erection records usually show who did what.
It may depend on who supplied the ladder, whether it was right for the job, and whether it was damaged or badly set up. It also depends on whether your employer carries workers' compensation.
On a site with several companies, the duty to provide and inspect guardrails, anchor points and harnesses is divided by contract. More than one company may be responsible for the same gap.
That does not necessarily end the claim. The questions include whether there was anything to tie off to and whether a harness was provided. Under Chapter 33, you generally may recover if you are not more than 50 percent responsible, reduced by your share.
If it does not carry workers' compensation, usually yes, and Section 406.033 of the Texas Labor Code bars certain defenses. If it does, Section 408.001 generally makes comp the exclusive remedy against it, with a limited exception for exemplary damages in a death case.
In most cases, two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury, under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Scaffolds and harnesses can be gone within days, so call early.