Catastrophically Injured on a San Antonio Construction Site? We Know It’s More Than Just “Workers’ Comp.”

The skyline of San Antonio is a testament to constant growth, but behind every new building and road is a workforce facing extreme danger every day. Construction is one of the most hazardous professions in Texas. When a fall, electrocution, or equipment failure occurs, the injuries are often catastrophic—traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, severe burns, or amputations. While the Texas workers’ compensation system may provide some benefits, it severely limits what you can recover and often fails to address the full, lifelong cost of a life-altering injury.

At Barton & Associates, our San Antonio construction accident lawyers focus on a crucial legal strategy: third-party liability claims. We look beyond the standard workers’ comp claim to identify and hold accountable every negligent party outside of your direct employer whose actions contributed to your accident. This approach is often the key to securing compensation that truly covers medical bills, lost future earnings, and the immense pain and suffering you and your family now endure.

Why a “Third-Party” Claim Is Critical for Construction Injuries

Texas law is unique. If your employer carries workers’ compensation insurance (a “subscriber”), you are generally barred from suing them directly for negligence. However, you retain the full right to sue any other entity whose negligence caused or contributed to your injury. These “third parties” can include:

• General Contractors & Property Owners: They have a non-delegable duty to maintain a safe worksite. Failure to coordinate safety, properly supervise subcontractors, or correct known hazards can make them liable.
• Subcontractors from Other Companies: If an employee of another subcontractor (e.g., the electrical or plumbing sub) causes your accident through negligent actions, their company can be held liable.
• Equipment Manufacturers & Distributors: Defective cranes, forklifts, power tools, scaffolding, and safety gear are frequent causes of injury. We pursue product liability claims against these companies.
• Architects & Engineers: Design professionals can be liable for injuries caused by faulty site plans or specifications that create unreasonably dangerous conditions.
• Negligent Drivers on Site: If you were struck by a delivery truck or other vehicle operated by someone not employed by your company.

Pursuing these third-party claims allows us to seek full damages not available through workers’ comp, including compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Common, Devastating Types of Construction Accidents We Handle

San Antonio’s construction boom brings specific, high-risk hazards. Our firm has deep experience with:

• Falls from Heights: The leading cause of death in construction. Falls from roofs, scaffolding, ladders, and through floor openings are often due to lack of fall protection, unguarded edges, or unstable working surfaces.
• Struck-By Accidents: Being hit by falling tools or materials, swinging crane loads, collapsing trenches, or backing vehicles due to inadequate signaling and safety zones.
• Electrocutions & Electrical Burns: Contact with live wires, faulty temporary power, or equipment that comes into contact with overhead power lines.
• Trench & Excavation Collapses: Cave-ins are frequently fatal and are almost always caused by a failure to use proper protective systems like trench boxes or shoring.
• Scaffolding & Ladder Failures: Collapses due to improper erection, overloading, or defective components.
• Heavy Equipment & Machinery Accidents: Involving cranes, forklifts, backhoes, nail guns, and saws. These often involve defective design, lack of safety guards, or negligent operation.
• Fires & Explosions: From welding sparks, flammable chemicals, or gas line strikes.

The Immediate Steps to Protect Your Rights After a Construction Accident

1. Report the Injury: Notify your foreman or supervisor in writing immediately. Ensure an incident report is filed.
2. Seek Medical Care: Your health is the priority. Describe exactly how the injury occurred. This creates a vital medical record linking the accident to your condition.
3. Document Everything: If possible, take photos of the hazard that caused your injury (the unguarded edge, the defective tool, the unstable trench wall) before it is “fixed.” Get contact information from any co-workers or other tradesmen who witnessed the accident.
4. Preserve Evidence: If a defective tool or piece of equipment caused your injury, do not let it be “lost” or “sent back to the manufacturer.” If possible, ensure it is secured.
5. Do NOT Give Recorded Statements: Be wary of early, recorded statements requested by any insurance adjuster—including your employer’s workers’ comp carrier or a third party’s insurer. Consult with an attorney first.
6. Consult a Construction Accident Attorney Before Filing Any Claims: Call Barton & Associates immediately. We can advise you on how to navigate the workers’ comp process while simultaneously launching our independent investigation to identify all third-party defendants.

How Barton & Associates Builds Your Third-Party Construction Injury Case

We deploy a systematic, resource-intensive approach designed for the complexity of construction sites:

• Immediate Site Investigation & Evidence Preservation: We act quickly to photograph and document the accident scene, interview witnesses, and send spoliation letters to all potentially liable parties demanding they preserve evidence (equipment, site logs, safety plans).
• Comprehensive Liability Analysis: We analyze contracts, site safety plans, and OSHA records to determine the chain of responsibility. We identify which companies had control over the specific area and task that led to your injury.
• Expert Collaboration: We work with a network of specialists—construction safety experts, professional engineers, accident reconstructionists, and medical professionals—to prove how safety standards were violated and to detail the full lifelong impact of your injuries.
• Meticulous Damages Calculation: We fight for every category of compensation you are owed in a third-party lawsuit:
  • Past and Future Medical Expenses (surgeries, rehabilitation, in-home care, adaptive devices)
  • Lost Wages & Loss of Future Earning Capacity (compensation for your reduced ability to work in your trade)
  • Physical Pain and Suffering & Mental Anguish
  • Permanent Disability, Disfigurement, and Loss of Enjoyment of Life
  • Punitive Damages, in cases of egregious safety violations.

Why Experience in Construction Law Is Non-Negotiable

These cases are battles against well-funded general contractors, manufacturers, and their insurance carriers. They have legal teams ready to argue that you were solely at fault for your own injury or that your employer is the only responsible party. Success requires a firm with:

• Knowledge of OSHA & Industry Safety Standards: We use federal and state safety regulations (OSHA, TEXAS ADMIN. CODE) as a blueprint to prove negligence. Violation of these rules is powerful evidence.
• Resources to Fund the Fight: Investigating a complex construction site accident requires significant upfront costs for experts and investigations. We invest in your case to build it properly.
• A Track Record of Success Against Large Entities: We have a history of securing significant settlements and verdicts against general contractors and product manufacturers, demonstrating our ability to go toe-to-toe with them.

The Barton & Associates Difference

• Dual-Focus Strategy: We help you secure workers’ compensation benefits for immediate medical care and wage replacement while aggressively pursuing a third-party lawsuit for full damages.
• Construction-Site Savvy: Our attorneys and investigators understand how construction sites operate, the lingo, and the typical safety failures. We know what to look for.
• Compassionate, Fierce Advocacy: We treat injured workers with the respect they deserve. We fight for the skilled tradesman who can no longer practice his trade.

Don’t Let a Corporation’s Negligence Limit Your Future

The workers’ compensation system is designed to provide limited benefits quickly. It is not designed to make you whole after a catastrophic injury caused by a general contractor’s cost-cutting or a manufacturer’s defective product. Accepting only workers’ comp can leave you and your family financially devastated in the long term.

Our mission is to pursue all avenues of compensation to secure your future medical care, provide for your family, and hold every responsible party accountable for their role in your life-altering injury.

Contact Our San Antonio Construction Accident Law Firm Today

If you have suffered a serious injury on a construction site in San Antonio or South Texas, the decisions you make now will impact the rest of your life. Evidence disappears quickly as sites change daily.

You have the right to seek full justice. Let the experienced San Antonio construction accident attorneys at Barton & Associates evaluate your case.

Call Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law, now at 210-500-0000 for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to your story, explain your rights under Texas law, and outline the powerful steps we can take to fight for the compensation you truly need and deserve.

Main Category: Personal Injury
Practice Area Category: Workplace & On-Site Injuries
Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law
115 Camaron St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Office: 210-500-0000