Injuries and death are common on construction worksites. Be aware of some of the hazards.

It only takes one moment of inattention, one misstep or one defective product or machine to cause a serious or deadly accident on a construction work site. It happens every day, and every day men and women either land in hospital or don’t come home again.

It goes without saying that everything in the company’s power should be done to make a workplace safe; but sadly, this isn’t always the case. There are always those who are in a hurry to get something done, cut corners, use improper equipment, don’t use the mandated safety gear or just don’t think the rules apply to them.

“Generally speaking there are several categories of accidents that commonly happen on the job site and they fall into four main categories: electrical, falls, struck bys, and excavation and trenching. If you take a look at the Occupational Health and Safety statistics for any given year, you will be shocked at the number of serious injuries and deaths that fall into these main categories,” outlined Austin personal injury attorney Beverly Aylmer of The Lee Law Firm.

When it comes to incidents involving electricity, the unfortunate part is that people are so used to it being around that they take it for granted; become careless around it. Any worker doing his or her job in the vicinity of an electrical power circuit, needs to be wearing the proper protection. What could happen? The worker could come into contact with power lines, not use a piece of equipment using electricity properly, or not use extension cords in the right manner. This happens far more often than we might like to think.

Falls are common for the simple reason that many construction workers are doing their job at great heights. They’re climbing up and down, hauling materials in and out and hanging things like drywall. “Situations that lead to falls come in the form of shaky scaffolding construction, portable ladders not being used correctly, and unprotected sides where an employee is working. The fact is that falls are the leading cause of death on construction worksites in America today,” Aylmer said.

The ‘struck by’ category means when humans and machines meet, usually the human takes the brunt of the injuries. Heavy equipment on a job site has been known to be involved in numerous accidents and deaths, such as a forklift striking a worker in the head or a crane boom landing on a worker standing underneath it. Struck bys also include being hit by falling object and walls.
Although cave-ins aren’t a leading cause of death on job sites, they happen often enough that people need to be aware of the conditions in which they are working. For instance, working in cramped and enclosed spaces means the worker may not have enough oxygen. Toxic fumes in some spaces are deadly, drowning is a hazard if working with soaked earth while excavating, and sudden contact with underground lines, such as gas pipelines, may prompt an explosion.

“When in doubt about any injuries sustained during the course of your job, call a seasoned Austin injury lawyer and have him lay out what your rights are, evaluate your case, discuss how a lawsuit may be filed and what to expect. It’s better to have the information and make the right decision for you, rather than not be compensated for personal injuries that happened on the job,” added Austin personal injury attorney Beverly Aylmer of The Lee Law Firm.

To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.

Evidence at the scene of a trucking accident is vital for court. It’s all needed for criminal and possibly a personal injury lawsuit.

When you hear the saying that, “Time is of the essence,” from your Austin personal injury lawyer, you need to know they mean that – literally. In the event of a big rig accident, everything that may be relevant to the case needs to be collected and complied. The pieces, pictures and reports will tell the story of the accident, property damage and injuries. What is also vitally important is the information about the trucker who was driving at the time of the accident and the trucking company.

Most accident scenes are alive with debris and tire marks. Every piece of evidence will have a story to tell to the people who process the scene; usually the police. However, having said that, it’s crucial for you, the victim, to keep a record of what happened, including pictures of the damage and the actual scene and statements from any eyewitnesses.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

Not everyone has the chance to do that, and this is where it is important for the Austin personal injury lawyer to get ahold of all the reports and statements that he can. He will do this with painstaking care and be very particular about it for a very good reason; the evidence may wind up in court. Attention to details is crucial if your case is bound for trial.

Every bit of evidence used in a big rig crash case is important. The complete scene needs to be photographed and that includes every vehicle involved, all markings on all vehicles such as company signs and lettering, and all of the surrounding area and traffic signal locations (if applicable). The physical evidence needed for court will include crash debris and skid marks. The scene of the accident needs to include sight distances (e.g. from the stop sign to the crash site), the weather at the time, and whether or not there were any trees or buildings impairing a driver’s sight.

The Austin personal injury lawyer’s job is to get the police accident documents and any pictures or videos taken at the scene. The next thing that needs to be done is get the big rig involved in the crash inspected by an expert. If the rig has a black box, and many of them do now, get the information it contains about the truck’s speed downloaded.
If you are too badly injured to be able to collect any evidence, then it’s crucial you get ahold of a competent and skilled Austin personal injury lawyer, as indeed, time is of the essence in cases like this.

When consumers shop for goods, they expect the goods will be safe to use. Lately, this isn’t always the case.

Whenever anyone buys something at a store, they expect it will work and not cause them harm. They will also plan on using the product the way it was intended to be used. “With products that have inherent dangers associated with them, such as a gas barbeque, there are usually federal requirements that mandate what must be on the product’s warning label,” explained Austin personal injury attorney Beverly Aylmer of The Lee Law Firm.

For instance, in the case of a gas barbeque, one might expect to see the warning: don’t light barbeque at the air intake opening or grill may overheat and melt, or explode and ignite other combustibles in the area. Now, that may also be a defective design consideration as well.

The main problem with consumer products is that once they have been made, shipped and sold, it’s not until something goes wrong that anyone realizes there was a risk of injury or death. “By then, either someone gets badly hurt or killed. Then, something is done about recalling the product – sometimes. Other times, fixes are issued for it. Sadly, the response time of many manufacturers is really slow and in the meantime, disaster may be already stalking its next victim,” Aylmer said.

While those hurt or killed by a defective product may trigger a recall, this doesn’t begin to address the people who will never hear, see or read about the recall or the warnings. Many of them continue to use the product and wonder why it caused them serious injuries. When bad things happen to good people – unsuspecting souls just using a product – it’s time to consider filing a lawsuit with an Austin personal injury lawyer.

“Do the companies that make and ship defective products know about the problem? Fair question, and in some cases I have seen, they did know. In others, they knew later. However, depending on the state you live in there are different types of product liability, so ask your Austin personal injury lawyer what type of liability a manufacturer of a defective product has in Texas,” advised Aylmer.
Are there certain common products on the market that tend to be a problem for consumers? Apparently the answer to that is yes, and many of them are in areas that cause a great degree of concern for consumers, such as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, kid’s toys and jewelry, children’s products like cribs and slings, small appliances, and defective cars and their parts.

“Some say greed and the rush to market to beat the competition have created the horrendous product recalls we’ve seen to date. Many of them have taken lives and many of them could have been avoided if the maker of the product had taken the time and care to do things properly,” added Austin personal injury attorney Beverly Aylmer of The Lee Law Firm.

When faced with a dangerous/defective product that has caused harm or death, it’s a good idea to consult with a skilled Austin personal injury lawyer and find out what consumer’s rights are and how to file a personal injury lawsuit.

To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.