Three workers are dead and one additional worker is reported to have been injured after a partially-completed stairwell collapsed at a west Houston construction site early Monday afternoon. The cause of the collapse is unknown at this time as the building is considered too unstable to be safely entered until remaining portions can be reinforced and stabilized.
According to the Harris County Fire Department, the initial rescue call came in at 1:30 p.m. from a commercial building site located in the City Centre development area near the intersection of Town & Country Boulevard and the Katy Freeway. According to first responders, the unidentified building is new construction rather than a renovation of an existing structure and is designed to be around 15 floors in height. The same responders stated that it appears the upper floors and walls of a stairwell collapsed downward and inward. All of the about 250 workers known to have been on-site at the time of the accident have been accounted for, but the casualties remain unidentified pending recovery and notification of surviving family members.
Although the investigation into to cause of the accident is in its earliest stages, many similar previous accidents have been linked to allowing insufficient time for concrete and other building materials to “set” before adding another section of flooring above the most recently-completed section. The inadequately set section is unable to support the additional weight placed upon it and a collapse may occur without warning.
At The Doan Law Firm we have found that many building construction accidents occur when someone deliberately ignores established safety standards or construction standards. When this leads to an accidental injury the general contractor responsible for the completion of the construction project, as well as any subcontractors who may have been involved, could be found to have been negligent in their actions and could be ordered to pay damages to an injured worker.
Since practically all construction accident injuries are covered by Workers Compensation, many injured workers and their families are surprised to learn just how little of a worker’s lost income is covered following an on-the-job injury or how hard they must fight to win insurance company approval to pay for necessary medical care. Should you find yourself in such a situation, you have the legal right to speak with a Workers Compensation / on-the-job injury lawyer to learn about your right to fair compensation for your injuries.
If you were the victim of an on-the-job injury, we invite you to contact The Doan Law Firm to arrange a free review of the facts in your case and a discussion of the legal options that may be available to you.
When you contact our firm, there is never a charge of any kind for our staff to review your case or for you to speak with our on-the-job accident injury lawyer. Should you later decide that a lawsuit is in your best interests and that you would like to have us represent you in court, we are willing to assume full responsibility for all aspects of preparing your case for trial in exchange for a percentage of the final settlement that we are prepared to win for you.