Construction Injuries and Falls Falls are the leading cause for construction site injuries and are the most common construction lawsuit handled by the personal injury lawyers at Noteboom in Fort Worth. In the construction industry, particularly in new-home construction, falls typically come from unprotected heights, wall openings and floor holes. OSHA requires fall protection from heights greater than six feet.

Almost all sites have unprotected edges, openings, or holes during construction. Falls from these hazards can produce serious personal injury or death. Many unprotected workers have been paralyzed by construction falls in Dallas, Fort Worth, and across Texas. Workers have fallen from roofs, through skylights, from walls under construction, and from ladders.

Sadly, many of these injuries could have been avoided by the proper use of guardrails, safety nets, or fall protection systems. But the key is proper use of safety equipment. The personal injury lawyers at Noteboom have handled many cases where safety equipment was used improperly and did not protect the worker. For example, a scaffold is of little use if made from substandard wood that breaks and allows the construction worker to fall. Injuries relating to improper scaffold construction may cause paralysis, closed head injuries or even death.

Falls from Ladders

Ladders are common on construction sites and are a major cause of jobsite injury to workers. The danger in ladders generally comes from improper positioning. Each time the ladder is moved to a different place, there is a risk of instability causing the ladder to tip or fall. Falls from ladders have injured many construction workers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, often producing serious personal injuries and lost wages.

Falls from Scaffolds

Across Texas, and especially in the Dallas/Fort worth area with its high level of new-home construction, many workers are injured in falls from scaffolds and have suffered paralysis, brain injuries, and even death.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has implemented very specific safety standards for scaffolds. Failure to follow these standards can lead to significant injuries to workers from poor assembly or construction, negligent maintenance, inadequate scaffolding materials, and a lack of training and instruction. The personal injury lawyers at Noteboom are experienced in handling injuries from scaffolding falls.

Crane Accidents

Each year, construction crane accidents cause serious personal injuries (including brain injuries) and even death at jobsites in Dallas, Fort Worth, and throughout Texas. The personal injury lawyers at Noteboom have experience with injuries from crane accidents. Such injuries can come from overturned or toppling cranes, a buckled boom, or the failure of the rigging. Other causes of injuries include improper crane assembly or disassembly, workers falling from cranes, loads dropped from cranes, improper maintenance, or inadequate training, supervision, or maintenance. Mr. Noteboom has handled crane accidents for several years. In the early 90's, he received a seven figure settlement for a very badly crippled arm. The case involved faulty welding repairs on the crane. In that case, he employed a metalurgist and crane expert who, along with doctors and life care planners, forced the insurance companies involved to settle.

Injuries from Falling Objects

Many construction workers are injured by falling objects on Texas construction sites. Particularly on the many new-home jobsites in Dallas and Fort Worth, if tools or boards are not properly secured, they can fall and cause serious personal injury. Hard hats are an important safety device to reduce injury, but proper training and supervision securing loads, stacking, and material safety is important to keep the objects from falling. Noteboom's personal injury lawyers have represented many person injured by falling objects, employing OSHA experts, doctors, and sending investigators out to marshall evidence before it can be hidden by insurance company investigators.