A worker died tragically this week after falling into a drill hole at a warehouse construction site in Spring, Texas.
Worker Was Killed by Drill Bit
The October 5th incident occurred shortly after 10:00 a.m. off the I-45 feeder road near the Grand Parkway in Harris County. The unidentified 22-year-old Hispanic man was found unresponsive in the drill hole and pronounced dead at the scene.
The man’s grandfather was apparently operating the drill bit.
“At some point, we don’t know logistically how it happened, but the 22-year-old fell in the hole, and the grandfather did not clearly see that, and he was killed by the drill bit,” Harris County Constable Mark Herman told KHOU.
Groundhog Foundation Drilling Was Subcontractor at Site
Firefighters from the Spring and Woodlands station came to assist the Spring Fire Rescue Team to recover the man’s body. Crews first had to reinforce the collapsed hole before recovery could begin.
Inspectors from the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration are investigating.
According to a statement from the agency, Groundhog Foundation Drilling was in charge of the drilling operation. Groundhog was a sub of sub-contractor DMAC Construction, a company hired by general contractor Rosenberger Construction.
So far, it’s unclear whether the deceased or his grandfather actually worked for Groundhog Foundation.
What to Do If a Loved One Is Killed in a Construction Accident
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, falls remain the leading cause of work-related deaths in construction, accounting for more than one in three deaths that occur in the industry annually. Fatalities among Hispanic construction workers rose about 90% from 2011 to 2019, outpacing their employment growth in the industry during the period.
Losing a loved one to a construction accident or other workplace tragedy is devastating, and the shock and grief experienced in the wake of such a traumatic event can make it hard to move forward. However, such a sudden and unexpected death will have considerable financial ramifications, especially if the deceased provided your family’s primary source of income.
The actions you take in the immediate aftermath and over the next few weeks and months could well determine whether your family’s needs are met or if you’ll be forced to live on whatever workers’ compensation death benefits you might receive.
Don’t Put Faith in the Employer or Its Insurer: No matter how much concern they show and how strongly they promise to make things right, the company and its insurer don’t care if you have the financial resources to replace your loved one’s lost income. They only care about protecting their profits by limiting your recovery to Worker’s Comp benefits.
Don’t Count on Worker’s Comp: In Texas, survivors are entitled to 75% of their loved one’s average weekly wages, subject to a statutory weekly maximum of $895. Unfortunately, these limited benefits often aren’t adequate to cover even basic monthly expenses. Most importantly, they don’t provide compensation for loss of consortium, physical impairment, mental anguish, or any of the other damages you could potentially recover by filing a wrongful death lawsuit and survival claims.
Don’t Assume You Can’t Take Legal Action: Texas and many other states allow survivors to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit when a workplace fatality results from gross negligence. Unlike Workers’ Compensation, a successful wrongful death lawsuit could compensate your family for all your losses, including past and future lost income, loss of inheritance, mental anguish, and more.
Texas also allows families to pursue “survival” claims for the pain, suffering, and mental anguish inflicted on their loved one due to the company’s negligence. Families can also recover “exemplary damages” (also known as punitive damages) when a workplace fatality results from a willful act, omission, or gross negligence.
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Our Houston Work Injury Lawyers are investigating the deadly construction accident in Spring, Texas, and will post an update if new information becomes available.
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