Dallas Construction Accident Lawyer

A Dallas construction injury is not a car wreck, and it does not follow the same rules. The party who ultimately pays may not be your employer at all — it may be a general contractor, a subcontractor, an equipment owner, or the company that controlled the jobsite. Texas law on construction injuries is unusual, and getting the liability question right early is what separates a real recovery from a denied claim.

Here is how construction accident cases actually work in Dallas.

Construction Accidents Follow Different Liability Rules

Texas is the only state where private employers can opt out of workers' compensation. That single fact reshapes most jobsite cases:

If your employer is a "non-subscriber" (carries no workers' comp), you can sue the employer directly for negligence — and under Texas Labor Code § 406.033 the employer loses its common-law defenses, including the argument that you were partly to blame.
If your employer carries workers' comp, those benefits are usually your exclusive remedy against that employer — but you can still bring a third-party claim against other negligent companies on the site.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

Most serious construction cases turn on finding every responsible party beyond the immediate employer:

General contractors who controlled site safety, sequencing, and the means and methods of the work.
Subcontractors whose crews created the hazard — an unguarded floor opening, a defective scaffold, a struck-by load.
Premises / property owners. Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 95, an owner is generally liable for a contractor's employee's injury only if the owner controlled the work and had actual knowledge of the danger — a rule that has to be pleaded and proven carefully.
Equipment manufacturers and rental companies for defective lifts, ladders, saws, and machinery.
Staffing agencies and other on-site employers.

The Injuries We See Most on Dallas Jobsites

OSHA calls them the "Fatal Four," and they drive most construction claims:

Falls — from roofs, scaffolds, ladders, and unprotected edges and openings.
Struck-by — falling tools and materials, swinging loads, and moving equipment.
Caught-in / caught-between — trench collapses, machinery, and pinch points.
Electrocutions — contact with live wires, power lines, and ungrounded equipment.

Dallas has a constant pipeline of these risks — downtown and Uptown high-rise builds, the I-635 LBJ and I-35E corridor projects, and warehouse and data-center work across the county. The region's Level I trauma center, Parkland Memorial Hospital, treats many of the most serious of them, and the cases are litigated in the Dallas County District Courts at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building.

Damages You Can Recover

Past and future medical expenses, including surgery and rehabilitation
Lost wages and lost earning capacity — often the largest number in a disabling injury
Past and future physical pain and mental anguish
Physical impairment and disfigurement
In a fatal case, wrongful death and survival damages for the family — and exemplary (punitive) damages where a death was caused by gross negligence, preserved even against a subscribing employer under Texas Labor Code § 408.001(b)

The Two-Year Deadline

Texas gives you two years from the date of injury to file suit under Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. If a public project or governmental entity is involved, the Texas Tort Claims Act (Chapter 101) can require written notice in months, not years. Jobsite evidence disappears fast — equipment gets repaired or returned, the scene changes daily, and crews move on — so preservation letters need to go out immediately.

What You'll Pay: Nothing Unless We Win

We take Dallas construction injury cases on a contingency fee. No hourly bills, no upfront cost, and a fee only out of a recovery. If we do not win, you owe no attorney's fee. We don't get paid until you do.

What to Do After a Construction Injury

Report the injury to your employer and make sure it is documented in writing.
Get medical care immediately and keep every record and bill.
Photograph the scene, the equipment involved, and any missing guards, warnings, or safety gear — before the site changes.
Get names and numbers for coworkers and witnesses.
Find out whether your employer is a workers' comp subscriber or a non-subscriber — it changes your options.
Talk to a lawyer before giving any recorded statement to an insurer or signing a release.