EXPERIENCED PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER SERVING ALL OF TEXAS
Written by Geoffrey Dashner. Read more about the author.
Construction in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex has not slowed down. Drive along State Highway 360 or past the development corridors near I-20 and you will see cranes, scaffolding, and work crews at almost every exit. More activity means more risk, and more risk means more injured workers calling our office looking for answers. At Dashner Law Firm | Arlington Injury & Accident Attorney, we handle construction injury cases across Texas, and fault questions come up in every single one of them. This post walks through how fault gets determined, who typically carries liability, and what the investigation process looks like — so you know what to expect if you or someone you know gets hurt on a job site.
How to Determine Fault in a Construction Accident in Texas in Arlington?
Fault in an Arlington construction accident is determined by identifying which party — or parties — acted negligently and whether that negligence directly caused the injury. Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001. That means you can recover damages as long as you are not more than 50% responsible for your own injury. If you are found 30% at fault, your compensation is reduced by 30%. If you are found 51% at fault, you recover nothing.
In practice, fault determination requires gathering and analyzing four categories of evidence: physical evidence from the scene, documentary records, witness statements, and expert opinion. Physical evidence includes photographs of the hazard, broken equipment, missing fall protection, or inadequate signage. Documentary records include OSHA inspection logs, safety meeting sign-in sheets, maintenance logs, and the general contractor’s daily reports. Witness statements from coworkers, supervisors, and subcontractor employees can establish what conditions existed before the accident. Expert witnesses — often safety engineers or occupational health specialists — evaluate whether the site met OSHA standards and industry norms.
In my experience, fault in Texas construction cases almost never rests on a single party. A scaffolding collapse might trace back to a subcontractor who installed it improperly, a general contractor who failed to inspect it, a property owner who ignored a prior safety report, and an equipment manufacturer who used substandard components. Each of those parties can carry a share of fault under Texas proportionate liability law. The goal of the investigation is to assign a percentage to each responsible party accurately, because that directly controls how much compensation you can recover.
Time matters too. Evidence disappears fast on active construction sites. Equipment gets moved or repaired. Witnesses scatter to other jobs. If you were injured in Arlington, calling a construction accident attorney quickly — ideally within the first 48 to 72 hours — can mean the difference between a strong case and one built on incomplete records.
The Most Common Construction Accidents in Texas
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks construction fatalities and injuries nationally, and Texas consistently ranks among the top states by total construction deaths. In 2026, the construction industry remains the single most dangerous private-sector industry in the state. Four accident types account for the majority of serious injuries and deaths on Texas job sites.
Falls are the leading cause. Falls from scaffolding, ladders, roofs, and elevated platforms kill more construction workers than any other single hazard. A worker falling 15 feet onto a concrete slab can suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal fractures, and internal organ damage — injuries that require years of treatment and can end a career permanently. If you or a family member has suffered a serious brain injury in a construction fall, the medical costs alone can be staggering.
Struck-by incidents are second. These involve workers hit by falling objects, swinging crane loads, backing vehicles, or debris ejected from power tools. A 5-pound wrench dropped from three stories hits the ground with roughly 300 pounds of force. On a crowded job site, that is a lethal hazard with no warning.
Caught-in/between accidents occur when a worker is caught, crushed, or compressed between equipment and a fixed object, or between two moving machines. Trenching cave-ins fall into this category. The CDC notes that trench collapses kill workers almost instantly — a cubic yard of soil weighs close to 3,000 pounds.
Electrocution rounds out what OSHA calls the “Fatal Four.” Contact with overhead power lines, unguarded electrical systems, or improperly grounded equipment causes a significant share of Texas construction deaths each year.
What Causes Construction Accidents in Texas?
The root causes behind these accidents cluster into a few categories. Inadequate safety training is the most common one I see in case files. Texas requires employers to comply with OSHA standards under 29 CFR Part 1926, but compliance on smaller subcontracted projects is inconsistent. Workers who do not know how to use a harness correctly, or who have never been shown fall protection protocols, are not making a choice to be unsafe — they were never taught.
Defective or poorly maintained equipment is another frequent cause. A ladder with a cracked rail, a scaffold with a missing toe board, a circular saw with a malfunctioning blade guard — these are product and maintenance failures that put workers at risk through no fault of their own. Texas product liability law allows injured workers to pursue claims against manufacturers and distributors when defective tools or equipment contribute to an accident.
Pressure to meet deadlines also drives accidents. Project managers who push crews to skip safety checks or work in hazardous weather create conditions where accidents are predictable, not just possible. Courts and juries in Texas understand this dynamic, and it affects how fault is allocated.
Finally, inadequate site supervision contributes heavily. When no qualified safety officer is present on site, hazards go unaddressed. OSHA violations pile up. Subcontractors cut corners without anyone flagging it. A general contractor’s failure to maintain site control is a significant source of liability in many cases we handle.
Who Is Responsible in a Construction Accident in Texas?
Texas construction sites typically involve several overlapping legal relationships, and responsibility can attach to any of them. Understanding who can be held liable is one of the first things we work through when a new client comes to us.
The general contractor holds primary responsibility for overall site safety under OSHA’s multi-employer worksite doctrine. Even if the work was performed by a subcontractor, the general contractor can be liable if it controlled or could have controlled the hazardous condition. Texas courts have consistently held that a general contractor’s duty to maintain a safe worksite does not get delegated away just because a sub performed the specific task.
Subcontractors carry their own liability for the safety of their workers and the conditions they create. If a subcontractor built faulty scaffolding that collapsed and injured a worker from a different crew, that subcontractor faces direct liability to the injured party.
Property owners can be liable under Texas premises liability law if they knew or should have known about a dangerous condition and failed to warn workers or correct it. This is especially relevant on renovation projects where pre-existing hazards — asbestos, unstable structures, concealed electrical lines — are part of the site.
Equipment manufacturers and distributors can face product liability claims when faulty equipment causes an injury. These claims run parallel to any workers’ compensation or third-party negligence claims and can significantly increase total recovery.
One thing I tell clients early: Texas workers’ compensation, if your employer carries it, limits your ability to sue your direct employer. But it does not prevent you from pursuing third-party claims against the general contractor, a subcontractor, the property owner, or an equipment manufacturer. That distinction is critical. Workers’ comp typically pays only a fraction of actual damages — it does not cover pain and suffering, and wage replacement is capped. Third-party claims can recover the full picture.
Who Conducts Accident Investigations on a Construction Site in Texas?
Multiple agencies and parties typically investigate a serious construction accident, and their interests are not aligned.
OSHA is usually first. Under federal law, employers must report any work-related fatality within 8 hours and any in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss within 24 hours. OSHA compliance officers can open an investigation, inspect the site, interview witnesses, and issue citations. OSHA investigation records — including the narrative report, photographs, and violation notices — can be powerful evidence in a civil lawsuit. However, keep in mind that OSHA’s job is regulatory, not compensatory. They can fine an employer; they cannot get an injured worker money.
The employer and the general contractor typically conduct their own internal investigation. Be cautious about these reports. They are prepared by people with a financial interest in minimizing fault, and they are not always complete or accurate. Employers have been known to document accidents in ways that emphasize worker error.
Insurance adjusters arrive quickly, sometimes within hours. The general contractor’s liability carrier and the employer’s workers’ comp carrier both send representatives to assess the claim. These adjusters are professional negotiators working for the insurance company, not for you.
That is why independent investigation by a construction accident attorney matters. When we take a case at Dashner Law Firm | Arlington Injury & Accident Attorney, we retain our own investigator and, where necessary, an independent safety expert who can evaluate the site conditions against OSHA standards and industry practice — and testify about what should have been done differently.
To learn more about our team and how we approach these cases, visit our about page.
How to Prove Liability in a Construction Accident in Texas?
Proving liability in a Texas construction accident case requires establishing four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. This is standard negligence law, but construction cases add layers of complexity because the duty analysis involves OSHA regulations, contract terms between the general contractor and subs, and Texas common law obligations.
Duty is usually not in dispute. General contractors, subcontractors, and property owners all owe duties of care to workers on site. The fight happens over breach and causation.
Breach means showing the defendant failed to meet the applicable standard of care. OSHA violations are strong evidence of breach. If OSHA cited the general contractor for failing to provide required fall protection under 29 CFR 1926.502, that citation goes directly to whether the standard of care was met. Expert witnesses fill in gaps where OSHA has no specific regulation — testifying about what a reasonable contractor in the same position would have done.
Causation requires connecting the breach to the specific injury. This is where medical records and expert testimony from treating physicians and occupational specialists become essential. A defense attorney will argue that a pre-existing condition, not the accident, caused the injury. Solid medical documentation that establishes the mechanism of injury and its direct connection to the accident is non-negotiable.
Damages in Texas construction cases can include medical expenses past and future, lost wages and loss of earning capacity, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, and disfigurement. In cases involving extreme conduct — a contractor who repeatedly ignored safety violations, for example — Texas law permits exemplary damages under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.003.
You can review our client reviews and case outcomes to get a sense of what we have recovered for injured workers across Texas.
Documentation strategy matters in these cases. We advise clients to preserve everything: photographs taken before the site is cleaned up, the clothes and equipment they were wearing, any written communications from supervisors about safety concerns, and names and contact information of every witness. People forget this in the shock after a serious injury, which is why calling an attorney fast is not just good advice — it is practical necessity.
The American Bar Association provides guidance on finding qualified legal counsel, and resources like FindLaw and Justia offer general legal information that can help you understand your rights before your first consultation. For detailed statutory language on Texas negligence and comparative fault, Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute has the relevant code provisions.
For workers exposed to asbestos or other long-term hazards on job sites, there may also be mesothelioma-related claims that arise separately from the primary accident claim. And in the worst cases, when a construction accident results in a death, the family may have a wrongful death claim under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.002.
Talk to a Construction Accident Attorney in Arlington
If you were injured on a construction site in Arlington or anywhere in Texas, do not wait to get legal advice. The clock on your claim started the day you were hurt. Texas has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, and evidence disappears faster than that deadline approaches.
Our Arlington office is located at 4275 Little Rd # 205, Arlington, TX 76016. We serve clients throughout the DFW area and across Texas. Consultations are free, and we handle construction injury cases on a contingency basis — you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
Call Dashner Law Firm | Arlington Injury & Accident Attorney today at (817) 203-8018, or contact us online to schedule your free consultation. You can also find more of our legal resources and articles at the Dashner Law blog. For general information on Texas construction accident claims, visit our main practice page.
Construction accidents change lives fast. Getting the right attorney on your side, equally fast, is the best step you can take.
