Workers in all types of industries and occupations are protected by state and federal job safety laws. If your employer placed you or one of your coworkers into a dangerous situation, or failed to fix a safety hazard on the job site, you should report the safety violation immediately. You should also review your legal options with the experienced Dallas workplace accident lawyers of Queenan Law. If you were hurt at work, you could be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and other losses caused by your job injury.
Texas Employment Injury Statistics
No job or industry is completely safe from the risk of workplace injuries. However, some occupations have a higher frequency of accidents than others, such as construction accident injuries.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency responsible for monitoring and improving workplace safety in the United States, there were nearly 250 job-related nonfatal injuries in Texas in 2014. Jobs, industries, and workplace environments with one or more reported injuries that year included:
- Construction
- Building construction
- Electrical contractors
- Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors
- Plumbing, heating, and air conditioning contractors
- Utility system construction
- Health Care and Social Services
- Assisted living facilities and retirement communities
- Home health care services
- Nursing homes
- Manufacturing
- Aerospace manufacturing
- Animal slaughtering and processing
- Cement and concrete product manufacturing
- Chemical manufacturing
- Fabricated metal product manufacturing
- Food manufacturing
- Machinery manufacturing
- Plastic manufacturing
- Wood product manufacturing
- Retail Trade
- Car dealers
- Department stores
- Grocery stores and supermarkets
- Home and garden equipment suppliers
- Transportation and Warehousing
- Air transportation
- Couriers and messengers
- Truck transportation (e.g. Texas truck accidents)
- Warehousing and storage
- Miscellaneous
- Car repair and maintenance
- Drilling oil wells
- Education
- Janitors
- Landscapers
- Mining support roles
- Real estate
- Telecommunications
File a Complaint About Unsafe Job Site Conditions with OSHA and TDI-DWC
If you’re worried about a safety violation at your workplace, you should report the hazard to OSHA and the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC), ideally as soon as possible. Both agencies keep employee safety complaints confidential.
You should supply as much detail as you can, which will help speed up the investigation process. Once your complaint has been received, a representative should contact you for further information. You’ll be asked to supply your employer’s name and contact information, along with the time, date, location, and a description of the hazard.
There are three ways to file a job safety complaint with OSHA:
- Call the nearest OSHA office using the contact information supplied below:
North Houston Area
690 South Loop 336 West, Suite 400
Conroe, TX 77304
Tel. – (936) 760-3800
Fax – (281) 999-7457
South Houston Area
17625 El Camino Real, Suite 400
Houston, TX 77058
Tel. – (281) 286-0583
Fax – (281) 286-6352
Dallas Area
1100 East Campbell Road, Suite 250
Richardson, TX 75081
Tel. – (972) 952-1330
Fax – (972) 952-1338
Fort Worth Area
North Starr II, Suite 302
8713 Airport Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76180
Tel. – (817) 428-2470
Fax – (817) 581-7723
- Download and print a paper OSHA complaint form. Mail or fax the completed form to your local OSHA office using the contact information listed above. OSHA will keep your contact information confidential, but you’ll need to supply your name, address, and phone number so that a representative can get in touch with you after your complaint has been received.
- Fill out the online OSHA complaint form. Simply click the “Send” button at the bottom when finished to submit your completed form.
There are two ways to report unsafe working conditions to TDI-DWC:
- Call the TDI-DWC Safety Violations Hotline at (800) 452-9595, 24 hours a day.
- Complete and submit the TDI-DWC workplace safety complaint form.
Contact a Texas Workplace Accident Lawyer
You work hard for your business every day. You deserve safe working conditions. If you or your spouse was injured at work in Texas, or suffered a work-related injury while performing his or her job duties, your family could be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and other hardships.
The Midland construction accident attorneys of Queenan Law have more than 20 years of experience helping injured employees fight for fair accident compensation and workers’ compensation benefits. Let us fight for you and your family.
Call our law offices at (817) 476-1797 to set up a free, completely confidential legal consultation. A Dallas personal injury lawyer of Queenan Law are proud to serve part-time and full-time workers in Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, Houston, and the surrounding communities.