Litigating Accidents at Industrial Plants

I recently reviewed information concerning ongoing investigations into the cause of the explosion at the Texas fertilizer plant.  This explosion has resulted in 15 deaths, many serious injuries and considerable loss of personal property.  Several lawsuits have already been filed against the company that owns the plant, and undoubtedly there will be many more.  Industrial plants are required to have numerous safety precautions in place to avoid these types of accidents, so there was likely significant negligence involved. But in order to identify and document the negligence, investigators need to be on the scene immediately.

Do Not Wait to Investigate the Accident Scene

My law firm has handled cases in Louisiana and Mississippi for clients who have been injured at an industrial site or plant, and I know how important it is to investigate the accident scene as quickly as possible.  One of our Louisiana clients suffered a severe injury to his hip and spinal cord while on the job. Photographs of the accident scene were taken immediately after the accident by the subcontractor/employer.  These photographs seemed to indicate that the client may have been responsible for his own injuries.

However, our office immediately began an investigation. We hired a professional investigator to take statements and review the photographs in question. After taking depositions and receiving interrogatories submitted to the defendants, it was learned that the accident scene may have been doctored prior to taking the photos. We submitted to the insurance companies that the subcontractor had altered the scene in order to avoid liability.

In addition to the photographs, we took statements from witnesses confirming that the photographs may have been taken after the accident scene was doctored. Once this information was provided to the plant owner and subcontractor, the defendants requested an immediate mediation. The case was subsequently settled for a large sum.

If Scene Is Not Investigated Immediately, Evidence Can Be Lost Forever

The importance of this case, and we have mentioned this in previous blogs, is the necessity of immediate and aggressive investigation. When you hire an experienced personal injury lawyer, he or she will have a personal injury investigator available to work on your case. Some of these investigators have been ex law enforcement personnel who are experienced in obtaining the pertinent and relevant to protect our client’s interests.

In this particular matter, our client’s settlement allowed him to retire with sufficient funds to maintain his prior standard of living. He did not have to worry about going back to work. In fact, because of his injuries, he would have been unable to obtain the type of income he had previously received. In any event, when someone is in an industrial plant explosion, accident, fire, etc., it is important to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer who knows that no time can be wasted.  If factual information, photographs, and diagrams of the accident scene are not obtained quickly, evidence can be lost or unintentionally or intentionally altered. If you are injured at a plant or other industrial site, do not hesitate to contact a personal injury attorney to protect your interests.

My law firm is licensed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Georgia.  We handle personal injury claims for industrial accidents and injuries on the job.