Every day, workers in Texas perform jobs that are too dangerous or too strenuous for the majority of the population. These workers are doing construction, working on oil refineries and building pipelines, and all too often are not protected by their employers from foreseeable dangers. Sadly, many workers in the construction and oil production industry are injured or even killed on the job.

When this happens, the worker, or the worker's family if the worker was killed, is able to bring a civil lawsuit against the employer. A personal injury claim of this sort can award damages to the worker or the worker's family to help cover medical bills, lost wages and other costs associated with the accident.

Last week, a refinery worker in Jefferson County, Texas, brought suit against his employers, Motiva Enterprises and Becon Construction, after he sustained injuries when a crane collapsed at his job site. The accident happened on Jan. 4 of this year when the man was working inside the Motiva refinery at Port Arthur.

The man alleges that due to the negligence of his employers, a crane lifting pipes tipped over backwards and came into contact with power lines. The worker's personal injury suit does not specify how the worker was injured, but it accuses the employers of not providing the worker with a safe environment to perform his job and failing to provide a safe crane to operate.

The worker is seeking damages for past and future medical expenses, mental anguish, pain, impairment, disfigurement and lost wages, plus all court costs, but a precise amount has not been specified. Like in most similar cases, the worker has hired a Texas personal injury attorney to help him win this lawsuit.

Source: Southeast Texas Record, "Crane collapse at Motiva results in litigation," David Yates, Sept. 9, 2011.