7 Different Parties Who Can Be Liable for Indiana Steel Worker Injury

Indiana has long been recognized as the nation’s leader in the steel industry. Hoosiers employed in our local steel mills, steel factories, steel fabricators, mini-mills, or foundries are part of a longstanding heritage. They are to be respected for the contributions they make, as well as the courage they possess in choosing this line of work. Steel job sites are notoriously dangerous. For more, read Worker Dangers in the Steel Mills and Steel Factories of Indiana and Indiana Remains Top Steel Producer in the Nation: The Deadly Dangers of Steel Production.

When someone is hurt on the job in any steel workplace, that worker has a right to investigate the accident. Working with accident reconstruction experts and legal advocates, the steel worker injury victim may discover there are civil claims for damages against one or more parties based upon things like negligence; product liability; premises liability; intentional misconduct; and more.

The injured steel worker may have legal recompense to pursue against one or more companies or individuals that is outside of worker’s compensation benefit claims.

Seven Different Parties Who May Be Liable for Indiana Steel Worker Accidents

Each case is unique and deserves individual respect and consideration. Some may be found to be solely covered by workers’ compensation; others may discover personal injury civil claim liability falls on one or more companies or individuals involved in the steel accident. Consider the following:

1. Steel Worker Injury Claims Against Employers for Workers’ Compensation

When a steel worker gets hurt on the job, that accident victim and their loved ones may first think of getting help from the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. State law demands that employers carry these injury liability policies for this very reason: to help workers who are hurt on the job. See: Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents and The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois.

As a general rule, the employer’s exclusive liability is through an active worker’s compensation policy where participation means that the employer is shielded from civil claims based upon negligence. The worker gets coverage under the policy but cannot sue for damages in an action for negligence.

2. Steel Worker Injury Claims Against Contractors

Both legal regulations and industrial standards define safety practices that should be maintained in order to keep the steel worksite safe for workers. In the steel industry, there may be more than one contractor with legal duties of safety and care, from general contractors to various subcontractors on the site. (Think welders, pipefitters, or scaffolders who may be subcontracted on the site.)

Any company on a steel worksite that has possession, custody, or control of aspects of that workplace may be liable for accidents that are caused by its breach of safety duties.

Read: Steelworkers’ Dangers on the Job: Top Five Steel Industry Hazards and Steel Foundry Worker Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.

3. Steel Worker Injury Claims Against Property Owners

The physical location of the steel worker’s injury may be a key factor in legal injury claims in the aftermath of a serious or deadly steel worksite accident. If dangerous conditions are confirmed to have existed on the site, and they are shown to be in violation of legal duties of safety and care causing the steel worker’s harm, then the owner or lessor of the premises, if not the injured person’s employer, may be liable for negligence.

See: Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims.

4. Steel Worker Injury Claims Against Manufacturers or Lessors of Machinery, Equipment, or Tools

The size and scope of machinery, equipment, and tools used in the steel industry is amazing. From huge cranes to a worker’s safety harness, every product must be considered for safety in its use.

If defective or damaged tools, equipment, or machinery are found to have been involved in an accident that caused bodily harm to a steel worker, then the manufacturers may be legally responsible for damages, as well as lessors or even repair companies who have contracted to make sure things are working properly. This includes claims for failure to warn the steel worker of dangers involved with the item.

Also read: Three Things That Must Be Included in a Product Warning Label and Accident Injuries and Warning Labels: How Many Have Legal Liability for the Victim’s Harm?

5. Steel Worker Injury Claims Against Architects or Engineers

Sometimes, experts investigating a steel worker’s injuries on the job will discover that defects in design or in the oversight of the particular site or project contributed to the victim’s harm. For instance, the structure and layout of a steel mill must have designs that meet code.

Professionals may be found to have committed malpractice in their work when structural failures, design problems, or lack of project oversight resulted in a worksite accident.

For more, see: Engineers, Architects: Professional Liability for a Road Construction Work Zone Accident.

6. Steel Worker Injury Claims Against Safety Inspectors or Consultants

Big, dangerous steel facilities will have people specifically tasked with making sure things are safe. For instance, industrial hygienists will work to make sure that workers are not being exposed to toxins or chemical hazards (think silica, fumes, etc.).

Working as contractors or as safety supervisors, their role is to ensure worker safety. Their failures or mistakes mean that they may be legally accountable to the steel worker who is hurt as a result of their negligence.

Read: What is Industrial Hygiene? Expert Protection of Workers on the Industrial Worksite.

7. Steel Worker Injury Claims Against Vendors or Suppliers

If a steel worker is harmed by a product or material on the jobsite, then the company that sold that product or material or good, as well as any company that supplied it to the workplace, may be held legally liable for an accident caused by flaws, faults, or defects. See, e.g., When Defective Products or Manufacturing Mistakes Cause Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes.

Steelworking Injuries on the Job

Working in the steel industry is physically demanding and filled with risks. Dangers are many: from working at a height; with heat; around toxic fumes or hazardous chemicals; and using heavy machinery, equipment, and tools. Proper personal protective equipment is vital. Having all those with legal duties of care respecting their safety responsibilities makes the difference between life and death in some situations.

Life-threatening work accidents for a steel worker in Indiana can involve so many things, including bodily harm from falls; electrocution; impalement; cuts; crushing; struck-bys; traumatic amputations; and sudden death in a structural collapse or explosion.

Indiana personal injury laws may provide avenues for justice to the steel worker hurt on the job, in addition to claims for workers’ compensation.

For more, read:

Steel workers deserve our utmost respect. It is infuriating to see that year after year, those profiting from the steel industry continue to fail to meet longstanding safety regulations and industrial standards which result in catastrophic or fatal harm to someone on the job at their steel worksite. Please be careful out there!