Louisiana Work Accident Lawyers

Common Causes of Work Accidents in Louisiana

Any occupation may be hazardous if an employer does not implement appropriate safety measures. From an office worker who develops carpal tunnel syndrome from poor wrist positioning to an industrial worker who is harmed in a plant accident caused by a faulty valve, these injuries may range in severity, impacting every part of a worker's life.

The leading causes of workplace accidents include:

Common Types of Workplace Injuries

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 5,486 workers were killed on the job in 2022, and thousands more suffered severe injuries. These statistics demonstrate the dangers people are exposed to in the workplace—dangers that can rob any person of their livelihood and peace of mind in an instant. Regardless if you work in a warehouse or a cubical, you could be vulnerable to serious injuries while on the job.

Common injuries suffered at work include:

Baton Rouge Industrial Accident Law Firm Protects Your Right to Workplace Safety

Industrial settings are home to some of the most frequent work injuries. Due to the nature of the work—high temperatures, volatile processes, and toxic chemicals—workers are more likely to suffer serious harm on the job.

Serious injuries may occur at the following worksites:

Although these settings do pose inherent dangers, it is still up to the employers, managers, and trainers of these sites to protect their workers by taking thorough safety measures. In many instances, those in leadership positions fail to provide or maintain a safe working environment, and catastrophic industrial accidents occur as a direct result.

Some of the most destructive industrial accidents include:

Industrial injuries also include health problems caused by exposure to harmful chemicals, gases, or materials like asbestos. Arnold & Itkin works to defend workers and families who have wrongfully lost a loved one to the neglect and oversight of plant managers, employers, and corporate leadership. Our goal is to bring our clients restitution for the pain and suffering they have experienced from preventable industrial accidents in Louisiana and nationwide.

Plant & Refinery Fires in Louisiana

Because of their inherent involvement with hazardous chemicals and heavy machinery, plants and refineries are some of the most dangerous places to work in the country. When an accident occurs at one of these facilities, it is usually a catastrophically destructive one. 

Some of these injuries and consequences can include:

Many of these injuries and accidents themselves can be avoided. It is likely that your injuries or those of your loved one are the result of negligence from another party. Contact our team to start your legal action against those responsible for your injuries.

What Causes Plant & Refinery Fires

Refinery fires are so severe because of the substances plants and refineries work with. These substances are highly flammable and are usually produced in high volumes, which means a larger and stronger fire. In oil refineries, a necessary process occurs called fractioning, which requires heating the crude oil to 400 degrees Celsius. Once the crude oil is heated, it can be separated and sectioned into different parts.

If a pipe, tank, or chamber suddenly cracks, the heated oil inside could combine with surrounding gases and combust instantaneously. This would be a nearly impossible fire to control. A similar event could occur in a chemical plant. Many of the chemicals being dealt with are highly combustible. If the machinery fails, the chemicals can be exposed to gases or other materials that may ignite a large fire.

The reason equipment leaks are such a major concern has to do with the age of equipment in plants and refineries. These have not been renovated or improved for decades, meaning that pipes and tanks are becoming frailer. When equipment fails to contain these dangerous substances, catastrophic accidents occur and potentially injure hundreds of workers and surrounding communities.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Plant & Refinery Fires

Most accidents at plants and refineries can be traced back to human error. There are systems in place by federal and state organizations, such as the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), that are designed to regulate these potentially dangerous facilities and protect those who work in them. In many cases, these accidents occur as a result of poor supervision or irresponsible decision-making. If hundreds of workers’ lives are put in danger because of faulty machinery, such as a devastating leak of crude oil or harmful chemicals, the owners of the plant or factory may be held liable for failing to perform regular inspections and maintenance.

In any case, a thorough investigation is always conducted to find the root cause of the accident. The experienced legal team at Arnold Itkin LLP will work closely with those investigating authorities to determine who was at fault for your or your loved one’s injuries in a Louisiana plant or refinery fire. Our team has the skill, determination, and resources to help.

Winning Against the Industry's Biggest Opponents

Many workers or families of workers who have been wrongfully killed are apprehensive about beginning a claim against their employers. This is largely due to the intimidation caused by the thought of going up against big corporations and insurance providers. The opposition will fight hard not to pay compensation or be held liable for deaths and injuries, and this is why your choice of representation is so important.

Our firm routinely recovers the following damages for plaintiffs from the nation's largest companies:

Arnold & Itkin has faced giants in the corporate and insurance worlds and succeeded in winning significant compensation for our clients. We are not intimidated by any defendant who owes our clients restitution for their loss, and we will do everything in our power to be sure they provide it.

Protection for Victims in Louisiana Industrial Accidents

Our team understands just how many areas of your life are affected by such an incident. Not only are you forced to undergo medical treatment for your physical injuries, but you are losing wages as medical expenses stack higher and higher. In addition to all of this, you or your loved one may be suffering extreme emotional and psychological hardship from the accident. While we are working to build your case and push for a settlement or verdict, our contingency fees can help provide the medical care you need while you wait for your compensation.

Working with our Louisiana industrial accident attorneys also means that by holding employers liable, we may be preventing similar workplace accidents from hurting others.

Avoiding Industrial Work Accident Injuries

The year 1970 saw the passing of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which created strict codes, standards, and training programs designed to make work environments safer and prevent accidents and deaths. While OSHA is responsible for many significant improvements in the workforce, many employers ignore or fail to meet these standards, and as a result, workers are wrongfully injured. The best chance we have at preventing these tragic accidents is by spreading awareness and seeking damages. By alerting an employer of any potential workplace danger you see and by punishing employers for injuries caused by negligence, we may be able to work together to make industrial settings safer.

Representation in Your Louisiana Industrial Accident Case

Because your case may involve battling powerful corporate forces, you need to make sure you have hired a confident and skilled team to face them. We have experience with high-pressure negotiation and in federal courtrooms. Our team has the dedication and the talent you need to seek restitution from the corporations, plant managers, or co-workers who left you injured and unable to work.

Baton Rouge Employer Negligence & Workplace Accidents

What causes these injuries? Most of the time, they’re caused by the negligence or inexperience of a supervisor. Losing a family member due to negligence that could have been avoided is a devastating experience. All too often, employers fail to meet federal regulations that govern workplace health and safety. When equipment is poorly manufactured, maintained, and operated, it causes serious and fatal injuries. A slippery or cluttered floor, poor lighting, and lack of guardrails often trigger these incidents as well. Our team at Arnold & Itkin works hard to ensure our clients know their options and receive the maximum compensation possible.

The negligence that leads to work injuries can take many forms, including:

Poor management often leads to the rest of the problems on this list. Without inspecting workers and equipment, an employer is unable to identify and correct known risks of injury, like unsafe ladders or scaffolds.

Additionally, employers must train employees how to perform their work safely. For example, some companies fail to ensure workers are qualified to operate a forklift before letting them do so. Employees need to be fully informed about potential hazards. A string of injuries may be the strongest indication that a workplace is being mismanaged by a business owner or supervisors.

Compassionate Legal Representation from Louisiana Work Fatality Attorneys

Although work accidents usually result in injuries or illnesses, there are cases where families lose a loved one in the workplace. Wrongful death may occur as a result of negligence by the employer or the workplace owner.

Below are startling statistics of annual fatal injuries in the workplace:

• About 4,500 workers are killed on the job in the United States every year.
• 50,000 workers die from occupational diseases.
• There were 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in the US in 2016.
• The most violated OSHA standard in 2013 was related to fall protection in construction.

Interested in learning more? Read about U.S. workplace fatality statistics.

Arnold & Itkin Fights for Maximum Compensation

Our Louisiana work injury lawyers have experience representing clients who have suffered from severe industrial accidents and injuries in the workplace. We work tirelessly to hold even the largest companies accountable. If you were injured at work, you may be able to recover lost income, medical costs, and punitive damages for misconduct.

We cover all these areas (onshore and offshore) for our clients through claims under:

What Constitutes Employer Negligence in Louisiana?

An employer can be held liable if the accident could have been prevented with proper safety practices. For example, one common cause of a construction accident is falling from a height. OSHA requires specialized harnesses and supervision for workers at great heights for fall prevention. If a worker does fall, it may be inferred that the worker was not given proper equipment or was not properly supervised. If such was the case, the worker’s employer may be liable.

Use the OSHA database to learn about your workplace's safety record.

All About Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana and the seat of East Baton Rouge Parish. The city sits on the Mississippi River and is home to the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, one of the largest inland ports in the country, making Baton Rouge an epicenter of commerce. Baton Rouge has a historically strong economy that is supported by various industries. These include petrochemical manufacturing and refining, as the city is home to the fourth-largest oil refining complex in the United States, ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge Complex. The film, medical research, and technology industries also have a strong foothold in Baton Rouge.

A number of major corporations call Baton Rouge home. The headquarters for Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Piccadilly Restaurants, Lamar Advertising Company, and Mariucci Sports all have headquarters in Baton Rouge. In terms of higher education, Louisiana State University and Southern University, the flagship institutions of their systems, are both located in Baton Rouge. The city’s significant clinical and medical research presence is supported by numerous facilities: Our Lady of the Lake, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Baton Rouge Medical Center (Bluebonnet and Mid-City), and LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

According to a Baton Rouge Area Economic Summary by the U.S. Census Bureau, the unemployment rate in the region in May 2022 was 3.2%, just lower than the national average of 3.4%. Nonfarm employment in the Baton Rouge area was varied; the top sectors were government (73,600 workers), trade, transportation, and utilities (69,600 workers), education and health services (54,100 workers), and professional and business services (51,900 workers). Workers of all skill levels, backgrounds, and educations can find various forms of employment in Baton Rouge and can pursue higher education at one of the city’s learning centers.

You can find out more about Baton Rouge using the following links and resources:

Benefits of Hiring a Louisiana Work Injury Lawyer

For minor work accidents, a workers’ compensation claim might be enough to get you back on your feet. In more serious cases, for instance if your ability to work or live has been impaired long-term, you may want to file a third-party lawsuit instead. Either way, you’ll want a Baton Rouge work accident lawyer in your corner to make sure you recover everything you need to survive—lawyers like at Arnold & Itkin, who’ve secured over $20 billion for plaintiffs with serious injuries.

Hiring a Louisiana workplace accident attorney means having an advocate who:

• Understands the laws surrounding your accident
• Can investigate who was at fault for what happened
• Knows how to file successful workplace injury claims in Louisiana
• Has dedicated their career to advocating for workers like you
• Brings proven experience from similar cases to yours
• Can discuss all your legal options
• Ensures your rights and interests are affirmed at every stage

While numerous personal injury attorneys might offer to take your case, many primarily deal with general claims like car accidents and slip-and-falls. For work-related injuries, especially in Texas, you need a lawyer with a track record of success in this area. Your Houston work injury attorney should be experienced in navigating the complexities of cases across various environments, from construction sites to oil rigs, and understand the unique challenges each presents.

Call Our Louisiana Work Injury Lawyers: (888) 493-1629. Over $20 Billion Won.

At Arnold & Itkin, our work injury attorneys are focused on making sure that injured workers are fully compensated for their pain and suffering, medical expenses, and any other losses. We have recovered billions for our clients to help them rebuild their lives and face the future with hope. We use skill, experience, and passion to map out what we believe will be a winning strategy for our clients. Our Baton Rouge industrial accident lawyers work aggressively to represent workers and their families and help them receive the best possible results for their cases.

For a free case evaluation, contact a Louisiana work injury attorney from our firm as soon as possible: (888) 493-1629. We handle complex injury and death cases nationwide.