Indiana Trench Accident Lawyers

Trenches are narrow excavations that are dug below the surface of the ground to facilitate a variety of tasks on construction sites, such as pouring foundations and installing utilities. But though trenches can be incredibly useful, they can be incredibly dangerous as well when they are improperly conceived or executed, putting anyone inside of them in mortal peril if the walls come tumbling down.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there were 373 trenching deaths throughout the country from the years 2003 to 2017, and more than 80 percent of the victims were engaged in construction work. With a square yard of dirt weighing more than 3,000 pounds, construction workers could easily be suffocated or crushed when a trench caves in on them, while the survivors could be forced to cope with catastrophic injuries that few Indiana families could manage without assistance.

That assistance could be available if you pursue a personal injury case, and you can improve your chances of success by reaching out to the Indiana construction accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who have been fighting for honest Hoosiers like you for over a quarter century.

To discover how a dedicated Indiana trench accident attorney can make a difference, call or text us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form at your earliest convenience.

Why Do Trench Accidents Occur?

Trench accidents come in a wide range of forms. For example, anyone walking near an open trench could potentially fall into it. Furthermore, a construction worker may be burned, asphyxiated, or poisoned by the combustible or toxic gases that often accumulate at trench level.

Yet the most destructive types of trench accidents involve cave-ins and collapses of trench walls, which might occur because of:

Added moisture – Soil can become heavier when it absorbs moisture, and the added pressure could surpass what the trench walls can withstand.

Vibrations – Similarly, the vibrations from adjacent construction operations and vehicle traffic could gradually shift or destabilize the soil in the trench walls until they can no longer stand up on their own.

Excessive strain – When construction machinery, building supplies, and excavated materials are positioned too closely to trenches, the excessive strain could push the soil walls past the breaking point.

Inadequate protective systems – Protective systems can ensure that the above-mentioned factors and other environmental changes do not bring about a cave-in, though a major collapse could be inevitable if a system proves inadequate.

No matter what the origin of your cave-in is, Hensley’s seasoned Indiana trench accident lawyers will determine the best course of action if you are contemplating a case.

How to Prevent Trench Accidents

Given how dire the consequences of collapses like these can be, it is critical to do everything possible to avoid them, so you may be pleased to learn that there are a number of ways that you can either prevent trench accidents entirely or minimize their impact.

For instance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has enacted strict regulations governing excavation and trenching in the United States. Under these regulations, trenches that are five feet deep or more must incorporate one of four protective systems:

Benching – Stairs or steps are carved into vertical trench walls.

Sloping – The walls of trenches are reshaped to create continuous slopes.

Supports/shoring – Timber supports, aluminum or steel shoring, and/or hydraulic cylinders are fitted to stabilize trench walls.

Trench boxes/shielding – Structures known as trench boxes can be situated inside of excavations to shield workers from cave-ins, though the workers must remain within the trench boxes until they can be extricated.

Sufficient care should also be taken during the planning stages to decrease the likelihood of a trench collapse, with NIOSH recommending that construction employers:

Assign and train competent supervisors.

Locate and mark underground utility lines and dig a minimum of five feet away from them.

Assess soil stability beforehand.

Implement appropriate protective systems.

Designate safe areas for spoil piles, equipment routes, entries, and exits.

Provide engineering safeguards for trenches that are 20 feet or more in depth.

Formulate trench emergency and traffic control protocols, securing the requisite lane closure permits in advance.

Employers might even be able to sidestep the hazards associated with trenches completely by making use of viable alternative methods, such as:

Pipe relining or ramming

Directional boring

Utility tunneling/pipe jacking

In some circumstances, robots could be deployed to transport, line, and join large pipes, thereby ensuring that human workers are not exposed to the kind of grievous injury for which they would require skilled Indiana trench accident attorneys in their corner.

Who Is at Fault for an Indiana Trench Accident?

While safety is of the utmost importance, the truth is that a trench accident may still happen regardless of what you do to stop it, though you could be eligible to seek compensation from anyone who is at fault for it.

However, who is at fault for an Indiana trench accident may not always be obvious thanks to the inherent complexity of the construction industry, in which many professionals perform separate duties simultaneously in order to achieve a common goal.

Nevertheless, any valid construction accident case has to allege some sort of negligence, which is the failure to exercise reasonable caution so that harm is not inflicted. Basically, if a defendant’s negligence leads to a trench accident in which you sustain bodily damages, you may be able to go after that defendant for monetary damages.

No two Indiana trench accident cases are exactly the same, but typical defendants might include the:

Property owner

Project developer

General contractor in charge of construction

Contractors

Subcontractors

Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of defective protection systems

Government agency with authority over a public space under construction

Sometimes multiple parties could bear responsibility for a single trench accident, and you must go after all of them within the time allotted by law if you hope to obtain what you deserve. Fortunately, our meticulous Indiana trench accident lawyers possess the extensive familiarity with applicable laws and construction practices necessary to hold everybody who hurt you to account.

What Hensley’s Indiana Trench Accident Attorneys Can Do for You

A trench accident can be overwhelming in every sense of the word, making it harder to see a way forward both in the immediate aftermath and in the months and years ahead. Simply making ends meet may soon become challenging, to say nothing of meeting the new demands on your finances.

You need attorneys with the compassion to prop you up during this difficult period and the wisdom to guide you past it – like the Indiana trench accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who are committed to doing whatever it takes to serve their clients’ interests.

If you hire Hensley, we will launch a comprehensive investigation to unearth the individuals and entities liable for your trench accident, then establish valid claims against them by sending formal notification in writing and alerting their insurance companies. A lawsuit could be filed too if the situation calls for it.

After putting together an airtight case against every defendant, our Indiana trench accident lawyers will strive to negotiate a settlement that encompasses the totality of your losses, such as your:

Medical bills

Lost income

Pain and suffering

Mental and emotional trauma

Mobility limitations

Diminished quality of living

Loss of consortium

Punitive and wrongful death damages (if relevant)

And unlike many of our competitors, who seldom, if ever, venture into a courtroom, we are not afraid to go to trial if we do not receive an offer that reflects the true value of your claim.

We imagine that you may be reluctant to agree to more expenditures when you can least afford them, but our firm works on a contingency basis, so you won’t have to pay us anything until our Indiana trench accident attorneys win your case.

You have enough to worry about right now just trying to recover from your injuries. Let Hensley worry about recovering the resources for you to do it.

Our Indiana Trench Accident Lawyers Are Ready to Help

Hensley Legal Group has been advocating on behalf of the seriously injured since 1998. If your life has been derailed by the thoughtless acts of a thoughtless actor, our Indiana trench accident lawyers are ready to help.

You can schedule a free consultation with an accomplished Indiana trench accident attorney by calling or texting us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.