The Alfred Firm has finalized a confidential settlement on behalf of our client that suffered career-ending injuries when he was crushed by a backhoe on a Houston construction site.

Our client was employed by a local heavy haul company as a driver. In this role, his employer would dispatch him to local construction sites to pick up heavy equipment and deliver the equipment to the next construction project site. Though most heavy haul companies require the construction companies to provide qualified heavy equipment operators to load the heavy equipment onto the heavy haul trucks, our client’s employer frequently required its truck drivers to operate the heavy equipment in order to load the heavy equipment onto the trucks.

On the day of this incident, our client was dispatched to a Houston construction site to pick up a Case 580 Backhoe and deliver it to another construction project in Houston. The Case 580 Backhoe belonged to a well known Houston construction contractor who employed heavy equipment operators. Unfortunately, none of the construction company’s qualified heavy equipment operators were at the job site when our client arrived. And although our client’s supervisor knew that our client had never been trained to operate this particular backhoe, the heavy haul company supervisor required our client to operate the Case 580 backhoe in order to load it onto his truck. 

While following his supervisor’s specific order, our client suffered crushing injuries when he was pinned between the backhoe’s boom and outriggers. Specifically, our client suffered multiple fractured ribs, a collapsed lung and severe spinal injuries that effectively ended his career as a heavy haul truck driver.

As a result, The Alfred Firm brought a lawsuit against our client’s employer and the construction contractor that owned the Case 580 backhoe.

Our Client’s Employer was a Non-Subscriber to Texas Workers Compensation Coverage

Our client was able to sue his employer for the damages he sustained in this incident because his employer did not provide workers compensation benefits. In Texas, employers may choose to provide workers compensation coverage to its employees. If the employer chooses to provide workers compensation coverage, employees that suffer on the job injuries are not able to bring claims against their employer except in very rare and specific circumstances. 

However, if the employer chooses not to provide workers compensation coverage, the employer is considered a non-subscriber and may be sued. Non-subscriber employers are not only subject to being sued by their employees, the non-subscriber employer also loses the right to bring certain defenses to its employee’s lawsuit.

Our Client’s Employer Provided No Training to its Employees that were Required to Operate Heavy Equipment

This lawsuit revealed that our client was hired as a heavy haul truck driver less than a year before this incident. Our client disclosed to his employer that his prior work experience was driving trucks and that he had no prior experience operating heavy equipment. Upon being hired, our client was never provided training to operate heavy equipment and, in the instances he was required to operate heavy equipment, he would regularly seek help from coworkers or employees of the various construction companies that owned the heavy equipment. 

The most disturbing evidence in this case was the heavy haul company owner’s admission that he “provided no training to our client” and that he believed our client was “smart enough to figure it out on his own”. This cavalier attitude about heavy equipment safety is almost certain to lead to catastrophic injury and death.

The Construction Contractor Provided No Safety Manuals to Heavy Haul Drivers that it Knew Would Operate its Heavy Equipment

The Alfred Firm secured the Operators’ Manual for the backhoe within days of being hired. And it was revealed in discovery that the construction contractor, as the owner of the Case 580 Backhoe involved in this incident, failed to provide our client with  the safety instructions for the backhoe.

The first page of the Case 580 Backhoe Operators’ Manual contains a warning that before the operator starts the engine, the owner of the backhoe must: “1) Provide instructions to the operator on safe and correct use of the machine; and 2) Make sure the operator reads and understands the operators manual for the machine”. If the construction contractor had provided our client with this Operators Manual, this incident would not have happened.

The Operators’ Manual for the Case 580 Backhoe that was involved in this incident specifically laid out the steps that should be taken to tie the backhoe down to the back of a heavy haul truck. Our client was never informed that prior to chaining down the backhoe, the backhoe’s bucket must be lowered to the ground. The construction company’s expert agreed that one of the main reasons that the bucket is lowered to the ground when the backhoe is being tied down to a heavy haul truck is to restrict the movement of the boom so that chains can be run through the backhoe’s pinch point. Because our client was not trained to do this and not provided with this safety precaution that was contained in the operators’ manual, the backhoe’s boom was in the elevated position just prior to the incident and, consequently, was able to crush our client as he attempted to tie down the backhoe.

The construction contractor employed qualified heavy equipment operators and provided its employees with six weeks of training before allowing them to operate the backhoe. Unlike our client, the construction contractor provided its employees with copies of the operators manuals and even administered a written exam over the safety rules that would have prevented this incident. Our client was not provided this training nor was he provided the Operators’ Manual at any time prior to the incident.

The Alfred Firm Obtains Confidential Settlement with Heavy Haul Company and Houston Construction Contactor

The Alfred Firm was able to secure a confidential settlement from the heavy haul company and the Houston based construction contractor for our client. With this settlement, our client was able to fully cover his medical bills, which exceeded $100,000. This settlement was also substantial enough to allow our client to pursue a new career path since this incident stripped him of the ability to drive heavy haul trucks.

This case was handled by The Alfred Firm’s Founder, Byron C. Alfred, and Chief of Staff, Amanda Zubire.

About Attorney Byron C. Alfred

Byron C. Alfred is a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer that has received national recognition for his record-setting verdicts and settlements. Attorney Byron’s cases have generated over $100 Million in verdicts and settlements over the last 5 years. In 2019, after obtaining the second largest work injury verdict in the country, Attorney Byron became the youngest lead counsel and the first African American lawyer ever inducted to the prestigious Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame.