Industrial disasters at Lake Charles facilities devastate workers and their families without warning. Explosions, toxic exposures, and equipment failures leave victims facing staggering medical bills while unable to work. As premier Lake Charles industrial accident lawyers, Morris & Dewett fights for workers injured in refineries, chemical plants, manufacturing facilities, and oilfield operations throughout Southwest Louisiana. Don’t face a challenging legal battle alone.

Expert Industrial Accident Lawyers

Lake Charles buzzes with industrial activity, with massive petrochemical plants, refineries, petroleum plants, and manufacturing facilities powering the local economy. These industrial giants create thousands of jobs but bring serious potential hazards. While the employment is great for the economy, workers are at risk every day from dealing with heavy machinery and flammable materials that can cause catastrophic accidents without warning. 

Injured workers usually turn first to workers’ compensation, which provides immediate medical care and partial wage replacement regardless of who caused the accident. However, the system trades simplicity for limitations, as you can’t recover for pain and suffering or the full extent of your lost wages. Workers’ compensation also protects your employer from direct lawsuits in most cases, even when their negligence directly caused your injuries.

An alternative is to pursue fair compensation from negligent third parties like equipment manufacturers or subcontractors. These entities aren’t protected under workers’ compensation laws, so you can pursue comprehensive damages that aren’t available through workers’ compensation alone. These compensation claims provide potential recovery for full lost earnings, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of life enjoyment, and spousal damages like loss of consortium. The difference often amounts to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in additional compensation that injured workers desperately need for long-term recovery and financial stability.

Common Causes of Industrial Accidents

Industrial work sites involve powerful forces and complex machinery in environments where even minor mistakes can trigger massive consequences. Understanding these common accident causes helps you identify dangerous situations before injuries occur. The most frequent accident triggers in Lake Charles industrial settings are:

• Toxic exposure: Workers handle dangerous chemicals throughout Lake Charles industrial facilities without realizing the risks until symptoms develop. Benzene, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, and countless other industrial chemicals cause both immediate acute reactions and long-term diseases through repeated low-level exposure. Many facilities lack adequate ventilation to prevent these dangerous exposures.
• Explosions and fires: Flammable gases and chemical reactions create explosion risks throughout refineries and chemical plants. A single spark in the wrong location can trigger chain reactions that destroy entire facility sections and cause horrific burn injuries or traumatic deaths.
• Machinery-related injuries: Massive industrial equipment with moving parts can cause severe workplace injuries. Companies try to cut costs by not training their workers properly, which puts them at risk when working with complex systems and heavy machinery.
• Falls from heights: Industrial facilities tend to have elevated work areas like catwalks and scaffolding, where falls can be deadly. Missing guardrails, damaged walking surfaces, and inadequate fall protection equipment contribute to these preventable accidents. Many facilities neglect regular inspection and maintenance of fall prevention systems despite clear OSHA requirements.
• Confined space accidents: Workers entering tanks, vessels, and other enclosed spaces face invisible dangers from oxygen deprivation and entrapment. Proper atmospheric testing and ventilation can prevent these accidents, but companies may not always invest in them due to budget constraints.

How Morris & Dewett Builds a Strong Case

Building a winning industrial accident case requires in-depth knowledge of both industrial operations and Louisiana law. We draw on decades of experience handling similar cases throughout Lake Charles industries, applying lessons learned through our years of successful recoveries. We will build the strongest possible case for you by:

• Investigating thoroughly: We deploy investigators to document accident scenes before the evidence disappears. Our team photographs damaged equipment and preserves physical evidence that might otherwise be lost during cleanup operations. Our quick response helps us identify safety violations or procedural shortcuts that directly contributed to your injuries.
• Consulting experts: We work with industry-specific experts like chemical engineers and safety specialists who understand the technical aspects of your accident. These professionals analyze your circumstances to identify exactly what caused your injuries. 
• Assessing damages: Our team works with medical specialists and economists to document the full impact of your injuries. We calculate current expenses and projected lifetime costs for ongoing medical care and lost earning capacity, so you’re covered through the duration of your injuries. 
• Negotiating with insurance companies: Insurance adjusters use sophisticated tactics to minimize payouts. Our personal injury attorneys handle all communications with insurance companies to stop them from using your statements against you or pressuring you into premature settlements. 

Statutes of Limitations: Act Now!

Louisiana law has a tight deadline for filing for compensation after an industrial accident. The statute of limitations in Louisiana is two years from the day of the accident, which means you must act fast if you want to pursue compensation. The courts show little mercy for missed deadlines, and even cases with catastrophic injuries and clear negligence are automatically dismissed once this period expires.

Beyond this strict legal deadline, it’s important to start preparing your case as soon as possible after the accident to maximize your chances of winning. The industrial facility will try to correct safety violations and revise problematic procedures as soon as possible to avoid the appearance of negligence. Acting quickly lets you intervene legally with formal preservation demands and independent investigations.

How Long Do I Have To File an Industrial Accident Claim in Louisiana?

In Louisiana, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file an industrial accident lawsuit. Certain exceptions may apply for severe injuries or ongoing toxic exposures, but these are rare.

Damages We Procure for Clients

Industrial accident victims deserve comprehensive compensation that addresses all financial losses and suffering. Economic damages cover quantifiable costs with specific dollar amounts attached, like medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, address the human toll these injuries exact, like physical pain and emotional trauma. While harder to quantify, these subjective losses often make up a major part of the final compensation amount in many nationwide oilfield injury claims. We can help you pursue compensation for:

• Medical expenses: Industrial accidents can cause life-altering injuries that require extensive medical intervention and long-term care. We pursue recovery for emergency treatment, surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation therapy, and specialized equipment needed for your recovery. Our damage calculations include projected future medical expenses for ongoing treatments and potential complications that may develop years after your accident.
• Lost wages and future earnings: Serious industrial injuries force victims to miss substantial time at work, devastating family finances when their income suddenly stops. We recover compensation for every dollar of lost income during your recovery period, including overtime and benefits you would have earned. For permanently disabling injuries, we also calculate the reduction in lifetime earning capacity to fully compensate you for your losses.
• Pain and suffering: The physical pain from industrial injuries can become a constant companion that medication only partially relieves. We pursue compensation that addresses the intensity and duration of your suffering, from the acute pain immediately after your accident to chronic conditions that persist indefinitely. 
• Disfigurement and scarring: Burns, lacerations, amputations, and other industrial injuries tend to leave permanently visible reminders that affect self-image and how others perceive you. We pursue damages that account for both the objective physical changes and their subjective impact on your daily interactions and self-perception.
• Loss of enjoyment of life: Serious injuries can stop you from enjoying the hobbies and activities that previously defined your identity. We document specific hobbies, recreational activities, family roles, and personal projects you can no longer perform or must modify due to your injuries. 

What Compensation Can I Recover After an Industrial Accident?

After an industrial accident, you may recover medical expenses and partial lost wages through workers’ compensation benefits. The legal process for third-party claims allows you to recover beyond workers’ compensation limits, including diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, disfigurement damages, property damages, and emotional distress.

Benefits of Hiring Morris & Dewett

The Lake Charles industrial injury attorneys at Morris & Dewett bring unmatched familiarity with local industries. Our firm has provided industrial accident legal representation to injured workers from almost every major facility in the region, giving us facility-specific knowledge about recurring safety issues and management practices. This localized expertise lets us immediately recognize important patterns that industrial injury law firms from outside Lake Charles might miss. 

Our local connections give us access to specialized resources invaluable for building compelling industrial accident cases. We work with respected local medical specialists familiar with industrial injury patterns who provide credible testimony about your condition. We also have strong relationships with former plant workers and industry consultants in Southwest Louisiana who can provide insider perspectives that strengthen your case. These community connections are especially valuable during settlement negotiations when insurance adjusters recognize they’ll face local experts if they force your case to trial before a local jury.

Who Can Be Held Liable for an Industrial Workplace Injury?

Beyond the employer, workplace injuries may be caused by negligent equipment manufacturers who designed defective machinery, contractors who performed substandard work, property owners who maintained unsafe premises, or chemical suppliers who provided inadequate warnings. 

Choosing the Right Industrial Accident Lawyer

Don’t let powerful industrial companies minimize your recovery after a serious workplace accident. Morris & Dewett’s Lake Charles industrial injury lawyers understand the technical factors behind these catastrophic events and how to hold all responsible parties accountable. Contact us today to meet our experienced legal professionals ready to provide a free consultation to discuss your case.