Hurt on the Job in the Logging Business?
When you work in the logging or wood products industry, you know better than most what the hazards are.
If you get hurt on the job, it interrupts your livelihood. This is a crucial time to protect your rights.
You can file a West Virginia workers’ compensation claim and get benefits to provide basic stability after a work site logging accident. But in certain situations, you also could have a personal injury claim and seek greater compensation.
This is when a timber industry accident may give you an additional injury claim beyond workers’ comp:
- Your employer knowingly and recklessly exposed you to danger.
- Someone from a different company other than your employer, like a subcontractor or property owner, did something irresponsible on the job site that led to your injury.
- You were injured because of equipment failure, and the equipment manufacturer may be at fault
The Shaffer & Shaffer logging accident lawyers in Charleston focus on personal injury cases stemming from dangerous conditions on job sites.
This is a highly particular area of law.
Much of the time, for example, workers’ comp is all you can get after an injury on the job. But in West Virginia, there’s an exception if you can prove “deliberate intent” by your employer to leave you in harm’s way.
Proving that takes a highly technical legal effort. This is what Shaffer & Shaffer can do.
Get the maximum resources to rebuild your life after an injury working in the timber industry.
Hurt by a Logging Operation or Logging Truck?
With so much timber being harvested, moved around West Virginia and processed into products that everyone uses, you don’t have to work in the industry to have a harmful run-in with it.
You could get injured walking or driving near a logging site when trees and branches come down. Or it might be more likely to get hurt in a wreck with a logging truck.
You could be hurt in a direct crash with a truck. You could be hurt when a logging truck overturns in front of you. You could be hurt when logs fall off.
Accidents involving commercial vehicles like this come with special considerations that are different from regular car crashes:
- You’re not just dealing with the driver, but the company that employs them.
- Logging trucks must follow special state laws and regulations.
- Special federal safety laws also apply to these trucks.
- Issues around properly loading trucks and securing loads can play a role in these cases.
- Issues around maintenance of these trucks can be a part of your case.
You want an attorney with experience in these situations, like the West Virginia personal injury attorneys at Shaffer & Shaffer.
We’ve been around West Virginia all our lives and can gather the specific types of evidence you need after a logging truck accident, negotiate for you with logging companies and their insurance providers, and fight to get you a fair settlement or take your case to court.
You pay no attorney fee until you win compensation.
The injuries and disruption to your life are serious. Let us help you protect your rights and your future.
Shaffer & You: Why Work with Us?
Everyday West Virginians can get legal help from one of the most established and respected law firms in the state: Shaffer & Shaffer. Our firm is over a century old and still going strong because we put the needs of our clients first—always.
Have a Question about Personal Injury Claims?
After a life-altering accident, you’re understandably upset, confused and full of questions. To help you get a sense of what’s next, we’ve prepared answers to common questions about personal injury claims and other legal cases.
Injury FAQs »
