Our San Antonio construction accident lawyers can explain how evidence fits your case
When something goes wrong on a construction site, OSHA often shows up with a hard hat, a clipboard, and a lot of questions. That’s cold comfort when you’re sitting in an ER or at your kitchen table, wondering how you’re going to pay the bills.
Still, it does raise one big question: if OSHA cites your employer or a contractor, does that actually help your Texas construction injury case, or is it just more paperwork in a growing stack? This is where the legal and safety worlds collide. How that collision plays out can make a real difference for injured workers and their families.
How can OSHA citations help your Texas construction injury lawsuit?
In a Texas construction injury case, you still have to prove that someone owed you a duty, breached that duty, and caused your injuries and damages. OSHA citations can play an important supporting role in each of those steps. Here are some of the key ways OSHA materials can help in a lawsuit:
- Identifying the safety rules that applied to the work being done, such as specific fall protection, scaffolding, or trenching standards.
- Describing how the employer or contractor failed to follow those rules, often in concrete, technical detail tied to the conditions at your jobsite.
- Supporting expert testimony about what a reasonably careful company should have done and how the violation increased the risk of exactly the kind of injury you suffered.
For example, let's say OSHA cites a contractor for failing to provide guardrails or fall‑arrest systems on an elevated platform. You were seriously hurt in a fall from that same platform. That citation can help tie together the unsafe condition and your specific injury. It can also undercut defenses that try to blame you for "not being careful enough" when the real problem was a job site designed without the basic required protections.
At trial, OSHA documents can help jurors understand construction processes. Juries may not know the finer points of scaffold erection or crane operation. However, they do understand the idea of a company breaking clear safety rules that exist to keep workers alive and out of the hospital.
What are the limits of OSHA citations in Texas courts?
As helpful as they can be, OSHA citations are not a magic key to winning a Texas construction case. Texas courts have treated them as evidence that may be admitted, limited, or even excluded, depending on the circumstances and how the lawyers try to use them.
There are a few important limits to keep in mind:
- OSHA’s conclusions are not binding on Texas judges or juries. A civil court can reach a different view about what caused the accident or whether a particular standard was actually violated.
- In some cases, courts have decided that introducing the citation itself would be more confusing or unfairly prejudicial than helpful and have allowed testimony about the underlying facts without showing the jury the actual citation document.
- OSHA investigations can be limited by time, access, and resources; they may not capture every detail, and citations can later be withdrawn, reduced, or settled.
All of this means that, under Texas evidence rules, OSHA citations are usually treated as potential corroborating proof, not automatic “negligence per se” that settles the liability question by itself. A strong construction injury case treats OSHA materials as one important part of a larger evidence picture, not as the only card on the table.
How do OSHA citations affect non‑subscriber and third‑party claims in Texas?
Texas has a unique system that allows many employers to opt out of the state workers’ compensation system and become “non‑subscribers.” When a non‑subscriber’s employee is hurt, that worker often has to bring a third-party negligence claim directly against the employer. That employer loses some common defenses, such as blaming a co‑worker or arguing the worker “assumed the risk.”
In that context, OSHA citations can be especially valuable. They can:
- Help show that the employer failed to provide a reasonably safe workplace. This is central to proving negligence in a non‑subscriber case.
- Undermine defense efforts to place all responsibility on the injured worker by documenting systemic safety problems, recurring hazards, or inadequate training.
Construction sites are often “multi‑employer” workplaces, with general contractors, multiple subcontractors, and sometimes outside companies responsible for specialized work or equipment. OSHA’s multi‑employer citation policy recognizes that more than one company can bear responsibility for dangerous conditions, such as a controlling employer that oversees the site, a creating employer that sets up unsafe equipment, or a correcting employer that fails to fix a known hazard.
That same concept often applies in civil cases. An injured worker may have claims not only against their direct employer, but also against a general contractor, a subcontractor that created the hazard, or even an equipment manufacturer or maintenance company, depending on how the construction accident happened. OSHA citations can help identify who had control over the jobsite, who created the danger, and who ignored opportunities to fix it before someone got hurt.
What if there is no OSHA citation after your injury?
Many workers are surprised to learn that their case doesn't stand or fall on whether OSHA issued a citation. Sometimes OSHA doesn't investigate the incident at all. In other situations, the agency may investigate but decide not to issue a citation or may issue a citation for a different hazard than the one that directly caused the injury.
You can still bring a successful Texas construction injury claim even if OSHA never sets foot on the site. Civil courts use different standards and look at a wider range of evidence than a regulatory agency, including:
- Witness statements from co‑workers, supervisors, and other trades who saw the conditions or the construction accident.
- Photos and videos of the jobsite, equipment, and any temporary measures (e.g., makeshift scaffolds or ladders) that were in place.
- Company safety manuals, training records, emails, and text messages that show what management knew and when they knew it.
- Medical records and expert opinions that connect the mechanism of injury to the unsafe conditions.
Contact an experienced San Antonio construction accident lawyer today
A serious construction accident can leave you facing painful injuries, mounting medical bills, and uncertainty about your future. When that happens, you need a legal team that knows how to cut through the confusion and fight for real results.
The Herrera Law Firm can investigate what went wrong, identify the contractors or third parties responsible, and pursue the full compensation you deserve. We proudly serve injured workers throughout San Antonio and across Texas, and we bring decades of experience to the table.
Your consultation with The Herrera Law Firm is completely free, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. We work on a contingency fee basis, so there are no upfront costs and no financial risk in getting answers to your questions. If you were hurt on a construction site, the next step is to contact us as soon as possible to book your free, no-obligation consultation.
