Houston OSHA Citation Defense Attorneys

If your employee has been injured in an accident on your premises, do not wait – call Hendershot Cowart P.C. as soon as possible. Our Houston OSHA law attorneys will arrive at your work site as soon as possible to prepare you for your inspection. With OSHA, it always pays to act as quickly as possible.

Acting quickly allows our team to help you take practical steps before OSHA arrives, such as preserving physical evidence, identifying and separating involved equipment, and documenting temporary corrective measures. We can also help you understand what OSHA is likely to focus on in your specific industry so you can prepare managers and safety personnel for questions they may face during a site visit.

Many Houston employers are unsure when OSHA must be notified and what must be included in that initial report. We can walk you through these threshold decisions, help you clarify who within your organization should communicate with OSHA, and assist you in coordinating with any internal safety committee or risk-management team. For multi-location employers operating across Texas, we can also help align your company-wide response so that local actions do not conflict with broader policies.

Our team can begin building your defense before OSHA arrives. We can conduct interviews of your employees and managers, doing everything we can within the law to protect your business. Our proactive investigation will make defending against potential citations far more likely to succeed.

Possible Defenses in Your Case Include:

• If the accident was a result of employee misconduct
• If the accident was not in the scope of employment
• If the wrong employer was cited due to confusion based on the contractors at a job site
• If compliance with the safety standard would expose employees to a greater risk

You have the right to contest your citation before an administrative judge, which could remove it from your record or lower the level of its classification. Without either possibility, your business stands to lose more than money.

Serious OSHA violations subject businesses to enhanced penalties, including larger fines, more frequent inspections, and severe damage to a business’ reputation. This is all a result of the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, an initiative that enrolls violators into a list of businesses with certain citations on their record.

Of over 400 employers on the SVEP list, 49 closed their worksites, 23 dissolved entirely, and 46 discontinued the process that was cited. What makes these citations truly damaging is that once a citation puts you on the SVEP list, you are far more vulnerable to future citations, each of which will demand larger fines.

For employers in Houston and throughout Texas, the Severe Violator Enforcement Program can change how OSHA views every future interaction with your company. Once you are identified as a severe violator, follow-up inspections can become more intrusive, and OSHA may expand the scope of its review beyond the original incident or location. That means a single mismanaged citation can affect multiple facilities, product lines, or projects and may require substantial legal and operational resources to address.

Understanding how a case might trigger SVEP treatment, and how to avoid or limit that outcome, is a critical part of building a defense strategy. We can help you evaluate whether the alleged violations fit the categories OSHA uses for this program, assess the long-term business impact of accepting versus contesting a citation, and coordinate with your leadership team to plan for increased scrutiny. In some situations, a carefully negotiated resolution can reduce collateral harm while still addressing OSHA’s safety concerns.

Do not let OSHA threaten the life of your business – not when our seasoned attorneys can utilize 150 years of combined experience to help you. Call (713) 783-3110 or contact us online today.

Understanding Types Of OSHA Citations And Penalties

When a workplace incident occurs, OSHA can issue several different types of citations, each carrying its own level of financial and operational impact. Understanding the difference between a serious, other-than-serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate citation can help you make informed decisions about whether to accept, negotiate, or contest the alleged violation. The classification OSHA selects may also affect how future inspections are handled and how your safety record is viewed by customers, lenders, and insurers.

Each citation comes with proposed penalties and a deadline for responding, which can feel overwhelming when you are already focused on stabilizing operations and supporting your workforce. We can help you review the factual basis for each alleged violation, evaluate whether the proposed classification is appropriate, and consider how any abatement measures will affect your business in the short and long term. For employers in and around Houston, these decisions often must be made quickly to avoid missing important contest deadlines or losing leverage in negotiations.

Often, when discussing an OSHA citation with a potential client, we are asked, “Will OSHA consider hiring an attorney an act of hostility or an admission of guilt?” The answer is no. OSHA will not make negative assumptions if you hire an attorney.

“Conversely,” says Managing Shareholder Trey Hendershot, “OSHA will consider hiring an attorney as a sign that you are taking the matter seriously and intend to proactively work to resolve the matter.”

In our experience, having counsel involved early often leads to clearer communication with OSHA and fewer misunderstandings about what your company is doing to correct hazards. When an attorney helps organize documents, clarify timelines, and speak on behalf of your business, the inspection process tends to be more focused and less disruptive to daily operations. That benefits both your workforce and your bottom line.

Many Houston-area employers also worry that involving counsel may delay an inspection or escalate tensions. In reality, OSHA regularly interacts with lawyers during inspections and contests, and agency personnel are accustomed to working through representatives. By allowing us to handle formal communications and requests for information, you can concentrate on running your business while still demonstrating that you are engaged and taking safety obligations seriously.

Working with an attorney experienced with OSHA standards and processes can help you avoid mistakes that may create a hostile environment, such as denying an OSHA inspector access to your facility or failing to produce appropriate documentation. At the same time, your attorney will protect your rights and help you avoid unnecessary risks.

Correctly handled, contesting an OSHA citation can reduce the severity of the violation and the penalties associated with the citation. Beyond monetary fines, OSHA citations come with hidden consequences that can have far-reaching impact, such as the cost of correcting the hazard, reputational harm, loss of future contracts, increased OSHA oversight, insurance premium increases, and exposure to civil litigation.

An experienced Houston OSHA defense attorney can guide you through the OSHA reporting process, inspections, and investigations to proactively reduce the likelihood of a citation. If a citation is issued, an attorney can prepare your defense strategy and help you negotiate and contest the citation.

Here are just a few ways an OSHA defense lawyer can intervene on your behalf:

• An OSHA defense attorney can control and manage all interactions with OSHA representatives to protect your rights and preserve your options.
• If there has been a worksite incident, we can guide you through reporting the injury and supplying the correct information without unnecessarily or inadvertently exposing yourself to liability.
• After reporting an injury, our OSHA defense team can help you manage the flow of documents to OSHA, ensuring that documents are complete and on time, because not having a required document can be more damaging than an incomplete one.
• We can observe OSHA’s walkaround after the incident to assess areas of exposure and potential violations.
• An attorney can prepare employees and managers for investigative interviews and advise them of their legal rights.
• After the inspection, an OSHA defense lawyer can work with OSHA to resolve any questions about the work site and help reduce the chances that a citation will be issued.
• If your business falls under the authority of other agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration, you may face more than one government investigation. Our team of regulatory attorneys can coordinate the investigations of all agencies on your behalf.
• If you are ready to contest an OSHA citation, your attorney can make sure you adhere to deadlines and follow the correct process.
• Contesting an OSHA citation is an administrative law procedure with many of the rules and procedures of a lawsuit in civil court. It is wise to have an attorney who is familiar with due process, especially when going before an administrative law judge.

With the help of an experienced OSHA defense lawyer in Houston, your business will have a more controlled and carefully managed response to the situation at hand, while we advise you on compliance issues with state and federal laws.

Because each communication you have with OSHA, including the initial injury report, can influence the agency’s decision on how to proceed, it is never too early to seek guidance. Contact an OSHA defense attorney in Houston immediately following a workplace incident or OSHA inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions About OSHA Defense

Contact our experienced Houston OSHA citation defense team at Hendershot Cowart P.C. to protect your business from the severity of an OSHA citation. Call (713) 783-3110 to get started.