Morgantown Factory and Industrial Accident Lawyers

By J. Brandon Shumaker and J. Tyler Slavey  ·  Slavey & Shumaker PLLC  ·  Morgantown, WV  ·  Last updated November 10, 2026

Factories, plants, warehouses, mills and other industrial workplaces depend on heavy machinery, powered vehicles, chemicals and high-energy equipment. When something goes wrong, the injuries are often severe: amputations, crush injuries, burns, fractures, spinal and brain injuries, or a death.

Workers’ compensation pays some benefits, but it does not pay for pain and suffering and may not replace all lost income. Slavey & Shumaker PLLC helps workers hurt in industrial accidents identify every company other than their employer that may be responsible, and pursues those claims for full compensation. For the broader rules on job injuries, see our workplace injury guide.

1. Workers’ Compensation and Your Employer

An employer that procures and continuously maintains workers’ compensation coverage, or properly elects to pay compensation directly, and that is in compliance with the law, “is not liable to respond in damages at common law or by statute for the injury or death of any employee, however occurring” (W. Va. Code § 23-2-6). That means most factory injury claims against the employer itself are handled through workers’ compensation. The application for an injury generally must be filed within six months after the injury or death (§ 23-4-15(a)).

How our office handles these claims. Slavey & Shumaker PLLC does not handle workers’ compensation or deliberate intent claims directly. We refer those claims to, and co-counsel with, other firms that handle the majority of that work. We can review whether you also have a claim against a third party, which is the part of the case we handle.

2. Third-Party Claims After an Industrial Accident

Employer immunity does not protect other companies. When a compensable injury is caused, in whole or in part, by the act or omission of a third party, the injured worker is entitled to workers’ compensation and “shall not by having received compensation be precluded from making claim against the third party” (W. Va. Code § 23-2A-1(a)).

A third-party claim is an ordinary personal injury or product liability claim. It can recover damages workers’ compensation does not pay, including pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and full lost earnings. Your share of fault does not bar recovery unless it is greater than the combined fault of all other persons responsible, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault (§ 55-7-13c(c)).

3. Who May Be Responsible

Whether a particular company can be held responsible depends on the facts, the contracts and the relationships among the companies involved. Identifying every potential defendant early is one of the most important parts of the case.

4. Common Factory and Industrial Accidents

5. Defective Machinery and Equipment

Many industrial injuries involve a machine or piece of equipment that did not protect the worker using it: a missing or inadequate guard, a safety interlock that failed or could be easily bypassed, controls that were easy to activate by accident, or warnings that were missing or unclear. In Morningstar v. Black & Decker Manufacturing Co., 253 S.E.2d 666 (W. Va. 1979), the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia adopted strict liability for defective products and described the general test as whether the product is defective in the sense that it is “not reasonably safe for its intended use.” Under that standard, reasonable safeness is measured by what a reasonably prudent manufacturer’s standards should have been at the time the product was made.

Product cases turn on the physical evidence. The machine, its maintenance records, its manuals and any modifications made after it left the manufacturer all matter. If you were seriously hurt by equipment, ask in writing that the employer and any other company involved keep the machine and its records unchanged, and talk with a lawyer quickly so the evidence can be inspected and preserved. See our product liability page.

6. Deliberate Intent Claims

An employer can lose its immunity if it acted with “deliberate intention,” a narrow standard with detailed statutory requirements, including a specific unsafe working condition the employer actually knew about, a violation of a specific safety statute, rule, regulation or commonly accepted industry safety standard, and a serious compensable injury or death (W. Va. Code § 23-4-2(d)(2)). Our workplace injury guide explains the requirements in more detail.

How our office handles deliberate intent claims. Slavey & Shumaker PLLC does not handle workers’ compensation or deliberate intent claims directly. We refer those claims to, and co-counsel with, other firms that handle the majority of that work. Because the facts that support a deliberate intent claim often overlap with a third-party claim, we can review the whole incident with you and explain your options.

7. Repaying Workers’ Compensation

When an injured worker recovers money from a third party, the private carrier or self-insured employer generally has statutory subrogation for the indemnity and medical benefits it paid as of the date of the recovery (W. Va. Code § 23-2A-1(b)(1)). The law creates a lien on the money received (§ 23-2A-1(d)), but the party entitled to subrogation must permit deduction of reasonable attorney fees and costs and may negotiate the amount it will accept (§ 23-2A-1(c)). Handling the lien correctly is part of getting the most out of a recovery.

8. What to Do After a Factory Accident

Our consultation checklist lists what to bring to a first meeting. For injuries with long-term effects, see our serious injury page, our traumatic brain injury page, our spinal cord injury page and our burn injury page. When an industrial accident causes a death, see our wrongful death page.

9. Deadlines

Other deadlines can apply depending on the claim and the defendant. See our West Virginia filing deadlines guide.

10. How Our Morgantown Industrial Accident Lawyers Help

Our attorneys, J. Tyler Slavey, J. Brandon Shumaker, Scott B. Harris and Kasey Libby, practice from our office at 174 Chancery Row in Morgantown. In industrial accident cases, we:

• Send preservation letters for the machine, maintenance records, video and incident reports
• Identify manufacturers, contractors, property owners and other companies that may be responsible, and their insurers
• Work with qualified experts to inspect equipment when a product defect may be involved
• Coordinate with the workers’ compensation claim and the subrogation lien
• Refer workers’ compensation and deliberate intent claims to, and co-counsel them with, other firms that handle the majority of that work

No lawyer can guarantee a result. You can read what past clients say in our more than 100 Google reviews.

11. Frequently Asked Questions About Factory and Industrial Accidents

This page is provided for general informational purposes about West Virginia law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.