Workplace injuries always occur when one least expects them, leaving the injured with medical expenses and lost wages, but also with complicated legal procedures. Texas workers who suffer on-the-job injuries should know their rights and options available to them.
This guide takes you through Texas workplace injury claims and benefits available, including how a workplace accident lawyer in Texas advocates on your behalf to protect your future.
This knowledge helps you understand the best steps you should take, whether you work in the construction and manufacturing industries or in healthcare and office settings, through the legal processes after workplace accidents.
Steps to Take After a Workplace Injury in Texas
If you get injured on the job, taking the right steps from the beginning will help protect not only your health but also your legal rights. Here is what you need to do:
1. See a Doctor Immediately:
Your health is important, and if it is an emergency, go to the ER or urgent care. For less obvious injuries, see a doctor as soon as possible. Not only does prompt treatment assist your recovery, but it also creates medical records of the injury and its relationship to the work accident.
Under workers’ compensation, you may be required to see an approved doctor, for which your employer should provide guidance if they have a network. If this is a non-subscriber case, you can see any doctor of your choice, but in any event, document everything. Talking with a workplace accident lawyer in New York will help you further.
2. Report the Injury to Your Employer:
In writing, inform your supervisor or HR that you have been injured as soon as you are able. Texas law requires that, to file a workers’ compensation claim, you must report your workplace injury within 30 days.
Even if you believe your employer may know, perhaps they were there – it is important to make it official. Report when, where, and how the injury happened. Keep a copy of this report for your records.
3. Document What Happened:
Whenever possible, get evidence. Take pictures of the scene and equipment or area involved in the accident. Note the names and contact information of co-workers and/or other people who might have witnessed what transpired.
Write down your own recollection while it is still fresh in your head. All these things can be priceless later, especially if there is some kind of dispute about how you got hurt.
Other Steps
4. File the Necessary Claims:
To file a workers’ compensation claim, you must complete a claim form DWC-041 and submit it to the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation. You can do this at any time within one year, but sooner is always better.
Usually, your employer or their insurance should provide you with a form and instruct you on how to proceed. When your employer is a non-subscriber, you or your workplace accident lawyers in New York will more than likely send the company notice of your intention to seek compensation and possibly even file a lawsuit.
Either way, delays should not be made, and remember that evidence can disappear and legal deadlines-what is called statutes of limitations, apply.
5. Consult a Workplace Injury Attorney in Texas:
It is a good idea to at least discuss your case with a workplace accident lawyer in Texas as early as possible. Most workplace accident lawyers in Texas provide free consultations, so it doesn’t cost a thing to have the initial case review.
You can learn whether you have a good claim in addition to workers’ compensation, what benefits or damages you might recover, and how the process works.
For instance, if your employer wants you to give a recorded statement or to sign something, a workplace accident lawyer in New York can provide you with specific advice. The legal guidance will keep you away from accidentally hurting your case.
Final Step
6. Follow Medical Advice and Keep Records:
Attend all medical appointments and follow your doctor’s orders. This is not only best for your health, but it also shows you are trying to recover – insurers can be suspicious if an injured worker skips treatment. Keep a record in a journal of how you are feeling during recovery and how the injury is affecting your life.
Also, save your receipts and document all out-of-pocket expenses related to your injury, including any medications and travel to see doctors; these may be reimbursable.
With these steps, you will be on the right track for building the best foundation possible for your claim. You are not alone, and your workplace accident lawyer in New York can guide you through everything.
What Compensation Can You Get for a Workplace Injury?
What type and amount of compensation you may be entitled to depends upon what path your case takes, but here is an overview: workers’ compensation claim versus lawsuit.
- Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If you are covered by workers’ compensation, you can get your medical bills paid for treatments of the injury, including doctors, hospitals, surgery, medicines, and physical therapy.
You might get income benefits if you miss work, usually a portion of your average weekly wage. In Texas, for example, the temporary income benefits are about 70 percent of your lost wages up to certain caps.
Workers’ compensation may pay impairment income benefits, or in extreme cases, lifetime benefits, if there is any permanent impairment or disability resulting from an injury. It also pays for death benefits to the family and money for funeral expenses if a worker dies.
- What workers’ compensation does not provide?
Workers’ compensation will not provide any compensation for pain and suffering or any other non-economic damages. It is a limited benefit system.
Other Compensation
- Personal Injury Damages
When you have the ability to file a lawsuit-such as against a non-subscriber employer or another third party-you may recover a wider range of damages.
This includes all of your medical expenses, including future treatment costs, all your lost wages and loss of future earning capacity, and compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.
These “non-economic” damages can be extensive, especially for serious injuries causing chronic pain or disabilities. You may even seek punitive damages in the most egregious cases of negligence.
Texas law caps punitive damages, and they are not common in work injury lawsuits unless gross negligence has been proven. If it were a wrongful death case – a family suing over a worker’s death – the lawsuit could recover losses like lost financial support, companionship, and emotional suffering for the family.
- Third-party claims:
Sometimes your work injury involves a negligent third party. For example, if you were a delivery driver, and another motorist hit you, or you used some kind of machinery at work that malfunctioned due to a manufacturer’s defect, you can file a third-party personal injury claim against that person or company.
You can certainly do this even if you are getting workers’ comp from your employer. One of the things a workplace accident lawyer in Texas can do is identify all of the possible sources of recovery so that you get the fullest compensation available.
The comparative fault system
Texas uses a modified comparative fault rule in injury cases. What that means is that if your case goes to court, any damages you get can be reduced if you are found partially at fault for your own injury.
However, as long as you are not more than 50% at fault, you can still recover something. If you were 51% or more at fault, then you get nothing under Texas law.
The insurance companies will likely try to argue that an injury was partly your fault to reduce what they pay, which brings up another reason for having a workplace accident lawyer in Texas -they fight against minimizing any unfair blame on you.
In case of a workers’ compensation claim, fault generally does not apply because it is a no-fault claim, but if you were intoxicated or engaging in horseplay, those could void a compensation claim. A workplace accident lawyer in New York will be cognizant of these nuances and will advise accordingly.
Get help!
At Gehi and Associates, we serve all of Texas and the United States, representing injured workers in their fight for compensation. Our lawyers represent injured workers in all matters related to workers’ compensation claims and personal injury/third-party actions with thorough attention to every detail.
Our lawyers work toward maximum possible recovery regarding medical expenses and lost earnings, and all related damages.
You will certainly want to contact Gehi and Associates in the event of a workplace accident because you will need help in the process.
At Gehi and Associates, our lawyers offer free consultations where we explain to you how we can get you the compensation you need.
Get in touch with us today!
FAQs
1. What should I do immediately after a workplace injury in Texas?
You must inform your manager immediately, before seeking medical attention.
2. How do I pick my doctor?
For on-the-job injuries, the selection of the doctors will be dependent upon the insurance network through your employer. Your lawyer should advise you about this issue.
3. How does the law in Texas offer protection?
Texas law requires that all employers carry workers’ compensation insurance, but there are a few exceptions for certain businesses.
4. What if my employer has no workers’ compensation?
If your employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, then your legal options to recover compensation will be different.
5. What does workers’ compensation cover?
Workers’ compensation covers medical treatment, lost income, and rehabilitation for workers.
More FAQs
6. Is workers’ compensation a good option?
Not really. It limits your ability to file a lawsuit against your employer for workplace injuries. This is because workers’ compensation is your exclusive source of recovery. Generally, workers’ compensation laws limit most lawsuits arising from workplace injuries, but there are circumstances under which exceptions may apply.
7. What do I do if my workplace accident is caused by a third party?
Along with workers’ compensation benefits, you can also file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party.
8. How do I get workers’ compensation?
To receive workers’ compensation benefits in Texas, workers need to notify their employer within 30 days of the date of their workplace injury or the date they discovered their injury. Undocumented workers are entitled to benefits for workplace injuries in most situations.
9. What do I do when my workers’ compensation claim is denied?
The lawyers at Gehi and Associates will represent you during the appeal process once your claim has been denied.
10. How much does it cost to hire a workplace accident lawyer?
Most workplace accident lawyers’ fees are on a contingency basis, and that means you will only pay us when you win your case.
