What To Do When You’ve Been Injured on The Job in Texas
Workplace accidents can be traumatizing and can leave you in shock. You may wonder what to do and who to turn to. To ensure your rights as a worker are protected, take the following steps after a workplace accident in addition to speaking to with a work injury attorney:
- Try to stay calm. You may be injured, feel scared and/or angry, and may want to lash out. It is best to maintain calm as these emotions will not help the situation.
Seek medical attention and treatment as soon as possible. Even if you do not think you were injured severely, always get checked out by a medical professional after a workplace accident. You have the right to have your medical condition evaluated and treated properly after an occupational incident.
- Report the accident and all details to your supervisor, being as specific as possible. Also, write down your own side of the story for your records and for your legal counsel. For your supervisor or employer to file a workers’ compensation claim, they must have all accident details right after the accident occurs.
- Do not sign anything your employer, their team of lawyers, or their insurance agents ask you to sign without having an experienced personal injury lawyer review it. Many victims are unwillingly forced into signing paperwork they do not understand. After a workplace accident, you should always talk with a lawyer first.
- Keep track of all information related to the accident and your injuries, including all medical treatment, insurance information, and other relevant documents. Establish a paper trail to help document everything, no matter how small.
Causes of Workplace Accidents
Causes of Workplace accidents often occur because employers are not adhering to all federally required safety regulations. Employers are required to provide necessary training and safety equipment to workers, but many employers try to cut corners and save money by foregoing these essential safety tools. This puts all workers on a jobsite at an extreme risk for injury and an employer needs to be held accountable. By not caring about employee safety and only caring about their own financial bottom line, employers consciously put themselves in a position of liability.
Common Serious Work Related Injuries
Workplace accidents can cause serious injuries and even death, which places a serious financial burden on the employee and their loved ones. Victims often need emergency medical transport and treatment, but many will also require multiple surgeries, physical therapy, specialty medical equipment, long-term medications, and other expensive medical treatment. Many victims cannot return to work while they are recovering, resulting in lost wages and the inability to support their family.
Some of the most common types of injuries our work injury lawyers see include:
- Slips, trips, and falls
- Muscle strains
- Toxic exposure
- Injuries caused by falling objects
- Being struck by or caught in heavy machinery
- Workplace motor vehicle accidents
- Fires and explosions
- Falls from a height
- Electrocution
No matter what type of workplace injury you suffer on the job, even if you think your only remedy may be workers’ compensation and your employer is being nice about it, you should still seek out a free consultation with an attorney. This will ensure you know your legal rights.
No matter what industry you work in or what your job title is, you have the potential to suffer work injuries that can cause you to lose wages and potentially even lose your ability to work permanently.
When you are injured on the job, your prognosis can range from minor with a quick recovery to severe with permanent disability. Each injury is valid and important and was caused by someone or something. Your attorney can help you find out the root cause, take legal action against those responsible, and get you the financial recovery you need to cover medical costs, lost wages, emotional distress, and other damages.
Understanding Work Injury Claims in Texas
If you were injured at work, workplace injury lawyers can investigate the circumstances of your incident and let you know whether more than one potential entity or individual can be held legally responsible for your damages. Even if you were working directly for an employer that subscribes to the Texas Workers’ Compensation program, you may still have a valid work injury claim against one or more third parties.
If your injury was caused in whole or in part by someone other than your employer or another employee of your employer, you can take legal action against them with the help of a personal injury attorney.
Workers’ Compensation and Non-Subscribers
Technically speaking, an employee who suffered a work-related injury is entitled to the benefits of their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance coverage or another form of employer-paid funding that will cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs during their recovery. Even with workers’ compensation, in many cases comp payments are insufficient to financially cover all accident-related costs suffered by the injured party. When an employer subscribes to workplace insurance coverage, a worker is not typically able to file a direct lawsuit against them per the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. If the victim is able to show that a third party was at fault for the accident, this may allow them to seek full compensation for the accident. Viable third parties that can be held liable can include property owners, engineers, architects, contractors and subcontractors, electricians, and equipment manufacturers, among other parties. All of these are potential third-party defendants that can be sued directly and outside of the workers’ compensation system for their own negligence and fault when a workplace accident occurs.
Texas does not require employers to subscribe to our state’s workers’ compensation system. This does not let employers off the hook, though, as employers are still responsible for providing a safe workplace for their employees. If a worker is injured on the job and their employer does not subscribe to workers’ compensation, the victim can file a lawsuit against the employer to recover compensation, regardless of whether the employer carries a private or other liability policy. Only true Texas workers’ comp acts as a bar to a civil lawsuit for workplace accidents.
Contact Ted Ligget Lubbock Work Injury Attorney
If you or a loved one is injured on the job, you need an experienced lawyer on your side that have thorough knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations governing workplace safety. Contact us online today or call (806) 605-5758 to schedule a free, confidential consultation with one of our experienced Lubbock workplace accident attorneys. There are time limits within which you must file a lawsuit related to your accident, so you should contact an attorney today for more information.
When victims suffer permanent injuries that limit their earning capacity, someone must be held accountable. Fair compensation must cover all of the above expenses in order to help a victim live their life as close to normal as possible. Our experienced team of work injury lawyers is ready to fight for your family to ensure fair compensation is received that covers all accident-related expenses.
Tell Ted About Your Work Injury
Injured on the job in Lubbock, Texas?
Injured on the job in Lubbock, Texas?
