Houston Work Injury Attorney

Houston Employee Injury Lawyer Michael Grossman on Your Legal Options if You’ve Suffered a Workplace Injury

• Types of Houston Workplace Accidents
• Seeking Workers Compensation
• Seeking Compensation Against a Non-Subscriber
• Proving an Employer-Employee Relationship
• What About OSHA? Will They Help Me?

Getting injured while on-the-job can be both a painful and a frustrating experience. The injury you’ve sustained may prevent you from returning to work, possibly causing you to lose pay, and your employer may be acting strangely in regards to your claim, causing you to lose hope that you’ll be fairly compensated for your Houston workplace injury.

Work injury laws in Texas can be complex, especially since workers’ compensation insurance does not have to be carried by all Texas employers. As a result, many people are often confused about their legal options if they’ve suffered an on-the-job injury in Texas. Houston work injury attorney Michael Grossman offers the following article to help you understand the basics of work injury law in Texas and what your possible legal options are if you’ve been hurt while at work in Houston.

Types of Houston Workplace Accidents Causing Injury

Work-related accidents can happen in a wide variety of ways for just as many reasons. Simple injuries can occur from slips, trips, or falls. Heavy-lifting accidents can cause intense back pain or even chronic back injuries. Construction site accidents can involve falling objects, scaffold collapses, tool malfunctions, or trench collapses. Auto accidents and commercial trucking crashes can also happen while a worker is on-the-job. Severe injury or death can happen due to explosions or major industrial accidents. Our law firm has also worked many cases that have involved forklift accidents and grain elevator accidents. In other words, workplace accidents can occur in an office, at a construction site, on a farm, or anywhere that work is being done by an employee, which is almost everywhere. Because of the wide range and type of on-the-job accidents that can occur in Texas, it’s often quite challenging to properly assess liability in such accident cases, yet this is one of the first issues that must be addressed in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. However, an experienced Houston work injury attorney like Michael Grossman can help you determine who may bear liability for your workplace accident so that you can stand to receive fair compensation for your injury or loss from that negligent party.

Workers Compensation Insurance in Texas

When a work-related injury or death occurs, one of the initial questions that must be properly answered in any personal injury or wrongful death case is whether or not the liable employer was a subscriber to workers compensation insurance. Companies that are covered by workers comp are known as workers' comp subscribers; companies that are not covered by workers comp are known as workers' comp non-subscribers. If a company is a subscriber, then a lawsuit cannot be brought against them by an aggrieved party, barring the exception when their gross negligence has contributed to a fatal workplace accident. If a company is a non-subscriber, then a lawsuit can be brought against them by an aggrieved party. In each instance, the legal route toward compensation is drastically different, so properly assessing a negligent employer’s workers compensation status is of the utmost importance at the outset of seeking compensation for your Houston work-related injury.

Unfortunately, figuring out an employer’s workers comp status is not as easy as asking around at the office. Well-meaning managers may not even know the true status of their company. Others within the organization may feed you false information, whether intentional or not, in order to protect the company’s assets. Many non-subscriber companies may act as if they’re subscribers because of the amount of protection, i.e. the immunity to lawsuits, that workers comp coverage provides to its subscribers. Such non-subscribers hope that an aggrieved party will simply take their word regarding their status and not pursue any further investigations that could result in a costly lawsuit down the line. Essentially, one of the only certain means to ascertain an employer’s workers compensation status is to contact an experienced Houston work injury law firm like Grossman Law Offices to investigate the employer’s status. Once that question has been properly answered, then the next legal steps toward compensation can be taken.

Seeking Compensation Against a Houston Workers Comp Subscriber

Texas workers compensation provides major benefits to employers that choose to be covered by such policies, but no benefit is often greater than the immunity to lawsuits that such coverage provides. When a worker is injured while employed by a subscriber, then the worker cannot seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. However, the worker can seek compensation for their injury through the workers compensation insurance policy. Unfortunately, such a policy is often lacking in proper or adequate compensation for an injured victim’s full amount of incurred damages, such as medical bills or lost wages due to time off from work. In these instances, enlisting the help of an experienced Houston workers comp lawyer like Michael Grossman can help you identify other possible liable parties who are likely not covered by workers comp, meaning that they can be sued through a personal injury claim. The amount of compensation sought from these other possible liable parties can help to make up for the difference often found between compensation awarded through a workers comp policy and the actual amount of financial losses accrued by an injured victim. Additionally, there may be certain exceptions to your workers comp claim, and our free legal consultation may be able to apprise you of these facts should they pertain to your particular Texas work injury accident case.

An Exception to Workers Compensation Claims

As previously stated, the main exception to workers comp claims occurs if an employer is proven to have been grossly negligent in a workplace accident resulting in the death of an employee. Gross negligence requires a high standard of proof since it must be shown that the liable employer was well aware of the likelihood of a severe or fatal accident occurring to one of their workers, and yet did little to nothing to prevent such a catastrophe. As an experienced Houston wrongful death attorney, Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices can build a strong case based on relevant evidence and eyewitness testimony that can speak on behalf of the decedent so that the worker’s family can stand to be justly compensated for their loss.

Seeking Compensation Against a Houston Non-Subscriber

Negligent non-subscriber employers can be held liable for a work-related accident through a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death lawsuit. Those seeking compensation from a non-subscriber do not have to endure the often laborious and time-consuming process of filling out endless paperwork often associated with workers compensation claims. However, victims in non-subscriber work injury cases will still face certain challenges that are common to a majority of personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. For instance, a non-subscribing employer will likely still have some type of insurance policy that will play a role in the accident case. Insurance adjusters sent to work these claims will likely be aggressive and adept at working to save their company as much money as possible. In other words, they will attempt to find ways in which to have the claim denied, such as by pressing blame onto the victim, or to have the compensatory amount diminished, such as offering a low-ball settlement to a victim in exchange for the victim forgoing any further legal action. Houston work injury attorney Michael Grossman has 20 years of experience in dealing with these particular kinds of insurance adjusters and understands their tactics and methods. Let his knowledge, experience, and reputation go to work for you so that you won’t be taken advantage of by a well-trained insurance adjuster.

Like all personal injury cases, plaintiffs in Houston non-subscriber personal injury cases bear the burden of proof. This means that the plaintiff’s legal representation must be able to prove that the defendant or defendants were the cause of the injury resulting in some type of financial loss for the plaintiff, such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering. Although the standard of negligence that must be proven in such cases is low compared to accidents involving gross negligence, proving the fault of an employer can be challenging for non-attorneys or lawyer with little to no experience in litigating non-subscribing employers. The Houston work injury law firm of Grossman Law Offices is ready to help you seek proper compensation from such a negligent employer.

Sole Proximate Cause in Houston Non-subscriber Work Injury Cases

The only defense allowed to a non-subscribing employer is known as the sole proximate cause defense. This limited defensive measure was written into the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act of 1993 as a detriment of sorts to employers that chose not to subscribe to workers comp. Sole proximate cause means that the victim was wholly responsible for their accident, conversely meaning that the employer bore no liability in the accident. As can be rightfully assumed, proving such a defensive measure can be quite challenging in regards to workplace accidents, since such accident are often the result of multiple liable parties. However, highly-experienced defense lawyers may be capable of arguing sole proximate cause if not confronted with relevant evidence that can under-gird an injured victim’s details surrounding their accident. Such arguments often malign the competence or ability of a victim to adequately perform the job. Additionally, such an inquest can be quite troubling to family members that may have lost a loved one in a fatal Texas workplace accident. Ensure that a robust case is built on your behalf, or on behalf of your lost loved one, by enlisting our help in your Houston workplace accident claim against a non-subscribing employer.

The Question of the Employer-Employee Relationship

After the question of workers comp status has been answered, another vital question in Houston work injury accident cases must be fully assessed in regards to the injured workers status as an employee. An employee of a non-subscriber can bring a lawsuit against their employer if they’re injured. A contractor, freelancer, or volunteer worker cannot bring a lawsuit against their employer, since such workers are responsible for their own safety while at work. However, Texas law provides for a robust definition of an employee. By utilizing specific questions, we can often determine if an actual employer-employee relationship existed, even if the employer called the worker a contractor from day one on the job. This attempted skirting of liability is often seen at Texas construction sites, where a majority of the workers may be called contractors. The following questions can be used to help establish whether or not a legally proper employer-employee relationship existed:

• Did the worker sign a document that limited their rights at work, i.e. a drug testing agreement or a handbook for employees?
• Was the worker employed for an indefinite time period, or for a certain amount of time or to finish a certain job?
• Was the worker paid with a salary or per hour, instead of per job completed?
• Did the employer withhold taxes or social security from the worker’s paycheck?
• Did the worker provide their own tools for the job, or did the employer furnish the tools to the worker?
• Did the worker receive a certain schedule from the employer?
• Did the employer look over the worker’s work while they were working, or after the job was completed?

The answers to these questions can help determine if an employer-employee relationship existed. If such a relationship is proven to have existed, then an injured worker can seek compensation against a non-subscribing employer through a personal injury lawsuit. If no such relationship can be substantiated, the injured victim may be able to seek compensation from other sources, such as other people or entities that may have been involved in the workplace accident. In either instance, contacting an experienced Houston workers comp attorney can help you understand your possible legal rights so that you can stand to be compensated for your work-related injury.

What About the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a federal agency dedicated to workplace safety in America. While their work is important, it is seldom helpful to a single injured worker or a bereaved family. In other words, OSHA works to ensure that a similar workplace accident doesn’t occur in the future. OSHA can levy fines against negligent employers, but this seldom has much impact on the injured worker’s own workplace accident case. Furthermore, OSHA reports are often done at a high-level, meaning that they’re more concerned with general workplace safety than with its specific effect on a victim or a victim’s family. In short, relying on an OSHA investigation for answers regarding liability in your Houston workplace injury accident case will likely leave you with little to show for it. Often, such accidents can require the work of an independent investigation so that all liable parties can be identified and held accountable for their negligent behavior.

Contact Houston Work Injury Attorney Michael Grossman if You’ve Been Injured in a Houston On-the-Job Accident

If you’ve suffered a workplace injury in Houston, TX, do not sign a waiver of your rights if offered to you by your employer or an insurance company. Such a waiver is often a first attempt at getting a possible claim taken care of quickly and for as little money as possible. While the offer of any amount of compensation may seem enticing, such a settlement is often far less than what will likely cover your actual accrued financial losses. Such a ploy is often all too readily apparent when a settlement has been offered before the full extent of your injuries is known. If you’re unsure about what your company may be asking you to sign, or about documents that an insurance company may be placing into your hands, contact Grossman Law Offices to help review those papers to make sure that you’re not being taken advantage of by an employer or insurance company that likely wants to make quick and cheap work of your claim.

With two decades of experience in helping victims seek compensation in subscriber and non-subscriber claims, Houston work injury attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices can help you seek full and fair compensation for your injury or loss so that you can get back onto your feet, and, if possible, back to work. Get answers to your lingering questions by calling us at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) for a free and confidential legal consultation. Understanding your rights in seeking compensation from your employer or another negligent entity can be confusing, especially if you’ve never been in this particular predicament before. However, the Houston work injury attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can help clarify your legal rights so that your sustained injury caused by a workplace accident in Houston doesn’t have to cause you further financial harm.

Helpful Information

Work injury law is somewhat complex due to the Workers' Compensation Act. Because of this, our lawyers have written the below informational articles to help you understand exactly what you are dealing with.

• Delivery Driver Injuries
• Work-Related Asbestos Exposure
• Oilfield Worker Injuries
• Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
• Lifting Injuries
• Warehouse Injuries
• Loading Dock Injuries
• Carpel Tunnel & Office Work Injuries
• On The Job Injuries
• Workers' Compensation Law
• Non-Subscriber Law
• Machinery Injuries
• Industrial Accidents
• Work-Related Slip and Fall Injuries
• Toxin & Asbestos Exposure
• Subscriber Claims
• Loading Dock Injuries
• Forklift Accidents