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According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) the construction industry has a list of construction’s “fatal four” accidents. These accidents account for 57.7 percent of all accidents in the construction industry.
In order of severity they are:
In general, employers must provide workers with jobs and a workplace free of hazards. They must also comply with statutory requirements, as listed below. These include, but are not limited to:
In Texas, employers are not required to offer workers’ compensation If your employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance you will be unable to make a claim under workers’ compensation. However, other options are available to you. To recover compensation you can file a civil claim. In cases where your employer has workers’ compensation insurance, the claim must be filed via the workers’ compensation system.
Lawsuits involving injuries on the job are treated in the same way as other personal injury lawsuits. In these lawsuits negligence needs to be shown for the injured party to receive compensation. In other words, an injured worker has to show that their accident happened because the employer did not maintain a secure workplace, for example.
To find out more contact Schuelke Law right away.
Every year, more than 6,000 workers die in workplace accidents. Fifty thousand or more die as a result of a sickness they contracted from exposure to something in the workplace. At least 6 million workers sustain non-fatal injuries on the job each year. Injuries and illnesses are expensive for both workers and businesses. An increased concern in work safety could reduce the number of illnesses, injuries and deaths.
There are a number of things one may do. First, one should attempt to speak to the claim’s adjuster and attempt to sort out the issue with him or her. If that does not work, it is possible that one may need to go to a Benefit Review Conference or any other dispute resolution meetings to obtain one’s benefits.
If one has tried everything and had no success, one may wish to speak to a competent personal injury attorney to attempt to expedite the case.
If someone’s husband’s death, as indicated, was proven to be work-related, then they are eligible to obtain compensation as a family member of the deceased. Those eligible to receive death benefits from workers’ compensation include: parents, grandchildren, children, spouses, other dependents and possibly the person who paid for burial expenses.
Some employers do opt out of workers compensation insurance and they are referred to as non-subscribers. If you have been injured on-the-job and negligence can be shown against the employer, Texas law allows a direct lawsuit for mental anguish, lost wages, pain and suffering, and all other elements of damages you would be entitled to recover in a regular lawsuit. Additionally, as “punishment” for not having workers compensation insurance, your employer is denied the right to assert the common law defense of comparative responsibility. This modification of the law can greatly improve your chance of success at trial.
Most larger Texas companies carry workers’ compensation insurance. However, some of them elect to operate without workers compensation insurance. Companies that do not offer workers’ compensation are called “nonsubscribers.”
If there is an accident at the workplace and negligence can be shown against the employer, Texas law allows the injured worked to file lawsuit against the company, seeking damages for pain and suffering, lost wages, and mental anguish. They may also file a wrongful death lawsuit if a family member was killed.
The Texas Labor Code does not favor non-subscribers and eliminates many of the legal defenses that they may attempt. The most common example is the defense of comparative responsibility. In Texas, an award to a victim is typically reduced by the victim’s percentage of fault in causing the event. For example, if an award is $100,000.00, but a victim caused 20 percent of the event, then the victim only recovers $80,000.00. In nonsubscriber cases, an employer cannot pursue a defense of comparative responsibility. Thus, if the employee can show the employer’s negligence was 1 percent responsible for the event, then the employer can be held 100 percent responsible for all injuries sustained.
Workers’ compensation law is complex, and it is best to have an experienced attorney helping you to navigate the minefield of filing for and obtaining compensation. Be open to all avenues of filing and recovery and do not accept that if your employer does not have workers’ compensation, that you cannot recover compensation for your work-related injury.
If you and your employer do not see eye-to-eye on your workers’ compensation benefits, you, as the claimant, have the right to a Benefit Review Conference (BRC), a formal hearing and an appeal. A claim may also be appealed beyond the exiting protocol. However, we strongly recommend if that is the route you may find yourself facing, that you have an experienced workers’ compensation attorney representing you.
You may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover compensation for your disease if you developed the illness/disease as a result of being exposed to unsafe levels of hazardous chemicals/ substances in your workplace.