Texas Work Injury: A General Overview, Part 1

If you’re in Texas and you’re injured at work or in the course of your job duties, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Parts one and two of this article present a general overview of what you need to know about work injury.

There are two potential avenues to recover damages for your workplace injury: a Texas workers’ compensation claim or a personal injury lawsuit.

A Texas Workers’ Compensation Claim

In the state of Texas, employers have the option of providing their employees workers’ compensation insurance. If your employer has chosen not to provide coverage, then you can sue your employer for your workplace-related injuries in court. However, if your employer does provide worker’s compensation coverage, then you cannot sue your employer. Instead, you must file a workers’ compensation claim.

The purpose of the Texas workers’ compensation law is to allow for employers to avoid lawsuits by ensuring that employees who are injured in the workplace receive fixed monetary awards. The Texas workers’ compensation program is no-fault, which means that an injured employee may receive benefits no matter who is responsible for the injury.

The benefits from workers’ compensation are medical expenses, compensation for disability, and a monetary award in the event of permanent injury. Medical expenses are unlimited: your employer cannot place any monetary or time limitations on your medical treatment, nor can your employer force you to go to a specific doctor. However, the disability benefits and cash awards are limited in accordance with certain set schedules.

Continue to Texas Work Injury: A General Overview, Part 2 to learn how to about how you can recover damages through a personal injury lawsuit.

– Guest Contributor

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.