Texas Work Injury: A General Overview, Part 2

In Texas Work Injury: A General Overview, Part 1, we discussed Texas workers’ compensation claims. A workers’ compensation claim is one of the two ways you can pursue financial recovery for your Texas workplace injury. The other is through a personal injury lawsuit.

A Personal Injury Lawsuit

If your employer does not provide workers’ compensation, then you may sue your employer for damages in a personal injury lawsuit. If your employer does provide workers’ compensation coverage, the only way you can receive monetary damages in court is if you can sue anyone else who’s responsible for your workplace-related injury (but not the employer) in a third-party lawsuit. An example of a responsible third party is the manufacturer of a defective product that was used in the workplace and caused your injury.

If workers’ compensation is insufficient to fully pay for your injury-related expenses (and it often is), a third-party lawsuit may entitle you to recover more, such as: past and future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future wages, property damage, and emotional damages such as pain and suffering.

– 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.