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Work Accident Attorney

TAL TLO Hero

Tim Tate

Claire Tate Rehmet

Chris Rehmet

$13,000,000

Gross Recovery

Pedestrian Accident

Wrongful Death

$10,750,000

Gross Recovery

Motorcycle Wreck

Head Injury

$9,500,000

Gross Recovery

Defective Product

Brain Injury

$6,500,000

Gross Recovery

Workplace Accident

Head Injury

Texas Work Accident Attorneys

Work Accident Lawyers

One of the results we highlight on our homepage was a work injury where an employee suffered a traumatic brain injury. We were able to recover $6,500,000.00 for the client, much of which was placed into a financial trust and invested to secure a future for the client. This type of case is typical of the work injury cases we handle at Tate Accident Law, most of which have at least one of the following:

1) the client was an employee of a company that was a non-subscriber to worker’s compensation insurance (that means the company chose not to pay for worker’s compensation).

OR

 2) There was another company/person who was negligent in causing the injuries. That company/person was not a co-worker or supervisor of the injured worker but was someone else.

These two elements are critical to getting you a recovery if you were hurt (or someone is killed) on the job. To get a meaningful recovery for on-the-job injuries we must find a defendant who caused the injury and is not covered by worker’s compensation insurance. If you were hurt on the job, or a loved one was killed in a work-related accident, then you need to ask the following two questions:

1) Is the employer insured by worker’s comp?

2) Was the worker hurt by a co-worker or supervisor or were they hurt by the acts of someone else?

Answering these questions can require careful analysis and investigation.  The answers can mean the difference between a getting a meaningful recovery of damages or being relegated to the work comp scheme.

If you have been injured on the job, or a family member has been killed while in the course of their employment, we encourage you to call Tate Accident Law and one of lawyers will review the facts surrounding your injury. Our attorneys can access Texas Department of Insurance databases and confirm whether your employer was insured by worker’s compensation insurance on the date of the injury and review other aspects of your potential claim.

Work Accident Lawyers Serving TX and OK

How do I tell whether my employer has worker’s compensation insurance?

Whether your employer is covered by Texas worker’s compensation insurance is the first issue to address. The quickest way to find out whether your injury claim is covered by comp is to ask your employer.

Many times, however, the employer does not want the employee to make a work comp claim because the employer is concerned their rates will go up. Often employers refuse to tell whether they are covered or give vague responses hoping you do not make a claim.

Fortunately, there is an online database that may tell you whether your employer has worker compensation. The Texas Department of Insurance maintains a searchable database which is available to the public on the Texas Department of Insurance- Division of Workers Compensation website. You can query that database by employer name and date of accident, and it will return results.

Sometimes it is not clear, however, whether an employer had worker’s compensation on the date of the injury.

If you are not sure whether your employer has comp, the best course of action is to fill out Form DWC-041 which is the official claim form to start a worker’s compensation claim. After filling the form out, submit it to the Texas Department of Insurance by mail or by electronic submission. You will receive a claim number for your claim. You will be notified via mail or email if there is a workers compensation policy. You have one year from the date of the injury to submit form DWC-041.  This is the form used to officially open a comp claim.

You should still call Tate Accident Law to review the facts of your claim, even if you believe you are covered by comp. There are numerous circumstances that can lead to an additional recovery.

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What if I was hurt by someone else besides my employer? Can I recover from someone else other than my employer if there is worker’s compensation insurance?

Yes. In Texas, the worker’s compensation bar only prevents a worker from claiming against their employer. It does not apply to other people or companies who caused your injury.

The best example is a car wreck which is caused by a random driver. If you are on the job and covered by worker’s compensation and you get hit by someone who is not a co-worker, then you can open a comp claim and you can also pursue a claim for your injuries against the person who it you.

Tate Accident Law helps clients who are on the job and involved in car wrecks as a regular part of our law practice.

In addition, if you are on a job and there are several companies working in the same location, you might be hurt by the negligence of one of those other companies. For example, construction sites often have several contractors and subcontractors working on the same site. If you are hurt by one of the other subcontractors, and your employer has workers comp, then you can open a work comp claim and pursue a claim against the subcontractor who caused your injuries.

Oil patch injuries often occur when there are several contractors on the same site. Oil patch injuries lend themselves to the same analysis. If your employer has comp, but your injuries were caused by another contractor’s negligence, it is possible to have a comp claim and have a claim against the negligent subcontractor.

If you have been hurt on the job, and your employer has comp, but the negligence of someone else caused your injuries, please call Tate Accident Law and speak with an attorney to review the facts of your work-related injury claim.

How do I tell whether my employer has worker’s compensation insurance?

Whether your employer is covered by Texas worker’s compensation insurance is the first issue to address. The quickest way to find out whether your injury claim is covered by comp is to ask your employer.

Many times, however, the employer does not want the employee to make a work comp claim because the employer is concerned their rates will go up. Often employers refuse to tell whether they are covered or give vague responses hoping you do not make a claim.

Fortunately, there is an online database that may tell you whether your employer has worker compensation. The Texas Department of Insurance maintains a searchable database which is available to the public on the Texas Department of Insurance- Division of Workers Compensation website. You can query that database by employer name and date of accident, and it will return results.

Sometimes it is not clear, however, whether an employer had worker’s compensation on the date of the injury.

If you are not sure whether your employer has comp, the best course of action is to fill out Form DWC-041 which is the official claim form to start a worker’s compensation claim. After filling the form out, submit it to the Texas Department of Insurance by mail or by electronic submission. You will receive a claim number for your claim. You will be notified via mail or email if there is a workers compensation policy. You have one year from the date of the injury to submit form DWC-041.  This is the form used to officially open a comp claim.

You should still call Tate Accident Law to review the facts of your claim, even if you believe you are covered by comp. There are numerous circumstances that can lead to an additional recovery.

Do Texas companies have to buy worker’s compensation insurance?

No, Texas companies do not have to subscribe to worker’s compensation insurance, and many companies do not. Whether your employer has worker’s compensation insurance matters to you because it may mean the difference between getting a significant recovery for your injuries.

Because work comp is a pivotal issue, work related injuries in Texas are usually categorized as work comp claims or non-subscriber claims. Non-subscriber claims are the claims against employers who do not have work comp insurance. This distinction is important to you when you get hurt on the job.

What is the worker’s compensation bar in Texas?

If there is a worker’s compensation insurance policy, then your claim is subject to the worker’s compensation bar. This means you cannot claim directly against your employer, no matter how negligent they were in causing your injury.

If there is comp insurance, any claim against your employer for the on-the-job injury can only be pursued through the work comp scheme. The work comp scheme in Texas is purely administrative, you have no right to a jury trial, the benefits you receive are mostly set by law, and the amount of money paid usually does not fully compensate for the injuries. The work comp bar in Texas generally says you are stuck with comp, unless you can find some other defendant (besides your employer or a co-worker) who caused the injuries.

What if I was hurt by someone else besides my employer? Can I recover from someone else other than my employer if there is worker’s compensation insurance?

Yes. In Texas, the worker’s compensation bar only prevents a worker from claiming against their employer. It does not apply to other people or companies who caused your injury.

The best example is a car wreck which is caused by a random driver. If you are on the job and covered by worker’s compensation and you get hit by someone who is not a co-worker, then you can open a comp claim and you can also pursue a claim for your injuries against the person who it you.

Tate Accident Law helps clients who are on the job and involved in car wrecks as a regular part of our law practice.

In addition, if you are on a job and there are several companies working in the same location, you might be hurt by the negligence of one of those other companies. For example, construction sites often have several contractors and subcontractors working on the same site. If you are hurt by one of the other subcontractors, and your employer has workers comp, then you can open a work comp claim and pursue a claim against the subcontractor who caused your injuries.

Oil patch injuries often occur when there are several contractors on the same site. Oil patch injuries lend themselves to the same analysis. If your employer has comp, but your injuries were caused by another contractor’s negligence, it is possible to have a comp claim and have a claim against the negligent subcontractor.

If you have been hurt on the job, and your employer has comp, but the negligence of someone else caused your injuries, please call Tate Accident Law and speak with an attorney to review the facts of your work-related injury claim.

Does my employer have a duty under Texas law to provide a safe workplace? What legal obligation does a Texas company have to their injured workers?

Your employer has a duty to provide a safe workplace for you to work in. If you are hurt on the job and your employer does not have worker’s compensation insurance, then they may be liable to you for your injuries if they fail to provide you with a safe workplace under Texas law. There is no bar to making a claim or suing your employer for on-the-job injuries if they did not pay for worker’s compensation insurance.

The Texas Supreme Court has held that an employer has a duty to provide a safe workplace, but if there are dangerous conditions at the workplace that the worker knew or should have known about, then the employer only had limited duties to warn the worker about the dangers or to correct the dangers.

Work Accident Texas

This means that employers who do not pay for work comp will have to pay for their workers injuries under some circumstance, but not in others. Many companies in Texas have decided not to pay for worker’s compensation insurance and take the risk of having to pay for employees who are injured or killed.

If you are injured or a family member has been killed, and there is no worker’s compensation insurance, then you should consult with an attorney to find out whether the employer must pay for the damages.

What happens when my employer does not have worker’s compensation insurance?

When a Texas employer does not have worker’s compensation, there are three important things to know:

  1. The employer does not have the advantage of the work comp bar, which means that your employer may be liable to you for your injuries (or the death of a family member).
  2. Your employer has a duty to provide a safe workplace and if they were negligent, even a little, and that negligence was the cause of your injuries, then your employer may have to pay for 100% of your damages.
  3. Many employers in Texas who opt out of worker’s compensation insurance have developed a strategy to try to limit the amount they pay you. These might include:
  • Creating an alternative benefit program which provides limited benefits.
  • Forcing you to sign a binding mediation or arbitration agreement that limits your rights. Usually, you are asked to sign when you first get hired.
  • Asking you to sign a post injury waiver and agreement after the injury so you can have access to limited benefits, but you waive your right to seek any other payment from the employer.

If you have been hurt on the job and your employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance, then you are in an adversarial position to your employer. They know the law and have carefully thought through how to limit their obligations to you. Before you sign any documents or agree to any resolution of your injuries, you need to consult with an attorney.

Should I sign the release and waiver for the Tyson WISP program benefits?

In Texas, Tyson is non-subscriber to worker’s compensation insurance. Instead, they have created what they refer to as the WISP program. Usually, a nurse working for Tyson will ask you to sign the waiver and a HIPPA release allowing Tyson access to your entire medical history. Whether you should sign the WISP release and waiver will depend on your circumstance, but there are several things you should consider before signing.

Because Tyson does not have worker’s compensation insurance, they may be liable to you directly for your injuries. Tyson, like all employers in Texas, has a duty to provide a safe working environment for their employees. If they breach this duty, even a little, then they may be liable to pay 100% of your damages including lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, and medical expenses.

The WISP release and waiver is a contract which calls for you to give up those rights in exchange for access to medical care. Post injury waivers and releases are a complicated area of law and sometimes courts have ruled they are binding, while they may not hold up under other circumstances. Once you sign, however, there is a high likelihood you have waived your rights to any further compensation other than what is provided in the WISP program.

The bottom line is that you need to consult with an attorney before waiving your rights. You may be entitled to a much bigger recovery than what is allowed under the WISP program. The best course of action is to call Tate Accident Law and let us review the circumstances of your injury or death of a family member before you decide.

Can Brookshire Grocery Co. force me to mediate and arbitrate my work injury claim?

Brookshire Grocery Co. Is not a subscriber to worker’s compensation insurance as of the writing of this web page. This means that if you are injured on the job when working for Brookshire Grocery Co., then Brookshire may be liable to you for your injuries, your loss of income, loss of future earnings, medical expenses and pain and suffering or the death of a family member.

Brookshire has a duty under Texas law to provide a safe workplace for their employees, which is similar to the duty they owe to their customers to make sure their stores are safe. If they breach that duty, and you are injured as a result, then Brookshire may be liable to you for your damages.

Brookshire Grocery Co. has a workplace injury program which provides some benefits for medical bills and lost wages, but those benefits are more limited than worker’s compensation insurance. In addition, Brookshire Grocery Co. has their employees sign an arbitration agreement when they are hired. This agreement may require you to engage in mediation before proceeding with arbitration. Mediation is a settlement conference conducted by a lawyer who is not affiliated with either side.

Arbitration is a complicated process that takes the place of a jury trial. Arbitration can work to your advantage under certain circumstances.

If you have questions about the benefit plan, mediation, or arbitration stemming from a workplace injury while you were employed by Brookshire Grocery Co. call Tate Accident Law. The consultation is free, and your case will be reviewed by an attorney experienced in personal injury who understands the issues you are facing.

Does Champion Cooler in Denison, Texas subscribe to worker’s compensation if I have an on-the-job injury?

As of 2023, Champion Cooler in Denison, Texas has opted out of worker’s compensation insurance. Any company in Texas that does not subscribe to worker’s compensation insurance may be liable to their employees for on-the-job injuries.

Champion, like all employees in Texas, has a duty to provide a safe workplace. These duties are similar to those owed by a business to customers that walk into a store. These duties include warning about hidden dangers that are not obvious and taking steps to fix those dangers. An employer must also provide necessary equipment to do a job safely.

If any employer who does not have worker’s compensation insurance fails to fulfill those duties, and an employee is hurt on the job, then the employer is liable for the damages. These include medical bills, loss of earning, loss of future earnings, scaring, pain and suffering, and death.

Sherman McKinney Accident at Work

My employer has a benefit program, but it is not worker’s compensation insurance. What is it and how does it work?

If you are hurt on the job and you have access to medical care through a work benefit plan, but your company does not have worker’s compensation, then the benefit plan is most likely organized pursuant to a federal law known as ERISA. ERISA stands for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

This law allows employers to deduct money from their employee’s paychecks to fund certain programs. Included are health benefit plans. Usually, your employer will outsource the management of the plan to a contractor. That contractor will assign an adjuster to your claim and should review and make decisions about whether to pay a bill or loss of income.

Your rights under the ERISA plan are set forth in a document called the Summary Plan Description which your employer should give to you. Usually there are limits to the amount of money the plan will pay.

You need to know that if your employer has an ERISA plan instead of worker’s compensation, then your employer may be liable to you for an on-the-job injury. While the ERISA plan may cover your medical bills, you may also be entitled to recover for other damages stemming from the injury. These damages include medical bills, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of income and earning capacity in the future.

If you believe your company does not have worker’s compensation insurance, then you should consult with an attorney to find out if you have a claim against your employer for the loss. Certain on-the-job injuries can lead to substantial recoveries.