Post on 13-Jul-2015
CAN I SUE THE PERSON WHO CAUSED
INJURY OR DEATH? “Whether you can file a lawsuit or not depends upon the circumstances of the injury as well as whether the employer had workers’ compensation coverage.”
Can I Sue The Person Who Caused Injury or Death? www.workerscomp.com 2
After a workplace injury in Texas, the injured employee or survivors of a
worker killed on the job need to
understand their options. One big
question you likely have is whether
you can file a lawsuit against the
person responsible. Unfortunately,
this can be a difficult question to
answer.
Usually, if some person or company
is negligent or fails to live up to a legal obligation, you can file a personal
injury or wrongful death lawsuit. This would allow you to recover
compensation for medical costs, loss of income, pain and suffering and
emotional distress. If the negligence or wrongdoing leads to a death, survivors
could file a wrongful death claim and recover compensation for funeral
expenses, loss of the deceased’s wages, and loss of companionship. However,
when the injury happens at work, you may not necessarily be able to sue.
Whether you can file a lawsuit or not depends upon the circumstances of the
injury as well as whether the employer had workers’ compensation coverage.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND YOUR RIGHT TO SUE YOUR
EMPLOYER
If an employer is responsible for causing the injury or death of a worker, the
victim or his family members may not be allowed to sue. This is because there
is a workers’ compensation system in place. If employers buy optional
Can I Sue The Person Who Caused Injury or Death? www.workerscomp.com 3
workers’ compensation insurance for their employees, then the employees are
not allowed to file a civil lawsuit against the employer for any negligent acts
or omissions that led to the injury, unless there was gross negligence that
resulted in the employee’s death. Instead, workers’ compensation benefits
provide coverage for medical treatment and disability or death benefits, but
those who have been hurt aren’t allowed to sue for additional compensation
for things like pain and suffering and lost companionship.
Employers have the option to buy workers’ compensation or not, which is a
rule that applies only in Texas (in other states, employers have to purchase
this coverage). The benefit for workers is that they can make a workers’
compensation claim even if their employer wasn’t negligent and didn’t
actually do anything to cause the injury. This means a worker could make a
workers’ compensation claim after any workplace injury or illness, no matter
who was at fault. The downside is that a worker cannot sue his employer if his
employer has workers’ compensation insurance.
Your human resources department or boss should be able to tell you if you are
covered by workers’ comp. An experienced attorney at Abbott Clay & Reed
L.L.P can also assist you in determining if workers’ comp applies to prevent
Can I Sue The Person Who Caused Injury or Death? www.workerscomp.com 4
you from suing. Even if you are covered, there are also limited exceptions that
would allow you to sue your employer such as if your injury or the death
happened because of intentional acts.
SUING THIRD PARTIES AFTER WORK INJURIES
Regardless of whether your employer has workers’ compensation coverage or
not, you are allowed to sue a non-employer who was responsible for causing
your work injury. Any third party who you do not directly work for can
potentially be sued if you can prove that the individual or company was
responsible for harming you.
There are many different non-employers who could be sued after a workplace
accident leads to injury or fatalities. For example, it is possible to sue:
Can I Sue The Person Who Caused Injury or Death? www.workerscomp.com 5
• Contractors, engineers, architects or project managers if you work on a
construction site and are not employed by these individuals.
• Drivers who cause you to be injured in a motor vehicle accident while you
are on-the-job.
• Manufacturers of defective machinery or equipment that malfunctions and
harms you.
You can generally file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against any
of these third parties in addition to filing a workers’ compensation claim. In
other words, you may have multiple different ways to obtain compensation
and you should talk to a lawyer to pursue all of your options so you can find
the best approach to take to maximizing damages.
When you file a lawsuit against a
third party non-employer, you will
need to prove that the defendant
was negligent, failed to live up to a
legal duty or did something wrong.
You will also need to show that the
defendant’s actions were the direct
cause of injury or the untimely
death of your loved one. An
experienced attorney at Abbott Clay
& Reed L.L.P. will assist you in putting together the evidence that you need to
make a strong case.
Can I Sue The Person Who Caused Injury or Death? www.workerscomp.com 6
Thousands of workers are injured or killed each year, and you know that if
this happens to you, it can change the course of your life forever. Get the help
you need to get full and fair compensation after a workplace accident causes
you harm.
Can I Sue The Person Who Caused Injury or Death? www.workerscomp.com 7
About Abbott & Clay, LLP
Abbott, Clay & Reed, LLP, is a Plaintiff Personal Injury Law Firm in Houston, Texas with 7 attorneys committed to protecting the rights of the injured.
They do not represent companies or insurance carriers. The primary focus is on Workers’ Compensation claims and maritime injuries. They represent injured works before every field office in the state of Texas and have handled more Workers’ Compensation claims than any other plaintiff Firm in the state.
The partners of the Firm, Bill Abbott, Fyodor Clay, Bianca Reed, and Leslie Levingston, have spent over 45 years combined fighting for the rights of injured workers. The remaining lawyers of the Firm have all been actively fighting for injured workers for the Firm for at least 2 years. Abbott, Clay & Reed, LLP, is a continuation of the Ogletree, Abbott, Clay & Reed Law Firm, formerly Ogletree Abbott, LLP, and Bill Ogletree P.C. Bill Ogletree, who spent his entire career fighting for the rights of workers, retired in 2012. He began assisting workers before the Division of Workers’ Comp, or the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission, were even created. He was joined by Bill Abbott in 1999, and the two attorneys teamed up to create a Firm that handles the largest volume of Workers Compensation claims for injured workers in the state.
Abbott, Clay & Reed L.L.P. - 12600 N Featherwood Drive Suite 200, Houston, TX 77034
Houston: 713-223-1234 • Dallas: 214-347-4395 • Austin: 512-487-7426 • San Antonio: 210-807-4302 • Toll Free: 888-434-COMP