Recurrent work-related injuries and illnesses are a sad reality. In 2020, an estimated 2.7 million Americans lost time at work due to illness or injury. In the same year, nearly 210,000 Texan workers across all industries were hurt or made ill.
Texas differs from many other states because employers are not required to provide workers’ compensation. Instead, if a company in Texas purchases workers’ compensation insurance, the company’s liability is capped. Because of this, more than 70 percent of businesses now provide insurance for workplace injuries to all employees.
Compensation under this hybrid system may be conditional on your behavior. After suffering a work-related injury, avoiding these five common blunders is essential. Read more!
Companies that pay subscriber fees and companies that do not
The term “subscriber” describes businesses in Texas that carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance does not cover those who choose not to participate. Whether or not your company has workers’ compensation insurance affects your legal protections.
Consumer’ Companies
Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer will pay your medical bills and lost wages without questioning who was to blame. This means that if an accident occurs as a result of:
- Because of your carelessness
- Someone at work was careless, and it cost you
- Inattention from a coworker
- dangerously flawed safety gear
- Unfortunate but inevitable events
- No matter what happens, you’ll still get the same perks.
Benefits are capped at this point in the exchange. All of your medical bills, including therapy and prescriptions, will be paid for by us.
But, depending on whether or not your hourly income is greater than or less than $10, you will only receive 70% or 75% of your average weekly wage. If you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you will not be able to sue for emotional distress.
Companies that don’t pay subscription fees
If your company does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, you must file a lawsuit against the person or company responsible for your injury. What this means is that you should not count on getting paid. You should instead seek a settlement or jury award to compensate for your harm.
The employer’s negligence is essential to your case. A work-related injury may result from several different types of negligence, including but not limited to the following.
- Training
- controlling laborers
- Making available necessary protective gear
- Equipment upkeep and repair
- Workers need to be shielded from the public and other employees.
- Making or enforcing security regulations
Because of the increased difficulty of prevailing in court, there are fewer caps on damages once you do. You can get these things back from your employer if you sue them and win: