If you slip and fall at work, you might wonder about your legal rights, including whether you have the right to sue your employer. An experienced injury attorney from George Salinas Injury Lawyers can evaluate your situation and explain your legal options.
Common Causes of Workplace Falls
Workplace falls may occur for various reasons, such as:
- Wet floors
- Spills
- Recently polished floors
- Ice or snow that tracks into a building
- Inadequate lighting
- Poor housekeeping
- Cluttered walkways
- Misplaced tools
- Uneven walking surfaces
- Tripping hazards
- Obstructed walkways
- Missing fall protection equipment
Workers can trip and fall at the same level, or they could fall from heights.
These injuries can be severe and could include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and dislocated and fractured bones.
Texas Workers’ Compensation System
Like other states, Texas has a workers’ compensation system, which serves as a no-fault insurance system that allows injured workers to recover medical benefits and partial wage replacement benefits. This system serves as a replacement for the tort system that people used before workers’ compensation took its place, which involved workers suing their own employers for injuries they sustained on the job.
In exchange for not suing their employer, injured workers can avail themselves of the workers’ compensation system and don’t have to show their employer was negligent to receive workers’ comp benefits.
When You Can Sue Your Employer
Texas is the only state that allows employers to decide whether or not they want to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Employers who purchase this insurance are called subscribers. If your employer is a non-subscriber, they don’t have workers’ compensation insurance. You can sue non-subscriber employers whose negligence created a hazardous condition or failed to fix the condition.
Likewise, you may be able to sue your employer if they intentionally harmed you or acted with extreme recklessness.
There may be situations when someone other than your employer is responsible for your workplace fall. For example, a defective machine could leak, leading to your slip and fall. Or, you could be working on a construction site and trip over tools left by a subcontractor that cause your injury. In these situations, you may be able to file a third-party claim for your damages against the party responsible for your injuries.
What to Do After a Workplace Fall
You can protect your legal rights after a fall at work by following these steps:
- Seek medical attention immediately.
- Report the accident to your employer on the required workers’ compensation form.
- Document the accident by writing down details about how it happened and the names of any witnesses.
- File for workers’ compensation benefits to cover your immediate expenses.
- Speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer for additional support.
Contact Our Workplace Injury Lawyers for Help
If you fell at work, you may have various legal options for pursuing compensation against the at-fault party, whether that’s your employer or a third party. Our experienced San Antonio workplace injury lawyers can carefully review your case, identify all at-fault parties, and pursue compensation on your behalf. Contact George Salinas Injury Lawyers at 210-225-0909 to get started.