Texas has unique workplace injury laws—your employer might not even carry workers’ compensation insurance. Even if they do, those benefits may not fully cover your lost wages or long-term expenses. While workers’ comp typically pays for medical care, you still might be left with financial gaps. If you’ve been hurt at work, it’s important to explore all your legal options.
In some cases, you might be able to seek a Texas workplace injury settlement outside of the traditional workers’ comp system and get the compensation you need for recovery and long-term care.
Crosley Law does not handle workers’ comp cases, but we do help clients win personal injury lawsuits and settlements outside of workers’ comp. In this blog, we will cover the factors that can influence a workplace injury claim and how an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you receive a proper settlement.
How can workers’ comp affect workplace injury claims?
Workers’ compensation is an insurance-based system. If you are injured on the job, and your employer has a workers’ comp policy, you should receive benefits regardless of the cause of the injury or who was at fault (with some exceptions). However, workers’ comp will be your only remedy against your employer, and you cannot file a personal injury suit against them.
But there are exceptions to this rule.
Not every employer has workers’ comp insurance
Under Texas’ laws, most employers do not have to carry workers’ compensation insurance. And if they opt out of workers’ compensation, you can file a personal injury lawsuit just as you might against any other party. While this means that you can demand broader damages, like pain and suffering, you also have to prove that your employer was at fault for your injuries.
Claims against negligent third parties
There are some cases where an injured worker might be able to file a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury lawsuit.
Suppose you are an electrician working on a large construction site. You’re on a ladder, installing wiring on the second floor of the building. Meanwhile, a crane operator employed by a different subcontractor fails to secure a heavy load properly. The crane swings unexpectedly, knocking over your scaffolding and causing you to fall, resulting in serious back and leg injuries.
Your employer has workers’ compensation insurance, and its insurer covers your medical expenses and some of your wage loss. But you still have a lot of unpaid bills and are living with chronic pain. In this case, your personal injury lawyer might also file a lawsuit against the crane operator and their employer, demanding additional compensation for your financial losses, pain, and suffering.
If your employer lacks workers’ comp insurance or a third party injured you in the course of your employment, consult with an experienced workplace injury lawyer. They can help you understand the full scope of your legal options.
RELATED: “Do I have a personal injury case?” How our lawyers evaluate claims
What factors can drive workplace injury settlement results?
As with any personal injury case, many factors can influence the trajectory of a workplace injury claim, affect how much a settlement might be worth, and determine whether the other party will settle instead of going to trial. Some of these factors include:
The severity of your workplace injury
The impacts of injuries are estimated in terms of economic and non-economic damages.
- Economic damages are directly measurable items such as lost wages and current and future medical bills.
- Non-economic damages are not directly measurable. Examples include pain, suffering, cognitive impairment, loss of quality of life, and loss of companionship.
The more severe your injury, the more likely you are to have significant economic and non-economic damages. However, do not rely entirely on an insurance company to estimate your damages. Insurance adjusters and company representatives will often lowball injured workers, especially if they are unrepresented. An experienced attorney can help you calculate your case’s settlement value more accurately.
Available insurance coverage
When it comes to workplace injuries, there are three typical categories of employers in Texas.
- Employers who purchased insurance coverage
- Large employers who opt out of workers’ comp and self-insure (like many meatpacking plants). These companies may provide alternative coverage, such as medical payments policies, often capped at a certain dollar amount ($25,000 up to $100,000), but they are not truly “insured” for workplace injuries in the traditional sense.
- Small businesses (mom-and-pop operations) that forgo workers’ comp to cut costs.
However, the misconception that a company’s liability is limited to its insurance policy is common, even among lawyers.
Suppose you worked at a large distribution center. Your employer, a multinational corporation, is self-insured but has a medical payments policy with a $100,000 limit. However, on closer examination, your lawyer discovers that there really isn’t a cap on your employer’s liability. What had been a $20,000.00 settlement offer might become a million-dollar recovery.
Evidence and expert testimony
To successfully pursue a workplace injury claim, you have to prove that your employer or a third party was at fault. Unfortunately, not every case is clear cut. There may be “gray areas” or certain facts that can be twisted in the other party’s favor.
It is important to gather as much evidence as possible to support your workplace injury case. This might involve written records, medical reports, camera footage, and more. Additionally, expert testimony can help place evidence into perspective, demonstrating how negligence or policy violations caused your injuries, and documenting your economic and non-economic losses.
Leverage for swaying a jury
Juries are asked to be as objective as possible in a trial, but the truth is that we are all human. Certain emotional factors can influence a jury’s decision and how much they may award.
Showing how severe injuries are and how they affect one’s quality of life can have a significant effect on swaying a jury, as can highlighting the other party’s disregard or even poor attitudes toward employee treatment and safety.
In many cases, the other party will choose to settle rather than go to trial when enough factors are piled up in a client’s favor. If the other party doesn’t believe they would have much of a chance in front of a jury, they might want to avoid a hit to their reputation or pay the costs of a prolonged legal battle.
Crosley Law workplace injury case studies
Our legal team has successfully settled many cases for injured workers in Texas. Here are a few examples:
$6 million settlement. Our client, a consultant at an oil and gas company, was visiting a job site when his feet and lower legs were crushed by an unexpectedly moving crane. He ultimately lost his left leg, had mounting medical bills, and was no longer able to provide for his family. We proved an environment of hazy standards and safety policy violations, earning a settlement that would fund the long-term needs of our client and his family. Read more.
$3 million settlement. We represented the family of a man whose self-owned company had been called to pick up and transport a pair of street sweepers. An inexperienced driver from the other party recklessly accelerated onto the trailer while the man was guiding the sweepers, pinning him between the machines and ultimately killing him. We worked for six years to prove our case, cutting through opposing arguments to finally receive the settlement the man’s wife and family deserved. Read more.
Undisclosed settlement. Our client was injured at a retail fulfillment warehouse when a co-worker collided with her while pushing a heavy cart. The resulting hip injury and herniated discs caused her constant pain, mobility loss, and the need for continuous surgical treatment. Our client’s company initially offered a settlement in the low five figures, but we successfully fought for more than 60 times that original offer. Read more.
Call Crosley for your workplace injury case
You don’t have to take what your employer or a third party’s insurance company offers you. We can help prove your case and fight for the compensation you and your family need.
We always offer a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case and how we can help. To set yours up today, call (210) 529-3000 or fill out our easy contact form and someone from our legal team will assist you.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
