On The Job

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Workplace Injuries
Many people are injured while working within the course and scope of their employment. If your employer is a worker's compensation subscriber, your only recourse may be to file a workers' compensation claim. However, if the accident and injury was caused by a third-party or a dangerous product, you may have a claim against the third-party or the manufacturer of the dangerous product for your injuries and damages. Further, if your employer is not a worker's compensation subscriber, you may have a claim against your employer for your employer's failure to provide a reasonably safe place to work or for negligence committed by your employer or by an employee. You should verify with your employer or with the Texas Workers' Compensation Comission whether any benefits that you may be receiving or that you may be entitled to are worker's compensation benefits and not some other type of insurance, such as a private benefits plan. There is a difference.

The Standards:
The Texas Labor Code provides that each employer shall:

1. Provide and maintain employment and a place of employment that is reasonably safe and healthful for employees;
2. Install, maintain, and use methods, processes, devices, and safeguards, including methods of sanitation and hygiene, that are reasonably necessary to protect the life, health, and safety of the employer's employees; and
3. Take all other actions reasonably necessary to make the employment and place of employment safe.

Texas case law provides the following duties:

1. The duty to use ordinary care in providing a reasonably safe workplace.
2. The duty to use ordinary care in providing rules and regulations for an employee's safety when the business is complex or hazardous, or when the dangers incident to the work are not obvious or of common knowledge.
3. The duty to use ordinary care in warning employees of the hazards of employment.
4. The duty to use ordinary care in furnishing reasonably safe machinery and instrumentalities.
5. The duty to use ordinary care in supervising an employee's activities.
6. The duty to use ordinary care in providing employees adequate help in the performance of work.
7. The duty to use reasonable care to prevent an employee from causing an unreasonable risk of harm to others when an employee suffers an incapacity and when the employer exercises control over the employee.

Violation of any of these standards may constitute negligence and allow a recovery against an employer. Further, violations of OSHA and other industry standards may constitute negligence.

Link- Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA): http://www.osha. gov/
Link- Texas Workers Compensation Commission: http://www.twcc.state.tx.us

If a loved one has been a victim of a workplace injury, call Welmaker Law Firm, P.C. now at (210) 828-6033 or CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A SIMPLE CASE FORM. The initial consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to accept your case, we will work on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds. Don’t delay! You may have a valid claim and be entitled to compensation for your injuries, but a lawsuit must be filed before the statute of limitations expires.