If you are injured at work, it is important to get medical care, notify your employer, collect evidence, and speak with an experienced Houston work injury lawyer who can help you understand the claim process and your rights. These steps can strongly affect your work injury claim and may help you recover compensation for your injuries and other losses.
Get Medical Attention Right Away
Because these injuries can be serious, it is important to get medical care right away. Doctors can check your injuries and provide treatment.
Quick medical attention protects your health. Workplace accidents like falls, falling objects, vehicle crashes, and equipment failures can get worse without treatment. Medical records also help document your injuries for a work injury claim or lawsuit.
Tell Your Employer About Your Injuries
After a work accident, you must report the injury to your employer within 30 days, and preferably sooner. When you report it, give clear details. Include the date and time, how the accident happened, who or what was involved, how you were hurt, what your medical records show, and the names of any witnesses.
This is a required step, and it also helps show that your injury happened at work.
Reporting your injury is a required step that helps prove it happened at work.
Collect Evidence for Your Case
Evidence is critical for successfully resolving a work injury claim. It shows what you have suffered and how your employer may have been negligent in their duty to keep the workplace safe. Common forms of evidence you should collect after a work accident include:
- Photos or videos of the scene of the accident
- Medical records detailing your injuries
- Financial documents showing your income and lost wages
- A copy of the report you submitted to your employer
- Communication records
- Witness information
- Surveillance footage
These and other types of evidence can show what happened and help strengthen your case so you can get a better outcome.
Hire a Lawyer and Understand Your Rights After a Work Injury
Work injury lawsuits can be complicated. When you are dealing with medical bills and lost income, you need an experienced lawyer to give clear guidance, explain your options, and help protect your case. Lawyers help you understand your rights and what to expect.
Employers may also push back on paying for your injuries, so a lawyer can speak for you and help you avoid getting less than you should for your losses. It can also be confusing to understand your legal rights while you are recovering. A lawyer can guide you through each step and explain your rights in simple terms.
For example, if you work for a private employer, you may have the right to file a lawsuit and seek compensation for your losses.
File a Lawsuit Against the At-Fault Party
Once you have gathered evidence and hired a work injury lawyer, prepare to file your lawsuit against the at-fault party. This could be your employer or a third party, such as a motorist or manufacturer.
Your lawyer can help you take the evidence you have gathered and build a strong case. Our firm works with you to identify strategies and fill out the appropriate paperwork for your case.
During your lawsuit, you must show that the other at-fault party was negligent. For example, if your employer failed to train workers or follow OSHA rules, or a manufacturer made a defective part, you must show how their actions caused your injuries.
To do this, you must prove what duty of care they owed you and how they failed to meet that duty. You must also show that this failure caused the accident and your injuries, making them responsible for your damages.
Deadlines to Be Aware of When Filing a Work Injury Claim
It is important to pay attention to deadlines for work injury lawsuits. Missing a deadline could cause problems or cost you your work injury compensation.
In addition to reporting your injury to your employer within 30 days of the injury or discovery, you must also file your claim before Texas’s two-year statute of limitations ends. Also, if your employer has a work injury policy, review it and follow any extra deadlines listed there.
Compensation You Can Recover for Losses from a Work Injury
Work injuries often incur significant expenses, especially for medical treatment. When combined with your other losses, recovering compensation is very important.
Work injury lawsuits against private employers allow you to recover many types of losses from an accident at work. Negligent employers may be responsible for the harm caused by their actions. In these cases, you can recover both financial losses and damages for your suffering.
Some specific losses you could recover through a work injury settlement include:
- Expenses for medical treatments, surgeries, and future care costs
- Accommodations, medical equipment, and rehabilitation services
- Wages lost from being unable to work, either temporarily or permanently
- Funeral and burial expenses for fatal accidents
- Pain and suffering from the trauma you experienced
- Emotional distress
- Anxiety, depression, and PTSD
- Reduction in quality of life
Compensation can offset these losses and ensure you can pay for your medical care and access other resources to aid your recovery. While it cannot erase what happened, it can ease your path forward as you recover from your injuries or navigate a new way of life. To help you obtain the maximum amount of compensation in your case, entrust negotiations to the law firm representing you.
Consult Dax F. Garza, P.C. After a Work Accident
Dax F. Garza, P.C. can discuss your options and legal rights with you after a work accident so you can determine how to proceed. Our firm has handled many of these cases and is adept at navigating various scenarios and levels of complexity. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with our team and learn more about your right to action.
