How to Use the Texas Workers’ Compensation Database to Find Out if Your Employer Has Workers’ Comp Coverage
If you're hurt on the job in Texas, one of the first things you need to do is figure out if your employer has workers' comp coverage. The reason for this is because Texas does not force companies to participate in the workers' compensation program. What that means, practically speaking, is that your employer could...
Strong Winds: Acts of God and “Acts of God”
Hurricane Harvey may have dissipated, his awful work complete, but no sooner did the vicious storm subside than his girlfriend Irma turned up to continue in his absence. My heart goes out to those suffering through the intense rains and flooding, the gale-force winds, and the cumulative threat to life and property. Sadly, the Gulf...
How Might New Safety Equipment Affect Texas Work-Injury Law?
Industries with a lot of manual labor have heavily invested in developing safety equipment for their employees. Goggles and hard hats may not look like much, but they're carefully designed and rigorously tested to protect as many eyes and noggins as possible. Harnesses, gloves, reflectors, and other pieces of safety gear follow the same idea:...
Law Professors Misunderstand Texas Work Injury Law
Way to go Austin American Statesmen, it appears the editorial has been removed from their website. An editorial appeared in the Austin American-Statesman that was troubling, to say the least. Law professors Thomas McGarity and Sid Shapiro opined on the need for Texas to strengthen its workers' compensation laws and among other things end the...
The Routine Job Defense and Foreseeability: Analysis
Worker's Compensation is, on the surface, a helpful institution. It's guaranteed recompense if you're hurt in the line of duty, from dish washing to long-haul trucking. And why not? It's not unreasonable to think that an employer should try to keep employees from getting injured on the job. They are, in fact, obligated by law...
Attention Truckers: You’re Not Always On The Clock When You’re In the Sleeper Berth
When an trucker is injured while in the sleeper berth of his rig, he may have an injury lawsuit on his hands, not a workers' comp claim. In most instances, when an employee is injured on the job, their losses (wages, medical bills, etc.) are covered by a worker's compensation plan, meaning they file a...
Loading Dock Accidents Are Entirely Preventable
It's often said that complacency causes injuries. People let their guard down, or they stop following rules they know they should follow and someone gets hurt. But perhaps the worst example of this is when people talk about highly preventable accidents as if they're some phenomenon that's destined to occur, and there's no way around...
A Crash Course in Texas Work Injury Law
Texas' work injury laws are more complex than that of any other state. Why? Because there are actually three different sets of rules that can potentially apply to an injured worker (or to the family of a deceased worker) depending upon the specifics of the accident in question. As you can imagine, it can get...
How Employers Often Get Away with Negligence
The vast majority of people, though they might take it for granted sometimes, understand that they have the right to sue those who cause harm to them or their families. One would think that this right would extend to anyone under any circumstances. Unfortunately that's not always true. In most cases where someone is injured...