Can I Sue the Person Who Caused Injury or Death?

CAN I SUE THE PERSON WHO CAUSED

INJURY OR DEATH? “Whether you can file a lawsuit or not depends upon the circumstances of the injury as well as whether the employer had workers’ compensation coverage.”

http://www.workerscomp.com

Can I Sue The Person Who Caused Injury or Death? www.workerscomp.com 2

After a workplace injury in Texas, the injured employee or survivors of a

worker killed on the job need to

understand their options. One big

question you likely have is whether

you can file a lawsuit against the

person responsible. Unfortunately,

this can be a difficult question to

answer.

Usually, if some person or company

is negligent or fails to live up to a legal obligation, you can file a personal

injury or wrongful death lawsuit. This would allow you to recover

compensation for medical costs, loss of income, pain and suffering and

emotional distress. If the negligence or wrongdoing leads to a death, survivors

could file a wrongful death claim and recover compensation for funeral

expenses, loss of the deceased’s wages, and loss of companionship. However,

when the injury happens at work, you may not necessarily be able to sue.

Whether you can file a lawsuit or not depends upon the circumstances of the

injury as well as whether the employer had workers’ compensation coverage.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND YOUR RIGHT TO SUE YOUR

EMPLOYER

If an employer is responsible for causing the injury or death of a worker, the

victim or his family members may not be allowed to sue. This is because there

is a workers’ compensation system in place. If employers buy optional

http://www.workerscomp.com/


workers’ compensation insurance for their employees, then the employees are

not allowed to file a civil lawsuit against the employer for any negligent acts

or omissions that led to the injury, unless there was gross negligence that

resulted in the employee’s death. Instead, workers’ compensation benefits

provide coverage for medical treatment and disability or death benefits, but

those who have been hurt aren’t allowed to sue for additional compensation

for things like pain and suffering and lost companionship.

Employers have the option to buy workers’ compensation or not, which is a

rule that applies only in Texas (in other states, employers have to purchase

this coverage). The benefit for workers is that they can make a workers’

compensation claim even if their employer wasn’t negligent and didn’t

actually do anything to cause the injury. This means a worker could make a

workers’ compensation claim after any workplace injury or illness, no matter

who was at fault. The downside is that a worker cannot sue his employer if his

employer has workers’ compensation insurance.

Your human resources department or boss should be able to tell you if you are

covered by workers’ comp. An experienced attorney at Abbott Clay & Reed

L.L.P can also assist you in determining if workers’ comp applies to prevent



you from suing. Even if you are covered, there are also limited exceptions that

would allow you to sue your employer such as if your injury or the death

happened because of intentional acts.

SUING THIRD PARTIES AFTER WORK INJURIES

Regardless of whether your employer has workers’ compensation coverage or

not, you are allowed to sue a non-employer who was responsible for causing

your work injury. Any third party who you do not directly work for can

potentially be sued if you can prove that the individual or company was

responsible for harming you.

There are many different non-employers who could be sued after a workplace

accident leads to injury or fatalities. For example, it is possible to sue:



• Contractors, engineers, architects or project managers if you work on a

construction site and are not employed by these individuals.

• Drivers who cause you to be injured in a motor vehicle accident while you

are on-the-job.

• Manufacturers of defective machinery or equipment that malfunctions and

harms you.

You can generally file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against any

of these third parties in addition to filing a workers’ compensation claim. In

other words, you may have multiple different ways to obtain compensation

and you should talk to a lawyer to pursue all of your options so you can find

the best approach to take to maximizing damages.

When you file a lawsuit against a

third party non-employer, you will

need to prove that the defendant

was negligent, failed to live up to a

legal duty or did something wrong.

You will also need to show that the

defendant’s actions were the direct

cause of injury or the untimely

death of your loved one. An

experienced attorney at Abbott Clay

& Reed L.L.P. will assist you in putting together the evidence that you need to

make a strong case.



Thousands of workers are injured or killed each year, and you know that if

this happens to you, it can change the course of your life forever. Get the help

you need to get full and fair compensation after a workplace accident causes

you harm.



About Abbott & Clay, LLP

Abbott, Clay & Reed, LLP, is a Plaintiff Personal Injury Law Firm in Houston, Texas with 7 attorneys committed to protecting the rights of the injured.

They do not represent companies or insurance carriers. The primary focus is on Workers’ Compensation claims and maritime injuries. They represent injured works before every field office in the state of Texas and have handled more Workers’ Compensation claims than any other plaintiff Firm in the state.

The partners of the Firm, Bill Abbott, Fyodor Clay, Bianca Reed, and Leslie Levingston, have spent over 45 years combined fighting for the rights of injured workers. The remaining lawyers of the Firm have all been actively fighting for injured workers for the Firm for at least 2 years. Abbott, Clay & Reed, LLP, is a continuation of the Ogletree, Abbott, Clay & Reed Law Firm, formerly Ogletree Abbott, LLP, and Bill Ogletree P.C. Bill Ogletree, who spent his entire career fighting for the rights of workers, retired in 2012. He began assisting workers before the Division of Workers’ Comp, or the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission, were even created. He was joined by Bill Abbott in 1999, and the two attorneys teamed up to create a Firm that handles the largest volume of Workers Compensation claims for injured workers in the state.

Abbott, Clay & Reed L.L.P. - 12600 N Featherwood Drive Suite 200, Houston, TX 77034

Houston: 713-223-1234 • Dallas: 214-347-4395 • Austin: 512-487-7426 • San Antonio: 210-807-4302 • Toll Free: 888-434-COMP


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