Work Injury Lawyer in Midland

When employers have Texas Workers Compensation Insurance, injured employees may file a claim to seek payment for such items as medical expenses, lost wages, and impairment. Frequently, a lawyer is not needed for this kind of claim because there are limits on what can be recovered. However, if you have been injured on the job by a third party (someone who does not work for your employer), by a defective product or piece of equipment, or your employer does not carry or subscribe to Texas Workers Compensation Insurance, you may have a case in which you might receive more compensation for any injury that you can prove is due to or relates to liability or a wrong on the part of the employer or a third party. Also, if you were injured while driving a company vehicle or your own vehicle during work hours or to do work required of you, you could also have a claim, depending on who was at fault in a work-related motor vehicle accident. These types of claims typically require a lawyer. Please call us at (432) 423-2374 or click here for a free case review.

High-risk work zones in Midland – like oil fields, construction sites, and oil rigs – have high rates of workplace accidents. Accidents can happen in any workplace, however, regardless of how “safe” it might seem.

Workers who are injured on the job are entitled to state-regulated workers’ compensation (WC) benefits if the employer has this coverage. Texas is one of the few states, however, that does not require employers to carry WC insurance. In that scenario, some employees are forced to seek alternative means of obtaining compensation for their injuries.

If an employer has opted out of the WC insurance system, an employee may be able to take the employer to court in a lawsuit. An employee can also sue a third party that may have caused or contributed to the damages suffered.

If you suffered severe injuries or your loved one was harmed or killed in a wrongful death situation on the job in the greater Midland-Odessa area, you will benefit from retaining an experienced attorney who can conduct an independent investigation to determine all parties that could be liable in your case.

Contact the Midland lawyers of Tate Law Offices, P.C., today for help. We will provide a thorough evaluation of your case and discuss your options for recovering for your losses.

Call us or contact us online now to schedule a free consultation. We promise each client that we will dedicate all of our skill, experience, and resources toward seeking a maximum financial recovery.

Whether related or unrelated to the oil and gas sector, workplace accidents can stem from any various possible causes. Some causes are not always easy to determine, which only increases the need for a worker to seek the help of a knowledgeable lawyer.

In general, some of the most common causes of accidents in Midland workplaces include the following:

If you’ve been hurt in an accident at work, don’t let your employer or their insurance company deny you the benefits you’re owed. If your employer doesn’t carry workers’ compensation insurance, you may be entitled to recover under a personal injury claim.

In this case you will want to seek the assistance of a qualified Midland-Odessa lawyer who can help you navigate this process effectively to maximize your recovery for the injuries you’ve suffered.

An injury on the job could require immediate hospitalization and ongoing treatment. Even after release from a hospital, victims may still require follow-up treatment and may also need additional rehabilitation.

Even if you didn’t require emergency medical care, you might discover that it is difficult or impossible to return to work and perform the duties expected of you because of your injuries. Because of these physical limitations, some workers may not be able to go back to their former jobs, and some injuries are so disabling that others cannot work in any capacity ever again.

Workplace injuries could include, but are not limited to:

In a personal injury claim for a workplace injury when work comp is not available, a worker has a maximum of two years to file a lawsuit in a Texas court. Given the scope of the evidence-gathering that is usually required, waiting until the last minute to get a lawyer is not a good idea.

A family could file wrongful death lawsuit if a worker dies because of a work-related injury. The statute of limitations on a wrongful death lawsuit is also two years, but the limitations period begins on the date of a person’s death rather than the date of the accident.

When an employee suffers injuries on the job that will keep them out of work or limit their functionality, WC insurance is the only remedy. In other words, when an employer covers employees with WC insurance, it is the only option for collection of remedy from the employer.

An injured worker is permitted to file a lawsuit against their employer in such cases to recover money damages. However, unlike workers’ comp claims, an injured worker must prove that the employer did something wrong.

In Some cases and injured worker can file a lawsuit against other negligent, non-employer third parties involved in their accidents, such as subcontractors at the worksite or an equipment manufacturer of malfunctioning or defective equipment.

As the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) notes, the four kinds of WC benefits include:

• Income benefits
• Medical benefits
• Burial benefits
• Death benefits

Income benefits are divided into temporary income benefits (TIBs), impairment income benefits (IIBs), supplemental income benefits (SIBs), and lifetime income benefits (LIBs).

TIBs are 70 percent of the difference between a employee’s average weekly wage (the average amount of money an employer paid each week in the 13 weeks before an injury or illness) and the wages they earn after their work-related injury. IIBs are 70 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage.

SIBs are 80 percent of the difference between 80 percent of a employee’s average weekly wage and weekly wages after a work-related injury. LIBs are 75 percent of an injured employee’s average weekly wage (AWW) with a 3 percent increase each year.

The maximum amount of weekly benefits an employee can get cannot exceed the state average weekly wage (SAWW), such that TIBs cannot be more than 100 percent of SAWW and LIBs cannot be more than 100 percent of SAWW for the first year an injured employee gets LIBs.

IIBs and SIBs cannot exceed 70 percent of SAWW. Benefits continue until a worker reaches a state of maximum medical improvement (MMI), which is defined as a work-related injury or illness improving as much as it is expected to improve or 104 weeks from the date an employee becomes eligible for TIBs.

As you can see, these benefits can be quite complex. However, most of the time, you are better off handling your case, in order to maximize your benefits, if your employer is a WC insurance subscriber because their participation limits what you can collect for your injuries, compared to a situation where an employer is not a subscriber.

Did you sustain severe injuries or was your loved one harmed or killed on the job in Midland or elsewhere in the Ector County or Permian Basin area? Contact Tate Law Offices, P.C., before you speak to insurance company representatives or accept any financial settlement offers. Our firm’s mission is to get its Midland-area clients top-dollar settlements for their work injury cases, and we will fight to ensure that you don’t accept anything less than what you are rightfully owed. And, when you are better off handling your case on your own, we will give you the straight facts so that you can get a reasonable settlement. We only represent clients when we feel that we can add significant value to their claims. And, with workplace cases, the opportunities for compensation are often constrained due to Texas law and an employers participation in WC insurance as a subscriber.

Call us or contact us online now to schedule a free consultation.