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It’s possible for anyone to sustain an injury while working. While some industries are inherently more dangerous than others, any injury in the workplace could be a life-changing experience for the victim, causing uncertainty for their future. Depending on how the injury happened, they could have more than one option for recovering compensation, and an experienced personal injury lawyer can help them understand the routes available to them.
Experienced Legal Counsel for Work Injury Claims in Katy, TX
Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner has years of professional experience helping injured clients recover their losses in all types of civil claims. Since 1951, our firm has provided client-focused legal counsel in a wide range of personal injury claims, work injury claims, and complex civil suits. In all the cases that we accept, our goal is maximum recovery for our client.
Navigating the legal aftermath of any workplace injury in Katy can be confusing and stressful without the right work injury attorney representing you. Texas law does not require all employers to have workers’ compensation insurance, which is an important economic safety net for injured workers in all industries. If they do have this insurance, securing the benefits you legally deserve can still be challenging; and you may also have alternative channels of recovery available to you that you will not be able to fully explore alone.
Hiring the right personal injury lawyer can have a tremendous positive influence on your recovery efforts. You will be better prepared to face any unexpected legal challenges you encounter as you seek compensation for the losses you suffered, and you will be more likely to maximize any compensation you manage to secure through workers’ compensation insurance, a personal injury suit, or both.
Our team will work quickly to investigate the details of your work injury, helping you prove how it happened and determining whether any specific party is directly responsible for causing it. We can then assist you in determining the extent of damages you may be able to recover and create an individualized legal strategy that aims to secure the compensation you deserve as swiftly as possible.
Common Types of Work Injuries in Katy
Anyone can suffer an injury in the workplace, even people who work in seemingly safe work environments, like office buildings. However, some industries are inherently more dangerous than others. Also, an employer’s insurance coverage status will be an important factor to consider when you are looking for compensation for the damages you sustained.
Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner has years of experience successfully resolving client cases pertaining to workplace injuries. The following are just a few of the different types of workplace accident cases we have resolved for clients in Katy and the surrounding communities of Texas.
Construction Accidents
Construction is arguably the most dangerous industry in which anyone can work when considering the number of workplace accidents and fatalities reported each year. Construction accidents can happen because of slip-and-fall incidents, injuries from heavy equipment, dropped objects, electrocutions, and failure to follow workplace safety rules.
Maritime Accidents
Anyone working at sea faces innumerable hazards when they perform their job duties, and a special set of laws applies to accidents suffered during maritime work. Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner has extensive professional experience handling maritime accident cases, including those that fall within the purview of the Jones Act or the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA).
Oil and Gas Industry Accidents
The oil and gas industry is crucial to the Texas economy and dangerous for many reasons. Workplace injury claims in this industry may pertain to explosions, toxic exposure, or acute traumatic injuries from heavy equipment.
Work Vehicle Accidents
Anyone working in the transportation industry, as well as those who are required to drive as part of their work duties, faces the same risks on the road as they would if they were driving their personal vehicle. However, resolving the legal aftermath of a work vehicle or truck accident can be more challenging. Our team can help prove who was responsible for an accident, file a workers’ compensation claim if possible, pursue an auto insurance claim against an at-fault driver, and build a personal injury suit if necessary to ensure the fullest possible recovery for our client.
Workplace Workers’ Compensation Claims in Katy
Texas law does not require every employer to have workers’ compensation insurance. However, if your employer does have this insurance and you suffer any injury or develop any medical condition as a direct result of performing your job duties, it can form the basis of a workers’ compensation claim.
Filing a workers’ compensation claim is similar to filing most other types of insurance claims, but your employer plays an important role in this process. Unfortunately, not all employers uphold their legal obligations to their injured workers in good faith, and it is possible for any injured worker to encounter many unexpected challenges in the workers’ compensation claim filing process.
Benefits Available Through Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance serves two important purposes for the Texas workforce. First, a covered employer cannot be sued for their employee’s workplace injury. Second, this insurance provides certain benefits to injured employees, helping them recover. If you succeed with a workers’ compensation claim in Katy, you can potentially recover two forms of compensation:
- Medical expense coverage. The insurance company will pay for all medical care the injured employee needs to reach maximum medical improvement from the injury.
- Disability benefits. If the injury prevents the claimant from working while they recover, they can receive disability benefits each week until they are able to return to work at their previous earning capacity. The exact amount received each week will depend on the claimant’s average weekly earnings and the severity of their injury.
It is possible for many types of disputes to arise in a workers’ compensation claim. The insurance company and/or employer may argue that the injury did not directly result from the claimant’s work duties or that they intentionally caused the injury themselves.
No matter how straightforward your workers’ compensation claim appears to be, you will have the greatest chance of successfully securing appropriate benefits if you hire a personal injury lawyer to assist you with the filing process. They can resolve any disputes raised against your claim and help you determine whether you have any additional avenues of legal recourse available to you.
Filing a Personal Injury Suit for a Workplace Injury in Katy
A personal injury claim is a civil suit that aims to secure compensation for damages. When one party injures another party through an act of negligence or illegal misconduct, they are liable for the resulting damages. When it comes to workplace injuries, however, filing a personal injury suit may not be as straightforward as one might hope.
When an employer bears fault for a workplace accident due to failure to ensure workplace safety, failure to address known safety hazards, failure to provide necessary safety equipment, or any other type of negligence, they can be held liable for resulting injuries to employees if the employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance.
However, workers’ compensation insurance will only shield employers from civil liability under certain conditions. In rare cases, it is possible for an injured worker to have the ability to start a workers’ compensation claim through their employer and still have grounds for a civil suit, potentially enabling them to recover compensation for damages that their employer’s insurance will not cover.
If an employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance, an injured employee can pursue a personal injury suit against them in response to an injury suffered while they were working. Success with this sort of personal injury claim will require proving that the employer is directly or intentionally responsible for causing the injury, and the claimant will need to prove the full extent of the resulting damages they suffered.
It is also possible for an injured worker to have grounds for a third-party personal injury claim if anyone outside of their work caused or contributed to their injury. This could be a contractor, subcontractor, vendor employee, or even a client or customer. The liable third party may also be entirely unrelated to the injured victim’s work, and such is often the case in work vehicle accidents.
If you intend to start a personal injury suit in response to the workplace injury you suffered in Katy, you will need to prove how the injury happened and identify the party responsible for causing it. Once you establish fault, you can claim compensation for the economic and non-economic damages you suffered.
Claiming Compensation for Economic Damages in Your Personal Injury Suit
Financial damages suffered due to a personal injury case can include any financial losses directly incurred because of the liable party’s actions. In most personal injury cases, plaintiffs’ economic damages include damages, medical expenses, and lost income.
It is important for the injured plaintiff to remember that they can not only claim compensation for immediate economic losses resulting from the injury but also for the projected future damages they are likely to face because of the personal injury. For example, if you are no longer able to work due to the severity of your injury, the defendant can be held liable for the income you can no longer earn. Your personal injury attorney can calculate such projected future losses and then add them to the claim.
Pain and Suffering Compensation in a Personal Injury Case
Texas personal injury law allows an injured plaintiff to seek financial compensation for the intangible losses they suffered because of a defendant’s negligence or illegal misconduct. Physical pain, emotional distress, and psychological suffering are all valid damages one might claim in a personal injury case.
However, it can be difficult for the average person to determine a suitable amount of pain and suffering compensation to seek from the defendant who injured them. There is no limit on pain and suffering compensation in most Texas personal injury cases, so the more serious the plaintiff’s injury, the more they are likely to obtain in pain and suffering compensation.
What to Expect From Your Katy Work Injury Attorney
Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner can provide comprehensive legal representation in all the recovery efforts you intend to attempt in the aftermath of a workplace injury in Katy. Our firm takes a client-focused approach to all the cases we accept, taking time to listen to our client’s story and learning as much as we can about their injury and the effects it has had on their life.
When you choose our firm to represent your work injury case, you will have immediate access to a dedicated legal advocate who can address your concerns, answer your most pressing legal questions, and help you formulate an effective strategy for recovering as fully as possible from your work injury.
If filing a workers’ compensation claim through your employer is a viable option, trust our team to guide you through this process and resolve any disputes that might be raised against you as you seek the benefits you need to recover. You may need to pursue alternative legal recourse when workers’ compensation isn’t an option or is insufficient for covering the full extent of your damages.
Ultimately, every injured worker in Katy will face unique challenges as they attempt to secure fair compensation for the damages they suffered. An injury at work can be life-changing, and the victim may not be able to continue working in the same position due to the severity of the harm they suffered. They could also face many unexpected issues in their efforts to file a workers’ compensation claim, a personal injury suit, or a combination of legal measures to recover their losses.
Contact Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner today and schedule a free initial consultation with a trustworthy Katy work injury attorney. We can examine the details of your situation and help you create a winning strategy that aims for maximum compensation for your damages in the shortest possible timeframe.
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