Cole, Cole, Easley, and Sciba Trial Attorneys can help you if you’ve been injured in an accident at work in Victoria. Injuries can turn your world upside down, and they don’t always happen when you’re off the clock. In fact, they happen at work a lot more than you think. One way or the other, though, you have options that our team can help you with. Set up a free consultation today to learn more.
Does a Lawyer Make Sense After a Work Accident?
One of the first questions people ask after getting hurt at work is whether they actually need a lawyer. The honest answer is: maybe not. Some workplace injuries are relatively straightforward. You report the accident, get the medical care you need, and your workers’ compensation benefits begin without much trouble.
But that doesn’t always happen, especially if your employer has opted out of Texas’ workers’ comp system. If that’s what you’re facing, that’s usually when having someone in your corner starts to make sense. Our team at Cole, Cole, Easley, and Sciba can help you through this by:
- Explaining what your options are and how the law works in your situation.
- Figuring out exactly what happened and who might be responsible.
- Getting the evidence your claim needs and putting it all together.
- Handling the back-and-forth with your employer and their insurance companies
- Take further steps if it’s necessary. This usually means filing an injury claim through insurance or with a lawsuit.
There’s no denying that getting hurt at work is stressful. On top of your injuries, you’re also probably worried about what missing work will be on your job, and how your employer will start to look at you. With our team, you can focus on getting back to work and healing while we handle the claims side of things.
Information That Can Help After an Accident at Work
An accident at work where you get injured is pretty shocking. Whether you work on a construction crew or in an office, though, your first priority should always be your health. Get to a safe place, report the injury to your bosses, and ask for medical attention.
That will settle things down a bit, and if you feel up to it, you should try to get some basic details and information, especially:
- Pictures/videos of the area where the accident happened, the equipment involved, unsafe conditions, and any visible injuries.
- Names and contact information for coworkers or anyone else who saw the accident.
- Incident reports from your employer that explain what happened.
- Information about any equipment, machinery, or materials that might have contributed.
With that, you’ll have the basic building blocks of a claim. But it’s especially important to keep track of a few things in the days/weeks after:
- Medical records and bills showing the treatment you’ve received.
- Work restrictions from your doctor.
- Pay stubs or other records showing your lost income.
- Emails, notes from calls, or messages with your employer or the insurance company.
- Notes about your recovery, including doctor’s appointments, pain levels, and changes to your day-to-day life.
You don’t need to have every one of these things before speaking with us. Most people don’t. But as long as you have a few pictures and medical records, we can help fill in those gaps.
How Does the Claims Process Work When I’m Hurt at Work?
When your employer opts out of the workers’ comp system, they become known as a “non-subcriber.” And that’s important in terms of your options if you get hurt at work.
Since your employer is a non-subscriber, you’ll have to go through the typical injury claim process. That means it’s just like any accident that leaves you injured outside of work, and those generally move in one of two directions.
- An insurance claim outside of court. Most injury cases can be resolved through the insurance without ever filing a lawsuit. During that process, the insurance company reviews the accident, your medical records, and other evidence before deciding to accept your claim and offering a settlement.
- A personal injury lawsuit. If the insurance company won’t give you a reasonable offer for your losses, filing a lawsuit may be the next step. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll end up in court against your employer, since a lot of lawsuits settle after both sides have had an opportunity to gather evidence and better understand what happened.
One way or the other, a claim allows you to recover financial support called “damages” that can include things like:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical treatment
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
Every workplace accident is different, which is why the claims process can look a little different from one case to the next. However, there’s still a time limit in place. You only have two years from the date of the accident to file.
How Liability Works in a Workplace Accident
One of the biggest questions after a workplace accident is figuring out who’s actually responsible. Sometimes that’s easy to answer. Other times, it isn’t. But for non-subscribers, it still means first establishing negligence by showing:
- Someone had a responsibility to keep others reasonably safe.
- They failed to meet that responsibility.
- Their actions contributed to your injuries.
- You suffered actual losses because of the accident.
Obviously, that brings in a lot of different people with a workplace accident. And it’s not always just your employer, either. It’s usually spread around among:
- Employers that failed to provide a reasonably safe workplace.
- Contractors working at the same jobsite.
- Property owners that failed to fix a dangerous condition.
- Companies that produced defective equipment or machinery.
- Maintenance companies that failed to properly inspect or repair equipment.
- Drivers if the accident happened while you were working.
Every workplace accident has its own set of facts. The important thing is figuring out exactly what happened and whether someone besides your employer may share responsibility for your injuries. A good way to do that is by looking at the different kinds of workplace accidents that happen here.
What Types of Workplace Accidents Happen in Victoria?
Like a lot of places in Texas, Victoria has plenty of work opportunities in agriculture, construction, and oil & gas. But there’s also a diverse workforce here, made up of people that work in hospitals, big box stores, and everywhere in between. Because our workforce is so diverse, no two workplace accidents are the same.
Still, accidents at work tend to follow the same patterns and kinds of things that happen, like:
- Slip and fall accidents when wet floors, uneven surfaces, loose debris, or other hazards cause you to lose your footing.
- Falls from ladders, scaffolding, rooftops, or elevated platforms.
- Equipment and machinery accidents from machines that malfunction, a lack of proper safety guards, or aren’t being properly maintained.
- Car and truck accidents where you drive as part of your job, whether you’re making deliveries, traveling between worksites, or driving trucks, vans, and other work vehicles.
- Being struck by falling tools, equipment, or materials, especially on construction sites, warehouses, and industrial facilities.
- Electrical accidents and burn injuries from contact with live electrical equipment, chemicals, explosions, or other dangerous materials.
- Exposure to hazardous substances—chemicals, dust, fumes—which leads to serious injuries or illnesses.
Injuries can also develop over time from repetitive lifting, bending, or all the other things you do every day. And while these accidents happen in different ways across all jobs, they usually have one thing in common: they could have been prevented if the proper safety measures had been in place. When it does, our team will be there to help you through it.
Get Help After an Accident at Work in Victoria
At Cole, Cole, Easley, and Sciba Trial Attorneys, we know that getting hurt at work can affect every part of your life. One day you’re focused on doing your job, and the next you’re dealing with doctor visits, missed paychecks, and questions about what comes next.
That’s where our Victoria workplace accident lawyers can explain your options, answer your questions, and help you get financial help. Set up a free consultation today.
