As an employee, you have the right to a safe place to work. This applies whether you work on a construction site, in a factory, or in an office. Labor and worker-protection laws, along with detailed guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), require your employer to provide a safe environment. In fact, you can report unsafe working conditions to OSHA and potentially trigger an investigation and your identity will not be revealed to your employer.
Unfortunately, sometimes unsafe working conditions can and do occur. When this happens, a work injury lawyer may be able to help you recover compensation if you suffer a work-related injury. Texas has workers’ compensation legislation requiring workers to resolve claims with their employers through workers’ comp, but in some cases, you may be able to explore lawsuit options that allow broader recovery when unsafe working conditions exist.
To learn more about your legal rights after a work injury, it is a smart choice to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney. Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., have represented many clients who have been injured at their jobs due to unsafe conditions. If you or a loved one has suffered a work injury, contact us today to learn how we can help.
Unsafe Working Conditions and Workers’ Comp Claims
In Texas, under workers’ compensation law, you are not required to show unsafe working conditions or your employer’s negligence to make a workers’ compensation claim. In fact, if you get injured on the job, even if your employer did everything possible, you can receive payment for medical costs and lost wages related to your injury. Workers’ compensation also provides for disability benefits for injured workers. However, not all employers provide workers’ compensation in Texas.
Unsafe Working Conditions: Your Legal Rights
While workers’ compensation provides benefits to injured workers in all situations where a work injury occurs, the types of damages available under workers’ compensation are not as extensive as the benefits available in a personal injury lawsuit. As such, if you suffered a work injury due to unsafe working conditions and negligence or carelessness contributed to those conditions, you may want to explore other options for recovering damages.
In some cases, an attorney can help you find avenues outside workers’ compensation to make a claim, even though workers’ comp is an exclusive remedy system and restricts when you can sue your employer. For example, if a third party is involved, such as a site manager who is not your direct employer, your workers’ compensation attorney may be able to help you make a personal injury claim against that third party.
Examples of Unsafe Work Conditions
Some examples of unsafe working conditions are:
- Failure to require employees to follow OSHA requires safety procedures like lockout-tagout procedures,
- Failure to provide fall protection when there is a fall risk,
- Failure to provide training on dangerous machines,
- Failure to provide proper eyewear or respiratory protection when working around chemicals or irritants,
- Failure to provide guards and covers for dangerous machines or equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Sue My Employer for Unsafe Working Conditions?
While maintaining an unsafe working condition is negligence, negligence is not a cause of action unless you are injured by it. So, to sue your employer over an unsafe working condition, you must be injured by the condition, and either the employer provides no workers’ compensation and has no arbitration requirement in your contract that makes you waive your legal right to sue, or the employer injured you through gross negligence.
You can report an OSHA violation under certain circumstances.
Let Us Help With Your Work Injury Claim
If you suffered a work injury because of unsafe working conditions, take action right away to learn what your legal rights are. Contact us today for information and advice on your work injury claim. Call us at (713) 932-0777 for a free consultation.