Making a Construction Accident Claim in Dallas, Texas if Your Employer Doesn't Have Workers Compensation

Making a Construction Accident Claim in Dallas, Texas if Your Employer Doesn't Have Workers Compensation

If you have suffered a catastrophic injury while working on a Dallas-Fort Worth area construction site, it is important that you are fully aware of your legal right to pursue full and fair compensation. In many cases, this will involve making a workers comp claim. However, while the state of Texas strongly encourages employers to take out a workers compensation policy, there is no legal obligation for them to do so. As such, your employer might not have workers comp available for you to claim against.

The most common reason why many construction industry companies decide not to purchase workers comp to protect their employees is the cost. Given the nature of construction work, insurance against accidents is understandably expensive. Many employers opt not to make the purchase. This is a big gamble. Fortunately for you, even if your employer does not have workers comp, you are still entitled to recover damages under Texas law.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction accident, you should consult with an experienced Dallas personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Do this even if your employer has told you that workers compensation exists. Sometimes, an uninsured employer will tell you they have workers comp even when they don't, because it means there is a limit to the amount of compensation you can receive. If no workers comp actually exists, then you can make a claim for much more money. Speaking to an attorney who can accurately establish your employer's actual insurance situation means you know exactly what you're dealing with and how much compensation you actually stand to recover. This is very important to know, especially since a severe workplace injury could significantly affect your ability to work in the future.

Under Texas law, an employer who does not subscribe to workers compensation is called a non-subscriber. While employers are not compelled by law to take out works comp insurance, the legal situation clearly favors the injured employee in situations where their employer does not have workers compensation.

So long as you have an experienced personal injury attorney on your side, the process of recovering the full and fair compensation you deserve should be relatively straight forward. The most important aspect of a successful claim against a non-subscriber is proving that it was their negligence which was responsible for your accident and subsequent injuries. Since the law is biased against those employers who elect not to carry workers compensation, non-subscribers are only offered one possible defense against a personal injury claim; they must prove that the accident victim themselves were entirely responsible for the accident occuring. This is known as sole proximate cause. Your employer's legal defense can only avoid paying your full medical bills, loss of income and other intangible costs if they can prove that it was your own negligence which was 100 percent the cause of the accident. Even if the final conclusion is that you were 99 percent responsible and your employer was just one percent responsible, the law still sides with you and they would have to pay you the total amount of financial damages which you are entitled to under state law.

For further information, please contact the Dallas personal injury lawyers at Guajardo & Marks, LLP, at 972.774.9800, for a FREE consultation.