A work accident lawyer in Houston starts with two questions: did your employer carry workers’ compensation, and did anyone besides your employer help cause the injury? The answers decide which claims you have and what defenses the other side can use. This page explains how we look at job site, construction and oilfield injuries around Houston.
You are reading a page written by LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC for its Houston office, which sits on Memorial Drive by Memorial Park, west of downtown. Jonathan Harris, our Partner Attorney and Managing Attorney of Litigation, is the attorney responsible for this site, and the Houston team takes injury calls from workers across the area at any hour.
Why work injuries are different from car wrecks
After a crash on the freeway there is usually one simple question: which driver caused it. A job site is crowded with companies. The owner of the property, a general contractor, several subcontractors, an equipment rental company, a staffing agency and a trucking outfit may all be working on the same day, each with its own insurer.
That is where our background helps. Of the seven lawyers at LAWBOSS, five worked for the insurance side first. Howard Hill, a litigation attorney based in Houston, spent over 20 years with two of the nation’s largest auto and commercial insurance carriers. Ian Nelsen worked as an adjuster and then as an insurance defense attorney. They know how a commercial claim file is built, and they read yours the way the other side will.
Non-subscriber employers and Labor Code 406.033
Some Texas employers do not carry workers’ compensation insurance. The law calls them non-subscribers. When a worker hurt on the job sues a non-subscriber employer, Texas Labor Code section 406.033(a) takes three common defenses away from that employer. It cannot defend by saying:
- the worker was negligent,
- the worker assumed the risk of the injury, or
- the injury was caused by the negligence of a fellow employee.
Those are the arguments an employer’s lawyer would most like to make, so losing them changes the whole shape of a case. The first thing we confirm after a work injury is whether the employer had coverage on the day you were hurt, because the answer points us down very different roads. If the employer did carry coverage, we look hard at every other company that touched the work.
Construction site injuries
Construction crews in and around Houston work around heavy equipment, open edges, scaffolds, trenches, power lines and moving traffic. Injuries we hear about include falls from ladders and roofs, workers struck by loads or vehicles, crush injuries from machinery and burns or shocks from live lines. The questions that matter most are who controlled the work area, who supplied the equipment and who was supposed to fix the hazard.
On a multi-company site, the answers often point away from your direct employer. A general contractor may have set the schedule and the safety plan. A subcontractor may have left a hole uncovered. A rental company may have delivered a lift with a bad control. A delivery driver may have backed into the work zone. Each of those can be a separate claim with a separate insurer, and the truck accident lawyer Houston page covers what changes when a commercial vehicle is part of it.
What to save from a construction injury
- The names of the companies working on the site that day, from signs, trucks, badges or the sign-in sheet.
- Photos of the spot where you were hurt and of any equipment involved, taken by you or a co-worker you trust.
- The names and phone numbers of co-workers who saw what happened.
- Every medical record, work note and bill, starting with the first visit.
Oilfield injuries
Oil and gas work happens at drilling sites, on service crews, at processing plants and in the trucks that move crews and equipment between locations. These jobs combine heavy iron, pressure, chemicals and long shifts. When something goes wrong the injuries tend to be serious, and the companies involved tend to be large and well insured.
An oilfield job site is usually a patchwork. The operator, the drilling contractor, the service companies and the equipment suppliers each have their own people on location, their own contracts and their own insurance. Contracts between those companies may shift risk from one to another, which is one reason we gather the paperwork early. We want to know who owned each piece of equipment, who ran it and who was in charge of the location before the defense starts telling its version.
Third parties and how blame gets spread
Texas lets a defendant ask the court to designate a responsible third party, generally at least 60 days before trial (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 33.004(a)). In practice this means a company you sue may point at another company, or at someone who is not in the lawsuit at all, and ask the jury to put part of the fault there. Insurers use the rule to spread blame thin. Our answer is to find and name the parties who share responsibility ourselves, before the other side picks them for us.
Fault still matters for the injured worker in most cases. Under section 33.001, you can recover if you are 50 percent or less at fault, and what you receive is reduced by your own share (section 33.012(a)). The exception is the non-subscriber case above, where section 406.033 keeps the employer from blaming your own negligence. Our insurance tactics page explains more of the ways adjusters try to move the percentages.
Hurt on a Houston job site or oilfield location? Call our Houston office for a free consultation, day or night.
The two-year deadline
A Texas personal injury suit must be filed not later than two years after the day the claim accrues (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003(a)). When a worker dies, the two years run from the date of death (section 16.003(b)), and our wrongful death section covers those claims. Calling early also helps keep evidence that a company would otherwise lose, repair or throw away.
How we handle a Houston work injury claim
- A free consultation, by phone or at our Memorial Drive office, to hear what happened and what has been said to you so far.
- We confirm the employer’s coverage status and list every company that had a hand in the work.
- We send letters asking each company to keep its records, photos, video and equipment.
- We gather your medical records and bills and track your recovery and time off work.
- We present the claim to each responsible insurer, and we file suit when talks stop being fair.
Our firm takes these cases on a No Fees or Costs Unless We Win basis. LAWBOSS advances what it costs to investigate and pursue the claim, and if there is no money from the case, you owe neither an attorney’s fee nor those case costs. Read more about the attorneys on our Houston team page, or contact us to talk with someone now.
Questions people ask us
Can I sue my employer if it does not carry workers’ compensation?
A worker can bring an injury suit against a non-subscriber employer, and Labor Code section 406.033(a) bars that employer from defending on the grounds that the worker was negligent, assumed the risk, or was hurt by a co-worker’s negligence. We start by confirming the employer’s coverage on the day of the injury.
Someone from another company caused my injury. Do I have a separate claim?
Often, yes. On a job site with several contractors, suppliers or drivers, a company other than your employer may be responsible for the hazard. We look at every company that worked on the site that day and at who controlled the area.
What if I made a mistake that contributed to the accident?
In most cases Texas compares fault. You can recover if you are 50 percent or less at fault under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 33.001, and the amount is reduced by your share. In a suit against a non-subscriber employer, the employer cannot use your negligence as a defense.
How long do I have to bring a work injury claim?
Generally two years from the day of the injury under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003(a), or two years from the date of death in a death case. Waiting makes evidence harder to find, so it is wise to call early.