Midland Work Injury Attorney

Helping Injured Workers in Midland, TX

Texas sees thousands of workplace injuries and hundreds of fatal workplace injuries each year, especially in the natural resources, construction, maintenance, production, transportation, and material moving industries. Even work injuries that do not cause death are a hardship on families, as the injuries are often severe or catastrophic. The families not only do not have an income coming in, but they have tens of thousands or more in medical expenses. In Texas, employers are not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. However, those injured or who lost a loved one on the job have other options to recover fair and reasonable compensation for their losses.

If you lost a loved one or suffered injuries because of a workplace accident, contact a Midland work injury lawyer at Hanna Allen, PLLC for a free consultation by calling (432) 220-3331.

Common Types of Workplace Accidents

A work accident is any unplanned or unexpected event that occurs in a work environment, which results in injury, illness, or property damage. These accidents can happen due to unsafe working conditions, human error, equipment failure, or lack of proper safety procedures.

Common types of workplace accidents include:

• Slips, Trips, and Falls: These occur when someone loses balance due to wet floors, uneven surfaces, or obstacles in walkways. They're one of the most common workplace accidents across all industries.
• Falls from Heights: Workers can fall from ladders, rooftops, scaffolding, or other elevated areas without proper safety gear. Such accidents often lead to serious injuries or fatalities, especially in construction.
• Struck-by Object: This happens when a person is hit by falling tools, materials, or moving equipment. It’s a frequent hazard in busy environments like construction sites and warehouses.
• Caught-in or Caught-between Accidents: These involve a worker being trapped between equipment, machinery, or collapsing structures. They are extremely dangerous and often life-threatening.
• Exposure to Harmful Substances or Environments: Workers exposed to chemicals, toxic fumes, extreme temperatures, or loud noise can suffer both immediate and long-term health effects. Proper protective equipment is essential in these environments.
• Vehicle-Related Accidents: Collisions or mishaps involving workplace vehicles like forklifts or trucks can cause serious injuries. These often occur in warehouses, factories, or construction zones.
• Machinery Accidents: Accidents happen when workers operate machines without proper training or when safety guards are missing. Contact with moving parts can result in severe injuries.
• Fires and Explosions: These incidents usually stem from flammable materials, electrical faults, or equipment failures. They can cause burns, inhalation injuries, or even structural damage.

Common Types of Work Injuries

Situated in the Permian Basin, Midland is home to many oilfields, construction, and transportation jobs – all of which have high incidences of workplace injuries and fatalities. Some of the common workplace injuries include:

• Cuts, scratches, bumps, bruises and other minor injurie
• Crush injuries from equipment and other objects
• Strains, sprains, torn and pulled muscles, and other soft tissue injuries
• Simple and compound fractures
• Crushed bones
• Electrical burns and other electrocution injuries
• Thermal and chemical burns
• Road rash
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Head, neck and shoulder injuries
• Internal injuries
• Back and spinal cord injuries.

The types of workplace accidents that could cause these injuries include slipping and falling, getting crushed by or between equipment, vehicle accidents, electrical issues, explosions and more.

You can also recover compensation for secondary injuries, such as infected open wounds incurred in the accident or surgery to repair an accident injury. Another example of a secondary injury is a back injury caused by another injury, such as a broken leg or hip.

Responsibilities of Your Employer

Employers have a duty to ensure the workplace is safe pursuant to state and federal regulations. Employers must:

• Make sure the workplace does not have serious hazards — e.g., oil spills are immediately cleaned up; open pits are well marked; those responsible setup scaffolding properly; hazardous chemicals are kept contained.
• Ensure the workplace conforms to the standards applicable to the industry, including rules for personal protective equipment.
• Provide warnings of potential hazards on the worksite.
• Inform employees when the workplace contains hazardous chemicals.
• Provide employees with safety training.
• Ensure employees’ tools and equipment are safe and properly maintained.
• Ensure employees have the correct safety gear and that it is in good condition and not out of date.

Despite these regulations, many employers cut corners on safety just to save a buck. However, it can end up costing an employer dearly should someone suffer injuries or die in a workplace accident.

Recovering Damages After a Workplace Accident in TX

Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that some employers in Texas provide to cover work-related injuries or illnesses. It helps injured employees receive benefits without needing to prove fault, but it also limits your ability to sue your employer.

Common benefits under workers’ comp include:

• Medical Benefits: Covers all necessary treatment for your injury (doctor visits, surgery, medication, etc.).
• Income Benefits: Replaces a portion of your lost wages while you're unable to work.
  • Temporary Income Benefits (TIBs)
  • Impairment Income Benefits (IIBs)
  • Supplemental Income Benefits (SIBs)
  • Lifetime Income Benefits (LIBs)
• Death Benefits: Paid to family members if a worker dies on the job.
• Burial Benefits: Helps with funeral expenses.

Remember, Texas is the only state that doesn't require employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. If your employer is a non-subscriber, they don’t offer workers’ comp, but you may be able to sue them for negligence.

On the other hand, if someone other than your employer was responsible for your workplace injury, you may be able to file a third-party personal injury claim. This is separate from workers’ comp and allows you to pursue additional damages not covered by it.

Here are examples of third-party liability:

• A contractor or subcontractor on the job site caused your injury.
• You were hurt by a defective piece of equipment (manufacturer liability).
• A driver hit you while you were driving for work purposes (not your employer’s vehicle).

Compensation in third-party claims may include:

• Full lost wages (not just a percentage)
• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Future loss of earning capacity

Unlike workers’ comp, third-party claims require you to prove negligence or fault.

How Work Injury Lawyers in Midland Can Help

If you suffered injuries at work and are able to take action without causing yourself further harm, you should take pictures of the accident scene, seek medical attention immediately, and report the injury to your immediate supervisor.

Finally, contact a Midland work injury attorney as soon as possible. If you need to file a workers’ compensation claim, you do not have much time. Because of the complexities of workers’ compensation and Texas laws regarding workplace injuries, you should always seek advice from a Midland work injury lawyer before taking any type of action to recover compensation.

Whether you file a workers’ compensation claim or you choose to take legal action against your employer, Hanna Allen, PLLC. We make sure you get the compensation you deserve by taking several steps:

• We start by investigating your case. Our investigators gather evidence about the accident by taking photos, inspecting tools, equipment, and the scene of the accident, and speaking to witnesses.
• Our firm then consults with experts. Workplaces, especially construction sites and oilfields, have state and federal laws they must abide by to keep their employees safe. We’ll make sure your employer was and is in compliance with workplace safety regulations. We also consult with medical professionals regarding the severity of your injuries.

Once we collect all the evidence needed, we start settlement negotiations with your employer’s insurer. If the insurance company offers a fair and reasonable settlement, you do not have to go to court.

If we believe you should recover more compensation than the insurance company offers and they refuse to offer a fair and reasonable settlement, we can aggressively seek the compensation you deserve by filing a lawsuit against the insurer.

Finally, we ensure that the funds you receive are quickly disbursed. Once we receive the check from the insurance company and it clears the bank, we pay your outstanding medical expenses, reimburse your insurance company if applicable, deduct our fees, which are also negotiated into your settlement, then cut you a check for the balance.

If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one because of the actions or inactions of another person at work, contact a Midland work injury lawyer at (432) 220-3331 for a free case evaluation.