What Happens if You’re Injured in a Car Accident While on the Job in Texas?
If you’re injured in a car accident while you’re at work in Texas, you’ll need to protect your rights and pursue compensation if your injuries are serious. A competent and experienced car accident attorney can help you navigate the legal system and file workers’ compensation claims, personal injury claims, or both to ensure you receive the damages you deserve. Below, we’ll discuss how the law protects victims who are injured in car accidents on the job.
Does Workers’ Compensation Cover a Car Accident at Work?
Workers compensation is a type of no-fault insurance that protects your employer from liability. It also compensates you for any injuries you suffer on the job. In Texas, workers’ compensation usually covers any injuries that are caused by a work-related car accident. This typically includes crashes that happen while driving to complete work-related tasks during scheduled working hours but does not include commuting.
If you are injured in a car accident while you’re driving for work in Texas, the circumstances of the case can affect who compensates you and how much money you will receive. Since Texas is the only American state where employers can choose not to carry workers’ compensation coverage, there will be times when employees who experience a work-related car accident must deal with unusual legal issues. Working with a reputable Texas car accident lawyer can help you get through the process successfully.
Texas companies that carry workers’ compensation insurance purchase coverage from private insurance companies. If you meet the qualification criteria when you are hurt in a work-related car accident, the law requires your employer’s insurance carrier to pay you for damages. If your employer carries workers’ compensation insurance, they will generally have to cover a work-related car accident in the cases listed below.
You Get Injured When You Cause a Car Accident While You’re at Work
While you’re working, you cause a car accident that leads to an injury. If your employer carries workers’ compensation, it will pay for covered damages, no matter how the accident happened.
You Get Injured When Your Co-Worker Causes a Car Accident While They’re at Work
If your co-worker causes an accident that injures you while you’re at work, and your employer carries workers’ compensation insurance, your costs will be covered.
Can Employees Sue Twice for Car Accidents That Worker’s Compensation Covers?
If you’re injured in a work-related car crash in Texas, a car wreck lawyer can help you collect workers’ compensation benefits and file a second personal injury insurance claim against the at-fault driver. If a jury decides you deserve compensation from the driver or their insurance company, or if you convince the driver’s carrier that you would win the court case, the driver or the insurance company will pay damages. This does not necessarily mean you will get paid twice; in many cases, workers’ compensation can take your settlement money in a process called subrogation.
To recoup their payment to you, the workers’ compensation carrier will file a claim against the party who caused the accident and place a lien on the second settlement. For instance, if a distracted driver rear-ends your insured vehicle when you stop at a stop sign while you’re on the job, your workers’ compensation carrier may pay for the damage, then sue the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash or file a claim with their insurance company to collect reimbursement.
What Benefits Does Workers’ Compensation Provide?
When you’re injured on the job, workers’ compensation provides benefits that will pay for lost wages, medical bills, and other covered costs, regardless of how the accident happened. In exchange, workers cannot sue their covered employers for work injuries.
Benefits workers compensation provides may include:
Medical Benefits
Texas workers’ compensation laws require your employer to pay medical costs for covered injuries, but your employer may be able to choose your doctor from a network of company-friendly physicians. A car accident lawyer can help ensure that you receive all the medical care you need and full compensation for your injuries after your wreck.
Medical coverage may pay for:
Primary and Specialty Care
Workers’ compensation covers all reasonable and necessary medical care that cures or relieves the effects of a work injury, including immediate emergency care, surgical procedures for serious injuries, and prescription medicines.
Physical Therapy
Workers compensation often covers physical therapy that can help with chronic pain and other car-wreck-related ailments.
Mental Health Therapy
Workers compensation may cover mental health therapy for emotional and psychological issues related to injuries incurred in a work-related car accident. Some types of mental health issues may not be covered.
Benefits for Disfigurement and Scarring
Workers’ compensation covers all medical costs related to disfigurement and scarring that results from a work-related car accident.
Permanent Bodily Damage and Disability
Workers’ compensation may cover permanent bodily damage and disability when the patient submits a medical report that shows how the work-related injury impacted their quality of life.
Benefits for Lost Wages
Workers’ compensation covers wages that are lost during recovery after an injured victim misses more than seven days of work due to a work-related car accident. These benefits cover a percentage of the victim’s wages; they don’t match a victim’s salary dollar-for-dollar.
Death and Burial Benefits
Workers’ compensation pays out death benefits and burial expenses to a victim’s family after a fatal work-related car accident.
Workers’ Compensation Excludes Non-Economic Damages
Although workers’ compensation may cover some mental health treatment after a work-related car accident, it will not cover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering or mental anguish. If you need to clarify what workers’ compensation covers, consult a car collision attorney.
What If Your Employer Doesn’t Have Workers’ Compensation Coverage?
Texas has workers’ compensation and non-subscriber laws that cover work-related car accidents. Employers that don’t carry workers’ compensation coverage are called “non-subscribers.”
Workers’ compensation policies limit an employee’s right to sue their employer after a work-related injury, but when the employer is a non-subscriber, these limitations don’t apply. A car collision lawyer may be able to help you sue your employer, a co-worker, and/or another responsible third party in the following cases:
Your Co-Worker or Your Negligent Employer Causes a Work-Related Car Accident
If a co-worker or a negligent employer leads you to be injured in a work-related car accident, you can sue them for damages. In Texas, employers can be held responsible for their employee’s actions during work hours. Under the legal principle of “vicarious liability,” your co-worker and your employer can be considered “one and the same.”
This means that if your co-worker causes a car accident while they are working, your employer can be held liable. You may be able to sue both the co-worker and the employer for damages if the co-worker was acting within the scope of their job duties as the accident happened, but this may not be true in all cases. A car wreck attorney can help you determine who you should sue if your co-worker causes a car accident that leads to your injury.
What Happens if You Cause a Work-Related Car Accident that Injures a Co-Worker?
If you cause an accident at work that injures a co-worker and your employer has no workers’ compensation coverage, your co-worker can sue you for injury-related damages, even if the employer was negligent.
What Happens if You Get Injured in a Work-Related Car Accident You Cause?
In Texas, if you injure yourself at work as a result of an accident you caused, you may have to pay for your own medical bills. You can only file suit against a non-subscribing employer if their negligence led to an accident. If your error or negligence causes a work-related car accident that leads to your injury and your employer is a non-subscriber, you will not be able to sue. In this case, you will be responsible for your own injuries.
Who Else Can Be Liable for Your Work-Related Car Accident?
Some work-related car accidents are complex, and it’s not always clear who’s to blame. Beyond yourself, your employer, and your co-workers, a third party like another driver, a vehicle manufacturer, a road construction company, a vendor, or a property owner could be responsible for a work-related car accident.
If one or more third parties cause a car accident while you’re at work, you may be able to file separate lawsuits to recover damages that are not covered by workers’ compensation under the following circumstances:
Employer Negligence
If you deliver packages or cargo for a living and your employer pressures you to violate federally mandated rules while you’re driving, they may be responsible if you have an accident while you’re on the clock. A car wreck lawyer can help you determine who is liable for the accident.
Another Driver’s Negligence
If a driver who does not work for our company causes your car accident, you may be able to sue them for damages.
Mechanical Defects or Failures
If your vehicle has faulty tires, brakes, or other components that fail and contribute to your accident, you may be able to sue the vehicle’s manufacturer or the manufacturer of that part for damages.
Owner Negligence
If a property owner fails to keep their property in a safe condition, which could include circumstances like poor visibility or uneven surfaces, they could be liable if their negligence leads to a car accident.
Road Hazards
In some cases, owners or administrators of poorly maintained roads with inadequate signage, badly lit intersections, faulty traffic signals, or potholes and other obstructions can be held liable if the damage leads to an accident.
Can You Get Damages from Workers’ Compensation and a Personal Injury Claim?
In Texas, filing a workers’ comp claim typically waives your right to file a personal injury claim against your employer for the same work-related injury. However, if a co-worker or a third party is responsible for your injury, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against them while you also claim workers’ compensation benefits.
If your employer is a non-subscriber, you may be able to sue them and anyone else involved in a work-related car accident for medical costs, disfigurement, lost wages, pain and suffering, and mental anguish.
An experienced car accident attorney can help you determine whom you can sue, what you can sue for, and how much you may be able to receive. They can help you get the largest settlement possible and lower the workers’ compensation lien so you can repay as little as possible.
Steps to Take After a Work-Related Car Accident in Texas
If you find yourself involved in a work-related car crash in Texas, you need to take steps to protect your health and your rights. To be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you must report the accident to your employer within 30 days.
You should also:
Check for Injuries
Assess anyone involved in the accident for injuries and seek medical attention immediately if necessary.
Call 911
Call 911 to report the accident to the authorities. Remain at the scene until they arrive, and do not admit fault to anyone.
Exchange Information with the Other Driver
If another vehicle was involved in the accident, gather its driver’s insurance information and contact details.
Gather Witness Information
If witnesses to the accident are at the scene, collect their contact details.
Document Your Injuries
Take photos and video that document your visible injuries in the context of the accident scene. Make a note of any pain or symptoms you experience as a result of the accident.
Document the Accident Scene
Take photos and videos of the road conditions at the scene and damage to vehicles and property.
Seek Medical Attention
As soon as the authorities clear you to leave the scene of the accident, seek medical attention, even if your injuries seem minor.
Notify Your Employer
Inform your employer about the accident and give them details about the incident and your injuries without admitting fault.
File a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Remember that you must file a workers’ compensation claim within 30 days of the accident to qualify for compensation.
Follow Up with Your Employer
Make sure your employer properly documents the accident and supports your workers’ compensation claim.
Gather Your Medical Records
Maintain detailed medical records of all accident-related treatment you receive as evidence so that you can be sure to receive full compensation for your injuries.
Get Legal Advice
To protect your rights, consult a Texas car accident attorney that specializes in workers’ compensation cases.
FAQs About Work-Related Car Accidents in Texas
When is an employer liable for a company car accident in Texas?
A Texas employer may be liable for a company car accident if they fail to ensure that those vehicles are safe to drive. Allowing employees to drive unsafe vehicles could constitute negligence. If your company car experiences a mechanical failure that directly contributes to a work-related accident, your employer may be partially or fully liable for damages.
What happens if an employee of a Texas-based company causes a car accident during a business trip?
If an employee crashes a car during an in- or out-of-state business trip, their employer can be held responsible for damages if the accident happened “within the scope of employment.” It may be necessary for the courts to determine whether the employee was performing work-related activities at the time of the crash.
How do workers’ compensation and liability insurance coverage differ for work-related crashes?
When a work-related car accident occurs, workers’ compensation will pay for medical bills and some or all of the lost wages that result from the victim’s injuries. Liability insurance pays for damages like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering that a co-worker or a third party causes during a work-related car accident.
It also pays for damages sustained by unaffiliated third parties like pedestrians or drivers who are hit by a company vehicle.