If you have been injured in the workplace in Texas, you have a number of rights and should not hesitate to exercise them. To understand better what your rights are and how to defend them, talk with a workplace injury lawyer in Houston as soon as possible.
From a Workplace Injury Lawyer in Houston: What Are Your Rights After a Workplace Injury?
The Right to Medical Care
You have the right to receive whatever treatment is medically necessary for your injury, and your employer’s workers compensation insurance should cover the costs of all of that, including any hospital stays, emergency room, treatments, doctor visits, rehabilitation services, and more. You have the right to this medical treatment immediately, and no one may attempt to stop you from getting medical treatment if you’ve been injured in your workplace.
Right to Choose Your Doctor
In Texas, you have the right to choose your treating doctor from a list of physicians approved by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance network. If your employer does not have a network, you can select any doctor willing to treat workers’ compensation patients. You have the right to change your doctor one time if you’re not satisfied with the care you are receiving.
The Right to Report and Expect Documentation
If your employer has Worker’s Compensation, you must report the injury to them within 30 days of either the injury or the date that you became aware that your injury was related to work. While this is a responsibility, it is also your right to make the report and have it taken down and a document trail begun with your employer.
The Right to Worker’s Comp Claim
If you were injured, you have the right to file a Worker’s Compensation claim and bring a complaint if you are not treated lawfully during the process. Your employer should provide you with the forms that are needed for filing this claim, which you will submit to the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC). Filing a claim initiates the process for receiving benefits.
Right to Wage Replacement Benefits
If you have been hurt so badly that you are not able to work, you have the right to receive benefits to replace your wages. These benefits are typically about 70% of your average weekly wage, and temporary income benefits cover you for as long as you are recovering until you reach maximum improvement. You may also be eligible for other types of benefits depending on how badly you are injured, whether you have a permanent disability, etc. A workplace injury lawyer will be able to help you learn more.
The Right to Privacy
In most cases, no one is permitted to look at the contents of your workers compensation claim file without your permission. This does not include, of course, certain entities that need the information in order to provide you with the benefits you’re entitled to, such as the insurance carrier and your employer.
Right to Have a Lawyer
You have the specific right under Texas law to have an attorney help you from start to finish in filing your compensation claim and guarding your rights all along the way.
If you have been injured on the job in Texas, you do have rights, so be sure to contact an attorney to make sure they’re protected.