How to Prove a Texas Employer Was Negligent

 When faced with a workplace accident, it can be easy to point fingers. A piece of machinery maybe should have been checked an extra time or employees might have needed some extra training. As you are recovering and considering how to move forward after your injury, you will need a knowledgeable workplace accident attorney to help you determine how to hold the employer accountable. Schechter, Shaffer & Harris is your partner in this difficult time.

What is Negligence?

We all have a general understanding of what negligence is from daily life. Usually, we think of negligence as not doing something that we should, and that is not far off from the legal definition. Legally, negligence is defined as the failure to exercise the appropriate level of care towards another person that a reasonable person would exercise if they were placed in a similar situation. Failure to exercise the appropriate level of care can indicate both a person’s actions in the situation, as well as their failure to act.

Because Texas has a unique rule that allows employers to opt out of Workers’ Compensation coverage, many employers in this state are non-subscribers. This means, you might be able to file suit directly against your employer, with help from an experienced non-subscriber accident attorney.

Comparative Negligence in Texas

Texas is a state with a comparative negligence law. When a plaintiff is found to have contributed to their injury in some way, the amount they are awarded is adjusted to the percentage of their fault in the accident. In other words, if you are deemed 10 percent at fault for your work injury, your damages award could ultimately be reduced by 10 percent.

There are two types of comparative negligence: pure comparative and modified comparative. The state of Texas is a modified comparative negligence state, which means if the plaintiff needs to be found no more than 50 percent negligent if they wish to recover damages. If they are found to be more at fault than the defendant, they cannot recover anything.

How to Prove Employer Negligence in Texas

There are four things you need to fully establish in your negligence case for it to be successful in court. These four elements are as follows.

Duty of care: Duty of care is relatively straightforward. In short, you need to prove that the defendant, the employer, owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, ( the employee).

Breach of duty: This is where the idea of a reasonable person comes into play. For the plaintiff to be successful, they must demonstrate that the employer failed to act the way a reasonable person would have acted if they had been placed in a similar context.

Causation: The employee must prove that their employer not only caused their injury, but that the employer could have reasonably foreseen the possibility of that injury.

Harm and damages: The employee must also demonstrate they suffered actual harm from the employer’s negligence through medical documentation, as well as damages for the way the injury affected their daily life.

Get Help Proving Your Texas Employer Was Negligent When You Call a Lawyer

Given Texas’s status as a non-subscriber state with a modified comparative negligence law, you will need help from a personal injury attorney in order to secure compensation. If you were injured in a workplace accident and believe your employer was responsible, contact Schechter, Shaffer & Harris today and let us help you in your time of need.