Amazon Work Injury Lawsuits in Houston

As one of the largest online retailers in the world, Amazon stocks and sells a wide variety of products with relatively fast shipping times. Amazon has a large presence in almost every state, including Texas. The company employs thousands of workers to help them fulfill their orders as promptly as possible.

Sadly, some people suffer on-the-job injuries while in the scope of their employment. Those injured Amazon workers might be entitled to some form of compensation for their injuries. If you have questions about filing Amazon work injury lawsuits in Houston, you should consider meeting with a trusted work accident attorney to learn more about the legal process.

Filing Workers’ Compensation Claims Against Amazon

People who get hurt while performing their job duties often assume that they will be able to collect workers’ compensation benefits to cover the cost of their medical expenses and lost wages. However, like many large private employers in the state of Texas, Amazon does not always carry workers’ compensation insurance for its employees. They are a non-subscriber, which means the company elected not to subscribe to the state run workplace benefits program. Instead, Amazon provides its own reimbursement program for its injured workers.

Amazon employees who get sick or hurt on the job can file a claim for benefits under the company’s benefit plan. Unfortunately, non-subscriber benefit plans are not usually favorable to the injured workers. Employers like Amazon often try to deny coverage for certain types of injuries. They might also try to minimize the harm in order to reduce the amount they need to pay, which could cause the worker to not receive adequate compensation.

Filing a Personal Injury Claim

However, if a hurt worker believes they would not receive fair compensation under the company’s benefit plan, they might be able to sue Amazon directly. As a non-subscriber, Amazon can be the subject of a civil lawsuit by an injured employee as long as the employee can show employer negligence at least partially led to their injury.

Non-subscriber employers do not receive the same legal protection against civil suits as employers who provide traditional workers’ compensation benefits. A trusted personal injury attorney could help an injured Amazon employee in Houston determine whether filing a lawsuit against their employer is a viable option.

Filing a Third-Party Claim for Compensation

In some circumstances, injured Amazon workers can look to other potential sources for compensation following on-the-job injuries and illnesses. Sometimes third parties unrelated to Amazon are at fault for causing an accident. For example, if an Amazon delivery driver suffered a severe concussion in a car crash, they might be able to pursue a civil claim against the at-fault third-party driver.

Similarly, a warehouse worker might be able to sue the manufacturer of a defective forklift that malfunctioned and caused the worker to sustain broken bones.

A dedicated legal team could comb through the evidence to search for all potential sources of compensation. They could closely examine manufacturing records, police reports, eyewitness accounts, and any other relevant information to identify potential defendants.

Talk to a Houston Attorney About Filing an Amazon Work Injury Lawsuit

After suffering harm at work, you should be able to collect your fair share of benefits and focus on getting better. However, recovering your benefits is not an easy process for everyone. You might need to file a civil claim against Amazon or a third-party.

Obtaining a successful resolution of Amazon work injury lawsuits in Houston requires the resources and litigation skills of Schechter, Shaffer & Harris. Talk to us today about scheduling an initial consultation.