Workplace Injury Lawyers Serving Houston, TX

In cases where workers suffer from work-related injuries, they should contact a work injury lawyer for legal advice and help.

Work-related injuries can do more than end a career; they can devastate your life and the lives of those who depend on you. Many clients and their family members who come to Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C. have been affected by an accident that has resulted in serious injuries or death.

While our clients deal with the effects of a tragedy, our workplace injury lawyers in Houston, TX get to work pursuing compensation for them.

Texas is unique when it comes to workers’ compensation laws. Unlike some other states, state employers are not required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. They can choose to have no insurance when their employees get injured.

These are referred to as “non-subscribers,” and they can still be held liable. Additionally, many times there are third parties that can be held liable if they contributed to the injuries.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a work-related accident, contact us at our Houston office at (713) 565-1899.

Houston, TX Workplace Injury Lawyers

At Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., our workplace injury lawyers in Houston, TX pursue work-related injury claims on behalf of injured Texas residents.

Determining the party responsible requires thorough investigations with the help of our network of industry experts.

Attending to every detail helps us get to the facts and hold the negligent parties accountable for an accident that injured you or killed a loved one. Our Houston workplace injuries attorneys help to put you and your family on the road to recovery.

We are experts of the workplace injury law and here are the areas we serve:

• Oil drilling accidents
• Eagle Ford Shale
• Offshore injuries
• Exposure to chemicals
• F.E.L.A.
• Falling pipes and debris

• Falls from derricks and chemical plants
• Gas storage tank explosions
• Jack-up rig accidents
• Jones Act
• Chemical spills
• Third-party liability claims

Chemical Exposure Injuries

A chemical burn is one of the most dangerous and painful injuries that you can suffer. According to the Secretary of Labor, exposure to chemicals is one of the greatest threats to facing workers today. Chemical burns occur when the skin or eyes come into contact with irritants, such as acids or alkaline bases.

When dangerous chemicals come in contact with the skin or eyes, there is an immediate burning sensation. Depending on the type of chemical and the amount that touched the body, chemical burns can be mild or severe. Severe burns can leave the victim permanently injured.

While a chemical burn can occur practically anywhere, they often happen in workplaces such as construction sites. In addition, most chemical burns are avoidable as they are the result of the negligent handling of chemicals.

If you were injured by chemicals due to the negligence of another person, you should seek medical attention immediately. You should then contact an experienced chemical spills attorney from Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C. who will review the details of your case.

Workplace Hazards

In order to minimize the number of workplace accidents and injuries, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued comprehensive workplace safety rules, including rules related to handling chemicals. Despite such rules, accidents continue to occur and workers continue to suffer injuries from exposure to chemicals.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information¹, nearly 30% of chemical burns treated at hospitals were from workplace injuries. While chemical exposure injuries can be the result of breathing or swallowing dangerous chemicals, the most common type of injury is from skin or eye contact.

When acids come in contact with the skin they damage and kill cells by coagulating cells while bases cause damage by liquefying cells. Prolonged exposure can severely damage tissue, leading to scarring and in some cases, permanent physical disability.

Chemical Burn Symptoms

Depending on the chemical, even a small amount on the skin can cause damage.

Signs of chemical burns include:

• Irritation or burning sensation
• Pain
• Numbness
• Blisters
• Black dead skin
• Vision problems, in cases where chemical gets into the eyes
• Vomiting

If the burn injury is severe, additional signs may include:

• Dizziness
• Headache
• Muscle twitching or seizures
• Cardiac arrest or irregular heartbeat

 

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Long-Term Medical Problems

When a burn is severe, the long-term medical consequences can be devastating. Chemical burns can leave the victim permanently disfigured. Some victims experience a permanent loss of motion, infections, muscle and tissue damage, and loss of limbs. Psychological effects include depression, flashbacks and nightmares.

In cases where your burns were the result of the negligence of someone else, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries through workers’ compensation or a personal injury lawsuit. Compensable losses may include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

If you suffered an injury due to chemical exposure, it is important to contact an experienced workplace injury attorney who understands both the legal issues and medical issues related to injuries from chemical exposure.

The staff at Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., has years of experience successfully representing clients with workplace injuries such as chemical burns.

I know you were hurt at work, but that was not your job!

At the time of his accident, Sergio Fraire had been employed by Budget Rent-A-Car of El Paso, Inc. for over 15 years. During his first three years, he worked as a mechanic. Most recently his position was as a service manager, which made Fraire responsible for supervising mechanics, but not performing any mechanical duties. On the day that Fraire was injured, several of Budget’s trucks needed to be repaired and the mechanic was absent. Fraire’s supervisor indicated to Fraire that the trucks that had problems “needed to get out.” Feeling under pressure, Fraire decided to fix them himself. Fraire tried to fix a broken door on one of the trucks, but in the process, Fraire fell and sustained serious injuries.

Fraire’s Negligence Claim

Fraire filed a personal injury lawsuit against Budget claiming that Budget was negligent in failing to warn him or instruct him on the dangers involved with repairing the truck, given that mechanical repair was outside the scope of his job duties. Budget countered by arguing that it owed no duty to Fraire because truck repair was not part of Fraire’s responsibilities.

Employer to Duty to Warn

Texas case law establishes that an employer has a duty to warn an employee of a danger when the employment is dangerous and complex or when the employer is aware of the danger and has a reason know that the employee is not aware of the danger. Additionally, an employer has a duty to warn an employee of foreseeable dangers from activities that are not normally part of that employee’s job. On the other hand, an employer does not owe a duty to warn employees of common, obvious hazards or of dangers already known to such employees. This means that if the employee has experience at a particular job or task, then the employee does not have a duty to warn the employee of the dangers involved.

In determining whether an employer has a duty to warn an employee about dangers involved in performing activities outside of his or her normal job duties, it is necessary to examine why an employee is performing such duties. In Fraire’s case, no Budget employee instructed Fraire to repair the truck, yet Fraire took it upon himself to attempt to repair the truck. While normally an employer would have a duty to advise employees of dangers associated with tasks outside of their normal duties, Budget owed Fraire no such duty as Budget did not ask Fraire to repair the truck.

The message to be taken from Fraire’s accident is that it would not be prudent for employees to take the initiative and perform duties outside of their assigned duties as the employer may avoid liability should an injury result. However, the result might have been different if the employer was a subscriber to Texas’ workers’ compensation insurance program. Typically, an employee is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits as long as the accident was work-related. Defenses such as contributory negligence or assumption of risk are not available to the employer.

Although legally sound, do you think that the result of the Fraire case is fair? After all, Fraire was acting to benefit his employer after his supervisor exerted pressure on him by stating that the trucks “needed to get out.”

Contact our Houston, TX workplace injury attorney for a no obligation free consultation.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment with an experienced personal injury lawyer regarding a workplace accident, please contact us first!

Our firm has offices in the following locations: Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi South Side, Brownsville, McAllen, San Antonio, Houston, and Ft. Worth, TX.

Sources:

• ¹ National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Center for Biotechnology Information