McAllen Workers Compensation Lawyers

While it seems common sense that everyone should be able to receive compensation benefits when they’re injured on the job, it’s not always easy to recover them.

For instance, many employers may encourage their employees not to file a claim because filing one almost always increases the compensation insurance premiums the employer pays.

Fortunately, the law permits workplace accident victims to recover damages under most circumstances when filing a compensation claim, even if they are partially at fault. To boost your chance of receiving the workers’ comp benefits to which you are entitled, contact our McAllen workers’ comp lawyer at J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP today.

Who Qualifies for Workers Comp in Texas?

First and foremost, it should be clarified that employers in Texas are not required to carry workers comp insurance. However, it’s prudent for employers to purchase workers’ compensation because injured employees can often sue for damages in court if their employers fail to carry work comp coverage.

Your occupation doesn’t matter when applying for workers’ comp benefits—you could be a nurse, bus driver, rocket scientist, or anything else. Regardless of your profession, you may be eligible for benefits regardless of whether your employer was directly responsible for your accident.

Still, as a workplace accident victim in McAllen, you must typically meet a handful of criteria, which include the following:

  • Your injuries must have occurred as a result of performing regular job duties.
  • You must report any injuries to your employer within thirty days of the date of your accident.
  • You will need a medical report from a qualified physician confirming that your injuries were sustained in a workplace incident.

Because meeting these requirements is not always easy, some employers may try to skirt their responsibility to you. The highly experienced McAllen work comp lawyer at J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP, can help you avoid the traps your employer may try to set.

Work Comp Denials in McAllen

Sometimes, workplace accident victims have suffered from a legitimate injury but have their claims denied. It can happen for a variety of reasons, which include the following:

  • The injury or claim being reported after the relevant deadline
  • An employer disputing the worker’s claim
  • The claim revolving around a hard-to-prove, stress-related injury
  • A lack of medical treatment for the injury
  • An inability to prove that the accident occurred due to workplace-related hazards

In some cases, an employer may call into question your request for a specific physician or procedure. However, your rights in these kinds of matters are usually protected by Texas law.

Whether your claim has been limited or blocked outright by an employer, it helps to have an experienced McAllen workers comp denial lawyer by your side. We will examine your denial letter, initial claim documents, and the relevant details of your workplace accident. Then, we’ll push for the compensation you deserve.

What’s Covered

In broad strokes, workers’ compensation usually covers an employee’s lost wages and any medical expenses that arise from the accident.

Workers comp benefits can be split into one of four general categories, which are the following:

  • Income Benefits include any lost wages attributable to your McAllen work-related injury or illness. Within this category are temporary income benefits, impairment income benefits, supplemental income benefits, and lifetime income benefits.
  • Medical Benefits– This includes the cost of any medical care to address your work-related illness or injury.
  • Burial Benefits– Should an employee die from his or her injuries, this covers any costs incurred by loved ones to provide for the burial of that individual.
  • Death Benefits– This accounts for any income a family might have lost due to an employed relative passing away because of a work injury in McAllen.

Of course, minimum and maximum amounts can be recovered from income benefits in Texas.

To help ensure that your compensation comes closer to the maximum, we recommend speaking with our experienced McAllen workers comp benefits legal team before accepting any benefit offer. Initially, you may be offered much less than you’re entitled to.

Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

Many workplace accident victims are afraid to file a claim with compensation attorneys — they worry that their employers may retaliate against them, for example. Some employers might openly complain about their premiums increasing due to claims or declare that their premiums are increasing exponentially thanks to an influx of injury cases.

Ultimately, you should worry about getting the compensation you deserve, regardless of what anyone else, including your employer, thinks. It might comfort you that you cannot legally be punished for making a workers comp claim, contrary to what many believe.

Should you feel unduly pressured at any point, we recommend retaining the services of our McAllen workers’ compensation lawyers at J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP.

McAllen Workers Comp FAQ

Over the years, we have received numerous inquiries from McAllen injury victims about how workers comp works, so we will attempt to address some of the most common questions we receive.

If you have any questions about your workers’ compensation claim, don’t hesitate to contact the qualified McAllen work comp attorney at J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP.

One common question is whether an employee can receive workers comp and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for a single injury. The answer is often yes, but your compensation cannot, in most cases, exceed a certain portion of your total pre-injury wages.

While the eligibility standards for each program vary, the two don’t overlap: SSDI is a federal program, while individual states run workers comp programs.

Another common question is whether you can later file an additional claim for a similar but separate injury in the future. While no law prevents accident victims from recovering damages for a re-injury, it can be harder to win sufficient damages.

For example, you will need to prove that your new injury arose from a completely separate incident or that it was worsened through duties performed on the job.

Depending on your circumstances, you can file a personal injury claim. In most cases, you can’t sue your employer directly unless they were egregiously negligent with your safety or purposefully caused your injuries.

However, suppose a third party, such as the manufacturer of a defective product that caused your injuries, is responsible for your McAllen workplace injury. In that case, you can seek injury compensation. Personal injury claims often provide more compensation to victims than work comp benefits.

Consult Our McAllen Workers Compensation Attorney

For some, the process of filing for benefits is daunting. But if you team up with our Hidalgo County attorneys, you won’t be alone when you file a claim. You’ll have our qualified and experienced workplace injury lawyers backing you up. We know a thing or two about personal injury lawsuits.

To help ensure you promptly receive a complete set of benefits, contact our dedicated team at J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP, today. Call us at (956) 994-0565. You can also head to the bottom of this page to fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.