Workers’ Comp: Are You Really An Employee?

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Are You Really an Employee? Non-Subscriber Defendants Love to Claim You are Not

Many employers, regardless of whether they are workers’ comp subscribers or not, mistakenly believe (or purposefully claim) that their employees are “contractors:” which allows them to escape liability in work injury cases. This is because Texas work injury law states that only “traditional” employees are eligible to file work injury lawsuits, not contractors. Texas law does not provide clear guidelines for determining employee status for the purposes of civil liability. This means an experienced work injury attorney must rely on previous rulings to determine whether a worker is an employee or contractor. In Texas, the sum of the current “case law” is very clear. “In terms of civil liability, an employer-employee relationship is determined by the actual working relationship between employer and employee, not by a contract.” More Information here

Numerous conditions can establish an employer-employee relationship. The most straightforward is a variety of different documents that either state you are an employee or gives a clear public indication on the part of the employer that you indeed are. One clear-cut example is if a worker is performing services that are unique to an employer’s business. For instance, if a person works at Wal Mart, wears a Wal Mart shirt and badge, and serves Wal Mart customers, that person is a Wal Mart employee, regardless of the presence or absence of any sort of “contract” this person might have signed.

Over the past ten years, the line between who is “technically” an employee and who is not has become very confusing for non-attorneys or inexperienced lawyers and, in some cases, very murky. Sometimes you, or your employer, might think you are an employee when you are, in truth, not. Many employers make the mistake of believing that by hiring contractors, they can automatically escape liability in work injury cases. Other non-subscriber employers may know full-well that you’re an employee but purposely mislead you into thinking you are a contractor.
This general topic brings a couple of other important points that may or may not apply to your specific case. If you were hired by an employment agency to work at an “employer’s” company and suffered a workplace-related accident, your attorney must determine if the employment agency has workers’ comp. If so, then you would file a workers’ comp claim against the agency, which would then make the company where you actually performed the work a third-party defendant in your accident injury civil case. If the agency is a non-subscriber, then it’s non-subscriber claims across-the-board.

Also, if your employer loaned you out to another company where the accident occurred, the issue of workers’ comp subscription is the primary determiner of your legal strategy, and the company where you suffered your injury will likely be treated as a third-party defendant in any civil claim or suit. Again, if all defendants are non-subscribers, then workers comp will not apply in any way.

The best outcome for your workplace injury produces a fair settlement for you without having to go to trial. But if a trial is necessary, we are more than willing to vigorously argue your case in order to win the fair judgment that you deserve from ALL defendants. We represent you to the best of our skill and ability. And if we’re able to secure fair compensation for you without taking your case to court, you can get back on your feet faster and resume living your life.

So if you or someone you love has been hurt on the job, our attorneys can help you collect the compensation you need and deserve, and bring those responsible for your work injuries to justice.