Workplace Injury Cases on some jobsites can be complicated. The bigger the job, the more likely you have multiple parties working at the site.  If you suffer a personal injury while at a jobsite, determining whether you are able to file a lawsuit depends on a on a few things. First, you have to figure out who could potentially be responsible for causing the incident that caused your injury. Second, you need to figure out whether that person or company could be held legally responsible for your injury (Whose Negligence Caused the Incident?). That means that you need to have some understanding ... Continue Reading

As much as every Texas Work Injury Lawyer would love to be able to give a straight answer, how long a case takes to resolve really depends on several factors. Some of these factors include the seriousness of the injuries, the availability of witnesses and evidence to prove a case, how complex the legal issues are and, where the case can ultimately be filed and tried. Recovering from the work injury as much as possible One thing that I always tell our clients, is that the most important goal for both lawyer and client, is to reach the point where the client has recovered from the injury as ... Continue Reading

At the time of hiring or, when a new insurance policy is purchased, Texas Non-Subscriber Employers require employees to sign an Arbitration Agreement. That arbitration agreement requires that any disputes arising out of the employment, between employer and employee, be submitted to arbitration for resolution of the dispute. This agreement applies to any dispute arising out of an on the job injury. So, if you are injured while working for a Texas Non-Subscriber, if you signed an arbitration agreement, your case against your employer cannot be filed in State of Federal Court. YOUR CASE MUST BE ... Continue Reading

If you get injured at work and you’re sent to the first doctor’s visit but, the doctor does little to determine how injured you are and, you’re sent back to work, should you go back? In short, if you want to keep your benefits, you must follow the recommendations of the physician that you saw even though he may have your employers’ and the insurance’s interests in mind instead of yours, as an injured worker.  If you are hurt and you are concerned that you might injury yourself more if you go back to work, you need to make sure you follow the restrictions the company doctor sets for you but, ... Continue Reading

ERISA (Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974) is the federal law that allows Texas Employers to provide coverage to injured workers under a WELFARE PLAN. In a nutshell, instead of providing injured workers coverage for medical benefits and lost pay under Texas Workers’ Compensation Laws, Texas Employers that adopt ERISA Welfare Benefit Plans provide coverage to injured workers under ERISA and not Texas Worker’s Compensation programs. TEXAS EMPLOYERS THAT PROVIDED INJURY COVERAGE TO EMPLOYEES UNDER AN ERISA PLAN ARE KNOWN AS TEXAS NON-SUBSCRIBERS. If an injured worker is being ... Continue Reading

Pre-existing conditions in work injury cases Work injuries can happen in variety of ways. Because our bodies change through the natural process of aging, employers and their insurance companies rely on test results showing degeneration (age-related changes) to argue that your injury is Pre-Existing. The can use age-related changes seen on X-rays or MRIs to argue that any work injury you are claiming is really a result of natural processes and you do not have a true new (acute) injury. First of all, you should never believe a physician who is telling you that all your complaints of pain are ... Continue Reading

If you get injured on the job, whether you are able to file a lawsuit against your employer depends on a couple of things. First, you must first be able to identify if your employer is Texas Workers’ Compensation Subscriber or, if they are Texas Non-Subscriber? Second, you have to be able to determine if you’re employer’s NEGLIGENCE caused your injury. If your employer has Texas Workers’ Compensation, then, the general rule is that you cannot file a lawsuit against your employer for any negligence that caused your injury. One of the fundamental differences between an injured worker’s rights ... Continue Reading

If you haven’t reported the work injury, call your employer now How? Send an email or leave a voicemail letting them know when you were injured! If you’ve been seriously injured at work, the best way to ensure that your rights will be protected is to report the injury and get the necessary medical attention immediately! Call and put Sandoval to work for you! Every case is different but, below are some general recommendations if you are injured on the job: REPORT THE INCIDENT! REPORT YOUR INJURIES! It does not matter how minor it may seem or if you don’t really know what type of ... Continue Reading

Non-Subscriber claims are set up in such way that, if you don’t report the injury within a certain timeframe, usually 24 hours, you could be denied wage and medical benefits. We all know that sometimes following an accident, you don’t always know if you’re really injured or, you don’t know how serious the injury is. We naturally try to give it some time and see if the pain or discomfort will simply go away. When you have an injury incident at work, you cannot “give it some time” because it will affect your ability to prove that your injury came about from a specific incident at work. It’s ... Continue Reading

An Adverse Benefit Determination after you see the IME doctor If you’ve been receiving treatment and then, suddenly, you are asked to go see a doctor for the first time, chances are, that examination is a Defense medical examination or an IME. After you see the IME doctor, you typically will receive a letter with the report informing you that, based on the good doctor’s examination, your benefits have been terminated. That letter informing you that your rights have been terminated is an Adverse Benefit Determination. It informs you that you a have a right to appeal the decision, but you have ... Continue Reading