Legal Question in Personal Injury in Texas
oji
i'm a mechanic and i was hurt on the job on 11/17/03.i was sent on a ''road call'' to service a bus. while servicing the bus a gust of wind blew debris from the compartment i was in into my eyes. my eye felt scratchy. it was close to the end of my shift so i did not report the incident at that time. the next day i reported the incident to my immediate supervisor, he did not acknowledge my injury so i went to his supervisor, his response was ''you probably got dirt in your eye''. the scratchiness irritated my eye, and it became red and puffy. i went to an optometrist and there was a metal particle embedded in my eye. she removed it but the eye developed a corneal ulcer and she referred me to an opthamologist. per the doctor, i will have impaired vision due to the scarring. if i decide to sue my company for negligence, how quickly must i decide. what is the statue of limitation?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: oji
In Texas, if your employer carries workers' compensation insurance, you can't sue your employer at all. You can only obtain the benefits provided by the workers' comp insurance, which are very limited. If your employer did not carry workers' comp, you can only sue your employer if your employer was negligent in causing your injuries, which does not seem to be the case in your situation. In other words, your employer is not at fault for what the wind did.
Re: oji
How is your eye doing? Eyes are very remarkable in being able to heal.
What part in Texas are you from? What shop do you work for? Is this causing any problems with your ability to work?
Re: oji
If you are covered under your employer's workers compensation insurance, you are barred from suing your employer, and instead may only pursue workers compensation -- in which event you should already have started processing your claim and the insurance carrier should be picking up your medical bills. If your employer does not carry workers compensation insurance you may sue your employer for negligence -- that means that you will have to prove that your employer was negligent and that the negligence was the cause of your injury. It might be difficult to prove negligence unless you can show that perhaps you should have been provided protective goggles.
If you are entitled to sue your employer you have two years from the time that the cause of action arose -- most likely being two years from the time that you got the object in your eye.
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